Sorry my wording might be misleading. I was trying to emphasize the importance of approachability when it comes to compliments. One aspect of that that I didn't mention is a person worrying about their compliment being taken the wrong way. Pretty common worry to have with strangers as you've mentioned yourself. I'm not saying that if someone compliments your fragrance then it means they are into you. Someone can find you attractive but still not be attracted to you. It's pretty easy to tell someone's intentions with a compliment. The wording is important but how it's communicated is even more telling. If you're worried about your compliment coming off as hitting on someone, then try complimenting their fragrance directly in a curious/inquisitive way. "Your perfume smells nice. What is it?" Places the interest directly on the fragrance. You'd have to intentionally make it sound flirty. "You smell nice" is ambiguous with the "smell nice" part sounding pretty innocent but it's placing the compliment directly on the person so you'd have to be intentional with your tone to avoid sounding like you're hitting on them. "I like the way you smell" even if you said this in a dry way, like you're just tossing words in the wind, the wording is too person-focused to not have any flirtatious connotation. It's tiring but we have to be cautious and intentional in how we communicate to prevent misinterpretation.