Are decant perfumes worth it?

The launch of a new perfume used to be trumpeted by the latest glossy magazine or a newspaper feature, with the press being courted to write a favourable review. We took their words and opinions seriously, even if some of them had been “encouraged”, but still managed to go and smell the latest scent in our local branch of Dingles, Jollys and David Evans. However, the advent of the blog, the vlog and the podcast turned everyone into a critic, and steering your way through the minefield of opinions became harder.

The next step on from this was the desire to own and experience as much fragrance as possible but, with many having a hefty price tag attached, the idea of sharing a bottle started to become very attractive. Originally it seemed to be done in a smaller “under the table” way but it soon became a business in itself. With people buying a 100ml fragrance and decanting it into anything from 1ml you can see how profitable it could be for the not so “sharing” element of the perfume community. So let’s take a little closer look at the process of decanting.

It seems pretty straightforward doesn’t it? All you need is a bottle of fragrance and some glass or plastic vials to spray it into. Well, think about the environment that it’s being sprayed in, the cleanliness and suitability of the vial, the age of the fragrance being sprayed, and even whether your precious perfume is going to be diluted before it gets to you. I know, it’s just fragrance we’re talking about, but for the companies producing the scent it is their livelihoods, especially the niche brands who have far greater overheads. So, how have they fought back?

There was a time when customers expected samples to be given out without question, but smaller companies have now had to start charging. This is for two reasons, firstly to take on the de-canters at their own game by guaranteeing the highest quality fragrance, and secondly as a way of covering their manufacturing costs. Some companies will take the price of the sample off a future purchase, which I think is very generous, and then you can have a full bottle to enjoy. I don’t think that the demand for decants is going to subside any time soon but unless we support the companies, by purchasing direct from them, there may be less to decant in the first place.

The week ran away from me, and I didn’t publish the post I planned. More posts are coming soon, both from me and Portia, but meanwhile let’s just talk.

Saturday Question #82:

Do You Decant Perfumes for Personal Use?

We all buy or swap decants, so of course we use those and make them to send to others. But do you make decants from your own bottles to use yourself? If yes, why? For which perfumes? Do you replenish them?

My Answer

Yes. I have decants for almost (if not all) 50 ml and 100 ml bottles in my collection. First, I was making them to take with me on trips. Then, since I had a scent-sensitive co-worker, I would put on just a tiny amount in the morning and then later would apply more once he left or on my way home. And then my collection grew to the size where some of the perfumes had to be stored in the third, forth, etc. row, not too easily accessible – so, instead of playing perfume boxes Tetris in the morning, I’d use a decant.

These days, while working from home and not really traveling, I can use bottles again. But many of them are still in the third, forth, etc. row… And I don’t want my decants to evaporate. So, on many days I still use perfumes from decants.

Do You Decant Perfumes for Personal Use?

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