Perfume Blotters vs. Scent Strips: What’s the Difference?
Perfume Blotters vs. Scent Strips: What’s the Difference?
If you’ve ever shopped for a new perfume or tested essential oils, you’ve likely encountered perfume blotters or scent strips. They may seem like two different tools, but in reality, they’re more alike than most people realize. Both serve an essential role in the fragrance industry, helping perfumers, retailers, and customers evaluate scents accurately.
So, what’s the difference between perfume blotters and scent strips? Let’s break it down.
What Are Perfume Blotters?
Perfume blotters are thick, absorbent paper strips designed to hold fragrance without breaking down or altering the scent. They’re commonly used in perfume houses, laboratories, and retail shops to test new blends or showcase fragrances to customers.
Key features of perfume blotters:
Heavier paper stock that retains scent for hours
Typically white and plain for note-taking
Often used in professional fragrance testing and development
What Are Scent Strips?
Scent strips are essentially the same tool but are often used more broadly across the fragrance and essential oil industries. Many retailers call them fragrance test strips, smelling strips, or cologne tester strips.
Key features of scent strips:
Absorbent, neutral surface for clean scent evaluation
Used by perfume shops, essential oil sellers, candle makers, and cosmetic brands
Available in blank or custom printed versions with branding
Perfume Blotters vs. Scent Strips: Is There a Real Difference?
The short answer: not really. Both terms refer to the same basic product. The difference usually comes down to who is using them and how they’re described.
Perfume blotters → A term more commonly used in perfume houses, labs, and among professionals.
Scent strips → A broader term used by retailers, essential oil sellers, and in consumer-facing settings.
At the end of the day, they’re both absorbent strips of paper designed to make fragrance testing easy, consistent, and cost-effective.
Why Use Blotters or Strips Instead of Skin?
One of the biggest advantages of blotters and strips is that they provide a neutral testing surface. Unlike skin, which has oils, lotions, and natural body chemistry, blotters offer consistency. This allows:
Accurate comparisons of multiple fragrances side by side
Better evaluation of how a fragrance changes from top to base notes
Cost savings, since a single spray on a strip uses less product than a full skin test
Blank vs. Printed Strips
Both perfume blotters and scent strips are available as:
Blank Strips – Great for perfumers, labs, and anyone who wants to write notes directly on the strip.
Custom Printed Strips – Ideal for retail shops and brands that want to add their logo, website, or contact details. These act as marketing tools as well as testing strips.
Whether you call them perfume blotters or scent strips, they serve the same purpose: helping you evaluate fragrances accurately and professionally. For businesses, choosing between blank or custom printed strips comes down to whether you need simple testing tools or branded marketing materials.
Either way, these small but mighty strips are a must-have for anyone working with perfumes, colognes, or essential oils.
