I absolutely love buying samples wearing them and spending time with them. It’s an amazing experience. And I own around 80 or so fragrances and I wear every single fragrance I own. Thank you for sharing YOUR OWN EXPERIENCE but it’s not the experience of everyone.
I prefer to sample. A lot of the stuff that is hyped ended up being meh to me. I did have quite a few huge Ws with blind buying though, but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.
i think we are talking Owning vs Discovering. isn't learning the point of life? i don't sample just to get a full bottle at some point, i sample for the pleasure of smelling all the good fragrances out there, learning new things and better things about something that i thought i knew, doing comparisons between raw materials or same accords from different perfumers, learning history. i would never buy a full of Kouros but i want to smell it! same for moderns, i would never buy an animalic oud frag but i want to know it. and a sample, depending on the size, is 2/3 wears, is not that bad to getting to know a fragrance. i only buy full discovery sets when i'm fond of a house/perfumer because i can hardly be disappointed, but i never had problems in getting samples from free. you can even join groups and sharing full bottles. i agree with some of your points, especially how the brain works but i don't get the point of owning at all costs. knowledge is way more valuable :)
Sample first, always. Blind-buying, especially as you described it, is nothing more than justification for endorphins and dopamine. Coercing yourself into liking a bottle because you spent a ludicrous amount of money on it is just foolish. You mentioned scents eventually blend into each other, I call that learning scent profiles and becoming a more experienced nose. Why do most modern designer releases smell like a sludge of amberwoods and aromachemicals these days...well, because they generally are; consistently smelling those profiles allows me to digest them and see their similarities. You can also sample at a higher rate than blind-buying full bottles, so naturally the rate of success is going to be a lot lower.
Man, I appreciate that everyone has their own opinion but this is one of the craziest takes I've heard. It's funny you mentioned addicition because I was thinking as I was watching your video that this sounds like the behavior of an addict. Talking about the risk/rush of blind buying, how it's getting harder to find something that excites you, buying something and already thinking you may need to sell it and get something else. In-sane. I think you may need to step back from the atomizer a bit! :)
yea, it is a bit like an addiction/gambling, but not really. i'm more addicted to sugar than I am fragrances. and as someone who majored in applied mathematics I absolutely *hate* the idea of gambling. even in my video games, i refrain from gambling (i.e. if i can either spend more resources to roll the pet/accessory that i want or pay less and try and "roll" the pet/accessory I want, I always go for the sure thing). all my fragrance purchases are educated/informed guesses, and I sometimes just buy them not because I like them but because they are meaningful or popular creations in the fragrance world. and even if i dont like them right away they are something i can learn to appreciate - dior homme cologne for instance. thought it was super boring and generic at first, but over time I have grown to absolutely love it after blind buying it. there is a certain "gambling" aspect to blind buying, but I feel like the "high" i get from it is the same as when I online order other things like clothes, or stuff from the chemist, or anything else new. also, because of how expensive samples are (sometimes 2ml samples can cost like $10-15) i sometimes think blind buying is the better option. most often than not, I am going to be happy with my purchase, and having full bottles I am able to give friends/family samples so that they can test or enjoy them themselves.
In my humble opinion sampling first off is for the individual who simply enjoys fragrances as part of their human experience. All fragrances are wonderful in their own unique way and for fragrance lovers sampling is a way to test a fragrance that you may appreciate but may or may not want a full bottle but valued the experience the sample gave you. This fragrance journey is supposed to add beauty and experience to your human journey like a trip or an art painting or gathering with old friends. This UA-cam community is taking this way more serious than it’s supposed to be a demonizing the experience that is here for us to enjoy. If you are that hung up on collecting samples simply throw what you don’t like away and move on. Too much life to experience getting social complaining about something that can easily be resolved. Don’t forget to enjoy your experience with fragrances
I completely and thoroughly disagree, however I always enjoy your content for showcasing your uncensored and real opinion and that's worthy of praise nonetheless.
I'm really OCD about my fragrances and I would prefer to sample over blind buying. My rules are 1. Don't by a sample that I can't smell in a store. 2. I always go for a 5ml sample if it's available. Enough to spray a decent amount on my hands and neck so that I get as much projection from the sample as possible. 3. If I like it I'll buy a full bottle if I don't like it after 2 wears I'll have done most of the sample by then so it's no love lost. I have blind bought too many fragrances in the past that have been such a dissapointment that I don't chance it anymore. La nuit de l'homme and Bulvgari Ava Amara.
I've got a full bottle of that Bvulgari Aqua Amara and its shocking....not only is it synthetic, loud and obnoxious - but it also starts to smell like rotten egg on my skin after a period of time. She aint no good!
I agree with you. I get to experience a fragrance fully, including the bottle and packaging elements before deciding if I wanna keep it or if I should sell it.
I own 35 full bottles of mostly niche and higher-end designer fragrances, and I sampled probably 300 or more samples to get to that point. I wear all my fragrances. I can't imagine how much less further along my fragrance journey and poorer I'd be if I went through my fragrance journey by blind buying. I have no pressure to sell any blindly bought bottles because I never bought them to begin with. I also enjoy going back to samples and trying them again. I've actually ended up buying bottles of fragrances after taking a break from a sample and coming back to it such as Amouage Reflection Man.
