Your nose can detect over 1 trillion scents.
In many cultures, like ancient Egypt, scents became a way of communicating. Love, power, and victory can all come across in different fragrances.
The right scent can help you show the world what you’re all about. But you’ll need to be careful when shopping for perfumes online.
If you don’t know how to avoid the top online perfume buying mistakes, you could wind up wasting your time and money. What’s the secret to successfully shopping for perfume online? Read on to find out.
Falling Prey to Fragrance Trends
First, on our list of online perfume buying mistakes, let’s talk trends. It’s all too easy to find yourself purchasing a perfume just because your friends are wearing it or the latest celebrities.
For the best perfume experience, you need to understand what fragrances bring you joy. Different niche perfume brands will be able to meet your every need. There isn’t going to be a one-size-fits-all when choosing the right perfume.
We suggest staying away from trending or best-selling fragrances altogether. Instead, pride yourself in choosing a perfume that goes against the grain.
The scent you choose should align with your style. Whether you’re a contemporary or classical perfume entusiast, find out what you love and wear it proudly. If you’re not sure what type of perfume is your signature scent, now’s the perfect time to find out.
Forgetting to Uncover Your Signature Scent
Before you can find the perfect perfume online, you’ll need to uncover your signature scent. The best way to discover what your nose loves is by smelling everything.
The next time you can smell perfumes in person, sample a ton of them. Become accustomed to different styles.
Try smelling colognes for women and men. Try floral and fruity scents. Be as curious as you possibly can about the different scents available.
Take your new scent knowledge with you into your online shopping endeavors. Create a list of all the new scents you like. Then keep in mind the smells that you already know you love.
If you’re somebody who loves freshly baked cookies, then look for perfumes with similar sweet notes. If you’re somebody who loves the smell of fresh blooming flowers, then look for perfumes that can capture that spring magic.
Still, struggling to find the right fragrance for your personality? Take a personality test online to get a feel for what perfume might match your style.
Ignoring the Packaging Options for Perfume
When you have an idea of what type of scent you’d like, you can begin to explore the different perfume brands. One of the first things you want to pay attention to is the packaging.
The outer packaging is one of the most aesthetic features of the perfume, not including the bottle. However, the packaging goes far beyond aesthetics. It also plays a role in the quality of the perfume you’re about to receive.
High-quality companies will package their perfumes in a way that protects them from the light. Harmful light rays can dilute perfume, making it less aromatic.
Not only should the packaging cover the perfume bottle completely, but the perfume bottle itself should also be made out of quality material. For instance, glass is a good perfume bottle material, not plastic.
Thick glass helps prevent heat from changing the scent, and it also helps block light out keep light out. Before making your purchase, double-check what type of packaging the perfume will be arriving in. If it’s packaging that goes above and beyond to keep the perfume safe from harmful elements, then you’ll know you’re getting a quality product.
Forgetting to Read Online Customer Reviews
Another one of the online perfume buying mistakes you’ll want to avoid is forgetting to read online customer reviews. Find out what customers are saying about the perfume brand you’re interested in.
You should also take a moment to explore the perfume store website. Does it meet the checklist for a safe site?
A quality perfume company is going to have a user-friendly website. You should have an enjoyable online experience, one that makes shopping easy. The perfumes should be clearly labeled, and you should read all of the ingredients they contain.
A quality website will also have great photos to get an idea of what the perfume packaging looks like. After exploring their website, go ahead and check out their social media profiles.
Not every perfume company will have a social media presence, but it can be a big plus if they do have one. You’ll get to find out what matters to the brand.
For instance, do they care about providing cruelty-free products? Is this a brand that is working towards female empowerment? Social media is a great idea to discover the voice of the perfume you’re buying.
Never Learning Perfume Lingo
Finding perfume online means that you’re not going to get a chance to test it out. You’ll have to rely on detailed product descriptions to find what you’re looking for.
It’ll help if you’re comfortable with the new terms you hear in the perfume world. By familiarizing yourself with the different glossary of words, you’ll be able to make a smarter purchasing decision.
For instance, have you ever heard of the word aldehydes? Chanel number 5 is well known for containing aldehydes.
Aldehydes are a synthetic reproduction. The aldehydes synthetically reproduces an accord. An accord is another perfume term.
An accord is a scent that makes up multiple perfume notes. The perfume notes are the descriptions for each scent.
For instance, if a perfume description says that it has floral notes, it has floral scents. The evolution of your fragrance begins with the bottom note and builds up from there.
The dry down is the perfume term to explain the settled scent of your fragrance. Once the fragrance reaches the base notes, you’ve reached the dry down.
Do you prefer perfumes that have enticing citrus notes? Then you’ll need to look for a chypre. A chypre refers to a family of perfumes that uses citrus for the top notes.
