FAQs

Once you learn that smelling before buying has its own issues, you will be able to appreciate online perfume buying better. At shops, you smell top notes, which is only 15% of the fragrance life cycle, and after 2-3 smells, you experience nose fatigue so you can’t even judge correctly. Lastly, the shop keeper has no knowledge or inclination to explain what notes & accords are included and why.  Online, on the other hand, gives you extensive information about fragrances and feelings. You can go over details at leisure to decide which notes and families appeal to you. Brands like Dopamine Perfumes, have latest and detailed information about fragrances. They also offer discovery sets to test out their perfumes.

All notes and accords can be classified into fragrance families & sub- families based on how closely they resemble each other in smell.  Though a perfume has several notes, it will have two or three dominant notes. You can identify those dominant notes and understand what profile they would be. For e.g. Fresh Fragrance families consists of citrus, aquatic smells. This information would help you understand what kind of smell that is. Please do check our fragrance guide for more details.

It’s a scientifically proven theory that olfactory (ability to smell) is the most evocative of our five senses. There is a deep link between fragrance and emotion. This is because both are processed by the same part of the brain. Fragrance trigger memories, alter mood and stoke emotions. That’s why when you smell vanilla, you feel cozy or when you smell citrus you feel refreshed. If you have read about aromatherapy, you will be able to understand this connection. They say we smell with our mind as much as our nose.  

Perfumes are to be felt as much as smelt. How one feels, or wants to feel, varies depending on occasion. At work, you may want to feel energized and refreshing. In Social outings, you will want to feel noticeable and confident. On a date, feeling attractive is what you want. Perfumers can blend notes and accords (using the principles of fragrance and mood) to trigger such feelings. Based on your usage, you can decide the fragrance you wish. At Dopamine Perfumes, this is the main plank on which we blend our perfumes. 

Most certainly. How do you perceive yourself?  If you are someone who’s at easy going, casual and calm, pick notes consisting of White florals, Marine and Citrusy notes. If you are in the mood to feel stylish, confident pick notes that are smoky, woody.  Oriental and spicy notes are best choice for an attractive and charming personality. The fragrance you pick will resonate with your personality.  

Gender Neutral Fragrances are becoming popular by the day. They strike a balance between traditional male perfumewith  fragrancesof aqua, wood, leather andfemale perfume with fragrances of  Floral, oriental, sweet.  Unisex fragrances centred around Oud, Lavendar, Spices like Nutmeg, Cinnamon and white florals are trending. 

In India, Aqua, Citrus, Oud, Lavenders are very popular. These notes are usually combined with Woody and Oriental (Vanilla, Elemi, Musk) to make a pleasing and long-lasting combination. Other notes that are very popular are Rose, Saffron, Leather and Sandalwood

Yes and no. Yes, because the same fragrance family can have a different bouquet of scents. Since you like a particular type of fragrance family, you can always explore a wider range of bouquet. And no because you will really evolve in terms of pairing the fragrance to your specific mood, usage occasion and personality if you try different fragrance families after understanding the connection between fragrance and mood. If all depends on how evolved, you are as a perfume user.

Yes, unisex perfumeare certainly becoming closing the gap with gender specific perfumes. Customers are choosing niche fragrance houses to are able to come out with larger choices in Gender neutral fragrances something that very large companies are not able to manage at scale. 

Perfumes are to be applied on your skin, at the pulse points – behind the ears, necklines and wrists. The liquid in your perfume reacts to the heat generated by your pulse points which makes the fragrance open-up (and eventually evaporate). Additionally, you can also apply some perfume on your clothes as an extra punch. A little misting of the perfume on the hair is also fine. Perfumes react better with moist skin so its best to apply after bath or after applying some moisturizer. This will also the perfume to stay longer on your skin. Spray the perfume from a 15cms distance so that the molecules spread evenly cover the pulse points.

Layering is a very smart way to make your fragrance last long. If you are only using one product, say a perfume, there’s only so much that you can spray on your pulse point. But if you use a layer of the same fragrance as a deodorant or as an after shave or shower gel, you can expose your skin at multiple places and with different intensity of fragrances. This will naturally lead to your nose experiencing the same fragrances via different points and for a longer time. 

It helps in the form of layering yourself with the same fragrance. If you are only using one product, say a perfume, there’s only so much that you can spray on your pulse point. But if you use a layer of the same fragrance as a deodorant you will expose your private parts with the same fragrance thereby making the whole experience with the fragrance wholesome. 

