Shopping for perfumes online is tricky. This guide will help you get it right

While you need to personally get a whiff of several fragrances before you decide upon one, what happens when you embark on the same journey online?

It is quite likely that a perfume has had the power to introduce you to certain facets of your personality you never knew existed. For instance, if the first-ever fragrance you used was significantly floral or woody, you’re likely to develop an extreme opinion—you’ll either find it indulgent or, perhaps, overwhelming. This feeling towards a peculiar fragrance can potentially be subjected to endless rounds of metamorphosis, as you and your preferences evolve. Having said that, discovering a perfume and developing a liking towards it is always a trial-and-run process. 

Today, with e-commerce platforms serving as a convenient medium to shop for fragrances, subscribing to a new fragrance online is like swiping right to an unknown person on an app—the first in-person encounter is full of suspense and ambivalence. The Established talks to some of the best in the fragrance business to chalk out a primer on finding a suitable perfume for yourself online, without smelling or feeling it.

Acquaint yourself with the fundamentals of perfumery

“It is very important to understand what connects us to fragrances and what is it that can match all our moods,” says Abdulla Ajmal, CEO of Ajmal Group. “For instance, I love fresh and woody notes, so I look for perfumes that belong to this fragrance family. And, on a scale of one to ten, I would rate it five or nine but the chances for me to dislike it is zero.” Ajmal encourages you to head to the description of any fragrance on the website as it would help you learn about the notes, ingredients or raw materials—factors that are suggestive of the mood of the fragrance.

Astha Suri, founder of NASO Profumi, concurs with Ajmal, “Understand the notes and seek familiarity [with them]. Experiment only when you know what the notes smell like. Trust fragrance heads and genuine perfumeries coming from a backend of the make to get the best and most genuine product.” 

According to Maxime Exler, a perfumer with the Symrise Group, buying perfumes online is a divisive issue whereas for French perfumer Philippine Courtière, it can be interesting. “In my opinion, it is not for all types of consumers. The person who makes this purchase must be curious and like to get out of their comfort zone. Even if the brand’s marketing is more and more creative, imagining the association of several raw materials and their evolution doesn’t come naturally to a consumer.” 

However, to educate yourself about notes and fragrance families, and zero in on the ones you like the most, Ajmal believes that one must explore this in a retail environment. For Suri, running a source check is key. “Know the brand and where the make is coming from. Always double-check the source, don’t get fooled by the grey market,” she says.

Every bottle has a story to tell

“One should be aware of marketing concepts. The advertising, the colour code or the packaging can give clues about the olfactory family of the perfume. In recent years, more and more websites and applications concerning perfumes have been created. They propose to enter the name of one’s favourite perfume and to obtain a list of perfumes whose notes are  close enough,” says Courtière. “Some brands produce multisensory videos that allow the consumer to understand a perfume through various sounds and images. Marketing also relies on the communication of evocative, natural raw materials; a majority of consumers have in mind the smell of a lemon or a rose, it is much more accessible than the smell of an aldehyde or a salicylate,” shares Exler.

Ajmal adds that perfumes are further bifurcated into categories like floral, woody, fresh, oriental, fougere, chypre, gourmand, citrus and aromatic. “Depending on our personalities, cultural background and personal memories, we are drawn towards a few fragrance families. Once you have understood these fundamentals, it can be much simpler to choose your personal favourites online,” he says. A falcon exudes a lot of character about the perfume; however it’s not the only aspect to factor in. “There are times when the packaging will allude to the nature of the fragrance that is in the bottle, but it does not always necessarily reflect what is inside,” adds Ajmal. And thus, there’s more to consider. 

Word play

If you haven’t already noticed, storytelling is one of the strongest tools employed to sell fragrances online. “The description of fragrances you read online are created with the very intent of evoking some sort of emotion. Reading them will give you a clear understanding of whether or not the type of scent matches your personality and lifestyle. For example, if you’re bright and chirpy, you’re not going to want something heavy and overpowering,” says Ajmal. According to him, commonly seen terminologies like ‘intense’, ‘extreme’, ‘dark’, ‘night’, ‘passion’, ‘intense’ and ‘water’ all convey some sense of a scent’s mood and intensity.

Exler reveals that the ‘keywords’ surrounding perfumes started to be more and more numerous following the multiplication of flankers. “The adjective following the perfume name notifies the consumer that it is the same olfactory intention as the original perfume to which a note has been added or intensified. In addition, the meaning of the adjective gives a clue to the olfactory orientation chosen. For example, for an intense version, the perfumer may double or triple the base notes, i.e., the notes that last the longest in a formula (amber or woody). For a sweet version, gourmand notes are added or intensified. A dark version may be leatherier or roasted, a light version more aquatic and a fresh one more citrus, aromatic or fresh floral (like lily of the valley),” explains the perfumery expert.

Don’t sleep on the colour theory

“The colour of the perfume is not a trivial matter,” affirms Exler. “It allows us to accentuate a marketing concept. Pink, blue or green—juices are not naturally coloured; however, it gives the consumer additional information. A pink juice, for example, accentuates a rather feminine concept, often floral or gourmand. However, there are masculine pink ones such as Rochas Man Intense by master perfumer Maurice Roucel, where the brand communicates its take on a modern man—tender but virile, seductive but in love.”

Ajmal shares that each colour communicates the nature of the scent and how you could perceive it. “To build a versatile fragrance wardrobe, you can start by having one fragrance of the main colours–pink, white, green, red and yellow,” he advises. He throws light on the association between hues and moods. “One can expect fragrances from the pink family to be fruity-floral with the presence of more rose than jasmine in the heart notes. If the colour is a deeper pink, there is a strong fruity presence which makes this fragrance more playful.” Similarly, in the case of oud-infused, woody concoctions, you’ll often notice the colour of the juice to feature richer shades of brown, indicative of the depth. In an aquatic fragrance, it is often blue-tinged, whereas a perfume that goes heavy on greens like sage, patchouli and coriander adapts the said colour.

As a concluding tip, Ajmal encourages one and all to shop for discovery sets that let you experience a range of options. This can help you find your signature scent and then invest in a full-size bottle.

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