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Guide

How to choose your perfume: the complete guide

Choosing a perfume can quickly become a headache. Here is a simple, complete method: understand the families and concentrations, test properly, and find your signature.

2 min read

Faced with hundreds of bottles, it is hard to know where to begin. Yet choosing a perfume that suits you is not a stroke of luck: it is a method. Here is ours, in six steps.

1. Identify your scent family

Everything starts here. Every perfume belongs to a major scent family that defines its mood: the freshness of citrus, the sensuality of ambers, the nobility of woody, the delicacy of florals or the sweetness of gourmands.

Spot the ones that attract you instinctively: it is the best starting point. Our guide to understanding scent families details each of them.

2. Understand concentrations

The same perfume often exists in several versions. The concentration changes longevity, sillage and price: a light eau de toilette for the day, a richer eau de parfum, an intense extrait for the evening. It is all explained in our guide to EDT, EDP and extrait concentrations.

3. Spot the notes you like

Within a family, it is the notes that make the difference. Do you like vanilla or tonka bean? Do you lean towards bergamot, rose, sandalwood or patchouli? List two or three ingredients that speak to you: they will guide your trials.

4. Think about the occasion and the season

A perfume is not universal. Heat amplifies trails: in summer, favour fresh perfumes; in winter, dare the more enveloping ambers and gourmands. Think about use too: a discreet scent for the office, a bolder one for the evening.

5. Test (properly)

The classic mistake: judging a perfume in five seconds on a paper strip. To choose well:

  • Test on skin, not only on the blotter: your chemistry changes the perfume.
  • Wait: give the heart and base notes time to reveal themselves (several hours).
  • One perfume at a time: beyond three trials, the nose saturates.
  • Live with it: a sample worn for a day is worth a thousand sprays in a shop.

6. Let yourself be guided

If you are still hesitating, two OLFACT tools are there for that:

  • The scent questionnaire builds your profile in a few questions and recommends real perfumes to try.
  • The comparator puts your favourites side by side — accords, notes, concentration, price — to separate the finalists.

Choosing your perfume is not about finding “the best”: it is about finding yours. Take your time, trust your instinct, and explore the whole catalogue at your own pace.