Miss Dior Cherie for $0

There's nothing like the smell of an alluring perfume to subtly attract attention.

For me, the smell of the moment is Miss Dior Cherie.

Image Credit: Dior

Francois Demachy, the perfumer who conjured up this smell, says on the Miss Dior Cherie website that this is "a fragrance that smells like spring".

Other places like Sephora describe the smell like this:

Miss Dior Cherie combines pure couture spirit with the audacity of youthful, playful notes for a fresh approach to a timeless classic. Notes of chic, green tangerine, violette, and pink jasmine mingle with soft patchouli, musk, and delectably sweet strawberry leaves and caramelized popcorn.

Caramelized popcorn? Yes please!

Now Smell This, my favorite perfume blog, thinks that this is perfect for the younger 20s generation (where I am right now), and I have to agree.

But the perfume starts at between $60-70 for 50mL. I don't like spending so much money just to smell like a bunch of caramelized popcorn (and I'd rather eat it).

Three ways to get Miss Dior Cherie (and other perfume) for free

1. Ask at the nearest department store like the Bay in Canada. If carded samples are available (the sample vial attached to a paper card), the salesperson would be happy to give you one. If they don't have it right then, sometimes they'll have a sample of something similar that you can try, which usually works out really well.

2. Usually when a new perfume comes out, there's a lot of promotional material around it. Miss Dior Cherie came out in 2008, and the website was mailing out free samples for over a year! Keep your eyes open for more opportunities like this.

3. Sephora or Nordstrom are two stores which will not only give you carded samples, but will also make you samples if the carded ones are not available! This is a little-known secret, but the salespeople are so helpful and always glad to give you a sample of anything they have in stock.

Using these methods, I now have a nice little collection of perfume samples, which I use when I go out or want to smell nice at work.

Note that Sephora and Nordstrom don't stock Chanel perfume, which is too bad because they have some of the nicest fragrances and are one of the best-known perfume houses besides Dior. But other than that minor loss, I get my perfume for free. Sorry, LVMH.

Further reading:
Cuffed, high-waisted shorts for $0
Are you spending too much on makeup?
Why high-savings department stores are not your friend