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Buying samples?

post #1 of 7
11/6/08 at 8:49pm
Thread Starter 
I'm looking to buy a few vials to sample a few fragrances. How long does 1 mL last anyhow? Is that so little that it only lasts for a few applications? Should I get a 2.5 mL so I can use them longer?

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post #2 of 7
11/6/08 at 11:45pm
1 ml would give me 1-2 applications, depending on how much I put on.
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post #3 of 7
11/7/08 at 12:07am
I like to get my samples in a spray vial, because I find it much easier to get a good application, so at The Perfumed Court, that means at least 1.5 ml samples. I haven't worked out yet just how much I use per application, but I'd guess it's 1/4-1/3 ml. I'm quite new to this, and still trying to work out how much works best for me - and it seems to vary for different fragrances, too.
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post #4 of 7
11/12/08 at 12:49pm
I wore a sample of Alain Delon's 47 Samourai EDT today but there's still about four fifths of the 2ml vial left...so it seems like I need to apply more as I couldn't smell it at all after a couple of hours.

I like to smell my frags but am always conscious not to over-apply (as I had a few unkind comments in my youth from workmates for going OTT!)
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post #5 of 7
11/12/08 at 1:26pm
It lasts me two to ten tries, depending on the concentration. Colognes are gone within two tries, parfum extrait I only need a drop or two of, so I can make 1ml last ages.
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post #6 of 7
11/12/08 at 2:13pm
My preference for samples is at least a 1.5 mil spray vial. Without that much, and without the option to spray (I'm clumsy at dabbing) I don't feel that I've really tested the fragrance.

That said, the 1.5 mil samples from Perfumed Court are a good deal more expensive than the 1 mil samples from LuckyScent, and of course much more expensive than any that I can beg for free.

So I've been narrowing my choices with the free/cheap samples, getting a 1.5 mil to test again, getting a 5 or 8 mil to wear the scent for a while, and in theory someday before I die I'll buy a full bottle of something. This is with stuff within a reasonable price range; the stuff that's offered in half- or quarter-milliliters to make the smallest sample affordable, I'm mostly ignoring right now. (Well, except for these three incredibly small micro-jars from Aftelier, sitting on my desk. And that drop of Black Cashmere pure parfum. And, well, just a few things.)

That's not to say that I don't have any full bottles, but all of them were either gifts, or purchased before my perfume obsession expanded and I realized that in self-defense I need a throttle to the buying process.

Crayfish
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post #7 of 7
11/12/08 at 2:16pm
I find that when I am filling a 1ml sample vial from a bottle, that it takes approximately 10 spritzes.

Baring this in mind, think of how many spritzes of a scent you are usually likely to apply on an average day... 3 or 4? Then you'd be looking at draining around 1/3-1/2 from a 1ml vial for one application.

Its up to you to decide if you can grasp the nature of the scent using 1 x 1ml vial (2-3 applications), or more.
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