Breath of fresh air. I was recently bombarded with videos of people telling me that they regret buying their fragrances or why you shouldn't buy lots of fragrances. I get them because they are something I enjoy. I like smelling fragrances and comparing what other people think of them. I like smelling the different notes and compositions. I like having bottles of them. I like knowing that I have them if they ever get discontinued/reformulated. and most of all, I like wearing them and sharing samples with others. I have also on more than 1 occasion gotten my samples mixed up (they mixed up the labels of Burberry London with tea for two). you never really know what fragrance you got unless you have the bottle.
You’re right in that choosing to blind buy or not is a very personal preference. I personally have not bought a full bottle of fragrance in about 8 years and only purchase samples or decants since then, because I use them as a method of study. Most of the samples/decants I’ve bought have been deliberate purchases in that I want to know what people find interesting in a particular fragrances; to smell what accords or notes it might be that people are liking.
I gift my samples away to random people. Sampling has helped me not compulsively blind buy stuff. Not everyone has self control and it can turn into a gambling addiction really quickly, which is why on my channel I push slow gratification loops, hunting and researching, and sampling something that you might blind buy. I have a large bin of B tier bottles that I regret wasting money on. If I sampled them Id have never gotten them. Very often I have to wear a sample more than once. Maybe its the way I am wired, but I enjoy saving up and having a well planned gameplan for acquiring a high end fragrance that I know will be something special in my collection. My next one that Ive been hunting down is a 200 ml of Grand Soir. On the topic of visiting the stores, I constrain myself to only try one fragrance and usually go in with an idea of what i want to try. I will spray that fragrance on me all over and wear it the rest of the day. I did this with many fragrances and have avoided many fail purchases. The gambling is fun but I assume that the masses are vulnerable so i cant in good faith tell them to go entertain a potentially addictive hobby. This is especially so with the cheap stuff like Lattafa. I have many friends with huge amounts of bottles now within a few months of being into this and they express their regrets too. HYPE is also a dangerous factor and I see it rampant with the cheap stuff. Maybe its a learning experience that is necessary so i think in many ways your opinion is valid to me. Selling is my next step! Good take on that too.
I really appreciate you putting out this highly controversial take! I’d say I enjoy both, but I also relate to what you’re saying and have to admit I love the blind buy. And while I almost always take a loss when reselling, I’ve never had a problem eventually moving bottles out of my collection when necessary.
@@nathanielmoody3656 thank you! I enjoy both as well. It’s just really nice to stumble on a partial deal where I can sit with the bottle for a month and for sure resell it for a $20 loss. I prefer that but it’s not like I can always do that 😅 most time I have to get samples obviously lol. It’s just weird when I look at my collection the ones I’d NEVER sell were all blind buys. I think that honey moon stage flips a switch in my brain that or it’s just fate.
Let me share my experience: As a growing up adult, i begun collecting designer fragrances and as i got a better job , i started looking on the niche side. I used to spend monthly around 300 Euros on samples and around 150 on a full bottle. What i ended up having is a bunch of samples that i would never wear again. I have regretted on getting those instead of full bottles. Only 1 of 10 samples were full bottle worthy. The main reason was that when i buy a sample I dont search deeply if i may like it or not (bevause it it cheap) but when i want to commit to a full bottle , i check reviews from different sources , and some recommendations come from people that we have similar taste. So it it not much of a blind buy. There is also the solution of getting 10ml samples to test if you like it a lot from which i have saved myself from purchasing a full bottle i would not wear much.
This is what works for me after a year into my fragrance journey: I blind buy fragrances within the $100-150 range if I'm familiar with the perfumer and find the drydown notes to be reasonable. I sample the more expensive niche stuff that I want to purchase directly from the brand to show my support AND flankers to the fragrances I already own (or fragrances that have very similar notes) to avoid redundancy while also making sure I don't miss out on a renovated formula. You brought up a rather intriguing point in our brains being forced to adapt to a scent and growing to appreciate it over time, which doesn't tend to happen with samples (unless you commit to a 5-10ml). Call me desperate, but at some point I chose to treat it as experience points for my olfactory. As long as it doesn't become compulsive, blind buy misses train your nose and make it easier to pick out the stuff you truly enjoy. After learning to tolarate behemoths like Silver Oud and Sultan Vetiver, I feel unstoppable! 😎
Honestly, I've had great success with my blind buys. Silver Mountain Water, Prada l'homme Intense, ADG Parfumo, Ermenegildo zegna Italian Bergamot, Sultan Vetiver, Tuscan Leather, Millésime Impérial, Hacivat, Guerlain Vetiver, Guerlain L'homme Ideal, Acqua Di Parma Colonia Intense, and Grey flannel were all blind buys that I'm happy to have in my collection. Just blind bought Histories De Parfums 1725 yesterday. And I'm pretty confident that I'll like it, if not love it. I'll admit it is not for everyone. But if you know how, you know how.
