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Where to find a person to identify scent

post #1 of 7
Thread Starter 
I recently bought a thrift store purse that was scented with some unknown perfume. I love the scent! However, I know absolutely NOTHING about perfumes.

Where could I take the bag to get the scent identified? I'm not certain about taking it to the Macy's perfume counter...but maybe there are people who could provide that service at a higher end perfume store? Or maybe there is a specialty perfume store I could mail my bag to in order to have some one sniff it and identify the scent? (Well, maybe not 'identify' the scent, so much as suggest a perfume that smells similar...I'm guessing the leather and the age of the purse probably aged/altered whatever the original perfume was)

Thanks for your help and suggestions!
post #2 of 7
Most of the people in the perfume shop are sales people. They will guide you to the perfumes they like to sell to you, the so called "new ones", but I'm afraid they will not be able to help you.
I would recommend you to go to a smaller shop, and talk to the owner.
How many times it happened to me where I asked a specific question and all these people in the shop do is come to me with fragrances that have nothing to do with my question.
post #3 of 7
No point in going to a fragrance counter - the SAs are just that, sales assistants. In my experience, they usually have little knowledge about fragrance, let alone the trained nose to identify a scent. This is a tough one, if I were you, I would turn to a perfumer, i.e. someone who works with composing fragrances. They should at least be able to point you to something similar.
post #4 of 7
Quote:
Originally Posted by PWJ View Post

This is a tough one, if I were you, I would turn to a perfumer, i.e. someone who works with composing fragrances. They should at least be able to point you to something similar.

Sound advice
post #5 of 7
Was it a leather purse? If so, chances are at least part of the smell is leather. There are many leather frags in the market.

cacio
post #6 of 7
The scent lingering on in the purse must pretty much just be basenotes by now so we should be able to narrow it down. i understand you do not have knowledge of perfumery but start by describing it in very general terms.

Do you get sweetness, green, mossy or woody notes?
post #7 of 7
Thread Starter 
Hello! Thanks everyone for your replies.

To the comments about perfume counters--yes, my experience has also been that the people there try to sell you what they have rather than help you find what you are actually looking for. You all say to go to a perfumery--I was hoping one of you could suggest a good perfumery to contact?

cacio: Yes, the purse is leather. But the actual leather scent is almost non-detectable. I did find a list of leather fragrances online and went to Macy's to see which ones I could find. The ones I tried were definitely not what my bag smells like, so I don't think the leather fragrance angle is the right one.

Joe: It is a sweet scent, more floral than fruity. Maybe just a little spice, too. When I smell it, it leaves a feeling in my throat that I associate with "water" fragrances (i.e. Cool Water, Light Blue, Marc Jacobs). It's a very smooth scent. I don't detect any sharpness. Does that help any?

Anyway, the reason I'm wanting to find someone with a good nose is that I'm unsure of how good my own nose is. For example, when I went out to try "leather" fragrances--I didn't detect any leather in Aramis. The only thing I smelled was Off! bug spray. Shalimar was supposed to be leather too, and all I smelled was thick baby powder. (It happens to a lot of perfumes for me -- I went to the store when Miss Dior Cherie came out because it was described as smelling like strawberries. I did not then, and still do not smell any strawberry. I smell hay and lilac--none of which are listed in the official fragrance notes.)
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