Choosing perfume online before you can smell it: three stepsChoosing perfume online before you can smell it: three steps

Buying perfume online always leaves a gap: you can read the description but you can't smell it. These three steps narrow that gap before you commit to a full-size bottle.

1. Read the note pyramid as a timeline

A note pyramid splits a scent into three layers. Top notes are what you smell in the first 10–15 minutes, usually citrus or fruit. The heart carries the scent for a few hours. The base is what stays longest on skin and fabric. When you compare, look at the heart and the base: that is the scent you live with all day.

2. Choose by moment, not only by note

A list of notes is hard to picture. A moment is easier. Do you want something fresh and full of energy for the morning (Brooklyn), something green and easy to wear all day (Central Park), or something warm and close to the skin for the evening (5th Avenue)? The four-question quiz on this site works the same way.

3. Try on skin before the big bottle

The same scent can smell different on different people. The NYC mini set holds three 10ml bottles of the whole collection: enough to carry for a few days, spray at different times and see which one stays with you.

3 × 10mlSet mini NYCView product

• Try one scent per day; don't spray all three at once.
• Note how it feels after 15 minutes, 2 hours and at the end of the day.
• Choose the one you miss when you're not wearing it.