Victoria Frolova — Fragrance editor, 10ML marketing

Articles and guides

• Article

  What is ambergris? Ambergris vs ambroxan, and the perfumes built on each

  Ambergris comes from the sea, ambroxan from a laboratory. What each one is, what each smells like, how to read them on a notes list, and twelve perfumes that use one or both.

• Article

  The best Byredo perfumes by style, and how to wear them before you buy

  Byredo makes quiet, abstract scents that say little on a paper strip. Twelve Byredo perfumes grouped by style, and how to wear a shortlist before you choose a bottle.

• Article

  The best gourmand perfumes, from caramel to coffee

  Fourteen gourmand perfumes grouped by the sweetness they are built on, caramel, coffee, praline or fruit and honey, and how to find your level of sweet before you buy a bottle.

• Article

  The best Kilian perfumes: boozy, dark, sweet and floral, grouped by style

  Twelve Kilian perfumes grouped into boozy, dark and gourmand, sweet and powdery, and white floral, with how each one moves from first spray to dry-down and how to wear it before a full bottle.

• Article

  The best Parfums de Marly perfumes, grouped by style

  Twelve Parfums de Marly perfumes grouped by style, from bright citrus for the office to fruity roses and dark evening woods, and how to wear one before you commit.

• Article

  The best Xerjoff perfumes by style, and which three to try first

  Twelve Xerjoff perfumes sorted by style, from Erba Pura and Torino21 to Naxos and Alexandria II, plus the three to wear first before you choose a bottle.

• Article

  Clean perfumes: citrus, soapy, floral and skin-close scents to try

  Clean is not one smell. Nine clean perfumes grouped into four styles, citrus, soapy, floral and white musk, and how to find the one your nose calls clean.

• Article

  Does perfume expire? Shelf life, signs it has turned, and how to store it

  Perfume has no hard use-by date, but heat, light and air slowly change it. How to tell a bottle has turned, how to store it, and why a small bottle never gets old.

• Article

  Chypre perfume and the other fragrance families, explained

  What a chypre perfume is, how a fougère differs, and what the seven fragrance families mean, with one or two perfumes from each family to wear before you choose.

• Article

  How to find your signature scent in three steps

  Find your style with three small decants, live with two finalists for a few weeks, then keep the one you miss when it is gone. A shortlist of twelve to start from.

• Article

  Long-lasting perfumes for women, by what the community votes

  Fourteen long-lasting perfumes for women, grouped by style, with each one's community longevity vote stated plainly, and how to see the staying power on your own skin before you buy a bottle.

• Article

  What does Oud Wood smell like? Oud Wood vs Tobacco Vanille, note by note

  Oud Wood is dry wood and soft spice; Tobacco Vanille is tobacco leaf wrapped in vanilla and cacao. Here is how the two Tom Ford scents differ, and how to settle it with two small decants.

• Article

  Perfumes like Libre: lavender and orange blossom, done other ways

  What Libre is made of, then its two siblings and seven perfumes that share its orange blossom, lavender or vanilla, grouped by how they differ.

• Article

  Safe blind buy perfumes: easy styles to wear before you buy the bottle

  The safest blind buy perfume is one you wear first. Twelve easy-to-wear perfumes grouped by style, from fresh to warm, and how to try each one before a full bottle.

• Article

  The best tobacco perfumes by style: sweet, smoky and dry

  Tobacco in perfume smells of the dried leaf, honeyed and warm, not of an ashtray. Twelve tobacco perfumes in three styles, sweet, smoky and dry, and how to wear one before you buy the bottle.

• Article

  What does bergamot smell like, and why is it in almost every perfume?

  Bergamot smells like a softer, more floral lemon with a faint tea-like edge. Here is how it reads in a cologne, a fougère and a gourmand, and why the part you smell first is the part that leaves first.

• Article

  What does Lost Cherry smell like? Note by note, plus nine more cherry perfumes

  Lost Cherry smells of dark, boozy cherry and bitter almond over a warm, spiced base. The full walk-through, and nine more cherry perfumes grouped by how sweet they are.

• Article

  What does sandalwood smell like? Creamy, milky and dry woods explained

  Sandalwood smells soft, creamy and gently sweet, with a dry woody edge. What surrounds it decides the rest. Twelve perfumes, grouped by the kind of sandalwood they show.

• Article

  What does amber smell like? Amber in perfume, explained

  Amber in perfume is a warm, sweet, resinous accord, not a single ingredient. What it is made of, what it smells like, and twelve perfumes from sheer to dense.

• Article

  Where to spray perfume, and how many sprays to use

  Warm skin at the throat, neck, chest and inner wrists, then fewer sprays than you think. Where to put perfume, how many sprays suit its strength and the day ahead, and what that means for each size.

• Article

  Winter perfumes for women: rich scents to wear close

  Fourteen winter perfumes for women, grouped by style from resin and incense to praline, dark fruit and warm white flowers, chosen by community season votes, with how to wear a rich scent without overdoing it.

• Article

  The best summer fragrances: fresh scents that hold up in the heat

  Heat changes how a perfume behaves. Twelve fresh fragrances that stay pleasant on hot days, from salty and green to citrus and fig, and how to wear them well.

• Guide

  How to choose a perfume without smelling it

  Buying perfume online? Read the notes, know your scent family, pick the moment, then wear a small size first. A practical guide from 10ML.

• Guide

  Travel perfume guide

  Flying with perfume? The 100 ml cabin rule, what goes in checked bags, and why 10ml and 30ml decants are the easy way to travel with your scent.

• Guide

  An alternative to blind buying a perfume

  Thinking of buying a full perfume bottle unsmelled? Wear a 3ml or 10ml decant first. What the step in between costs, and when a blind buy makes sense.

• Guide

  Autumn perfumes

  Autumn perfumes from the 10ML catalogue: the bestsellers wearers vote for cool days, in 3ml, 10ml and 30ml decants, so you can wear one before a bottle.

• Guide

  Daytime perfumes

  Daytime perfumes from the 10ML catalogue: the bestsellers wearers vote for the day and the office, in 3ml, 10ml and 30ml decants, to try before a bottle.

• Guide

  Perfume price per ml index

  What a perfume decant costs per ml at 10ML, by size and by designer or niche house, computed live from the catalogue, with a free CSV download of every price.

• Guide

  10ML vs Surrender to Chance

  10ML and Surrender to Chance compared on decant sizes, prices, sets and where each ships from, with a source and check date for every fact.