So how can you tell whether a scent will smell good on you before buying it? Unless you’re able to sample it in-store, this is tricky. Take it from Lee, who says, “Unfortunately, without a breakdown of your own body chemistry, you won’t know how a perfume will smell on your skin. However, one common mistake I see is when customers are using products with clashing scents at the same time. To get a better idea of how a fragrance will smell on you, it’s a good idea to avoid using other strongly scented products, such as bodywash, shampoo, conditioner, lotions, or laundry detergent. Going back to the original analogy of cooking, some ingredients just don’t work well together.”
Voelkl agrees that it’s difficult to know without testing a particular perfume IRL. He says “fragrances can be perceived differently on different people due to their body chemistry, which sometimes is related to behaviors such as their nutritional habits, for example.” All you can do, then, is choose a fragrance based on your personal preference. What brands do you love? What notes are you drawn to? “I think that preference is not so much linked to body chemistry, as it is more emotional and based on personal preferences,” he says. “We all have different likes and dislikes based on our cultures, the environments we grew up in, and the type of fragrances we were exposed to—so fragrance preferences are very subjective and change from person to person. To me, it’s more about finding the fragrance that will make you feel good and comfortable rather than the body chemistry reaction itself.”