You may also come across the term gourmand. A gourmand is a perfume that usually uses edible notes like vanilla or cinnamon. Tasty!
Blindly Buying for Someone Else
Are you shopping for perfume online as a gift for someone else? Then you’ll want to avoid blindly buying perfume and hoping it works out.
Perfume is a personal experience. If you plan on giving this gift to a loved one or a close friend, you’ll need to know a tour thing, a thing or two about their style.
Take a moment to consider how the gift recipient dresses. You can find out a lot about somebody’s taste and perfume by the clothes they wear.
Does your friend wear a lot of striking jewelry and leather? Then they might enjoy a darker fragrance. A dark fragrance can comprise notes of leather, clove, and red roses.
On the other hand, if somebody dresses in a more dainty fashion, they might prefer a classical style perfume. A classic rose perfume could work, or perhaps a conventional masculine fragrance. Some of the best masculine fragrances include wood notes and a bit of musk.
After evaluating their style, it’s time to think about the personality of the perfume. That’s right; perfumes have personalities. They’re a lot more than just ingredients put together in a bottle.
Perfumes evoke emotions and create an atmosphere. Think about what type of vibe the perfume will create and whether or not it matches the person you’re giving it to.
Don’t be afraid to explore offbeat ingredients, either. Cedar, sandalwood, and vetiver are a little unconventional, but they can be great for the right person.
Price Shopping the Wrong Way
Knowing the Perfume Price is helpful in determining the quality you’re getting. The best perfumes will have mid to high price points. They’re not going to be cheap.
If you find a perfume with a ridiculously low price, there’s a reason. Chances are, the low price is a reflection of a poor quality product. That’s why when you go perfume shopping, you should be quality shopping rather than price shopping.
There is an exception to this rule, however. In certain situations, you’ll find package deals. Perfume merchants will put together several of their products and knock the price down slightly.
By buying a bundle, you’ll be able to save quite a bit of money. If you find a great deal on perfume, and it’s in a package deal format, you could be on to something great.
As long as the deal includes fragrances you’re excited about, go ahead and get it! If you wind up liking the perfume package, you’ll have a ton of products to work with.
Thinking You Have to Smell It First
One of the biggest hurdles of buying perfume online is that you don’t get a chance to smell it first. However, smelling the perfume doesn’t always give you a fair assessment of what it’s like.
Perfume has a different scent depending on your body chemistry, body heat, and other factors. For instance, if you had a lot of spicy food the night before and tried on perfume the next day, it could change the scent. It could be the perfect perfume for you, but you won’t be able to enjoy the top notes because your skin will be holding the fragrances back.
As you can see, smelling perfume in person doesn’t always guarantee you will find the right perfume. So don’t stress over not getting a sniff of the perfume before you buy it online. Instead, familiarize yourself with the different notes.
Remember, the notes are the description of the perfume. There are fresh notes and floral notes. There’s also woodsy and Oriental nuts. Oriental notes are bold notes, including scents such as nutmeg, musk, and intense vanillas.
Study the notes that your fragrance will contain. Do a little research to see what people say about those notes, and the feelings they evoke. Then decide if it’s the right feel for your style.
Forgetting About Cyber Security
Earlier, we mentioned that you should verify the website’s security before making a purchase. If the website seems outdated or there are a lot of spelling errors, you might be on a bad site.
Verifying that the site you’re on is secure is just the beginning. You also have to ensure that you’re using a secure network during your perfume shopping experience.
We suggest avoiding public Wi-Fi networks at all costs. Since you’ll be entering your personal payment information, public Wi-Fi isn’t going to be the safest route.
When you’re using a Wi-Fi connection, it’s easier for hackers to intercept your data. Instead, we suggest shopping from your phone’s data or the safety of your home.
Take things one step further by creating a secure password for whatever site you purchased from. Instead of using a password you’ve used before, come up with something new.
You could try creating password phrases or unusual combinations. Once you make your purchase, be sure to log out of the online perfume store completely.
Double-check that you’ve received a confirmation of your purchase, such as an email. It’s a good idea to hold on to the receipts for at least a week after receiving the perfume. That way, you’ll have enough time to make sure the product arrives and meets all of your desires.
Avoid Online Perfume Buying Mistakes
Now you know all about avoiding online perfume buying mistakes. You’re one step closer to smelling incredible all the time! All you need now is your signature scent.
Think about what notes would create your favorite perfume. Do you want the pick me up that citrus notes have to offer or calming lavender notes? You can always enjoy a blend of both worlds since, after all, it’s your signature scent.
What other ways can you make life smell sweeter? Let us show you some more great tips! Read another one of our posts.