Great video, and a balanced opinion. My 2 cents: you summed up what im looking for in my collection at 13:06, but people are naturally discouraged to blind buy really expensive quality stuff, which means the average person who does not go into fragrances with a business purpose/selling in mind will blind buy a bunch of designer blah and middle eastern clones. Also when it comes to selling, people hang on to a lot of mid stuff that smells okay but is overshadowed by other fragrances in their collection, which means the bottle gets really minimal wear. I try and get my hands on 10ml travel atomizers or official manufacturer samples when I can. Theyre sealed much better than 3rd party sample (almost no leaks), and in the case of the larger size travel atomizers, allow you to actually spend a lot of time with the fragrance, and let go of good-not-great stuff when it has run its course. I will say I blind bought Xerjoff Renaissance cuz it was a really good price, really didnt like it at first and now i love it. So I think your arguments for blind buying is legit. But i could never blind buy something over $150
I have very few L’s from blind buying but the cost of how expensive those bottles are led me to samples and decants. I almost blind bought Amouage Black Iris but I got a decant instead. Saved me from a $300 mistake. I blind bought Amouage Epic and it was a fail. Then I traded it in a Facebook group with a guy I traded with before and he stood me up. He got Epic cause I packed and shipped it well but he never sent the fragrance he was supposed to send. I advocate for sampling and buying decants.
I sample and skin test everything. There have been times i loved a decant enough to purchase a full size and after wearing 5 to 6 times the thrill was gone and I’d discovered something I like more. It’s those times I’ve been glad I didn’t own a full size. I can spend 200 on one bottle or 125 on five 10mL’s. I get more enjoyment from the variety. ❤
I prefer sampling. However, blind buying provides you with a non-linear experience and lasting memories. There is nothing like having a bottle even if you dislike it. I remember everyone I gave/sold a bottle to. I also remember who have given me partials. With this in mind, I am now 40+ and I need all bangers in my collection. If there is no use case; I don't want it.
What a wild life this is. I NEVER sample. I’m a blind buying machine for the most part unless I got a free sample and liked it. Last night I made a cart with 6-7 samples. Now this video. Thank you for making my life even more difficult. Joking of course, I like your perspective and it’s one I share. It’s hard for me to sample to due to the price per milliliter theory. My mother always raised us on unit price at the grocery store, so it’s hard for me to sample on that notion.
I hope I didn’t come across too hard against sampling 😅 I obviously have sampled a lot I’m not ‘against it’ just at a place where I realized if I wasn’t doing these videos where I need samples to review them I’d be more of the type to blind buy here and there and just sell what stops serving me. That being said, if I were to sample I just think I’d go for more polarizing houses typically where I’m bound to get more of an experience than ‘another vanilla’. That cost per ml thing is real like at $12 for a 2ml you’re basically paying the equivalent to $600 for a 100ml.
@@CgScents I couldn’t agree with you more. The few samples I were looking at were for sure along the lines of more unique. I most certainly will blind buy a designer without blinking. I have been so lucky, my failed purchases or simply ones I didn’t fall in love with, I’ve been able to utilize Facebook groups to swap/sell as you mentioned. It really isn’t a bad route. The only ones I need to sample I think from here on out are much more expensive scents and as you mentioned maybe more unique. I want to sample about 4 scents at the moment. 4x3ml is like $55~ just so hard to justify that. But Royal Oud and Reflection 45 are pretty expensive so it might not hurt. I really do agree though, I don’t need to sample simpler fragrances. Especially because if they’re mass appealing, they’ll probably sell or swap with relative ease.
It depends on the cost of the fragrance for me. I can't spend $200 on some obscure niche bottle and I find out it smells terrible. What most people don't tell you in this community is a lot of bottles you don't like will just sit there collecting dust because nobody will buy it. I've had issues selling super popular mainstream designers. You're not guaranteed to sell anything and you could be out $200 versus.... an $8 sample. Also, selling a bottle you will almost always be at a loss unless it's rare/discontinued. Samples are also a problem when you buy tons of them at a time and in the bigger sizes... cost can add up here just as fast or even faster than a bottle. Both ways can turn into a slippery slope fast
What to do with the samples? It's quite simple; I have a couple of small metal boxes and I store them there. The boxes are stored in my dressing. I can bet it takes a lot.less space than 20 full bottles that you blind bought and that you might or might not like and wear. They are worthless? No, not really. I may want to revisit a certain perfume a few years later, so I take the sample out of the box. Maybe a friend smells the sample and loves it, so I gift it to them so they can wear it.
I keep samples in my glove box & gym bag and use them when traveling. I also give them to my friends children (young men who aren’t necessarily into fragrances yet)
It’s time consuming and I do end up losing some money plus there’s risk involved. Some fragrances just don’t sell. Really my blind buys have a much higher success rate and ultimately I have sold bottles that I sampled and was sure about in the past just grew away from them.
I’ve literally never bought a sample and the only fragrances I’ve ever regretted buying have been cheap fragrances from like Ross for 20 bucks and what I usually just give those away to friends and family. Blind buying if fun.
This year I started to sample much more than I had previously. Still blind bought more than I liked, but working on it. I can see how most people think blind buying is insane, but if you've been in game a while and have smelled a lot of things, you get to a place where you know what you like in notes and scent profiles. If you're experienced, the blind buying hit rate should be pretty high. I think the hidden danger with blind buying is that you could end up with a lot of fragrances you "like", and few fragrances you truly love. At least that's what I noticed happened with me. Sampling is a form of blind buying only with less risk. I use the samples as throw ins when I sell fragrances.
