Is there a way you can sample a fragrance before you buy it?

[TheDiesel]

Most stores only have samples for the new and popular fragrances. Is there a way I can sample a fragrance? And esp for ordering online? Could I order a little sample bottle first

 

[Thomas]

The Perfumed Court (iirc, the perfumedcourt.com) offers samples in various sizes. They are not especially cost-efficient though, and I only go through them for uncommon scents that I know I can't swap away.

Most of the time, I bought off the basenotes swap board and then sold/swapped away any that REALLY stunk.

 

[indy116]

You can contact the house and see if they offer free samples or small vials for sale. Some are kind enoug to send out samples for free, some charge a couple dollars, some don't offer the service at all. Or look around for stores that sell decants / samples.. Couple places: http://www.scentmonkey.com/try-before-buy.php http://theperfumedcourt.com/ Or check basenotes.

 

[minhi]

many perfume counter will have a little mini-spray bottles that they will fill from samples on display for you to take home. they;re tiny spray bottles that are good for 2-3 uses. i know sephora will do this for you, just tell them you want to sample something for a few days at home.

 

[oceans11]

Saks is a good dept store that doesn't mind handing out the free samples. I bought Bond Central Park & ended up walking out with 15 different samples!

 

[rach2jlc]

Originally Posted by indy116

You can contact the house and see if they offer free samples or small vials for sale. Some are kind enoug to send out samples for free, some charge a couple dollars, some don't offer the service at all. Or look around for stores that sell decants / samples.. Couple places: http://www.scentmonkey.com/try-before-buy.php http://theperfumedcourt.com/ Or check basenotes.
Basenotes no longer allows decants due to a really knee-jerk reaction/decision by the moderator last year. As such, the basenoters who used to do decants now have to list them here or they'll get deleted and/or banned: http://flacon.ambaric.net/index.php For more niche stuff, places like Luckyscent (www.luckyscent.com) will offer samples of most all of their offerings. That's a GREAT way to try hard-to-find stuff that you'd never want to buy blind in a full bottle.

 

[MCsommerreid]

I suggest contacting the maker, particularly if it's an English cologne. Floris, for example, gives a butt load of samples (the samples alone have lasted me a year) for naught but shipping.

 

[JoeWoah]

This thread delivers! I was thinking about this the other day.

 

[Casey]

I just got two samples from Nordstrom. I'm sure any high-end department store or a store like Sephora will be glad to give you a sample.