How do you choose a scent nowadays? You tootle off to the perfume counter all excited and within 5 minutes your nose has been deadened by those free spritzes the impressively manicured girls have been handing out, and those big whiffs of the latest 'Eau d'something' that the rather tanned young man charmingly asked you to try. Suddenly you're beset with staff everywhere, the loss of your olfactory glands and a curious desire to buy a fragrance for the matching free gift (Note: only do this if you ALREADY like the scent).
ASCENT aims to make this whole experience slightly less bewildering, with the launch of its new perfume picking service. On an iPhone. Yes, really.
The Aramis & Designer Fragrances counters in Selfridges have just launched the ASCENT programme, which is essentially undertaking a one on one perfume consultation with the assistant.. on an iPhone.
Once you've decided you're going to try this and not just run off with the pricey piece of kit it actually makes a little more sense. The Ascent programme has been designed to help steer you towards scent that you'll like and it does so by offering you certain numbers of choices. It's a little bit Teen Vogue is some ways, as some of the questions are things like: You perfect night out? Dancing, a quite dinner, out with friends or.. you get the picture. Each idea is represented by a touchscreen image which then takes you through to the next question. It does help you narrow down notes that you like without having to smell them, and I can easily identify chocolate and vanilla s two scents I enjoy.
Finally you're whittled down to one or two personality types, and then the retailer suggests a scent based on the results. I was Red Delicious- juicy, sweet and playful, and as I'm already a fan of this, I'd say they were pretty accurate. It might also be a nice way of trying to pick a perfume for a friend, as this would give you a bit more to go on! I'm not convinced this will revolutionize perfume selections, but it's a nice touch, and one they roll out touch screens and take away the iPhone interface I can see it being really popular.
Their 'science' bit.' Based upon the powerful message of aroma-chology, psycho-graphics and kinesthetics it embodies the magic and emotions of scent. Once the customer's personality is revealed - whether sophisticated, casual or seductive - a scent can be recommended that is personally suited to them.