In the early 1920s, the perfumer Ernest Beaux brought Coco Chanel ten small vials to smell. They were numbered one to five and twenty to twenty-four, and she picked number five. That is the story the BBC tells, and the sources disagree on the exact year, so I will stay vague on it. What I like is the method. One of the best-known fragrances ever made was chosen the way you should choose yours: from a tray of small glass tubes, with a decision that was not rushed.

 

I think perfume samples are the most honest way to buy a scent. A bottle in a shop shows you the first ten minutes, and the first ten minutes are the least truthful part. The top notes are the opening act. What you live with is what comes hours later, when the alcohol has lifted and the scent has settled into your skin. A sample vial is typically one or two milliliters, a decant three to ten, and a factory-sealed travel spray five to ten. One milliliter is enough to filter, three is enough to evaluate, and five is what you want if you are seriously considering a bottle, according to Sharp & Scented.

 

The trick is to start wide, then narrow. The first grid is discovery sets, which let you meet a whole house at once. Kilian Paris's Mini Best-Sellers set and Juliette has a gun's Bestselling Discovery Set are the two I would give a friend who says she has no idea what she likes. Henry Rose's set includes London 1983 with Fig + Musk, and Ellis Brooklyn's and Harlem Perfume Co.'s sets show off small, independent houses. Prada's Paradoxe set is for anyone who already suspects one bottle is the one, Maison Margiela's REPLICA sampler is unisex, and KAYALI's is built for layering. As fragrance expert Jeff Miller told Harper's Bazaar, a discovery set is permission to be curious. PHLUR, Boy Smells, Cult Gaia and LORE each sell a set too, which is handy if you already know the house you like.

One rule for any rollerball: apply it to the pulse points and leave it alone. Do not rub your wrists together, which crushes the top notes, and do not decide in the first half hour. Give it at least thirty minutes, ideally a full day.

 

Rollerballs are the easiest way to live with a scent before you commit. Dior's J'adore Roller-pearl and Chloé's Lychee, Rose & Amber Rollerball bring a famous name down to handbag size. SKYLAR's Double Dates and Coconut Cove come as eau de parfum rollerballs, and they are the pair I would test if you want something soft and skin-close. Byredo's Mojave Ghost and Blanche perfume oil rollerballs let you try two of the brand's scents in a format that stays close to the skin.

 

Maison Louis Marie's No. 14 Icila is the more quiet, thoughtful pick, and NEST New York's Balinese Coconut is the easy summer one, for a scent that you can put on without thinking. Byredo's Gypsy Water and Rose of No Man's Land, SKYLAR's Peach Fields and NEST's Watermelon Peony give you a woody, a rose, a fruit and a fresh floral to test.

 

A pairing I like: two rollerballs, one on each wrist, on a day when you will be at a desk and cannot be embarrassed by either. By evening you will know which one you kept smelling.

 

What I would skip: testing a rollerball over scented lotion or after applying deodorant. It muddles what you smell, and then you learn nothing about the perfume.

Start with a notebook, or the notes app on your phone. Wear one travel spray at a time, and write one plain word at fifteen minutes, one hour and four hours. Fragrance sources disagree on the exact timing, but they agree that the drydown is where the truth lives.

 

Travel sprays are the sample format closest to the real thing, because the atomizer is the same one you will use later. Glossier's You is a sensible place to start if you like a scent that stays near your skin. Marc Jacobs's Perfect comes with daffodil and musk, Prada's Paradoxe with white musk and amber, and Lancôme's Idôle is a wearable, everyday spray. Chloé's L'Eau de Parfum Lumineuse pairs jasmine and vanilla, Valentino's Donna Born In Roma is the more dressed-up one, and Viktor&Rolf's Flowerbomb brings vanilla and jasmine in a small spray. KAYALI's Yum Boujee Marshmallow is the sweet one of the group, for people who know they like gourmand scents.

 

A pairing I like: one of these in a bag and one on a pillow-side table. You will notice how it behaves at 3 p.m. in a moving crowd and at midnight in a quiet room.

 

What I would skip: sampling more than three or four scents in one sitting. Your nose tires, and everything begins to smell the same. Smell your own forearm to reset.

Try this: put a perfume oil on your skin in the morning, then check it again after a shower or a workout. Oils and balms are quiet by design, so if you can still catch the scent after your day, you have found one that suits you.

 

Oils suit small samples well because a little goes far. By Rosie Jane's DULCE with vanilla and ROSIE with white musk are the sweet, soft pair. Maison Louis Marie's No.04 Bois de Balincourt rollerball is the woody, grown-up one. CYKLAR's Flora Veil with skin musk and peony and Sex Musk with vanilla and orris are both roll-ons, one gentle and one a little more daring. NEST New York's Santa Barbara Strawberry is the playful one, and Sol de Janeiro's Cheirosa 40 Jelly Perfume Balm is the body-care crossover, easy to wear on shoulders.

 

Dior's J'adior Solid Fragrance is the tidy one for a travel bag. According to Allure, solid perfume outlasts a rollerball for travel, so that is a good reason to pick it for a flight.

 

A pairing I like: a balm or solid over bare skin and a spray on your clothes, so the two layers open and fade at different speeds.

 

What I would skip: leaving any sample in a hot car or a sunny window. Heat and light change perfume, so keep samples cool, dark and tightly capped.

The last grid is the overflow of things I would sample: more discovery sets from Anecdotes by Artists, BORNTOSTANDOUT and FUGAZZI, rollerballs from Byredo, SKYLAR and NEST, an Alien Goddess travel spray, and solid perfumes and oils from Sidia, Maison Louis Marie and The Maker.

 

I think the best first step is a discovery set, then one or two travel sprays of the scents that stayed with you. Wear each one for a full day, write your notes, and buy the bottle only after you still like it at hour six. Keep the vials cool and capped while you decide. If your skin stings or reddens, stop and rinse it off, and do not push through it for the sake of a scent.

 

Chanel had ten vials and a good nose. You have a small tray, a notebook and a little patience. If you want to keep browsing, I also put together Travel-Size Perfume for Holiday Travel and Burberry Perfume.