I started my journey sampling as well and lost a ton to evaporation as well. In the end I could t be bothered to sell individually so just sold as a large lot at a large loss. Totally agree with you
A lot of great points as usual Cg. Having recently sold off most of my collection, I found out that something is worth only what someone is willing to pay for it and a lot of people are looking for a deal. Losing 25% reselling a $200 bottle definitely hurts more than spending $20 on a decant and you're definitely right about that rush you get from blind buying. Having had my fair share of blind buy fails I say there is a fiscally responsible way of sampling by putting in as much research into the samples as the full bottles instead of sampling an entire line which is what I've found myself doing and ending spending $150 on samples with no resale value
Blind buying is a nice surprise but also forces you to stay a bit longer with the scent and give it time to grow on you. Still, be responsible and don't blind buy 10s of fragrances, after all you'll have to wear them. Unless you're filthy rich, then do w/e. Buy me some blindly even :D
I just throw samples out I don’t like or feel I like but don’t fit my personality. Might be a waste of money but I feel they will just take space, sit there and degrade as I don’t wear them.
You know what CG? I completely agree with you and that is why I usually get bottles. I get a TON of sample but I can count on a hand the frags I actually bought after sampling. The conversation is way bigger than this comment and needs to be expanded!
Yeah, it’s weird. I just look at my collection and most my keepers were blind buys. I think the honey moon stage and first impression ties into my memory association of the scent. It’s weird but it’s true for me at least.
Interesting video and perspective on consumption in general. I almost exclusively blind buy (if not available locally to put on skin). I've made a lot of people happy by gifting (and now my sons are selling off) unwanted or redundant scents. It is fun receiving fragrance hauls and trying then using for them for a while. I look at it the same way as I do clothes. You buy replacements for similar reasons. They get old, you want something new or it is additive in some other way. Anyway, been enjoying your content (especially the FOMO v Gucci Envy).....Fragrance buy is just down from where I live so I typically receive orders same day (hence the hauls lol). Cheers.
I've been sampling now if it's something $100+. I've gotten so many samples of things that sound amazing on fragrantica or from videos that end up smelling so mediocre when I get a sample. Samples save so much money, I'd rather sample than have 10-20 bottles collecting dust that I'd never touch. But to be realistic, a successful blind buy feels way better 😅
*PS:* recently ordered a sample of gucci intense oud after hearing you talk about it. GPH1 was something my step dad wore and it really made an impression on me. later on when i got into fragrances, i also really liked GPH2 which had the same bottle design. expecting great things from my sample of intense oud ^_^
Totally agree bro. I have around 25 bottles now and I have blind brought maybe 10 of them and the rest I have purchased from a store. Have never brought a tester.. I like the excitement of purchasing something you’ve never smelt and it arriving and that having that wow factor, especially with a niche fragrance. Gambling in a way 😂😂 Here for a good time not a long time 👊🏼
90% of what I own was blind buys and/or full bottles. I have purchased more than 200 bottles over the last 5 years, and have resold more than 100 them. I have lost a lot less money than if I had purchased 100 decants, that are completely worthless.
Send em to me I’ll cover shipping 😊. I like get samples and abuse them and putting them in every situation I think I’ll use the fragrance but you have a great point on blind buying as it is more exciting and a better experience.
Respectfully I really disagree. Personally I never blindbuy anything remotely expensive. Here's the thing - even if you end up liking it, it's very possible you won't love it. Sampling allows you to carefully curate something that is truly special and worth the investment.
See, I do agree I am pretty middle of the road but oddly enough I have blind buys that have stood the test of time. Would never sell them. Then, I have things I sampled and was sure of that let go of. Honestly, I don’t really take a side but if I’m confident in the house, the seller, the product the process of blind buying is more fun and for whatever reason gets a higher success rate. I think that’s psychological. But I’m also highly for sampling. It’s a case by case thing for me. There’s a lot of subjectivity here like I do UA-cam and sample a ton. I sell frequently so it’s easy for me to sell at this point. All these things do influence my preference I don’t think I represent the norm which is perhaps why my opinion isn’t a popular one. Really tho, I do think your logic is more sound. It makes more sense.
This. This is exactly what I do. Most expensive thing I've blind bought is like $90. With samples though I almost always end up saying "really like it - not worth $300." 😂
In my country (Brazil) is very very hard to find stores that sells niche, only in really big citties like São Paulo you can find them, so it’s almost impossible to try a niche fragrance for free in a store, the only option for you is buy decants or blind buy the bottle online😕
I always try and get about 5ml samples. It's enough to try on skin, then just on clothes, then a combination of both - and more than once. I'll have a very good idea of whether I really enjoy the frag or not. I'd much rather pay say £15 for a few ml of a £300 fragrance and not like it than buy the full bottle and not like it. If I like it enough to buy then I'm only paying £315 for a guaranteed winner. Selling blind buy fails is a minefield with buyers trying to rip you off, and even if you do sell successfully you're very likely to lose a fair bit more than the price of a sample. I even sample cheapies now as all the £20 or £30+ mistakes soon add up. My last blind buy was actually a cheapie, Liam Grey, that was hyped up by various influencers. Smells like cheap, monotonous chemical garbage. No more, says I. There are a few genuinely great cheapies eg Kayaan Classic, but for every one of those there's a ton of landfill junk. So I just buy a bunch of samples of them from a good site for very little money, and it's just a bit of fun with the occasional gem unearthed. Cheers.
