The Ultimate Guide to Blind-Buying Fragrances

The moment you hit “confirm purchase” on a glassy bottle of perfume you’ve never smelled is equal parts thrilling and flat-out terrifying. Truly, it’s a guessing game. As the old adage goes, “with great risk comes great reward,” and this sentiment can ring true of blind buying perfumes, if you know how to do it right.

Whether you’re gift shopping, can’t make it to a store, or are simply scent-curious, the impulse to scoop up a mystery fragrance can strike at any moment. The trick? Knowing how to stack the odds in your favour.

Canadian #perfumetok phenom @Perfumerism (a.k.a Emma) may post frequent hauls of blind-bought fragrances across her socials, but she always encourages her audience to proceed with caution when doing the same. Here, we tapped the scent design student for her advice on how to pull off a successful blind buy. Plus, shop the “safe” scents and surprise hits she recommends.

Check your collection

If it’s your first time dabbling in blind buying, Emma recommends taking stock of the perfumes you already own. Observe: Are you typically drawn to fruit-forward fragrances? Is your vanity chock-full of vanilla scents? What doesn’t seem to work for you? When gifting a fragrance to a loved one, the same rule of thumb can apply. Consider what your giftee usually likes or typically smells like.

Additionally, Emma also suggests looking into what may be missing from your collection. “Maybe you already have tons of date night scents, or maybe you want something for the summer,” she explains. All in all, your own scent library can be your best point of reference.

Opt for “safe” notes

Where “safe” scents are concerned, there’s comfort in familiarity. “I recently made a YouTube video talking about skin scents and how they use a lot of notes that we know from the laundry care realm, Emma tells me. “It’s a lot of notes that we encounter in our everyday life.” These fresh “skin scents,” like Dedcool’s Milk and Lake & Skye’s 11:11, often have a clean essence that makes them universally appealing and familiar.

Another safe note you can almost always fall back on? Vanilla. “There’s been studies on vanilla having a positive effect toward our mood,” the perfume influencer notes. “I do think it’s one fragrance that most people have positive associations with, like, your mom baking cookies or whatever it might be. The majority of people tend to like vanilla scents.” For a classic vanilla buy, think perfumes like Kayali’s Vanilla 28, Burberry Goddess, Henry Rose Dave and Valentino’s Donna Born in Roma.

Elevated by hints of cotton candy, red apple and buttery popcorn, Cirque du Soleil’s L’Eau de Parfum is the Emma-recommended vanilla that shoppers may find themselves pleasantly surprised by. Yes, the famed circus show entered the perfume game in 2024—and the result is far more sophisticated (and wearable) than you’d expect.

Follow the crowd

We’d be lying if we said internet buzz never impacted our beauty purchases, for better or worse. Where blind buying is concerned, virality may actually be an indicator of a truly good scent. “TikTok viral scents are generally what I would try to buy because, in the cases of me blind buying, it’s been something that I feel like I’ve seen a lot, and have been recommended so many times by so many different voices that I feel a little more comfortable purchasing,” Emma says. “It’s good to go with best sellers that have proven to be hits and proven to be palatable to the most amount of people.”

Viral fragrances that get the Perfumerism stamp of approval? Glossier’s pink-pepper and iris-scented You Eau de Parfum, and Sol de Janeiro’s gourmand Cheirosa 59 Delicia Hair & Body Perfume Mist.

Give travel size a try

Dropping hundreds of dollars on a scent you have yet to sniff is quite the gamble, so consider shopping for travel-sized fragrances—or better yet, discovery sets—unless you’re splurging on a gift. “If you’re not sure about what the scent is going to smell like, and you don’t want to be stuck with a whole bottle, it’s easier,” Emma notes, adding that some perfume retailers have a strict no-return policy. Yikes!

What not to do

According to Emma, if you’re not reading product reviews, you’re doing yourself a major disservice. Comments from other perfume buyers can help you get a better sense of a scent, and which notes stand out as it wears. “I also don’t think you should blind buy anything that’s over $300,” Emma advises. “If it’s a big ticket purchase that’s going to make a huge impact on your monthly budget, I think it’s better to know what you’re getting yourself into.” Good luck out there.