blotter cards

[musicman1951]

Some samples arrived today and I put a little of one on my wrist. Big mistake - I didn't like it at all. The base notes are subtle enough that I don't feel like getting sick any more.

So, What's the procedure when trying new samples? Are blotter cards a special paper, or can I use a 3 X 5 card?

I know the frag. will smell different on my skin, but I assume if I hate it on the card it's not going to be different enough on my skin to become a keeper.

 

[The Knize]

Some samples arrived today and I put a little of one on my wrist. Big mistake - I didn't like it at all. The base notes are subtle enough that I don't feel like getting sick any more.

So, What's the procedure when trying new samples? Are blotter cards a special paper, or can I use a 3 X 5 card?

I know the frag. will smell different on my skin, but I assume if I hate it on the card it's not going to be different enough on my skin to become a keeper.

I do not know how special the paper used in blotter cards is. I am guessing that if you cannot smell a 3x5 card, or, say, a 3 x 5 card that has been damped with water, the card material is not going to hurt the experience trying the scent. But your questions are good and I have no idea of the science of these things!

It is rare that I even try a scent on paper first. I generally go straight to skin, and come away from scent counter smelling pretty mixed, and strong, I am sure. To me a spray on paper seems to emphasize the top notes, which are hard enough to get past at say a scent counter. I assume you at home when trying these samples because you say they "arrived." Don't they wash off relatively readily?

Anyway, you certain see and read about top perfumers testing scents via strips of paper, so it must be a perfectly appropriate way to do it. I assume that it is akin to special wine-tasting glasses that are designed to bring out and concentrate bouquet. I never liked them, because to me that is not the way I am going to be drinking a wine, so using one did not really tell me how I was going to like it. But I assume that if one is experienced at tasting wines in such glasses and/or sniffing scents off of paper, one learns to adjust that experience over to actually drinking a wine or wearing a scent. Again, good questions.

 

[musicman1951]

Unfortunately, I found it impossible to wash off. The lemon hand soap that SWMBO said removes onion and garlic smells didn't touch it.

 

[tehtimmeh]

There aren't any rules per se. I always wear on the skin for the more realistic experience of the frag, but as The Knize mentioned, even top perfumers test using paper strips, so it sounds like a perfectly acceptable way to test if you wish to do it that way. I'd say roll with what works best for you, but keep in mind that there is going to be some translation that occurs from paper to skin due to chemistry, so I wouldn't expect the smell to be identical to what you experience on paper at the end of the day.

 

[maxman]

For me, It's a "I wear it on my skin so I test it on my skin"
If I don't like it, I'll put it away and try again later.

 

[john parker]

I put the one or two I am most interested in on the skin to be sure I get the fragrance's reaction to the skin registered. If I am interested in testing more than that, I use the paper strips so that I don't end up confusing myself/mixing fragrances. I will sniff the papers then and later to see if I think there are any that I want to test further on my skin. A most interesting testing was when some very high-end British-made fragrances were being presented to a very exclusive boutique in the Middle East to some royal dignitaries; they sprayed their forearms, waved their arms around a bit, then smelled the fragrance. No strips.

 

[musicman1951]

"For me, It's a "I wear it on my skin so I test it on my skin"
If I don't like it, I'll put it away and try again later"

I was ready to throw this sample in the trash as I can't imagine spending another day living with the smell. Please explain why I might want to try it again (SWMBO was most unhappy with the smell as well).

I was perfectly happy to try one sample per day, but it does seem reasonable to try it on paper first to see if it strikes my nasal passages as totally unacceptable. I can understand how it would smell different on my skin, but is it safe to assume that if I hate the smell on the blotter paper there is an excellent chance I won't like it on my skin?

 

[The Knize]

<but is it safe to assume that if I hate the smell on the blotter paper there is an excellent chance I won't like it on my skin?>

I would think so.

A scent that won't wash off? Sounds like you are sensitive enough to whatever it is you do not like in the particular scent that you should start with paper for any scent that might have those same notes! Heck, I am not at all sure that you need to go even to paper. Whatever it is must smell strong enough to your nose that you could just sniff the atomizer to tell whether you do not want to go near it at all.

I will sometimes do that when faced with a truly large number of scents I could try at some fragrance counter. I only have so much skin to use.

 

[Matt555]

I was ready to throw this sample in the trash as I can't imagine spending another day living with the smell. Please explain why I might want to try it again (SWMBO was most unhappy with the smell as well).

I was perfectly happy to try one sample per day, but it does seem reasonable to try it on paper first to see if it strikes my nasal passages as totally unacceptable. I can understand how it would smell different on my skin, but is it safe to assume that if I hate the smell on the blotter paper there is an excellent chance I won't like it on my skin?