Huh, vials or samples are the best for me! It helps me to decide if i want it or not. And 2 ml vials gone so fast, even only using it 1 day and its gone
I still prefer to sample personally, but I also feel like I haven't experienced enough to where I would be comfortable making good blind buys. I'm still surprised by how certain ingredients smell especially how they interact with other ingredients in a scent. I mainly just gift all of the samples of things that I either buy a full bottle of or don't end up purchasing to friends/coworkers. Plus my gf also absolutely loves fragrances, so its fun for us to get a discovery set snd sit down snyd try new things together even the horrible ones. We regularly visit stores to sample things, and I'm pretty sure they hate us there. 🤣 Because even if i find the greatest thing ever, I'm still headed to the discounters.
My wife and I always head to discounters 😅. Honestly, the horrible samples are the best ones. Zoologist is so much fun lol my wife and I still show penguin to everyone that comes over and T Rex is a common running joke in our home lol. I think part of it is I’ve sampled ‘too much’. I prolly should step back I’ve made almost 100 videos in 5 months lol. I think I’m building some sort of tolerance to samples or something 😅.
@@CgScents @CgScents Oh yes, especially when you already know the face they're going to make when it's their turn. Actually the zoologist anthology is something I really really want to do soon. A few drinks and that roller coaster of a scent journey sounds like a pretty fun night if you ask me. 😅 I mean you have definitely been knocking it out of the park with the content that's for sure! I also feel like you're probably pretty capable of being able to paint a picture of a fragrance just by the notes though, especially since a lot of houses kind of have their 'signature takes' on certain styles. I'll get there eventually but I'm still not quite there myself. 😆
@@chaostheory3011 thank you man! I try to speak my mind and what I truly think or feel without any worries. I really enjoy the expression it’s a hobby I love both the production and fragrances. I honestly think I’m just too confident selling or swapping and am in a place where I have time for it. My reputation in marketplace is decent enough if I price things good they fly. I also see that even when I sample and get something I love it’s rare it’ll stay really long term. There’s this weird perspective I have, I don’t think it’s very relatable, but I make fragrance videos so obviously I’ve gone pretty deep 😅. The house thing is real. Le Labo is my highest success rate house and I’ve liked everything but love most of them. Patchouli 24 would be my next purchase I’ve considered going to the boutique and getting a sample but it’s pretty polarizing I think I’d really need to invest in that one 😅. I’m pretty sure I’ll love it I love Gaiac 10 which also smells like barbecue to me. Honestly my worse regrets of blind buys had more to do with bad performance than scent profile. I can’t stand scented water.
@@CgScents Not a problem, I'm glad I stumbled upon the channel you're definitely a go-to if there's something I'm curious about and want to get a good perspective on it! I have yet to get my nose on a single le labo scent outside of clones, and those I'm not even going to count. My area is pretty sparse as far as what I can go sniff, creed and bond no 9 are about as niche as it gets here sadly. Having said all that about sampling, I did literally just blind but African Leather though. 🤣☠️ So fingers crossed I end up with your success rate though I have a good feeling about that one!
@@chaostheory3011 you’re going to be fine with African Leather that’s the kind of scent I would blind buy it’s super easy to like. I’ve had my eye on that one because my wife said she’d wear it too. Always a good value when two can enjoy it.
My approach. If I can I test tne fragrance on store I'll do that first. If not, it's a monetary equation. If I like the description and note break down I look at the price. If it's $50 or under I blind buy. If it's closer to $100+, I'll try to get a sample, or buy the dupe (if it's exists) to get an idea. I've found with some blind buys that they I didn't really like them, and if I feel like it won't sell I give some away. The worst feeling for me is keeping things that I know I will never use, especially when I know someone else may enjoy it.
That’s similar to me I’m pretty balanced and case by case. I get the impression I somehow implied that I blind buy like crazy lol truth is it’s a pretty rare process and I don’t have a hoard of bottles. Sometimes I stumble on a good deal of something I’m very interested in and know I can flip it, I’ll blind buy it. And for whatever reason - those end up with a much higher success rate than samples. Actually, looking at my collection all my forever loves were blind buys. I think the honey moon stage of a bottle that works out does something to my memory association almost seals the deal so to speak.
I blind buy everything, I care less about samples, I have ENOUGH EXPERIENCE WITH FRAGRANCES, GREAT TOPIC I NEED TOO FOLLOW THIS SAME CONCEPT ON MY CHANNEL 🤜🤛
One problem with samples (other than them being way to expensive), like you touched up on, is that they don’t give you a great idea. I’ve had so many samples that don’t smell the same as the bottles I then got. You would have to get like a 3ml+ sample atleast to spend enough time with it. And with a 3-5ml sample you’re getting FUCKED as far as price goes, and like you said you can’t even resell it.
@cgscents I love doing research, then blind buying. Personally it makes me excited about the fragrance. Anticipating that it’s everything I thought it’s going to be. However, when the fragrance becomes a disappointment, it makes me never want to blind again. I am not rich so I have to save for every bottle I buy. Spending $250, on a fragrance you hate and don’t want to wear really really sucks. However, I continue to blind buy and ride the emotional roller coaster. My goal is to find the perfect 15 fragrances I enjoy. CG after testing some many fragrances what are your top 15 you can’t live without? Also, I know your opinion will continue to change overtime. And I have seen your top 7 favorite, but I am assuming you smell more since then.
