Where do you go to test fragrances?

[mike1990]

I went to my local Bon-Ton in the mall today to test some of the colognes that I would potentially buy. The only one on my list that they had was Le Male. To be honest I loved the scent but it did not impress me at all. I will eventually buy it but its not on the top of my list. Maybe I would have to wear it on my skin for a better effect. The girls in the hall in my dorm love it, but to each their own I guess?

Anyway the point of this thread was to ask basenotes which store or stores do you go to to test out your potential frags? The Bon-Ton I went to had colognes I already had or was not interested in. Basically a limited selection. I am looking to test such colognes such as Body Kouros, Aramis Havana, Armani Code, Rochas Man, etc. Is there anywhere that has a better variety of testers?

[StylinLA]

Not familiar with Bon-Ton...looks like a new department store chain. You don't list location so not sure what array of department stores are available to you. Bon-Ton doesn't appear to have a selection that includes many of the scents you'll see lauded in here.

I live in Los Angeles which is a candy store for fume heads. Barney's, Niemans, Saks, Bloomngindales, Macys. The Rodeo Drive collection with virtually every designer having their own store- YSL, Dior, Chanel, etc. Sephora of course. Beverly Hills has a family owned shop called the Beverly Hllls Perfumery that is a treasure trove of older frags. Le Labo has a boutique here.

And the real killer, Lucky Scents "Scent Bar." Drive past it twice a day.

At least one of the scents listed, Body Kouros is not generally available in stores. At least I never see it. If you have a pretty specific list (and it looks like you do), you might be best serverd by ordering a batch of samples from The Perfumed Court. They'll sell you 1ml samples of those for about $3 each.

Try them, then order what you want online. Better deals are available on the internet for the class of frags you're looking at. It is also highly unlikely you'll find one store that carries everything you want to try. Here in Los Angeles, I'd have to hit 3 different stores to try just the ones you listed.

At your age, you really do want to sample Body Kouros. I can see this one making young women nuts.

[mike1990]

Well I live in New Jersey. Bon-Ton is nothing new but I do believe the chain has limited stores. I do have a Bloomingdales near me I could go to. I also have a Sephora and Macy's as well. Will those carry the scents I am looking to try?

[Tarheel Golfer]

Macy's, Ulta, and other departments stores for me, as well as ordering samples/decants of stuff the stores don't have from fellow BNers.

[Tarheel Golfer]

What are you wanting to try Mike?

[StylinLA]

Well I live in New Jersey. Bon-Ton is nothing new but I do believe the chain has limited stores. I do have a Bloomingdales near me I could go to. I also have a Sephora and Macy's as well. Will those carry the scents I am looking to try?

Give us your sample wish list. Fragrance distribution is odd, especially when you start surfing in here and see such a wide variety mentioned and lauded.

[Ken_Russell]

Usually the local mall or department store are good sources. Whenever I'm away from home and I still want to test a good frag,
I mostly head for the next subsidiary of a large and pretty recognizable fragrance store chain (my guess would be that Douglas is quite big, if not the biggest, in Europe right now)

[Sugandaraja]

My main sources are The Perfumed Court and sample trades with fellow Basenoters ( the latter I highly recommend when and if your collection gets to a certain size - I've tried some amazingly rare fragrances that way, some of which I'd have no way of sampling otherwise! ) The local selection in stores is very poor indeed, unfortunately.

[mike1990]

I am looking to test Body Kouros, Rochas Man, Versace The Dreamer, Gucci Envy, Armani Code, and YSL L'homme for now. There is more on my list but I figured that since I am new to the cologne scene I would try the most "talked about" frags on the board first.

[Tarheel Golfer]

I saw all of those (except Rochas) at Ulta. If you have one of those or a Sephora near you, you'll have no problems finding them. You'll find a few of them at Macy's or one of the larger department stores.

[StylinLA]

Body Kouros - unknown
Rochas Man- Sephora
Versace The Dreamer - Sephora
Gucci Envy- Sephora
Armani Code- Sephora
YSL L'homme- Sephora

Sephora seems to list all but Body Kouros, and I wonder if that one is technically discontinued. But it is available readily online. I'm an old guy, so other guys in your age range can weigh in, but ya gotta try this. In the same neighborhood as Rochas Man, but a bit more subtle and sexy to me.

My sense with Sephora is their online site lists a wider variety than is always available in any given store, but they sound like your best bet.

[mike1990]

Looks like I am headed to Sephora!

[Jer350]

I only have one place close to me with anything decent to select from, which sucks because the collection they have isn't very big at all! It's called Elder-Beerman

[merry.waters]

I went to my local Bon-Ton in the mall today ...

Those stores in Northern Europe are often the biggest stinkers in the street. Entering is a slap on the nose. At 10:00 in the morning already tens of customers sprayed anything available into the room. No chance to 'test' in this surrounding mess.