A Complete Guide to Finding Your Next Signature Fragrance Online.
As a perfumer, I know how intimate and personal building your fragrance wardrobe can be. When we wear our scents, they live on our skin, follow us through our day, can influence our mood, become part of how people remember us, and how we remember specific memories. Shopping for a fragrance online can feel very overwhelming when trying to understand what it will smell like based solely on the description.
But here's something to note—over half of fragrance sales in the U.S. now happen online, and that number will continue to climb. People aren't just buying perfume online because it's convenient; it’s because it provides access to so many unique independent fragrance brands that you won't find in the department store shelves. Online fragrance shopping is the gateway to being the most unique-smelling person in the room.
So, here’s a guide I put together on how I understand fragrance to help you learn how to shop for fragrances online, including my handcrafted, toxin-free fine fragrance collection.
Let's Talk About How Fragrance Actually Works
Before you can shop smart online, you need to understand what you're looking at when you read a perfume description. And honestly? Once you get this, the whole process becomes way less mysterious.
The Fragrance Pyramid (How Fragrances Mature During the Day)
Every fragrance is crafted in three layers that reveal themselves throughout the dry-down.
Top notes hit you first—they're that initial burst when you spray. Bright, attention-grabbing, gone within 15-30 minutes. These are your citruses, light herbs, maybe a sparkle of mandarin or a hint of sea salt. They're the introduction of the fragrance.
Middle notes (I call them heart notes because they bind the top notes together) appear once the top notes have settled. These notes last 2-4 hours and usually include florals, spices, or fruity notes. When someone asks, "What are you wearing?" this is usually what they're smelling.
Base notes are the foundation—the deep, lasting impression that lingers for 6+ hours. Woods, musks, vanilla, amber, all those rich, warm elements that make you want to smell your wrist at the end of the day.
When you're shopping online for your next signature fragrance, pay attention to which layer speaks to you most:
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Love bright, energetic scents? Focus on the top notes.
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Prefer scents that feel like a warm hug? Focus on the base notes.
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Want something that evolves and surprises you? Look at how all three layers of fragrance notes work together.
Decoding Scent Families (The Cheat Sheet)
Think of scent families like music genres—once you know what you're into, finding new favorites gets so much easier.
Woody is my home base—Sandalwood, cedar, vetiver—grounding, warm, sophisticated. If you love the smell of forests or that feeling of walking into a room with wood furniture, this is you.
Floral most times gets a bad rap for being "old lady" or "too feminine," but that's far from the truth. From delicate rose to rich, almost narcotic tuberose, florals can be soft or bold, innocent or sultry. In my handcrafted fragrances, I often use florals to add dimension without making something feel traditionally "perfume-y."
Citrus is energy in a bottle. Citrus, mandarin, lemon zest—these scents wake you up, make you feel clean and optimistic. They don't last forever, but they set the tone beautifully.
Amber / Spicy brings warmth and sensuality. Nutmeg, cardamom, vanilla, or amber. These scents feel like candlelight and good conversations.
Fresh is associated with light musks, aquatic notes, sometimes mineral breeze, or marine elements. If you want to smell put-together without trying too hard, fresh scents deliver.
Most interesting perfumes blend multiple families. Nude Noire is my collection’s first wood-dominant fragrance. The note profile only contains notes that would be considered the base. Sometimes woods can give off a sweet aroma like Amberwood and Teakwood, and when paired with notes like tonka bean and a suede accord, it’s going to lean more toward a sweet, earthy aroma rather than a green, earthy one.
If you’re still unsure about how the fragrances would smell by the notes alone, most brands have fragrance questionnaires like my Fragrance Mood Quiz. After answering a series of questions, you’ll receive your fragrance match or the best fragrance to start with in the collection.
Get to Know the Brand
When shopping with independent fragrance brands like Le Bleu Bodycare, you're investing in someone's philosophy, their values, and their approach to what goes on your skin.
Look for a brand’s ingredient list and its moral stance. Check out the story behind the brand. Who's making this? Why? What do they care about? Artisan fragrance makers like me aren't just following trends—we're creating from a place of intention. Small-batch perfume usually means more care, more thought, more soul in every bottle.
