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Do you take notes on samples?

post #1 of 14
5/15/09 at 2:58pm
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When you get new samples, do you try all of them right away? Do you test it on paper/skin and put it away or pour the whole sample onto yourself and wear it? Do you take down notes, what do you write? Do you come back to the same sample a few days later and re-evaluate it?

Curious how everyone handles it.

x.
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post #2 of 14
5/15/09 at 11:45pm
Well, at first I just try them all right away. How could I resist?

I'd then come back later to give it a full-wearing or several trials on either side of the arm before reaching a conclusion whether or not I like it and if it deserves a few more tries. I am liberal with the amount I apply, so I REALLY prefer samples of at least 2ml. I don't take notes since I remember most of the things I've smelled. If my memory gets rusty, I just reach for my sample.
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post #3 of 14
5/15/09 at 11:55pm
I first try a little bit of each sample. Like MikePerez calls it, gang testing.
Then I give each sample a full wearing and I do take notes (I have a spreadsheet) about whether I like it or not, whether I should get another sample, a decant, or sometimes a full bottle.
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post #4 of 14
5/16/09 at 1:15am
I sample one or two at a time, and take notes about my impression and also giving it a rating from 1 to 5. If I don't actively dislike it or am bored with it, I will try it again later and then update my notes if necessary.
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post #5 of 14
5/16/09 at 1:45am
I'll sample it on my skin.. and if it's really good.. a full wearing follows.. but I hardly make notes on it.
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post #6 of 14
5/16/09 at 10:05am
I have samples that I bought nearly 12 months ago that I have yet to try; so no, I don't sample everything right away. I keep a list of the samples that I own on a spreadsheet and give each that I try a simple rating of 1 through 10. I use the spreadsheet to make notes of what I think are the most important aspects of the fragrance. I sample one fragrance at a time, always on skin. I put on enough where I can smell it coming up from under my shirt, for most 1mL samples I can get 3 wears this way (after all I'm the only one that needs to be able to smell it). When I sample a frag I try to come back to it at least once within a few days to get a better idea of how it smells, its lifespan, sillage etc.
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post #7 of 14
5/16/09 at 10:30am
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There are always a few samples in my order that are responsible for triggering the order and i try them first. I always try on skin so this limits the rate at which I try them. I do take notes, rate, for the most interesting ones I take notes immediately after application, 15 minutes and 1 hour into the wearing. I recently started giving a number from 1 to 5 for 5 taste-like qualities ie sweet, sour, bitter, salty and creamy. I have been cooking and experimenting with spices and taste a lot longer than I have been exploring fragrance so I find this categorisation useful to me. I often get a "craving" for a sweet or bitter or anything in this rationel so I find it helpful to go back at my notes and make a shortlist.
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post #8 of 14
5/16/09 at 10:46am
I do resist trying them all at once upon receiving them because it may ruin the effect of some for me. Maybe two at a time.
From the selected sample, I try a little bit on skin (usually back of hand and wrist) and go back to it a few days later. If the initial impression on me is strong enough, I will remember and I know I'll go back to it again. If I've gone back several times, usually it's an indication that I'll be buying a full bottle.
As I've tried so many scents and I understand and know my general tendencies, it's fairly easy for me to identify my possible future purchases but still will work on the sample to fine tune my final choices of FB. This is how I've ended up buying more and more unusual scents and fewer and fewer of FB's.
I don't make a list and don't have a spreadsheet since I have sooooo many samples. Really, in this case, written notes won't do what mental notes already do for me.
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post #9 of 14
5/16/09 at 11:14am
I do take notes on my samples while testing them out ( I have a Scent Notebook). Previously, I had always wanted to remember what my impressions of a frgracne was in the past, so this a good way to accomplish that. As well, there are just to many fragrances to sample for me to remember everything off the top of my mind.
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post #10 of 14
5/16/09 at 4:14pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Renaissance_Man View Post

I don't make a list and don't have a spreadsheet since I have sooooo many samples. Really, in this case, written notes won't do what mental notes already do for me.

When I had fewer samples, I had a box for samples that I wanted to retry, and even when I finished them, I would keep them there to remind me that either I wanted a bigger sample, decant, or full bottle. I had another box for the rest of them. It came a time when I could not do this anymore, because I had that box full and it was painful trying to find anything.
I had to get organized with storing samples in order and making notes.
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post #11 of 14
5/16/09 at 6:32pm
I try samples one at a time, unless I have the rare (for me) luxury of a whole day at home. On those days, I might try four (two wrists and two backs of hands).

Lately my samples got out of control (too many), so I put them in baggies labelled by house name (A-D, E-H, etc.).

Like several others here, I keep a spreadsheet for notes. I list House, Fragrance Name, Notes, Comments, Rating (1-5 stars), and a column in which I place my initial -- or not. The initial means that I feel the fragrance is "me" and that I might want to buy a bottle some day. I am going to add a field for Perfumer some day.

Sometimes, I just can't decide and make a note to do a second or third wearing.

When I do buy a bottle of something, I try to keep the sample vial and refill it as needed for my purse.
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post #12 of 14
5/16/09 at 6:37pm
I take notes like crazy. I have all this nifty dollar store computer paper that I make brochures out of, greeting card templates... on Microsoft Publisher and I have a neat brochure or card form for a set of samples . It's a tool to go back and check a particular fragrance months later when I forget about the impression they made.

Just today my 7 L'Artisian samples came in the mail for which I'm making a Microsoft Publisher card for it right now!
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post #13 of 14
5/16/09 at 6:42pm
I give them 3 trial runs and just rate them from A - F.

http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?k...VmCiC6Lhl2aiEA
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post #14 of 14
5/16/09 at 6:43pm
No.
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