The Perfume Fitting Room

The short below shows the five samples I chose. The wearing impressions follow underneath.

I had already worn all five on my skin before putting my impressions into words for this article. My descriptions were simple: warm, soft, a little medicinal, something that reminded me of Italy.

Then I looked at the perfume houses’ descriptions and returned to the fragrances with those notes in mind. Some gave me a way to describe something I had already noticed. Others remained difficult to separate out.

Below, I have kept those two things distinct: what the perfume house describes, and what I personally experienced. Where I think I recognise a particular note, it is still my interpretation.

My first words: unusual, a herb garden, slightly medicinal.

Delphinus was one of the most distinctive experiences in the set. My immediate association was a herb garden. After wearing it, I also found something a little medicinal about it on my skin.

The perfumer’s notes. CREED describes a woody amber fragrance with incense, black and pink pepper and almond. Its heart includes heliotrope, orchid and orris, while the base includes patchouli, tonka, amberwood, a leather accord and bourbon vanilla.

What I recognise. I suspect the incense is what I am responding to when I describe that medicinal edge. I cannot identify it with certainty, but it gives me something to consider when I smell it again.

The contrast is interesting: the description includes warm notes that sound appealing to me, yet my experience of the whole fragrance takes me somewhere quite different. It helped me see why I wanted to try these on my own skin.

My fitting note: memorable and intriguing, with an edge I am less drawn to wearing.

My first word: soft.

Old Fashioned really appeals to me. When I first tried to explain why, “soft” was the most honest description I could find.

The perfumer’s notes. KILIAN takes inspiration from aged single-malt whisky. Its listed notes are wheat and davana, cedarwood and immortelle, followed by styrax and tolu balm.

What I recognise. The cedarwood may be what feels familiar to me. I am tentative about naming it, but there is something recognisable within the softness that makes this fragrance appealing.

I do not need a more elaborate description to know I like it. That has been a useful part of this little experiment, too: learning which words are actually mine, and allowing them to be enough.

My fitting note: soft, familiar and one of the scents I am most drawn to in the set.

My first words: warm, beautiful, something I cannot quite place.

Sissa by MIND GAMES is my favourite from this selection so far. It has the warmth I love for autumn, with an intriguing quality I initially struggled to describe.

The perfumer’s notes. MIND GAMES describes an amber, gourmand and woody profile. The notes include sesame, ambrette and coumarin; a milk accord, roasted tonka and jasmine; then labdanum, Madagascar vanilla and musk. The brand also highlights toasted sesame in its description.

What I recognise. After reading those notes and smelling it again, I think I can pick out something nutty. To me, that contributes to the warmth and creaminess. Perhaps the sesame is part of what caught my attention in the first place.

That is what makes Sissa such a lovely discovery for me. It feels close to the warmth I already enjoy, with something that keeps me curious. Of these five, it is the one that currently feels most like the direction I wanted to explore.

My fitting note: my favourite in the box — warm, creamy and intriguing.

My first words: Italy, striking, not quite me.

Celeste brought Italy to mind. It is an association rather than a specific place or memory I can neatly explain, and the fresh, floral character is part of it.

The perfumer’s notes. Giardini di Toscana describes an airy, fresh fragrance. Its notes include dihydromyrcenol and marine accords, followed by violet, raspberry and exotic accents, with vanillin and ambroxan in the base.

What I recognise. The fresh, floral side makes sense to me. It fits the feeling I had when I first smelled it.

I think I would turn around if someone walked past wearing Celeste. There is something striking about it. But I do not feel the same desire to wear it myself.

That may be the most useful distinction this set has helped me make. Finding a perfume interesting and finding it right for me are two separate decisions.

My fitting note: a fragrance I would notice on someone else, rather than choose for myself.

I began this wanting to explore something distinctive. What I found was a clearer sense of the familiar things that matter to me: warmth, softness, creaminess and that autumnal feeling I enjoy in so many other parts of life.

Sissa is my favourite discovery so far. Old Fashioned also appeals to me very much, and Angels’ Share still has that lovely familiarity. I have a much clearer shortlist now than I had before the box arrived.

If you are curious about exploring fragrance this way, start with a perfume you already love. It gives you a useful reference point, even if you cannot name its individual notes.

Choose a small selection, then give yourself room to form an opinion. Try one fragrance at a time on a separate day, notice it again later, and write down your own words before reading every detail of the description. A note as simple as “soft” or “I would love this on someone else” can be surprisingly useful.

For each fragrance, ask yourself: what does it make me think of? How do I feel about wearing it? Do I want to choose it again?

You can then return to the official notes to see what sounds familiar. They are another way into the fragrance, rather than a list you need to recognise perfectly.