#ExpertCorner: The Only Tips To Keep In Mind When Buying Perfume Online

While randomly making a full bottle purchase seems lucrative, it is often a dangerous habit. You might look up the notes, and think, 'Yes, this looks like a safe blind-buy", but you might end up detesting the perfume when it arrives. This is why you should be testing out fragrances in sample form before committing to a whole bottle. A lot of online stores do sell samples, and you could reach out to them. Splashfragrance.in, for example, has a lot of hard to find fragrances. I recommend picking up Chanel No. 5 miniatures from them since it is a fragrance that is recognised globally, and has the reputation of a must-have fragrance, so before you commit, get a miniature!

Every perfume has head or top notes, heart or middle notes, and base or dry notes, which make the perfume 'change' or smell differently as the day progresses. Perfumes also smell different and sometimes perform differently on blotter paper strips than on skin. This is why, giving your sample a proper wearing matters. Carry the sample with you on the go and reapply. 

Further, @scentoria_ on Instagram carry decants, which come in beautiful travel cases or atomizers. You can even pick official travel sets from them. For example, instead of buying a whole bottle of the iconic Baccarat Rouge 540 EDP, go for the official travel vial sets. These come with stunning cases and a set of 11 ml vials. You can just keep refilling as you run out. You will smell great, save a ton of money, and you can carry your perfume anywhere you go!

Don't dismiss a fragrance that you think you might like simply because someone else has had only unsavory things to say about it. Perfumes are subjective, pretty much like coffee preferences, and you have to test it on yourself despite what people say. Santal 33 from Le Labo, said to be a phenomenal sandalwood fragrance, often smells like dill pickle on a lot of people. A powdery, iris-forward fragrance like Iris Malikhan, smells like boiling carrots on my own skin. So, having said that, read reviews, get to know about the next luxe buy, and invest in a sample first.

Reviews that do breakdowns and interpretations perfectly are worth a shot. Two websites I recommend for this would be Parfumo and Fragrantica. This is particularly important if you are eyeing a more 'challenging' perfume like Russian Tea from Masque Milano. It contains leather and tea, but the reviews vary. Listen to what these reviewers say, buy if and only the reviews resonate with you.

You don't always need a full-bottle. If you see a partially used one, and the source is legit, don't hesitate to pick it up. To check the authenticity of the product, verify the batch codes on checkfresh.com. Although these codes are repeated every 10 years, it should give you a fair idea. Compare the nozzles, the bottles, the colour of the perfume to official bottles as much as you can. A good deal on a partial bottle saves you money and gives you access to expensive bottles of perfume at a more affordable price. I’d suggest, if you were to find a good deal on a bottle of Hanuman by Boadicea The Victorious, and it were verified for authenticity—picking it up would be a great idea.