Start Small and Build
The most brilliant move when shopping for perfume online? Samples. Discovery sets. Those little vials that let you test before you commit.
I cannot stress this enough: a fragrance that smells amazing at 9 AM on a Tuesday might feel completely wrong on Friday night. Perfume reacts to your skin chemistry, your mood, your environment, and even what you ate for lunch. You need to live with a scent before you know if it's yours.
Good sample programs give you 1-2ml per fragrance—enough to wear it multiple times in different contexts. Wear it to work. Wear it on a date. Wear it while you're stress-cleaning your apartment. Does it still feel like you in all those moments?
And here's a perfumer’s secret: your first impression is rarely your final impression. Sometimes the scents you think you'll love turn out to feel wrong on your skin. Sometimes the ones you're unsure about become your signature. Give things time.
Formats Matter More Than You Think
I handcraft the fragrances in my collection in various formats – eau de parfum, perfume body oil, body gloss, perfume oil, and perfumed mist.
Eau de parfum is the classic—Industry standard is 15-20% fragrance concentration; however, I craft at the highest — 20%. This concentration can last for hours, making a statement. If you want your scent to be part of your presence in a room, reach for an EDP.
Body Gloss, Perfume Body Oil, and Perfume Oil combine scent with skincare. Fragrance mixes with different-density nourishing butters and oils (jojoba, sweet almond, coconut) moisturize the skin while scenting. Body gloss and oils wear closer to the skin—people smell them when they hug you, not from across the room. They also tend to last longer because there's no alcohol evaporating away. If you have dry skin or prefer intimate fragrances, these formats are for you.
Perfume mist is light, refreshing, reapply-throughout-the-day energy. The industry standard is 3-8%, which means it's subtle and forgiving. However, Le Bleu Bodycare mists are at 15% fragrance concentration, which is on the lower end of the eau de parfum standard. Perfumed mists are for your everyday, post-gym, layer-with-other-scents format.
Trust Your Scent Memory
You already know more about what you like than you think you do.
Think about scents that make you feel something. The coffee shop you love. Your favorite candle. That person whose scent lingered after they hugged you. The beach at sunset. Your grandmother's garden. A leather jacket you can't stop touching.
These aren't random—they're clues to your fragrance preferences.
Love the smell of coffee? This means you might love gourmand fragrances. Look for notes like African vanilla, praline, and tonka bean, even toasted coconut. Feel most yourself outdoors? Woody, green, or earthy notes like vetiver, moss, patchouli, or amberwood will resonate. Drawn to clean, minimalist aesthetics? Fresh, aquatic, or soft musk notes like mineral sea breeze, beachwood, pink sea salt, or labdanum match your vibe.
The beautiful thing about fragrances that center on functionality rather than gender, like Le Bleu Bodycare, is that I’m never limited by what society says you "should" like based on your gender. You get to choose based on what actually moves you.
Ask Questions (Yes, You Can Ask Me Stuff)
I love it when people reach out to me with questions or suggestions about scents. Please email me, DM me, leave comments, and reviews. Most indie perfumers are the same way—we want you to love what you buy.
Tell me what you're looking for. What do you already love? What didn't work for you? What's the vibe—workday professional, date night confident, Sunday morning cozy? Do you want subtle or bold? I would love to answer any questions you have about your next purchase of a signature fragrance. A good place to start is my Fragrance Mood Quiz, which can match you with a fragrance to get you started in our collection.
A Whole World of Fragrances
Shopping for fragrances online will help you discover niche perfumers, support indie brands, and discover fragrances that are truly unique to you.
It requires a different approach than walking into Sephora and spraying your arm multiple times (no shade, but I bet it’s faint by the time you leave the store). But with samples, good descriptions, community reviews, and being able to have direct access to people making the fragrances, like myself, you can find scents that express who you actually are. Not what's trending. Not what smells good on someone else.
Just you.
Start your Fragrance Journey with Le Bleu Bodycare
Explore Le Bleu Body Care's collection of handcrafted, toxin-free, genderless fragrances. I create every scent to be as unique and multifaceted as you are—available in eau de parfum, body oil, and mist because how you want to wear your scent matters. Let's find yours together. Take my Fragrance Mood Quiz to find your next signature scent, or shop my collection by fragrance profiles.