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" I just finished a course at the Pratt Institute where I learned about every step in the perfume production process, among them some some important tips about fragrance shopping. These five will come in handy the next time you&amp;#039;re looking for a new scent: 1. Don&amp;#039;t base your opinion on the perfume&amp;#039;s description. A fragrance can contain hundreds of ingredients, so don&amp;#039;t let a couple of notes sway your decision. You may know that there&amp;#039;s a particular smell you&amp;#039;re not fond of \u2014 for instance, I&amp;#039;m not really a fan of tuberose \u2014 but it doesn&amp;#039;t mean you won&amp;#039;t love a fragrance that features it, and you may not even detect it in the final product at all. 2. Fragrances don&amp;#039;t smell differently on different skin types. Or, at least they shouldn&amp;#039;t, as we all have the same skin pH. What can change how a fragrance smells from person to person is the products they already have on their skin, such as lingering body wash or moisturizer. Before heading out to test perfumes, go through your normal beauty regime, so you&amp;#039;ll have a better sense of how the perfume will smell on your skin on a daily basis. 3. Wrists aren&amp;#039;t always the best spot to try fragrances. Metal jewelry can often alter how a perfume smells. Instead, spray on the top of your arms, roll down your sleeves, and wear the fragrance for the rest of the day. This will allow the fragrance to come to you throughout the day. 4. When using blotting papers, wait until the fragrance is completely dry before smelling it.  Allowing the perfume to dry will give it time for all of the notes to develop. Better yet, toss the blotter in your purse and come back to it later. When you open your purse later on, the fragrance should really envelop you. 5. Your senses can become overwhelmed. To clear your nose between testing fragrances, smell your skin or shirt. This should offset some of the strong notes you smelled before, and give your senses time to adjust before your next perfume test. Mary Clarke is a senior product analyst in the Good Housekeeping Research Institute. NEXT: The 2014 Beauty Awards for Best Perfume \u00BB "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/institute/a25130/tips-for-buying-perfume/>