I have about 25-30 bottles and it’s my goal to keep all of them there are some I’ll never trade or sell for sure. I am considering getting rid of jubilation xxv and am like “I could replace it with something I know I enjoy like Haltane or Torino 22 or I could get patchouli 24 which I’ve never tried and if it doesn’t work out I’ll sell it.” I dunno why I lean towards the later I guess I realize now most my forever keeps we’re once blind buys. I think the memory association of the excitement and it working out then having that honeymoon phase leaves a lasting impression. Green Irish tweed and Gucci intense oud for example we’re blind buys oddly and I’d always keep those. Ones I’d prolly add to that list would be Vibrato and Rose 31. I’ll keep those forever. I am REALLY into interlude black Iris as well lately that ones grown on me so rapidly I don’t even smell anything challenging about it anymore lol. Still need more real world testing.
I totally agree . Awesome video Example I just blind bought fate man 2 weeks ago did I love it first spray No . Heavy cummin note in the top . Do I love it now Absolutely 👍, and like you said bc I invested in it and spent time with it . If I sampled it I would not have had the same experience. I would have missed the beauty. Again great video 👊
to me Jo Malone fragrances are the best I've ever smelled, wood sage n sea salt is amazing. Most of their stuff is unisex but the have masculine fragrances and feminine fragrances. You should explore this line if you haven't already. Just my take...Nice reviews👍🏻👍🏻
I would rather buy partial, as if i hate it, i can easily sell it. Btw 1ml of perfume is equal to 0.80g to o.88gram. Alcohol is less dense than water, even after adding 15 to 30% perfume concentrate(which weight 0.9gram +-)
I'm like, you Cg. I'm in the middle but lean more towards blind buying based on my success rate. Of my 15 or so blind buys there have been two I didn't like. Boi du Portugal and Milestone. I was also able to return them for full refund.
What do you mean “what am i gonna do with this”? Its a sample. You try it you use it to find out if you like it or not then you throw it away. Its a s-a-m-p-l-e
Using small samples is hit or miss. Many times the sample does not spray properly. You are not able to do a heavy spray if you want to. I want to spray the sample like I plan to wear it. I don’t want to spray a test strip. I am happy I bought a sample of Creed Spice and Wood. $400-$500 a bottle……….please.
Yeah. Spice and Wood has some pretty bad performance issues and isn’t all that interesting. Nothing will piss me off more than getting something with laughable performance.
@@robertb.3651 yep! That's what I do. Look up the notes. If possible, get a sense of what category the fragrance falls under. Having some general idea of what particular notes smell like and what they add to a scent can help ....sometimes. Read and watch some reviews if I can.. if it sounds like something I'm looking for. I go for it. This has worked out pretty good for me so far.
You dont have to own something whenever you spend your money. When you buy a sample you pay for the experience. If you dont like it you move on to the next if you enjoy it you use it and buy a bottle Blind buying is just dumb. Yes we all do it but its dumb. At what point does buying something that sounds nice become a good idea? You sound like you have impulse problems. The wearing experience of a fragrance you love should be more exciting then spraying something hoping you'll like it
Never feels forced to me just feels like I give it more of a chance and learn to appreciate things. But like I said I don’t think we can ‘force’ our brain to like or dislike things I believe tho it receives various cues. I enjoy both sampling and blind buying to each their own. In some cases I sample first it depends.
The act of decanting and sampling only happens in the modern times. Thanks to the internet. Back then buying and smelling a perfume was experienced at the store. Fragrance producers hate decants.Their reasons are confused. Partly, they are obsessed with brand control and despise the idea of their product being sold in unauthorized packaging, into which it is dispensed in who knows what conditions, and partly they have the curious notion that this undercuts their sales. Given that the people decanting pay for the fragrance and increase its exposure and market, this last objection makes no sense, but some brands pride themselves on being unknown and unavailable. Fortunately, an increasing number of fragrance firms have noticed the thriving business of decants and are now competing by offering smaller sizes, with lots of one-ounce bottles and more travel sprays, so again, capitalism is operating as it should. So if you have time and money, the best is to experience it in stores. Test it. Try it. And if you love it, go for it. Blind buying or sampling, well thats up to you. But i hope you'll have a great experience in your fragrance journey. ❤
You gotta sample always if possible but I will say samples don't always give you a full picture. Got to be at least a 2ml spray sample as well. Those none spray dab ones aren't worth it.
In my humble opinion sampling first off is for the individual who simply enjoys fragrances as part of their human experience. All fragrances are wonderful in their own unique way and for fragrance lovers sampling is a way to test a fragrance that you may appreciate but may or may not want a full bottle but valued the experience the sample gave you. This fragrance journey is supposed to add beauty and experience to your human journey like a trip or an art painting or gathering with old friends. This UA-cam community is taking this way more serious than it’s supposed to be a demonizing the experience that is here for us to enjoy. If you are that hung up on collecting samples simply throw what you don’t like away and move on. Too much life to experience getting social complaining about something that can easily be resolved. Don’t forget to enjoy your experience with fragrances
I absolutely love buying samples wearing them and spending time with them. It’s an amazing experience. And I own around 80 or so fragrances and I wear every single fragrance I own. Thank you for sharing YOUR OWN EXPERIENCE but it’s not the experience of everyone.
