It can be confusing to think about how you’re supposed to go about finding a new perfume. 

If you have your favorite, and it’s still around, no problem. But sometimes perfumes get discontinued, or with changes within a perfume house, something might not ship to the U.S. anymore. Sometimes you’re just ready for a change. Or maybe you’ve never really worn perfume, but you’re ready to have your first bottle. And maybe, you’re used to the designer, or celebrity, scents and you’re ready to try niche scents. 

There are lots of reasons to begin the hunt for a new perfume, and we’re here to help you figure it out.

I cannot speak to how other establishments do things, so most of this advice will be from how we tend to do things at Parfumerie Nasreen.

It’s essentially a trial-and-error process. If you’re someone who is not familiar with scents, or hasn’t really worn anything, and truly have no idea what you want, we tend to begin with fragrances that are lighter and/or cleaner. 

If you’re not used to fragrances, it can be easy to overwhelm your nose, becoming ‘nose blind’. When this happens, you will either feel stuffed up, or feel like everything is starting to smell exactly the same. To try to avoid this, we try to ask as many questions as we can about your likes and dislikes when it comes to smells, trying to get more specific as we go. 

We’ll start by spraying things on paper blotter cards, changing our direction as you give us your feedback. When you start finding scents that smell good, we have you try them on your skin to see if you still like the scent as it changes with your body chemistry. 

On average, you can try around 4 fragrances on your skin at one time…..sometimes up to 6, depending on how flexible you are. We try not to spray scents too close together so that you do not get confused on what is what. The wrists and inner elbows are great places, as each are pulse points, and fragrances will project better with your body heat. 

Don’t worry about being picky with what you like, or if you don’t find anything on your first visit. If you’re spending money on a good fragrance, you want to love it.

Now, if you’re familiar with fragrances, and know your style, the process becomes a little easier. You can tell us what essences you like…..Vanilla, Chocolate, Spices, specific flowers, Citrus, Woods, ect. We’ll still ask questions to narrow things down, but this gives us a good starting point. 

If you have a favorite fragrance that you cannot find, or you want something similar but different, you can tell us what it is and if we are not familiar with it, we will do our research to get as close as possible with a new scent. The older the fragrance is, it might be better to call ahead so we can put better effort into the research.

In this same vein, if you have had a favorite fragrance for a long time, but want something completely new, this will help us know what to stay away from when showing you new scents. 

It can also happen that you come in looking for one thing, and realize you love something completely different, so an open mind can help.

You can also come in with the most vague of ideas and we can run with it.

I once had someone come into the store saying they want a scent that smells White, and then later in the process, something Pink…..and we found them scents they liked!

We can also do these types of consultations by phone or email as well.

On our website, we’ve begun to streamline the information and descriptions for each of our fragrances in the same way that we talk about the scents in person. This way you can take your time exploring, and researching on your own, if that suits you better.

You always have the option to buy samples, so that you can take your time without overwhelming your nose or your senses. 

You are also welcome to simply come in and smell without our help.

The possibilities, and options, are seemingly endless when it comes to fragrances. It can be a fun and interesting experience, and sometimes overwhelming.

At Parfumerie Nasreen, we’re here to help and answer any questions you may have. Don’t hesitate to reach out, visit our website, or stop in for a chat any time!