The Do's and Don'ts of Perfume Purchasing

Perfume bottles, originally uploaded by Sew wot!.

A question from a reader:

What advice would you have for buying things like perfume, something where she may have her own preferences already? Would it be best to buy something similar to what she likes (maybe a "premium" version), or try something new that she may end up thinking is stinky and lame?

My answer:

From my own point of view, I would love it if my husband bought me a premium version of the perfume I already like. It means he is paying attention to the scents I prefer and that he is thoughtful enough to go out and find the perfume and get it for me. He would win major relationship points for that!

However, I would also really love it if he went out and spent the time and effort testing out different scents and bought me the kind of perfume that he would like to smell. Then I'd know he would be noticing my scent every time I wore that particular perfume. And I would know that it would make him happy, which would make me happy. And I think it would show he really cared a lot about me, to go to so much effort. (If I thought the perfume was stinky, I may not wear it very often. However, I would still appreciate the fact that he got it for me.)

So, my suggestion is to do both! Perfume is always a super fun gift, and there are always reasons to give gifts. Anniversaries, birthdays, holidays, just because days... Of course you should spread out some time between when you do the two (at least 6 months, I should think.) And I suggest you buy her the premium version of her preferred perfume first. By doing that, she'll already know that you bothered to learn what she likes to wear. Then by doing the second she'll know you put in more effort. If you do the second first it could look like you just picked up something random and gave it to her, which would completely destroy the caring effect that you worked so hard to cultivate by spending all that time and effort to pick out just the right scent...

If you need some suggestions for where to find some great perfumes, you might look into these sites:

BPAL - I always hear such great reviews of this site from all my girlfriends. Also, Neil Gaiman (popular author of Coraline, The Graveyard Book, and Stardust) has his own signature scent that they sell!

Chanel - It's hard to go wrong with a classic like Chanel No. 5. I mean, it has been described as "the world's most legendary fragrance"...

Calvin Klein Fragrances - Calvin won't steer you wrong. Go to the nearest Fragrance department and ask to sniff some samples. I bet you'll have a hard time choosing just one!

If you need any more suggestions, just Google popular perfumes for women. You'll get an abundance of websites all recommending mostly the same scents. I think Most Popular Perfume is the most useful.