Where do you buy perfume

[donotcovertheradiator]

Tiring of Boots and looking for that Holy Grail, I thought I would venture into somewhere that sold more unusual ones.
I went to Harvey Nicks for a browse but it didn't pan out as I had hoped.

I had only browsed for about five minutes when two assistants came over. One had a small desk promoting a particular perfume. I tried it but didn't like it, even though she was quite pushy.

The other asked me what type of perfume I liked and then proceeded to pick some out.

I know she was trying to be helpful but I wanted to browse and also, I was a bit frightened of saying I liked one of the ones she presented, only to find that it would be over £80 (my budget)

In the end, because of a combination of wanting to buy a new perfume and wanting to get out, I bought, 'So First' by Van Cleef and Arpels. I'm not that crazy about it, now I've lived with it for two weeks.

So, where can I go to find unusual perfumes where I can browse in peace and not feel intimidated by the fear of having either my perfume knowledge or relatively small budget (£80) exposed?

Failing that, how can I give the impression that I'm not an innocent abroad!

I'm in the north-from Manchester/Cheshire to Leeds/Harrogate area

I like Jo Malone. The smaller bottles are around £50.

I can't afford to spend even £80 on perfumes but if I feel like getting one, I will walk into Superdrug, perfume shop, or boots and not really give a shit what people think of me.

At the end of the day, the employees would have made a sale no matter what was spent.

The max I would spend on a perfume is £30-£40 and I've never been given dirty looks or felt ashamed to buy any products that are worth less.

Because ultimately all the employees care about, is if you buy one of their products... not certain product.

If you want more ‘niche’ than Boots, John Lewis etc, can you get to a Penhaligons? Or come to London and browse Liberty? Also, Debenhams and House of Fraser often have some less well known brands.

John Lewis, selfridges are good places

I vouch for Debenhams too, a good mix in there. I was in there yesterday and they have a sale on (online too!)

It's so hard, isn't it?

I used to like browsing fragrances in the department stores (I'm in London, and always liked Selfridges especially) but they're basically all commission-driven hawkers selling to monied tourists these days. Nothing wrong with that, at one level, but as a customer experience it's unpleasant and always feels rushed. I never get left alone and they just upsell-upsell-upsell all the day long.

Saying that, I've found Selfridges in Manchester to be not as bad although it can vary from counter to counter.

Largely, I get mine from duty free, generally, so save up for when I know I'm passing through a decent airport and then maybe buy two or three at once. (This is generally for when I know what I want.)

Otherwise, I sometimes use discount online retailers like allbeauty or lookfantastic although the value can vary massively and sometimes the stock is a bit old.

I also buy samples online. There's a British company called Scent Samples that does decants of lots of well-known ones, I've used them maybe eight or ten times in the last couple of years. One or two of the niche retailers, like Bloom Perfumery and Les Senteurs, sell sample packs or individual vials too so you can try the niche ones.

Thanks for the suggestions.

@justanothergirl111. I wasn't given dirty looks and I was happy with my budget but didn't want to have to declare that budget to the assistant.

I wasn't ashamed of it, although I was embarrassed at my obvious lack of perfume knowledge-in that awful phrase,'I know what I like'!

When I go to Boots, I don't care either because no-one bustles over but, on this occasion, I wanted to venture somewhere new where I would come across all sorts of marvellous, lesser known perfumes.

.I just wanted to be left on my own-sniffing perfumes that aren't instantly recognisable- and not have a one to one personal perfume shopping experience, which was forced on me and which I didn't enjoy. If I had wanted help, I would have asked.

Thank you, Balonz. I hadn't thought of samples. I'll try that route too.

usually duty free or Debenhams.

never ever amazon - twice OH has bought me perfume from there at perfume counter prices & twice we have received fake perfume!

I hate this new American style nonsense that's almost everywhere now.

I have walked out of shops in the past because of this. 2 or 3 people pounce on you as soon as you walk in the door, then heaven forbid you pick up something to look at it! I'm sometimes rude too if it persists.

Beware buying duty free. I bought my dd daisy dream, £40 with matching shower gel and body lotion from fragrance direct. The same bottle on its own £63 in duty free.

John Lewis or Liberty if I’m browsing. If you’re in London, Les Senteurs or Bloom.
M&S carries some nice, budget and mid range fragrance as well from a few different brands.

Tbh, though, I mainly shop online. Notino, All Beauty, Feel Unique, Look Fantastic. Notino does loads of samples, too.

I've just been on the Debenhams website-amazed by the wide selection. I honestly thought they would have some Estee Lauder and that would be that.

Love the sample sites too but alas, now I'm in grave danger of signing up for one of their monthly subscription packages!

M&S - loads of different brands and (usually!) the sales assistants don't bug you whilst you browse!

I find The Perfume Shop and Fragrance Shop really off-putting as you can't just browse and sniff. I only ever see blokes going in there!!

Go on Groupon and get yourself a Perfume making class, you can make your own and keep it

Allbeauty.com if they have what I'm looking for

Oh sorry, that's absolutely no use!