I prefer to sample. A lot of the stuff that is hyped ended up being meh to me. I did have quite a few huge Ws with blind buying though, but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.
i think we are talking Owning vs Discovering. isn't learning the point of life?
i don't sample just to get a full bottle at some point, i sample for the pleasure of smelling all the good fragrances out there, learning new things and better things about something that i thought i knew, doing comparisons between raw materials or same accords from different perfumers, learning history. i would never buy a full of Kouros but i want to smell it! same for moderns, i would never buy an animalic oud frag but i want to know it.
and a sample, depending on the size, is 2/3 wears, is not that bad to getting to know a fragrance.
i only buy full discovery sets when i'm fond of a house/perfumer because i can hardly be disappointed, but i never had problems in getting samples from free. you can even join groups and sharing full bottles.
i agree with some of your points, especially how the brain works but i don't get the point of owning at all costs.
knowledge is way more valuable :)
@@flarmentaro very good points
Sample first, always. Blind-buying, especially as you described it, is nothing more than justification for endorphins and dopamine. Coercing yourself into liking a bottle because you spent a ludicrous amount of money on it is just foolish. You mentioned scents eventually blend into each other, I call that learning scent profiles and becoming a more experienced nose. Why do most modern designer releases smell like a sludge of amberwoods and aromachemicals these days...well, because they generally are; consistently smelling those profiles allows me to digest them and see their similarities. You can also sample at a higher rate than blind-buying full bottles, so naturally the rate of success is going to be a lot lower.
It's a unpopular opinion because it's the path to a bad collection.
Man, I appreciate that everyone has their own opinion but this is one of the craziest takes I've heard. It's funny you mentioned addicition because I was thinking as I was watching your video that this sounds like the behavior of an addict. Talking about the risk/rush of blind buying, how it's getting harder to find something that excites you, buying something and already thinking you may need to sell it and get something else. In-sane. I think you may need to step back from the atomizer a bit! :)
You’re prolly right 😅
@@CgScents
xD
yea, it is a bit like an addiction/gambling, but not really. i'm more addicted to sugar than I am fragrances. and as someone who majored in applied mathematics I absolutely *hate* the idea of gambling. even in my video games, i refrain from gambling (i.e. if i can either spend more resources to roll the pet/accessory that i want or pay less and try and "roll" the pet/accessory I want, I always go for the sure thing). all my fragrance purchases are educated/informed guesses, and I sometimes just buy them not because I like them but because they are meaningful or popular creations in the fragrance world. and even if i dont like them right away they are something i can learn to appreciate - dior homme cologne for instance. thought it was super boring and generic at first, but over time I have grown to absolutely love it after blind buying it. there is a certain "gambling" aspect to blind buying, but I feel like the "high" i get from it is the same as when I online order other things like clothes, or stuff from the chemist, or anything else new.
also, because of how expensive samples are (sometimes 2ml samples can cost like $10-15) i sometimes think blind buying is the better option. most often than not, I am going to be happy with my purchase, and having full bottles I am able to give friends/family samples so that they can test or enjoy them themselves.
In my humble opinion sampling first off is for the individual who simply enjoys fragrances as part of their human experience. All fragrances are wonderful in their own unique way and for fragrance lovers sampling is a way to test a fragrance that you may appreciate but may or may not want a full bottle but valued the experience the sample gave you.
This fragrance journey is supposed to add beauty and experience to your human journey like a trip or an art painting or gathering with old friends.
This UA-cam community is taking this way more serious than it’s supposed to be a demonizing the experience that is here for us to enjoy. If you are that hung up on collecting samples simply throw what you don’t like away and move on. Too much life to experience getting social complaining about something that can easily be resolved.
Don’t forget to enjoy your experience with fragrances
Completely agree. Probably 80% of my samples, I wouldn't actually wear but very few I actually don't like. I do enjoy comparing and contrasting.
I completely and thoroughly disagree, however I always enjoy your content for showcasing your uncensored and real opinion and that's worthy of praise nonetheless.
I'm really OCD about my fragrances and I would prefer to sample over blind buying.
My rules are
1. Don't by a sample that I can't smell in a store.
2. I always go for a 5ml sample if it's available. Enough to spray a decent amount on my hands and neck so that I get as much projection from the sample as possible.
3. If I like it I'll buy a full bottle if I don't like it after 2 wears I'll have done most of the sample by then so it's no love lost.
I have blind bought too many fragrances in the past that have been such a dissapointment that I don't chance it anymore. La nuit de l'homme and Bulvgari Ava Amara.
I've got a full bottle of that Bvulgari Aqua Amara and its shocking....not only is it synthetic, loud and obnoxious - but it also starts to smell like rotten egg on my skin after a period of time.
She aint no good!
I agree with you. I get to experience a fragrance fully, including the bottle and packaging elements before deciding if I wanna keep it or if I should sell it.
