Based on my personal experience/s I’m not an advocate for blind buying perfume. It is always better to sample. However, not everyone has access to department stores and boutiques to sample before buying. In the first instance always shop on a brand’s website. Many houses these days are offering discovery sets covering their full range of scents. However, you may only want to try 1 or 2 fragrances from a brand, and some brands can accommodate this by offering a choice of an assortment of samples. Failing that, a great option is to shop around on the internet for decants. In today’s blog post I’ll take you through a few of my favourite sites to shop at. Just as a disclaimer I’m not in any way affiliated with any of these sites.
eBay and Facebook groups – Both great options for buying and selling. Facebook groups are great for exchanging with folks you know and trust.
The Scent Sampler – An Australian website selling a wide variety of men’s, women’s, niche and designer scents. Available in 2, 3 and 5ml sizes. They do custom sizes on request, always ship promptly, and have very reasonable pricing. Amongst their stock you’ll find many rare discontinued designers and hard to find niche. I’m a big fan of their range of designer exclusives from Dior, YSL and Carolina Herrera. As an added bonus they always throws in a few extras such as candles and body lotions. thescentsampler.com.au.
Scent Samples – My other go to Australian website for decants. 1000’s of fragrances both designer and niche. Great range of Serge Lutens, L’Artisan Parfumeur and Guerlain. Choose from 1, 2, 3, 5 and 10ml sizes. scentsamples.com.au.
Perfume Samples and Decants – Massive range of scents from this US based site across all genres. An enviable collection of higher end Dior scents. Again available in 1,2,3,5 and 10 ml. perfumesamplesanddecants.com.
The Perfumed Court – I’ve been shopping with this US based company for years. They usually ship within one business day and I’ve never had a problem with broken vials or incorrect orders. Highly recommended. They have a huge selection, and often offer discount codes of up to 20 -30 percent which I gratefully accept. A treasure trove of goodies. theperfumedcourt.com.
Surrender to Chance – I used to shop with these guys a lot but I’ve noticed they break up your order into separate shipments, so you end up getting 2 or 3 packages per order. Therefore it can take some time to receive your complete order. Having said that they’re still worth a look for their huge selection of Tom Ford, Serge Lutens and Diptyque. Look for their “5ml Fabulous Fragrance Fridays” for some good bargains. They also do deals around US holiday times. surrendertochance.com.
Decantshop – These guys may offer some of the best deals around often offering up to 30-35 percent off. A vast selection of designer and niche is at your fingertips from this US based site. Not the fastest processing times but they do offer an express shipping option to make up for it. 1,2,3,5,8 and 15 ml sizes. Lots of hard to find indie houses to choose from including Imaginary Authors. decantshop.com.
Scentsplit – I’ve used Scentsplit a couple of times and have been impressed. A huge range of mostly niche including Monda di Orio, Bortnikoff and Parfums MDCI. They offer their decants in 1, 2, 5 and 9 ml sizes. This US company ships worldwide. scentsplit.com.
The Fragrance Decant Boutique – At last count this Texan based site had 1079 fragrances in their store. Great range available from Andy Tauer to Zara. All their scent are available in roller ball and spray bottles ranging from 1ml to 30ml. They often do promo codes. decantboutique.com.
Ausliebezumduft – German store that ships slowly (particularly samples only orders) but they have a massive range of reasonably priced niche offerings and many new releases. Their samples come in 2-3ml vials. ausliebezumduft.de.
Essenza Nobile – When I last checked this German based company didn’t ship to Australia but they are a great option for European customers. They ship very quickly and efficiently and their offerings range from Amouage to Xerjoff. essenza-nobile.de.
Back to Australia for my final 3.
City Perfume – Sydney based store offering 5 x 3ml build your own sample packs based on their stock that ranges from Dior to Mancera. cityperfume.com.au.
LKNU – Melbourne based store selling niche / indie samples. Their sample service offers hand decanted 3ml sprayers from brands such as Bruno Fazzolari, Beaufort London and Rogue Perfumery. Very quick same day processing and lightning fast shipping. lknu.com.au.
Libertine Parfumerie – An old favourite, with some of the best niche offerings around. Great decant service where you can choose 4 samples and they’ll top it up with 10 more of their favourites. Highly recommended. libertineparfumerie.com.au.
Do you buy from decant sites? What are your favourite sites?