To think it's fine to try on perfumes in a shop?

[user3974465]

I was in Selfridges today, and they had the naice Tom Ford testers, so I sprayed my neck, wrists and jacket so I could try it out. I do this often and regularly return to buy or go online after I've worn it in. I don't think you can get a true feel for it from spraying it on the little strip cards. I do give myself a generous dousing.

AIBU to think this is perfectly acceptable? Id never thought of it before, but I noticed that the assistant sort of rolled her eyes at me. Is this a faux pas?! or Tom Ford snob specific

One spray to your wrist is fine. Anything else is a bit of a piss take.

It's a tester. Spray at will if you want. There's no unspoken rule.

Of course it isn't grabby! That's what testers are for. They give you paper strips these days in case you want to try lots of (the massively over-priced and totally Emperor's New Clothes) Tom Fords.
Better not to spray on pulse points though for a true development of the perfume. Back of your wrist is better.
I find many perfume sales assistants are in the wrong job tbh. The ones who hover around doing the pushy pushy buy buy buy thing who then know nothing about what they're actually selling.
Spray away OP (try Perfume Parlour for Tom Ford dupes BTW, last a zillion times longer than fancy schmancy water and alcohol that's had an organic and rare bergamot dangled over it)

I've noticed that some shops won't put our a TF perfume as a tester as they cost a fortune.

I always spray perfume on myself before I buy it.
I only use the cards if I'm buying for someone else.
Btw is the Tom Ford one good?

Steff13 you are not alone. I can't go in perfume departments and need to avoid people who wear the stuff. Gives me migraines from hell.

BarbaraofSeville

Brilliant of you to perceive this thread as a Viz Top Tip.
You are spot on! Hilarious 😂

People saying it's a pisstake - who exactly is it taking the piss out of?? I'm fairly sure the SAs aren't paid enough to care. Presumably the perfume companies provide the testers for people to, well, test? Explain to me who loses out if someone has 3 squirts, because I'm genuinely baffled.

Selfridges encourages you to put on perfumes, so your post is just making a mountain out of a molehill. If the shop assistant was glaring at you, it might have been because you were blocking other customers (or other customers who looked more likely to pay).

WomblingThree
No so much a piss take in my eyes but certainly seems a little excessive.

Why anyone needs to douse themselves in perfume (whether it's theirs at home or on a counter) is beyond me.

If I test a perfume then a bit on the wrist and a bit on the neck suffices.

When i see people liberally washing themselves in testers it feels a bit odd to me.

Of course, They are testers

but putting on makeup from the testers, that is a No No

Just a bad attitude from the Sales Assistant - they are there to be tested & what you did was perfectly normal & reasonable.

Why put it on your jacket? Perfume is meant to go on skin not clothes!

Bit grabby OP. Who are you, the CEO of Estée Lauder?

We're not talking about a sparse, life-giving commodity! Perfumes are a luxury product have a ridiculous mark-up vs R&D and manufacturing costs. Testers are often provided by the manufacturer free, precisely to promote the product. Or perhaps being CEO, you knew that already?

I wouldn't spray it on my jacket unless I was sure I liked it. If that's what you want to do however, do it fast so it's not obvious.

I love Lush Imogen Rose and can't really afford it.

Yanbu
I shamelessly spray myself with nice perfumes in shops! To be fair I do buy my fair share too.

The DDs and I always go into Thorntons and any other chocolate shop we come across to get a free sample even though we have no intention of buying. We literally do it every time we go into town.. I think it's 'grabby' of us but never mind ...

This is my world.
As a pp said you get the regulars in using stuff everyday and never buying which really pisses off the staff. Someone having a free makeover with no intention to buy? That's shit but also happens. You won't ever get a decent makeup artist if you are known to do it. Yes,their job is to sell products. You can spot a freebie hunter a mile off.
Imagine there was testers of let's say expensive cheese,would you wolf down as many as possible so you don't need dinner?! there are probably people who do this
Make up artists and fragrance consultants (or any of the various names they are given) are paid to sell. If they don't take money from a booking, it can end quite badly for them. Enjoy that free makeover though..
With fragrance testing, spray the cards until you have one you like enough to apply to your skin and then a couple of sprays is fine. All over clothes would probably make them roll their eyes but believe me, little surprises me in beauty anymore.

Was it the Oxford Street Selfridges? I find the Tom Ford counter a bit attitudey and I spend good money there. They seem to expect people to know which of the twelvety thousand Private Blend fragrances they like without testing any of them.

It's fine to spray a bit on your wrist to see how it smells / develops on skin (which can be very different to how it smells on a strip). That's what testers are there for.

However I agree it was a bit cheeky to give yourself a "liberal dousing". That implies that you already know perfectly well what the perfume smells like, and know that you like it already. Let's face it, perfume on a jacket can linger for days, so you were obviously prepared to smell of it for a while!

The SA should have turned a blind eye though. Unprofessional to eyeroll at a customer.

I travel a lot and sometimes get to the airport at silly o'clock in the morning having forgot to perfume up so I 'test' whatever perfume takes my fancy at 5am.

I've worked in perfume shops. I wouldn't care how much you sprayed the tester. It runs out and the company sends a new one. They're not rationed and they don't come out of the shop's profits. Plenty of people used to come in before heading out for the evening and ask for a quick spritz of xyz. We just let them get on with it.

Testers are there to be used. I'm currently trying to find the perfect foundation so ask for samples. I carry empty contact lens cases to decant testers into because there is no way I'm going to spend £30 or even £10 on a bottle of foundation only to find out it doesn't suit me. I've never had a sales assistant object. I started doing it because one woman suggested it.

When I find the right one, I'll buy a bottle. In the meantime I'll carry on because the mark up on cosmetics is such that I think the retailers will still be ahead whether it's Selfridges or Superdrug.

Seriously though icelollycraving it's no skin off your nose. You aren't buying the perfume testers yourself, and if someone just sprays it on themselves without taking up any of your time then it's not preventing you making a sale.

I shamelessly test perfume (only one squirt and only very occasionally if I need a new one) and then buy it online where it is cheaper. I don't need a "consultation". The perfume manufacturer is still getting the money, and ultimately they provided the tester so I'm not taking anything away from them; just from the overpriced department store.

I always try it on my wrist and on my jacket/top. I find it smells different on my skin than on my clothing, so I put it on both so I can see if I like it and if it's a "skin" scent or a "clothing" scent.