Blind-buying a perfume: how to lower the risk
1. Know your taste
The perfumes you've loved are your best guide. Look for the notes and accords they share. Moshkin's quiz and collection do exactly that: they read your taste from what you already wear.
2. Start from perfumes like the ones you love
If you love one perfume, odds are you'll like its look-alikes. On any perfume page, check the similar perfumes, then put your last two options side by side.
3. Look at the dry-down, not just the opening
Top notes are only with you for the first 15 to 30 minutes. What you actually wear for hours is the base. If you dislike a perfume's base notes (oud or patchouli, say), don't let a pretty opening fool you.
4. Season and occasion
A heavy, sweet perfume that's perfect on winter nights can be suffocating at noon in summer. The season and time-of-day votes on each perfume page tell you when people wear it.
5. Check longevity and projection
If you want something that lasts all day, look at the longevity people report, not just whether it says EDP or EDT.
6. Start with safer picks
If you're new to this, start with popular crowd-pleasers. Fresh, citrus or soft woody scents are usually safer than niche-style ones like heavy oud, leather or animalic perfumes. And don't buy on hype alone.
7. Decant first
For expensive or unusual perfumes, get a decant or sample first. Wear it for a few days, on your own skin, in real weather. If you still want it after a week, now's the time to buy.