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Serge's Tips

ATYPIQUE PARFUM™ - Maison de parfum indépendante canadienne

How to Smell a Perfume Properly

A Simple Explanation

A perfume isn't simply discovered... it's encountered.

Like a person, it rarely reveals the best of itself in the first few moments.

The opening notes set the stage, but they don't tell the whole story.

A perfumer's role is to compose that evolution.

To imagine what you'll feel in the first few seconds... Then a few minutes later.

Then several hours later.

When I create a perfume, I don't ask myself only:

"What does it smell like?"

I ask, above all:

"What will it make someone feel as time goes by?"

Because before it's a formula... A perfume is an experience.

First Mistake: Smelling the Perfume Immediately

With an alcohol-based perfume, a large amount of alcohol evaporates during the first few seconds.

If you smell it immediately, your nose is still perceiving that evaporation.

Some materials may seem harsher than they really are.

Others are still hidden.

Personally, I always wait a few seconds before smelling a perfume... there's no need to frantically wave the blotter in the air.

I simply give the fragrance time to begin breathing.

With an oil-based perfume extract, the experience is different.

There isn't that sudden opening created by alcohol.

The materials begin interacting with the skin almost immediately.

The opening is often softer.

Richer.

More intimate.

It doesn't try to impress.

It takes its time to reveal itself.

Like a conversation that unfolds naturally rather than a speech trying to persuade you.

Second Mistake: Trying to Identify Every Material

Many fragrance enthusiasts immediately start looking for bergamot.

Vetiver.

Jasmine.

It's an excellent exercise.

But it's not necessarily the best way to discover a perfume.

Before asking yourself what's inside it... Ask yourself what it awakens.

Does it calm you?

Does it energize you?

Does it reassure you?

Does it intrigue you?

As a perfumer, I always listen first for the energy and the emotion.

Analysis comes later.

The raw materials explain the fragrance... Emotion gives it meaning.

Third Mistake: Tiring Your Nose

Our sense of smell is remarkably powerful... but it also adapts incredibly quickly.

Just a few deep breaths can temporarily overwhelm some of your olfactory receptors.

You think you're smelling more.

In reality... you're already smelling less.

That's why perfumers prefer several short sniffs instead of one long, deep inhalation.

And when evaluating several perfumes, they regularly step outside for a few minutes of fresh air.

Smelling a perfume isn't about intensity... It's about remaining receptive.

Forget the Coffee Beans...

You've probably heard this advice:

"Smell coffee beans between perfumes."

But in reality, coffee has its own scent.

It doesn't reset your sense of smell... It simply replaces one smell with another.

The best way to regain your sensitivity is much simpler.

Take a few minutes of fresh air.

Or smell your own skin, inside your elbow, for example, which often provides an excellent neutral reference.

Olfactory rest remains your nose's greatest ally.

Distance Changes Everything

Many people assume they should press their nose right against the skin.

In reality... a perfume tells a different story depending on the distance.

Up close, you notice the details.

About eight inches away, the accords begin to blend.

From farther away, the overall balance begins to emerge.

Perfumers naturally move between these different distances.

They're not only trying to smell the individual materials.

They're trying to understand the fragrance's presence.

It's much like a painter stepping close to examine a detail, then taking a few steps back to appreciate the entire canvas.

Listen to the Silences Too

This may be the most surprising advice of all...

The finest perfumes often have moments when they seem to almost disappear.

Then they return.

A movement of the arm.

A passing breeze.

The warmth of your skin.

And suddenly... a new facet appears.

Those silences are part of the composition.

They allow the fragrance to surprise you a second time.

A perfume that remains at the same intensity all day often has less to say than one that knows when to step quietly into the background.

Give It Time

I always recommend discovering a perfume more than once.

In the morning.

Late in the afternoon.

On a warm day.

On a cold day.

Indoors.

Outdoors.

A great perfume never reveals all its facets in a single encounter.

Like a work of art... It grows more familiar with every meeting.

Why Smell It on a Blotter... Then on Skin?

A blotter reveals a perfume's structure.

Skin reveals its personality.

A blotter is neutral.

It offers a consistent point of comparison.

Skin brings its own temperature, hydration, natural lipid barrier, and microbiome.

It subtly changes the way the fragrance evolves.

Both approaches are essential.

But a perfume reveals its true character only once it meets the skin.

Did You Know?

Perfumers rarely evaluate a formula only once.

They smell it at different times of the day.

On different supports.

And sometimes even after several hours or after a full day or more of maturation.

Why?

Because a perfume is never a snapshot... It's a living phenomenon.

Time, temperature, the support, and even your level of fatigue can influence what you perceive.

That's also what makes perfumery so fascinating.

No fragrance ever reveals itself in the same way twice.

A Perfumer's Perspective

When I discover a new perfume, I don't immediately ask whether it's floral, woody, or amber.

I ask myself different questions.

How does it breathe?

When does it find its balance?

How do its transitions evolve?

What emotion appears once the opening notes begin to fade?

And above all...

Do I want to come back to it?

Because smelling a perfume isn't about recognizing a list of raw materials or aroma molecules.

It's about learning to listen to an invisible work of art.

And the greatest works never reveal all their secrets the very first time you encounter them.

But they always leave you wanting to return.

If there is one piece of advice I could give to anyone discovering perfumery, it would be this:

Don't try to smell a perfume... Let it come to you first.

That may sound paradoxical.

Yet it's probably the most common mistake people make.

They apply the perfume.

They immediately bring their wrist to their nose.

They take a deep breath.

And within seconds, they decide:

"I like it."

Or:

"I don't."

In reality... at that moment, the fragrance has barely begun to unfold.

A perfume isn't something you measure... It's something you encounter.

And like any meaningful encounter, it deserves a little time.

Each guide is an invitation to deepen your understanding of the world of fragrance, but nothing can truly replace the experience itself...

If this guide has sparked your curiosity, I invite you to explore About Me, My Olfactory Philosophy, and The Seven Foundations of My Perfumery to discover the vision and craftsmanship behind each of my creations.

When you're ready to experience them for yourself, the Discovery Experience offers a wonderful way to explore several fragrances before browsing my Complete collection of artisan perfumes.

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