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How long do you give a frag before deciding if it's for you or not?

post #1 of 30
2/5/13 at 11:11am
Thread Starter 
I do blind buy a lot of frags, just through circumstance. It's not ideal, but hey ho. I very rarely change my opinion of a frag, but perhaps I am too hasty!! I tend to give them 1 or 2 wears and if I don't rate them at least 8/10 at that point, I sell them. Anybody else, this impulsive? Should I give frags more time?
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post #2 of 30
2/5/13 at 11:28am
I usually know within a few wearing whether I'm going to change my initial impression of a scent or not. But, I have gone back after a year or more and "retried" something that I did not like the first time around and have been surprised that they sometimes really grow on me. Maybe my tastes mature with time, maybe the juice changes with time - who knows. Most likely the first.
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post #3 of 30
2/5/13 at 11:44am
I tend to run through threads based on my own preferences, then obtain samples. I've never blind bought a full bottle, but have regretted buying a full bottle after sampling and the two simply don't match.

I usually know after two separate applications whether I'll buy something, but then let it sit for a while (days/weeks) then come back to it. If I still feel the same, it goes on the list.
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post #4 of 30
2/5/13 at 11:54am
Usually 2-3 tests at most- but quite often, I decide in favor of a fragrance from the first testing/sampling, if the compatibility is right. But I hardly go on "impulse shopping", even if the fragrance is right from the first testing/sampling, I usually need to think it over a little bit and, most frequently, sleep a night over it, before deciding the final purchase.
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post #5 of 30
2/5/13 at 11:57am
3 tests. I just tried one shot of Aventus, every day for 5 days at work and that was enough to tell we weren't meant to be. So I'll go longer on some. I have been pretty spot on after 1-2 truthfully but I'll revisit some later to see if my tastes have changed. That only happened once in 5 years...TdH
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post #6 of 30
2/5/13 at 12:05pm
Good question!

I try to wear a scent for three times. I find it easy to love a scent at first, only to realize the next day that I'm already sick of it or have detected some sort of deal-breaker. Usually, the third day is when I know for sure if I'd wear something often enough to justify a purchase.
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post #7 of 30
2/5/13 at 12:31pm
It really depends on the fragrance. I rarely buy after one wearing, but sometimes i just know a fragrance is right for me. Generally though, I wear things several times before buying a full bottle. Some samples are hard for me to love at first, but grow on me after months of gathering dust (reflection man). I don't set myself a goal number of wearings, as I like to consider fragrance love an organic process.
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post #8 of 30
2/5/13 at 12:36pm
Usually takes me a single proper wearing.
Sometimes smelling from the blotter is enough too.
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post #9 of 30
2/5/13 at 12:37pm
I give a scent at least 3 tries. Even if it doesn't have that "wow!" factor at the first go, I'll give it a chance later - sometimes the same day, sometimes a few days or a week. Often, I wait for a change in the weather. It's 50/50 what happens afterward - there are scents that I stash away to "forget" about for a while, but on other occasions there's a lucky person who gets gifted right then and there.
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post #10 of 30
2/5/13 at 12:39pm
I guess I am a bit more impulsive (with fragrances anyway - quite slow and methodical with other purchases). I have often decided upon 1st sniff. I have bought dozens of fragrances in the last year completely blind, and another dozen or so after less than 1 wearing. I just ordered a 250 ml flacon of Creed Bois de Cedrat yesterday after wearing it for the 1st time the other day (can't wait to get this!). For me, if I love it at first sniff, it will usually stay that way... I hope...!
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post #11 of 30
2/5/13 at 12:43pm
Two sometimes three, though I do just love those instant love fragrances where you are smitten on first sniff.
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post #12 of 30
2/5/13 at 12:44pm
usually 3 wearings. i usually bring an atomizer also to see if i get compliments or not. if i get compliments then for sure. if not and if i don't care for it based on longevity or smell i will put it to the end of my rotation or use it in a different season.
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post #13 of 30
2/5/13 at 12:49pm
I decide rather quickly, one to two wearings will be more than enough. There are so many fragrances out there that if I'm not immediately impressed by a scent I'll either forget it or give it one more try at a later date. The only minor exception was A*Men, I was unimpressed after smelling the opening but I kept coming back to it throughout the day and began to really enjoy the dry down.
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post #14 of 30
2/5/13 at 1:18pm
Besides the instant attraction to a few masterpieces IMO, I usually use a frag for about two or three days before I know if it will be in the collection. There also comes times where you might like a frag at first, then after a while it goes in another direction.
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post #15 of 30
2/5/13 at 1:27pm
Usually 2-3 wearings, or completely using up a sample. I like to give a few chances just in case my nose or skin are doing odd things that day, or perhaps I just forget I'm testing something.