Perfumes should be stored in a cool and dry place, away from direct heat or sunlight. A closed drawer or wardrobe will be the right place. Exposing a perfume to heat will have impact on the quality and durability of the perfumes. On the finer side, an open bottle should be used regularly to ensure there is less air going into it (by the act of spraying)

The correct way is to test it on your skin, the wrist being the most convenient. You should rub the wrists after applying as it will cause needless friction in the fragrance molecules. After that you must evaluate the perfume at its various stages – initial burst and the dry down stage. All perfumes change character as they dry down and the middle notes are the most important of them. Ironically in stores, you only get a chance to evaluate the top note. All if you are testing more than one perfume, please be aware that you will experience nose fatigue after 3-4 tests. Your evaluation will be impaired.

Extrait de parfum or pure perfume, also known as Parfums, has the highest fragrance oils concentration. Parfum will contain anywhere from 20% to 30%. For the mathematically inclined, a 100 ml Parfum bottles will contain 20 to 30 ml of fragrance oil concentration. eau de parfum (EDP) has the next highest category in terms of fragrance concentration. Eau de parfum generally has a fragrance concentration of between 15% and 20%.  

How much a perfume lasts has a direct correlation with the amount of fragrance oil it has. Hence, Extrait De Parfums are classified as the longest lasting category. 

Deodorants frequently misunderstood. A deodorant must not only smell good, but it should also do the job it is meant to do – de-odorize body odour effectively. Deodorants serve two purposes – limit or kill the growth of bacteria growth that are prevalent in one’s private parts like underarms and smell good with the fragrance it contains. Deodorants also have propellants (gas) to evenly layer your private areas and give a cooling effect. Body sprays on the other hand may or may not contain anti-bacterial properties. You will have to check the ingredients to know. They also do not contain propellants. In effect, they become a very mild version of perfume.

How much a perfume lasts has a direct correlation with the amount of fragrance oil it has. Hence, Extrait De Parfums are classified as the longest lasting category. Eau De Parfums follow next. Extraits tend to last 6 to 9 hours, Eau De Parfums last between 4 to 6 hours. While we do tend to quote the lasting in ‘number of hours’, the fact remains that external factors like skin type, weather conditions, type of fragrance families make a lot of difference. 

Fragrance families – Fresh, Citrus fragrances are intense to smell but don’t last long. Woody fragrances are less intense to smell but last long. 

Climate – Hot/ Tropical/ Humid climate leads to faster evaporation. Cold makes it slow. This explains why French brands more Eau have De Parfums whereas here Extrait De Parfum work better. 

Skin Type – It impacts how the fragrance open-ups on the skin and how fast it evaporates. The same fragrance may open-up differently on different skin type. 

Usage Environment – If you operate more in an air-conditioned environment, your perfume will last longer than someone who’s outdoor. 

Once applied on your pulse point the fragrance opens-up in conjunction with your body heat. After that the external weather causes evaporation of the fragrance, Hot/ Tropical/ Humid climate leads to faster evaporation. Cold makes it slow.

Apply evenly on your pulse points from a 15cms distance. Make sure you know your pulse points well. You can also apply some moisturiser on the skin before spraying. Spray some on your clothes too.  It may not open the fragrance like body heat does but it will last long on cloth. And finally layer the perfume with a deodorant of the same fragrance.

Natural Fragrance Oils are derived from the natural resource itself. Like crushing rose petals for rose oil. Synthetic Oils are molecules made in lab that replicate the scent of the natural ingredient, like a rose accord created in a lab. To clarify the sustainability aspect, in perfumery, it’s not natural oils are good synthetic oils are bad. It's about responsibly sourcing materials, reducing environmental impact, and upholding ethical standards. Natural resources can be overexploited (imagine crushing so many rose flowers for the oil) whereas synthetic molecules made through eco-friendly & regulated methods offer a sustainable alternative.

Once shipped, you will receive the tracking AWB numbers via WhatsApp and Email. You will also get automatic updates of delivery through WhatsApp.

Yes, you will receive updates from our side when the order is shipped along with the tracking number.

We will send this communication to you on your phone number via WhatsApp, and an email too on your email id. Make you sure share the email address.

For all orders received before 11.00 am on a given day, the shipment happens the next working day for most of the cases. Sometimes, due to unavoidable circumstance, the shipment may leave a day later than that.

Yes, you can change your delivery preferences before the order is shipped. Once the order is shipped, any change will not be possible.

Yes, you can select a different shipping address for each order.

Yes, with the help of the tracking number and tracking link that will be made available to you after the shipment.

No every order will be treated as a separate shipment for better automated management of information.

Yes, at the time of purchase depending on your ordered item and/ or the order value, you will be able to see if the order qualifies for free shipping or not.