You need a new perfume, you have no idea what you want, how do you choose?

Do you follow fashion and go with the newest designer perfume, no matter how awful it smells, or do you be brave and try and find something you like, something that will match you and your mood.

Prepared to be overwhelmed. With the average perfume shop carrying 500+ fragrances, choosing is not a trivial experience. So here are some tips that might just help ...

1. Your sense of smell is most acute in the morning. It's the best time to shop for fragrance. And try to avoid spicy food or alcohol the night before.

2. Product packaging may be pretty, but remember you are picking the perfume.

3. Spray samples onto the strips, not onto your skin. You'll soon run out of wrists, arms, ankles if you do. Body chemistry plays a part in how you wear a perfume, but that comes later.

4. Your nose will start to lose clarity after 5 or 6 perfumes. If you carry a small sack of coffee beans with you, you can cleanse your palette. If you forget the beans try sniffing the inside of your elbow to reset your senses.

5. Perfumes take time to settle. Allow it to go off for 5-10 minutes to get an idea of the underlying tones. Those are the one that will be with you most of the day when you wear it.

6. Try and set an agenda. How do you want your perfume to make you feel? Sexy, sultry, summery, strong, solitary, sophisticated, sunny, seductive, stunning, shocking, seasonal? Perfume is as much about mood as smell. Set your scene and stick to it.

7. When you are sniffing, sniff gently like you smelling a delicate flower, not like you are taking your last breath.

8. If you can't find something you like, walk out empty handed. You can always come again.

9. If you can narrow your choice to two or three, that's the time to try on your skin. If you are warm or have oily skin, the fragrance will be more intense.

10. Finally, buy the highest strength you can afford, extrait over EDP over EDT. The higher the strength the longer it will linger, the brighter it will smell, the less it will react to your chemistry, and most importantly the more you will be remembered.

Bon Chance x!