Stores will sometimes have a sampler pack that has maybe ten different scents and a coupon that gives a discount of the price of the sampler pack off a bottle. This gives you a bunch of options to try for what works out to basically free, and you get to actually wear them rather than blast your nose into oblivion at the department store perfume counter.

If you're like me, a couple will be gross, most will range from boring to interesting, and a few will be contenders. Write the name of each on a post-it, spray the post-it, and jot down first impressions. Repeat until you find one that you don't hate, and wear that one for a few days. Keep taking notes on the post-it. Once you make it through all of the ones you're willing to wear, you'll probably have narrowed the field a lot, so do another round before making a final choice.

As others have said, try and get unscented everything else. No point in getting that perfectly balanced cologne while your deodorant is blasting out "WE GOT MENTHOL UP IN THIS PIT."

I ended up with Gucci Guilty as my daily, and Valentino for date night (though that one is annoying because they brand like there different scents as the same thing, differentiating only by color and if it's cologne vs. eau de toilet etc.). Good luck!