With thousands of fragrances to choose from, it can be surprisingly difficult to decide what to wear
I’ve always thought of fragrance like clothing. You wouldn’t wear formal wear to the beach, and the same logic applies here. The wrong fragrance at the wrong time doesn’t just miss the mark, it can be wildly inappropriate.
A friend of mine who works in a Toronto fragrance store once told me about wearing Paco Rabanne One Million to a wake when he was younger.
“I didn’t know that was so wrong,” he snickered. “Imagine wearing a party fragrance to a funeral!”
Most people understand the basics — office-safe, date night, casual — but even experienced collectors can get it wrong.
So is there a way to make better decisions consistently?
Yes. You can use AI.
Using AI as a fragrance advisor
AI isn’t actually intelligent, it’s predictive. It analyzes large amounts of written content and patterns, then generates responses based on what’s most likely to make sense.
When it comes to fragrance, that’s useful. There’s decades of discussion online: reviews, forums, comparisons. AI can process all of that and give you quick, structured answers.
I’m going to show you how if you use it properly, you can turn it into a personal fragrance advisor:
- Suggest what to wear in specific situations
- Evaluate your collection
- Identify gaps
- Help you decide what to buy or sell
Setting it up
Start by choosing a platform like ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini.
Then give it a clear prompt. For example:
I want advice on when I should wear the fragrances I have. Rank my collection from 1–100 and tell me what gaps I have. My collection is:
- Frederic Malle Promise
- Amouage Purpose
- Rochas Femme
List your fragrances cleanly and consistently.
As your collection changes, update it. You don’t need to re-enter everything every time, just keep the same thread and tell the program when you are adding or removing items as needed.
1. Knowing what to wear
This is where AI is most useful.
Give it context. The more detail, the better:
- Weather
- Setting
- What you’re wearing
- Who you’ll be around
For example:
I’m going on a long drive, then meeting friends for a hike north of Toronto. It’s below 0°C outside. I’m wearing blue jeans, a black Raptors hoodie, and a blue parka. What should I wear from my collection?
Or:
I’m attending a religious program at my mosque tonight. It will be warm and crowded. I’m wearing a grey Arabic jalabah and a Pepsi GMT. What fragrance should I wear?
It will process the variables and suggest something appropriate.
It’s not perfect. If it gets something wrong, like misidentifying a fragrance, correct it and move on.
2. Evaluating your collection
You can also get a clear overview of what you own.
Try:
Please rank all my fragrances from best to worst. Score them from 1–100. Give pros and cons for each, and tell me what my collection says about my taste.
This helps you see patterns:
- Are you buying too many of the same style?
- Are certain bottles redundant?
- Are you missing key categories?
You don’t need to upload hundreds of fragrances. Even a partial list is useful.
3. Changing your collection
AI won’t automatically tell you what to sell — you have to ask.
For example:
I’m decluttering. Which fragrances in my collection are redundant or not worth keeping?
You can also use it to evaluate purchases:
I’m considering a 99/100 ml bottle of Amouage Royal Tobacco for $250 CAD plus $15 shipping. Is this a good deal? Compare price per ml with retail and grey market prices.
Or:
I want to buy a decant. Here’s the size and price. Is it worth it?
This is one of the most practical uses. It saves time and helps you make better decisions, especially when something is in high demand.
Final thoughts
AI won’t replace your taste. It doesn’t know you the way you know yourself. But it’s a useful tool if you treat it that way.
Used properly, it helps you:
- Wear the right fragrance at the right time
- Understand your collection better
- Avoid unnecessary purchases
At the very least, AI reduces guesswork. And in a hobby where it’s easy to make expensive mistakes, that alone makes it worth using.
