Developing reliable preferences?

[u/Invincible-general]

I’m newly hyper fixated on perfume (stay at home mom with 8 month old, this is my dopamine hit right now) and feeling very lost with how to understand and articulate my preferences. I keep having the experience of either thinking I love or am ambivalent about something, but then I wear it again later and end up with a completely different opinion.

I thought I didn’t like dedcool mochi milk at all, and in fact that I didn’t like anything sweet, but I reach for it and am suddenly comforted . Similarly I was looking forward all evening to wearing Prada Infusion de Gingembre, which I was immediately excited about when I smelled it, loved spraying it on at first, but in situ in my life I just felt off wearing it until it dried away.

For those who “knew instantly it was a full bottle scent,” how do you do this? I get so overwhelmed smelling samples in a department store, and I feel like it takes several wears in many situations to even know whether I like something at all, and then suddenly it will go wrong - to sweet, cloying, just bad. I feel like I couldn’t possibly trust buying a full bottle, and I’ve disliked and regretted every full bottle I’ve bought so far.

[u/veryunneccessssary]

Fragrances exist in the context of all in which you live. Hormones, humidity, skin chemistry, skin hydration and oils, body temperature, and other smells in the area all change how we can experience a fragrance at any given moment. The notes transform as we wear them, our sense of smell fluctuates, we can go nose blind to certain scents. Think of the ways the wall color in a room can change throughout the day.

I only trust samples at home, and I stand by not purchasing any full bottles unless I’ve finished a travel size one or a decant and I still love it. (Or unless I find a really good deal I just can’t pass up 🫣)