It’s getting ridiculous. There’s no way to keep up with all the new perfume hitting the market. I’ve heard different numbers, but certainly well over a thousand fragrances will launch this year. As someone who reviews perfume, I feel a responsibility to keep somewhat up to date with major releases, at least. Yet even I’ve thrown in the towel. Whole perfume lines spring up and fold before I even get around to trying them.

None of us can stem the tide, so how do we ride it successfully? How do we figure out which perfumes are worth sampling and which can be passed over?

I’d love to hear how you decide what, in this ocean of new perfume, you try. Here’s what I do…

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Maybe you’ve had a week like mine: steady work at one job and three deadlines for two freelance clients keeping you at the computer until at least ten o’clock each night. The roses you cut a week ago that were so fresh and full of life now drop shriveled petals on the hearth. Emails from friends — the emails you really do want to respond to — pile up until they pass above the screen’s window and into the island of lost correspondence. Mornings are so rushed you pick up something from the bedroom floor to toss on and hope cute shoes will make it all right as you dash out the door.

But of course you must wear perfume. What will it be? Your “go-to” perfume, of course.

A go-to perfume is a fragrance that you can grab and spritz on without thinking. It won’t interfere with your day, won’t offend, and goes with everything. It might even be a perfume you like all right but don’t particularly love. The main thing is, like a grilled cheese sandwich or a plain-cut white blouse, it satisfies without requiring a lot of thought.

For me, go-to perfumes are seasonal…

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