people ask me this so much so I'm putting here so I can screenshot it. here's my very brief "how to get into perfume" guide, based 100% on personal experience and opinion.
under no circumstances for the first 8 months to a year of trying to get into the hobby should you follow a bunch of perfume influencers or watch short-form video where people suggest fragrances to you. it's a waste of time until you smell things and can learn what they're talking about!
ditto with getting too into fragrantica reviews, but I do feel that's better because it at least shows you the vocabulary enthusiasts sometimes use.
if you can at all, go to a perfume store first (not a department store) and smell things. bring a little bag of coffee beans in a ziplock just in case they don't have them there, sniffing those clears your airways out and prevents headaches. ask lots of questions, be pleasure-oriented, and go home with samples!!
wear samples for a bit. pay attention to what you like and don't like about them before you look up anything about them! from there, you can look into the notes, how they're talked about, what they're compared to by people who have opinions about these things.
when it comes time to buy more samples or a full bottle, a good rule of thumb is that most full size bottles of perfume, if you're paying an ethical price for the ingredients and labor and the perfume is legit, cost at least $60-$100. More than that you're getting into subjective marketing & ingredient territory; less and you probably have something that's considered a "cheap" perfume (some of these are good, but be careful!) or, if you're getting an apparently crazy deal on a luxury scent, is maybe a forgery. I say this because I think people don't know what to expect from perfume prices often. this is the baseline, based on experience.
But hey, no need to buy a full bottle right away. I'd continue to buy some samples. if a local place doesn't exist for you, I suggest Luckyscent. Surrender to Chance which is popular on FB and elsewhere doesn't get perfumers' permission to sell their samples, which sucks. if you must follow accounts, btw–I'd follow stores and perfumers over influencers. the only perfume "influencers" I follow are friends. Luckyscent's page is a good one.
slowly, you'll start to get a sense based on conversations that happen outside of influencer circles between perfumers, enthusiasts, and niche/indie perfume sellers what perfumes might be interesting. learn the names of perfumers, learn what inspires them, read articles they write, read articles on the history of perfume–sample what sounds interesting.
if you have friends who are into the hobby whose taste you trust, talk to them! perfume people love talking about perfume. ask questions, be open, go to perfume shops with them. it's fun!
that's really all I did. basically sampled, read a lot, and followed a circle of perfumers, close friends, and perfume sellers who work with niche artists only. I don't watch influencer reels, tiktoks, or youtube videos about perfume, though I'm sure there are decent ones, I just have no interest and so much of perfume is marketing that I think you have to be really specific about cultivating a sensory reaction to what makes up a basic perfume before you do anything else. smell and feel your real feelings!!
titsay
