1. Worried about your new bottle not really being new? Occasionally, atomizers might be primed during quality checks to ensure they work correctly before shipping. So just because the bottle sprays on the first pump does not mean it is not new.

2. When buying from trustworthy discounters like Olfactory Factory or Jomashop or FraganceNet or AuraFragrance or VenbaFragrance or Maxaroma or so on (here is a more complete list) the barcode strip could be edited or covered over with a new strip to hide the identity of the supplier. This is a standard practice in the industry to protect supply chain. So it is not a definitive sign that you got a fake bottle. You have to check other factors like packaging, bottle, batch code, and (of course) smell. YouTube can help with showing the difference between real and fake packaging.

3. Buy decants before full bottles so that you can be sure about your investment and also have something to test your bottle against. I use DecantX most often.

4. Sniff coffee beans to reset your nose if you are smelling a lot of perfumes in one sitting. Its effectiveness is somewhat of a pop myth, but I noticed that it mildly helps.

5. Start incorporating a nostril rinse routine into you life. By clearing away congestion, it will help you better access smells. But it is also a part of basic hygiene that helps will sinus and allergy and sleep and bad breath issues. Used distilled water (you do not want a brain eating amoeba) and plan salt (1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon) and baking soda (1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon) to create a saline solution.

6. You will never smell it all and there is always more to smell. While it is important to consult the insights of others on the path (like Ramsey), (a) appreciate your own narrow path through the glut of scents and, at least after you have seen some of the extremes of scents in different categories and sat with them with an open mind, start trusting your own nose (instead of what others say, especially the many shills on YouTube that—even if they are unaware themselves—are just running covert infomercials).

7. Have you ever experienced a performance difference between one bottle and another of the same product or, as I often experience, between your decant and your new bottle? People in these instances are quick, and understandably so since this is such an expensive hobby, to cry “counterfeit” and “reformulation.” Both are a thing. Picking reputable vendors can help with the former, as can understanding (a) how to spot fakes (see point 2) and (b) which products are more likely to be faked (Ombre Leather by Tom Ford is expensive and popular enough to be worth faking, whereas the same cannot be said for La Yuqawam by Rasasi. As for reformulations, new international standards regarding what chemicals can be used, plus the desire to cut corners with cheaper materials (and even to nudge consumers to newer releases), can definitely result in changes as years go by. It is important to keep perspective, though. Rarely will a good house just totally fuck consumers over. They are crafty enough to get to the same effect. Furthermore, do not underestimate maceration. I suspect that the basis for many worries about having bought a reformulation—and this especially applies to middle-eastern houses—have to do with the perfume simply being too fresh. Spray it a good ten times and then come back to it in a few months when it has ripened!

8. Going nose-blind is a thing. Especially if the scent is near you all day, it becomes part of the background noise. You do have to take breaks. That is part of the earthly tragedy, and it is why we dream of heavens of mollie highs never with a comedown. Love for the earth (a love Nietzsche devoted his life ultimately to rallying) is a matter of accepting this fact. Spraying away from head (just on the wrist pulse points) is a good way to keep your nose sensitive. I wear my scents for me. So anosmia really does bother me. It gives me no substantial consolation to know that others can smell me. So I feel your pain. Take breaks. And if you really want to go pro, do what the professional perfume connoisseurs do: engage in mindful smelling, focusing intently on identifying the various components and nuances of a fragrance. Just liek Arnold always said that the best way to work a muscle is to focus your mind on its contraction instead of just going through the motions, the same goes here: smell your essential oils (the kettlebells of olfactory training) and focus on what it smells like, reminding yourself what it smells like.