How to Smell Like a Million Bucks on a Budget

Designer fragrances smell amazing, but they're not always affordable. There is a way to get that designer smell on a limited budget, however. Read on for details.

There are a lot of perks to a genuine designer fragrance. First, a real designer perfume tends to stay with you much longer than cheap imitations or lesser fragrances. Secondly, the scents tend to be crisper, the notes easier for your sense of smell to recognize, not overpowering, and you don't smell an overwhelming scent of alcohol. And of course, there is the feeling of luxury that comes from wearing a designer perfume - the right fragrance can lift your mood, make you feel special, beautiful, feminine, sexy - all of that just from a little bottle.

Unfortunately, fine fragrances that have such an effect can be pretty spendy. Some scents can cost as much as $120 and up an ounce.And if you don't get to the department store that often, but instead do a lot of shopping online, you might not even know what fragrance it is you would want to save up for.

If you would like to enjoy the luxury of a chic designer fragrance without spending a fortune, or you'd like to try a variety of scents, or both, an excellent idea is to order the vial on card samples, which can be had from online fragrance retailers like FragranceNet, and from fragrance sellers on eBay, and run anywhere from fifty-nine cents to $5.95. You can try anything from Perry Ellis to Juicy Couture, Creed's Love in Black (made specifically for Jackie O!) to Versace Versus, Michael Kors for Women to Givenchy, Prada to Cartier to Van Cleef & Arpels. And so many more are available.

Each vial has enough perfume in it for a few uses, depending on how heavy you put it on - I douse myself pretty well and usually get 3-4 uses out of one. My current favorite is Narcisco Rodriguez for Women, but I'm always a sucker for Issey Miyake.

It's a lot of fun to try out different perfumes, and more of a pick-me-up than a new lipstick. I probably look pretty silly spending the afternoon repeatedly sniffing my wrist, though. You may have more self-control than I do in that department. I can't help myself, though, when perfume smells so good!

If you try any new fragrances, let me know what they are and what you think of them in the comments!