When a decant
- First time with a brand or a perfumer
- A bottle at €160 and up, or the local equivalent
- A scent that splits people (Santal 33, Black Afgano, Oud Wood)
- Doubt about the batch or a reformulation
When a travel size or a discovery set
- An official brand set, which is a cleaner guarantee of the original
- You need 2 or 3 scents side by side
- Decants are hard to find, and the brand sells a 2 ml
When a bottle now
- A repeat buy after you emptied a decant
- A short run that will disappear
- The price per millilitre on the bottle is clearly lower (a sale, duty free)
The math
| Format | Typical volume | When it fits |
|---|---|---|
| Decant | 1 to 10 ml | First meeting |
| Travel | 7.5 to 15 ml | A short test, and trips |
| Bottle | 50 to 100 ml | A confirmed favourite |
The table tells you the sizes. It does not tell you the bet. Set the sliders to the bottle you are eyeing and the decant you found.
The decant costs 13% of the bottle. If there is more than a one in 8 chance you will not love it, the decant is the cheaper bet. The decant lasts about 8 months, the bottle about 7 years at this pace.
One spray is about 0.1 ml. A wear is three sprays. Prices are illustrative, set them to your shop.
Decant authenticity
Buy from sellers with a record and a clear policy. Ask which concentration you are getting, and how the juice was stored. A decant poured in a hot kitchen and a decant from a sealed bottle kept in the dark are different products. Decant8 does not sell decants. In reviews we name partners we would use ourselves.