What are fragrance samples and are they worth buying?

Collaborative Post | Does the high cost of perfumes get you down? We hear you, and believe us, you’re not alone. Especially at the moment when people are having to watch every penny just to pay their heating bills, forking out upwards of £100 on a bottle of smellies is something many of us simply cannot afford.
 
Perhaps you wonder why the most expensive, luxuriant fragrances have to come in such big bottles. Is it simply to push the price up? Why would anyone need so much, anyway? With the really good stuff, you only need a dab or two to smell fabulous. And it’s the kind of stuff you save for special occasions, anyway.
 
Or leading on from this, perhaps you’re the sort of person who doesn’t want just one or two posh perfumes - you want as many as you can get your hands on, a different bottle for every occasion and whim, like shoes or handbags or dresses. And yet it comes round to cost again. If only there was a way to get cheaper, smaller bottles so you could build up a proper collection without having to break the bank…
 
If any of the above apply to you, then keep reading. Because we’ve got a secret to share. There is a way to get the very best, most expensive perfumes in smaller bottles, at very affordable prices.

Women's perfume samples from Fragrance Samples UK (Photo by Nati Melnychuk on Unsplash)

What is this magical secret, we hear you ask? Well, the clue is in our name. We are Fragrance Samples UK, and we specialise in selling, well, fragrance samples - women’s perfume samples, men’s cologne and aftershave samples, unisex fragrances, big brands, niche brands. You name it, we’ve got it. And if mens grooming is important to you, you will love what we offer.

What are fragrance samples?

​Fragrance samples are simply miniature tester bottles of genuine fragrances. As the name suggests, the purpose is to allow people to sample a fragrance before they buy a big bottle of it. Because, let’s face it, when you’re talking the amount of money it costs to buy a full bottle of posh perfume at retail prices, you want to be absolutely sure you like it. Love it, even. Fragrance samples are try-before-you-buy for the perfume trade.

Are fragrance samples genuine?

​Absolutely. Every sample we sell is 100% the genuine, authentic product, guaranteed. We’re not in the business of selling rip-offs and counterfeits - that’s a whole different ball game and we have nothing to do with it. We sell genuine, original, branded fragrances, just in smaller bottles. And we are happy to prove the provenance of every product we sell.

Are fragrance samples legitimate?

Again, 100% yes. There’s no skullduggery going on here, and again, we have to distance ourselves from the fake perfume trade, which is illegal.
 
It’s probably helpful at this stage to explain how we do what we do. Perfume manufacturers have always understood the desire of customers to try out their products before they pay good money to buy them. So they have always been happy to make ‘testers’ available.
 
Traditionally, tester bottles would be sent to cosmetics retailers to put on display along with bottles to be sold. They might come in a slightly different packaging - some would be labelled ‘tester’, some would be labelled in several languages to make it easier to send the same testers to shops all over the world, some would be sent without caps.
 
But the stuff inside the bottle would be the same as the stuff in the bottles you buy. And with good reason, because the fragrance company wants you to have a good whiff, fall in love and buy its product.
 
This is still common practice in cosmetics stores all over the world today. Walk into any perfume counter, and you will be able to sample products from tester bottles.
 
But perfume isn’t just sold in stores these days. It’s sold online, too. Obviously, if you’re shopping for perfume on a website, you can’t pick up a tester bottle and have a spray to help you make your decision.
 
The answer is to decant fragrances from these tester bottles into smaller ‘sample’ sizes, and send these out through the post. And because the customer is getting more than just a whiff (enough to get several wears, in fact), it’s sensible to charge a small amount for these samples, rather than give them away

Fragrance samples represent amazingly good value (Photo by Hans Vivek on Unsplash)

Are fragrance samples good value?

​Absolutely - although we would say that, wouldn’t we!  But you can make up your own mind. Our smallest sample size is 1ml, starting at a cost of £3.42. Now 1ml doesn’t sound very much and in truth isn’t. But when you are talking an eau de parfum or an extait de parfum - really concentrated, intense-smelling formulas - a tiny bit goes a long way. You will get two, three, four wears out of 1ml. Which gives you a great opportunity to really ‘live in’ the fragrance as you make up your mind whether you like it or not. Much better than a quick spritz at a perfume counter, no?
 
The largest size we label as a ‘sample’ size is 3ml, starting at £8.83. Do the maths, and you will see you could get up to around 12 wears out of a 3ml sample. That could be a whole year’s worth of special occasions, for under a tenner. And cheap enough to build up a nice collection for variety.
 
We also do larger ‘travel’ size bottles, in 5ml and 10ml. These start at £13.85 and £24.92 respectively. As many perfumes start at 20ml as a smallest retail size, our largest travel bottles are basically half the size and half the price. Which may be the difference between you being able to justify splashing out on a luxury perfume for yourself or not.


​Disclaimer: this is a collaborative post