Exception1: When a frag is utterly bad or a scent I simply do not like.
Exception2: When a frag is clearly too feminine for me to wear, I'll give the sample away to someone else.

Every now and then I'll have samples that aren't all that interesting and I'm essentially done with before they're used up, and again I'll just give them away.
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post #16 of 30
2/5/13 at 1:39pm
Some I know on the very first spray whether its for me or not. Sometimes it may take a few wearings to decide as I notice notes that I really love or ones that I grow to hate. I tend to stick with scents that I instantly love though as I don't want it to feel like work to actually enjoy what I'm smelling.
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post #17 of 30
2/5/13 at 1:43pm
Usually 2-3. I just blind bought Mugler's Cologne...mistake. I liked it initially, but after a couple days of wearings, there's something 'off' or funky to me about it.

Thankfully, I got it from Macy's, so I'll try to wrangle a return or an exchange out of it.

So yeah, I'll have to stick to my 2-3 rule.
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post #18 of 30
2/5/13 at 2:43pm
I'm also a 2-3 *usually*. Sometimes I will love something so much from the initial wearing that I know I have to have it...and sometimes I am wrong based on that initial impression. There are others that I've tried multiple times before they clicked. But 2-3 is pretty reliable most of the time.
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post #19 of 30
2/5/13 at 2:47pm
Before Basenotes, I would give 10 seconds on paper.

Now, I give 2 wears on skin for at least 2-3 hours each time before washing it off.
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post #20 of 30
2/5/13 at 2:55pm
However long it takes. Sometimes one or two wears only, with others it can take ages. I'm in no hurry.
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post #21 of 30
2/5/13 at 3:15pm
Some you (I) know instantly, some need one wear, some more - it depends.
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post #22 of 30
2/5/13 at 3:17pm
Usually 3-5 wearings. I know if I like the smell of a fragrance after day one but I like to test longevity more than anything.

I have only a few blind buys in my career which were all great, Pure Havane, Pure Malt, MJ Legend, DHI and Aventus.
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post #23 of 30
2/5/13 at 4:52pm
I like it the moment I press "submit" even before the first wearing and it's arrival.
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post #24 of 30
2/5/13 at 6:51pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dailey View Post

I do blind buy a lot of frags, just through circumstance. It's not ideal, but hey ho. I very rarely change my opinion of a frag, but perhaps I am too hasty!! I tend to give them 1 or 2 wears and if I don't rate them at least 8/10 at that point, I sell them. Anybody else, this impulsive? Should I give frags more time?

I think 1-2 wears is a fair amount of trying. Why wear something you clearly don't like the smell of? I wouldn't force myself to keep retrying. But then again, I go the opposite way: I like something, then I don't a month later.
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post #25 of 30
2/5/13 at 6:53pm
Years, in some cases!
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post #26 of 30
2/5/13 at 6:58pm
2-3ml samples.
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post #27 of 30
2/5/13 at 7:45pm
I love anything that smells good in the drydown phase, but I can never tell if I will like something at a perfume counter.
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post #28 of 30
2/6/13 at 3:58am
Quote:
Originally Posted by hednic View Post

I like it the moment I press "submit" even before the first wearing and it's arrival.

LOL.


For me it takes 1-2 wearings on average to tell me if I might have any niggling issue with the fragrance.
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post #29 of 30
2/6/13 at 4:25am
It's about 5 full wears for me
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post #30 of 30
2/6/13 at 4:53am
I usually know if I like a fragrance the moment I put it on my skin. To me, top notes are very important. But, depending on how the fragrance dries down will impact my decision on whether or not it's something good and unique, or something redundant. Of course, many dry downs are very similar to each other. Most of the time though, I know whether or not i like something after wearing it for an hour; but just because I like it, doesn't mean I will buy it.
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Basenotes › Basenotes Forums › Fragrance Discussion › Male Fragrance Discussion › How long do you give a frag before deciding if it's for you or not?