If your wife hates it, that is a deal killer. What is the fragrance? I am dying to know.

You really have to try the scent on your skin. Smelling it on paper just does not cut it. You did it right though. Just imagine if you would have sprayed it all over your body......lol

As for trying it again, tastes change. However, it sounds like you really, really hated it.

I always test a new fragrance on my wrist the night before I plan to wear ti for this very reason. If I hate it, I am lucky I am not stuck wearing it the whole following day.

 

[Quintar]

I spray on my skin, I don't mind the paper strips, i feel they tend to throw all the notes at you at once. also different scent components stick to them more or less than skin. i've taken some strips home after visiting a shop and i can still smell the perfume on them weeks later and you know that never happens on skin.

I don't see what the big deal is with trying new scents on your skin. yeah you might hate it, but really its just smell, it'll fade eventually. be brave it's not going to melt your arm off. plus if it's a perfume being sold commercially it's got to appeal to a fairly decently sized audience so it's not like everyone around you is going to hate it and you'll be ostracized or something. if it's so bad it is giving you a migraine then wash it off after a few minutes. some scents don't come off completely after washing but they'll be reduced 90% or more so they shouldn't bother you anymore...and will fade completely in an hour or so...

I've had 2 perfumes I HATED with a passion but i still wore them all day long and tried them both 2 or 3 times...you just never know if you'll change your opinion. scent is a funny thing.

 

[musicman1951]

OK - it's time for the big reveal. I was seriously surprised as I had read several posts earlier this week proclaiming the virtue of this scent: Trumper's Eucris.

By the by, I used the wand in the sample to apply it to my wrist. I washed it several times and I can still smell it (although it is very faint now) 7 hours later.

I was really interested in GFT, but didn't get a sample of that in the pack. I read some pretty horrible reviews of Skye - but I'm committed to trying them all. I did really like the Cuban Cedar and Lime I tried earlier in the week.

 

[maxman]

Your nose will change. Thats why you might come back to it.
of course, you might not.
YMMV

 

[erickson]

You really have to try the scent on your skin. Smelling it on paper just does not cut it.

I tend to agree. I have used test strips and not liked a frag which I later applied to my skin and loved. Even applying frags with an atomizer can give a totally different experience than dabbing onto your skin.

 

[BillC]

I just spray on skin. But a quick search showed several places that sold perfume testing strips for about $5/100

 

[StylinLA]

Well musicman, you seem to have a very sensitive sniffer. If you scrubbed it off and can still smell it 7 hours later. It can be pretty potent though.

I tend to think things wear differently on skin, but you can always start with paper and if it does not repulse you as Eucris evidently did, then try on wrist.

 

[maxman]

Get some Montale. You'll be smelling it for days after you apply it.

 

[The Knize]

OK - it's time for the big reveal. I was seriously surprised as I had read several posts earlier this week proclaiming the virtue of this scent: Trumper's Eucris.

By the by, I used the wand in the sample to apply it to my wrist. I washed it several times and I can still smell it (although it is very faint now) 7 hours later.

I was really interested in GFT, but didn't get a sample of that in the pack. I read some pretty horrible reviews of Skye - but I'm committed to trying them all. I did really like the Cuban Cedar and Lime I tried earlier in the week.

I do not think I have tried Eucris, but my impression is it is rather polarizing. Darkly vegetal and quite strong and tenacious, if I recall. So that explains things a bit. I remember Skye as neither here nor there.

 

[Matt555]

I tend to agree. I have used test strips and not liked a frag which I later applied to my skin and loved. Even applying frags with an atomizer can give a totally different experience than dabbing onto your skin.

Yep. I have experienced it the other way around also. Smells great on paper and like trash on my skin. There is simply no way to get the true smell on paper. I am not even talking about it having to mix in with your "skin chemistry" or whatever. It is just that skin is nothing like paper. Your skin has oils and all types of other stuff that makes the fragrance different than on a clean piece of paper.

 

[Oscroft]

I only use paper/card if I'm trying a tester in a store, and then simply as a first step to reject the ones that make me immediately think "Phew, that's horrible" - it saves me valuable "skin time" if I don't have to rush off to the washroom many times to get rid of the stinky ones.

But if there's a chance I might like something, or it's a sample I've obtained at home, it just goes straight on my skin.

And I've never really had any trouble washing them off. There may be some soaps that will not get off some fragrances, but there will surely be another soap that will - and we usually have 3 or 4 different soaps in the house.

But having said that, I have no idea how easy or hard it is to wash off Eucris - it's so good, I've simply never wanted to wash it off!

 

[musicman1951]

OK - skin it is. I'll just have to man up about the one's I don't like.