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How to go about sampling niche

post #1 of 6
5/19/08 at 8:05pm
Thread Starter 
Sometimes it seems like there are so many brands of niche perfumes nowadays. I've sampled most if not all from the houses of Creed, L'Artisan, Amouage, Montale, Malle, Diptyque, and Serge Lutens, but it seems like theres so many more brands and houses when one looks at the website for Aedes, or steps into a Barneys or Scentbar. I was in Beverly Hills today, and while I sampled some new perfumes which I liked a lot, I still feel like there are so many that I smelled which got lost in the mix. It feels almost like when I first came to a Macy's fragrance counter and saw a whole mass of fragrances which I had know idea about, and had to slowly try to learn them. How can someone like me make their visit more effective by trying more scents? Should I go in with the purpose of trying from only say a couple of houses? What do you think?
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post #2 of 6
5/19/08 at 8:39pm
Well, before I go to the local stores with testers, I usually have an idea in mind about what I'd like to sample, such as gourmands. Then I suggest spraying one on the back of each hand and one on the chest. Anything more than that and it might get too complicated. Sephora does decants, so always ask the SA about that possibility.
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post #3 of 6
5/19/08 at 8:44pm
You are only going to be able to try a few when you test in a store leor_77 - the human nose and your brain can only handle so much.

Plus real serious testing (time to really reflect on the scent and give it your full concentration) rarely happens in a store, and for me usually happens alone at home.

Be patient with yourself. Try testing in stores when you can. Try trading samples here in BN. Buy samples from Ebay and test them at home. Buy decants from decanters online (Luckyscent, The Perfumed Court, Aedes, Fishbone Fragrances, many more...).

Remember - this fragrance obsession we all share, it should be FUN! And there's no right or wrong way to sample. Just do the best that you can.

Good luck leor_77!
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post #4 of 6
5/19/08 at 9:33pm
Thread Starter 
Good advice so far everyone, and Sephora is a great place to get samples, and i've been there and done that, but the problem is that Sephora does not carry niche perfumes, which I'm interested in. The concept of having them make you samples is a good one though, which I employed at Barney's today with Musc Ravageur and Eau D'Hiver. Oh, by the way, how is Neiman's with samples? Do they decant for you? I was looking at the Creeds and asked the lady about samples and she said that they don't carry them anymore, but that she would give me some if they did. Does Neiman's decant at all, and would they do it with, say, a Clive Christian, Creed, or TF Private Blend?
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post #5 of 6
5/19/08 at 9:49pm
I think that it helps to go in with no understanding of what you are smelling so that you get the raw, objective, very basic "yes, I like this," or "this stinks." If you know what you are looking for, or have some family of scents that you particularly enjoy then by all means go to a store and read reviews on what you might like.

I would suggest going to stores to get the general idea of the scents you wish to test. Try your favorites on your skin and get samples so you can continue to test it over the next few days. There are sooo many niche houses so there is no single place that you can jump into this complicated world from. It is best to take your time and be patient in understanding the scents you test. If you rush then you will forget what you smelled, get a false reading and buy something on a irrational whim, or just get a huge headache.

I agree 100% with Mikeperez. Sample, be patient, work through what you enjoy! Take the scents for what they are have fun with it.

Enjoy your hunt.
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post #6 of 6
5/19/08 at 10:08pm
Well, first off you are lucky that you live in a city that has so many resources for sniffing. I'd go and sniff stuff that you might like then ask for a sample. Frankly, if they are unable to give me one or unwilling to make me one I would move on to the next store and the next line, and send a polite note to the management of the store and the line why I did so. There are way too many lines crowding for our attention for someone at a department store to decide that you aren't worthy of testing it out. Having written that I've found that most SA's in BH are really great, and the people at ScentBar, All Purpose, Apothia, Santa Maria Novella, Le Labo and Palmetto (all without leaving what's generally considered West Hollywood) are more than friendly if you have a "Pretty Woman" moment in Beverly Hills
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