One "old wives" tale is to lick the perfume. If it burns your tongue, then it is not for you.
Another "old wives" tale is if you cannot smell the perfume on your skin, then it is just right.
Please don't lick your arm in the department store, or wherever else you try on a perfume. I guarantee you will get some strange looks.
All perfume "fades" after a while partially due to the fact that we get used to the scent.
Go ahead and test the perfume. Do not rub it in as it "bruises" the fragrance. Smell of it by waving your arm under your nose. How does it smell to you?
Leave it on for about 20 - 30 minutes as you do other things. Smell it again. If you still like it, then that is the one for you.
Perfumes, colognes, eau de toilettes, etc react differently to everyone's body chemistry. My friend wears lighter scents (Hilfiger, Tommy Girl, etc, and I wear heavier scents (oriental, spicy - Obsession, Opium, etc). I have tried her type of perfumes on and I cannot stand myself until the smell wears off.
Never judge a perfume by anyone else's standards - judge it by your own.