How to try a perfume

How to try a perfume:

• Try a fragrance quiz. Sometimes, visiting the perfume counter can be overwhelming. To help you narrow down what you might like, try taking an online fragrance-finder quiz. That way, you'll have a place to start when you get to the store.

You can find a fragrance quiz by doing a simple search, but many major perfume websites also have them.

You can also test out samples that come in magazines or ask people you know what their scent is if you like it.

• Skip applying fragrances before you go shopping. When you go to the store, you want a blank canvas, so to speak. Skip putting on any perfume that morning so it won't compete. Also, skip other items you use with strong scents, such as lotions and body washes.

• Spray it on a card. The first step to testing a perfume is spraying it on a card. Smell it when you first spray it, but also try smelling it again in about 5 minutes, once it's had time to dry and settle. If you like it both times, you can move on to the next test.

Often, perfume counters will have coffee beans on the counter to help you clear out your nostrils. Take a good whiff between scents to help clear your palate, so to speak.

• Spray it on your skin. Next, try it out on your skin. You may wonder why you have to smell it both on a card and your skin. However, each perfume interacts with your skin and body chemistry, giving it a unique scent, different from every other person who wears it. Therefore, you want to make sure you like the smell on yourself before you buy it.

Consider leaving it on for a few hours before buying it. You may find you don't like it after having it on for a while.