Your Fragrance Sampling Habits · Brotherhood Of Scent

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Your Fragrance Sampling Habits

Brothers,

I’m curious about your habits when it comes to sniffing fragrances in person! How often do you swing by retailers like Ulta, Sephora, or department stores to sample fragrances? Are you mostly checking out new releases, exploring entirely new houses or fragrances you’ve never tried, or just revisiting old favorites? Even if you’re almost entirely buying designer, or solely focused on niche/indie, are you still going and trying to sample the rest?

I ask because, as passionate as we all are about fragrances on this board, I’ve noticed a surprising number of posts where people mention they haven’t tried some of the most accessible designer scents. For example, in a recent thread about the best designer fragrances of 2025, a ton of folks said they hadn’t smelled many (or any!) of the ones being discussed. It got me thinking: we spend hours here geeking out over notes and reviews, but how often are we actually getting our noses on these scents?

I get that niche or indie fragrances can be tough to track down, especially if you’re in a smaller area. But most designer fragrances are pretty accessible at common retailers. For context, I’m currently in my hometown of 20,000 people, which has exactly one fragrance store: Ulta. I’ve seen some recent posts here about the new Valentino Born in Roma Ivory. I hadn’t smelled it yet, so today , on my way to the gym, I popped into Ulta for literally 5 minutes, asked if they had testers, and the associate brought out bottles of both Uomo and Donna to try. Now I can actually share my first impressions when it comes up instead of just saying, “Sounds nice!” It took me 5 minutes, I have no intention of buying anything at Ulta, or even buying the fragrance, but I was curious. I even asked if they had samples available.

So, brethren, I’m also curious:

• How often do you visit stores to smell fragrances? Weekly, monthly, or only when you’re on a mission? Are you sampling only what you’re truly interested or are you sampling anything new or you haven’t tried before?

• Do you make a point to seek out new releases or fragrances from houses you’re unfamiliar with?

• If you’re in a smaller area with limited options, how do

you get your fragrance fix?

Looking forward to hearing about your sniffing adventures!

Rarely

Once a month

Couple times a month

Weekly

I live at fragrance stores and the workers all know me by name.

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