How to buy perfumes online in 2024

Exploring future trends.

How fragrance consumption has changed since the pandemic?

Buying a fragrance for personal use is a sensory experience. With stores closed and no possibility of discovering new olfactory proposals, users have opted for fragrances they already knew.

In addition, spending more time at home has made us more aware of the space in which we live, and we have put more effort into making our homes more welcoming. The sale of home fragrances, whether in the form of candles, mikados or room sprays, has increased considerably..

Buying a perfume online without smelling it? 

Buying a perfume without knowing it is risky. Online fragrance sales platforms are aware of this purchase barrier and offer the possibility of returning the perfume if the sample accompanying the package does not finally convince the buyer. In fact, the few launches that have been made this Spring have had a somewhat timid reception from consumers. Customers like to experience the new proposals in their perfumery and to be guided by the expert advice of the store teams.

On the other hand, there is a small but growing group of expert customers, unconditional followers of some of the most renowned perfumers, who buy perfumes, sometimes without even smelling them, because they trust the work of their favorite nose.

Are people shopping online looking for the same perfume they already know?

The pandemic of 3 years ago has defined an online perfume buyer that responds to a very precise profile: customers who had exhausted their usual fragrance and wanted to replenish it. Brands with loyal customers are those that have experienced the greatest growth during the months of strict confinement. This is the case of the French firm Maison Francis Kurkdjian, which has hardly been affected by the restrictions resulting from the pandemic. Customers of these fragrances are loyal to their perfume and have opted for online shopping during the closure of their usual store.

Las mejores prácticas a la hora de comprar fragancias online

1. Choose fragrances that you already know and, therefore, you know you like. Our tastes vary according to the time of day, the occasion, our mood, ... But there are scents and raw materials that, thanks to experience, we discover that we like more than others. The fragrance we choose will accompany us throughout the day and will convey valuable information about us, so we must be convinced of our choice..

2. Choose new formats for those fragrances you like: body creams, hair fragrances, new bottles with different dispensers... In Spain, large formats (90ml, 100ml) are better accepted than small ones (15ml, 50ml). Smaller formats are practical when traveling or when we are not entirely convinced of our choice.

3. Body creams and hair perfumes can never replace the olfactory complexity of perfume, even if only because of their concentration, but they are ideal for layering, the tendency to put layer upon layer so that the perfume remains longer on the skin. If we use the body cream and then spray the perfume on top, we improve the fixation of the scent. This is the technique proposed by the British brand Molton Brown, which has just arrived in Spain through ISOLÉE. When we choose our favorite scent of the brand, this firm proposes to complete our bath ritual (with the shower gel, the body moisturizing lotion and the fragrance of the same scent) because the three products will create a layering effect thanks to which the scent will remain longer on our skin.

4. Look for notes similar to those of our favorite perfumes. Any tricks at this point? If we like a raw material, it is very likely that we like to find it in different olfactory proposals. Vetiver, for example, a plant native to India, has been included for decades in the formulas of several successful perfumes.

5. Choose the "little sisters" of the fragrances you know you like (within the same saga, innovate with a subtly different reference). There is a widespread practice in selective perfumery whereby brands try to capitalize on original successes by launching subtly different variations. This practice allows brands to prolong the commercial success of the juice but limits the creativity of the proposals. Smelling these new versions gives us the sensation of "déjà vu". I understand the economic interest in prolonging the success of a fragrance, but this is one of the key aspects that differentiate selective perfumery from niche perfumery, where olfactory proposals follow one after the other without being constrained by market trends. Signature perfumery is highly creative and therefore always surprises us.

6. Betting on combining different fragrances... The trend of combining different fragrances is very much in vogue. For example, the British brand Clive Christian creates its perfumes in pairs, so that the olfactory pyramids of the two fragrances complement each other and enhance certain facets when used in combination. The two perfumes can be used separately, but together they create a new olfactory proposition that enhances the notes of the two fragrances.

7. If you innovate at all, opt for small formats before jumping into an XL bottle. Smaller formats are practical when we are not entirely convinced of our choice. But if we want to innovate completely, it is always advisable to ask for a sample of the fragrance to test it on our skin for at least two days and check that it evolves satisfactorily.