A group of different perfume bottles arranged together, representing the process of choosing a fragrance

Ideally a few minutes at minimum between each one, and longer, five to ten minutes if you can manage it, gives your nose a proper chance to reset rather than carrying over the previous scent’s impression into the next.

Why rushing testing gives unreliable results

Smelling one perfume straight after another, with no gap, means your nose is still processing the first scent when the second arrives, which genuinely distorts how you perceive it. This is exactly why professional perfumers and trained noses build in deliberate breaks between samples, and why rushing through a counter full of testers in a couple of minutes tends to leave people with a jumbled, unreliable impression of everything they smelled.

Making the most of the gap

Smelling your own skin, or a neutral scent like coffee, during the gap helps reset your nose more effectively than just waiting in silence. If you’re testing seriously, spacing visits across two shorter trips rather than one long marathon session often produces better decisions than trying to power through everything in one go. Our guide to choosing a perfume and complete guide to perfume cover this properly.