I own 35 full bottles of mostly niche and higher-end designer fragrances, and I sampled probably 300 or more samples to get to that point. I wear all my fragrances. I can't imagine how much less further along my fragrance journey and poorer I'd be if I went through my fragrance journey by blind buying. I have no pressure to sell any blindly bought bottles because I never bought them to begin with. I also enjoy going back to samples and trying them again. I've actually ended up buying bottles of fragrances after taking a break from a sample and coming back to it such as Amouage Reflection Man.
Breath of fresh air. I was recently bombarded with videos of people telling me that they regret buying their fragrances or why you shouldn't buy lots of fragrances. I get them because they are something I enjoy. I like smelling fragrances and comparing what other people think of them. I like smelling the different notes and compositions. I like having bottles of them. I like knowing that I have them if they ever get discontinued/reformulated. and most of all, I like wearing them and sharing samples with others. I have also on more than 1 occasion gotten my samples mixed up (they mixed up the labels of Burberry London with tea for two). you never really know what fragrance you got unless you have the bottle.
You’re right in that choosing to blind buy or not is a very personal preference. I personally have not bought a full bottle of fragrance in about 8 years and only purchase samples or decants since then, because I use them as a method of study. Most of the samples/decants I’ve bought have been deliberate purchases in that I want to know what people find interesting in a particular fragrances; to smell what accords or notes it might be that people are liking.
I gift my samples away to random people.
Sampling has helped me not compulsively blind buy stuff. Not everyone has self control and it can turn into a gambling addiction really quickly, which is why on my channel I push slow gratification loops, hunting and researching, and sampling something that you might blind buy.
I have a large bin of B tier bottles that I regret wasting money on. If I sampled them Id have never gotten them. Very often I have to wear a sample more than once.
Maybe its the way I am wired, but I enjoy saving up and having a well planned gameplan for acquiring a high end fragrance that I know will be something special in my collection. My next one that Ive been hunting down is a 200 ml of Grand Soir.
On the topic of visiting the stores, I constrain myself to only try one fragrance and usually go in with an idea of what i want to try.
I will spray that fragrance on me all over and wear it the rest of the day. I did this with many fragrances and have avoided many fail purchases.
The gambling is fun but I assume that the masses are vulnerable so i cant in good faith tell them to go entertain a potentially addictive hobby.
This is especially so with the cheap stuff like Lattafa. I have many friends with huge amounts of bottles now within a few months of being into this and they express their regrets too. HYPE is also a dangerous factor and I see it rampant with the cheap stuff.
Maybe its a learning experience that is necessary so i think in many ways your opinion is valid to me.
Selling is my next step! Good take on that too.
I really appreciate you putting out this highly controversial take! I’d say I enjoy both, but I also relate to what you’re saying and have to admit I love the blind buy. And while I almost always take a loss when reselling, I’ve never had a problem eventually moving bottles out of my collection when necessary.
@@nathanielmoody3656 thank you! I enjoy both as well. It’s just really nice to stumble on a partial deal where I can sit with the bottle for a month and for sure resell it for a $20 loss. I prefer that but it’s not like I can always do that 😅 most time I have to get samples obviously lol. It’s just weird when I look at my collection the ones I’d NEVER sell were all blind buys. I think that honey moon stage flips a switch in my brain that or it’s just fate.
Let me share my experience: As a growing up adult, i begun collecting designer fragrances and as i got a better job , i started looking on the niche side. I used to spend monthly around 300 Euros on samples and around 150 on a full bottle. What i ended up having is a bunch of samples that i would never wear again. I have regretted on getting those instead of full bottles. Only 1 of 10 samples were full bottle worthy. The main reason was that when i buy a sample I dont search deeply if i may like it or not (bevause it it cheap) but when i want to commit to a full bottle , i check reviews from different sources , and some recommendations come from people that we have similar taste. So it it not much of a blind buy. There is also the solution of getting 10ml samples to test if you like it a lot from which i have saved myself from purchasing a full bottle i would not wear much.
This is what works for me after a year into my fragrance journey:
I blind buy fragrances within the $100-150 range if I'm familiar with the perfumer and find the drydown notes to be reasonable.
I sample the more expensive niche stuff that I want to purchase directly from the brand to show my support AND flankers to the fragrances I already own (or fragrances that have very similar notes) to avoid redundancy while also making sure I don't miss out on a renovated formula.
You brought up a rather intriguing point in our brains being forced to adapt to a scent and growing to appreciate it over time, which doesn't tend to happen with samples (unless you commit to a 5-10ml). Call me desperate, but at some point I chose to treat it as experience points for my olfactory. As long as it doesn't become compulsive, blind buy misses train your nose and make it easier to pick out the stuff you truly enjoy. After learning to tolarate behemoths like Silver Oud and Sultan Vetiver, I feel unstoppable! 😎
Honestly, I've had great success with my blind buys. Silver Mountain Water, Prada l'homme Intense, ADG Parfumo, Ermenegildo zegna Italian Bergamot, Sultan Vetiver, Tuscan Leather, Millésime Impérial, Hacivat, Guerlain Vetiver, Guerlain L'homme Ideal, Acqua Di Parma Colonia Intense, and Grey flannel were all blind buys that I'm happy to have in my collection.
Just blind bought Histories De Parfums 1725 yesterday. And I'm pretty confident that I'll like it, if not love it.
I'll admit it is not for everyone. But if you know how, you know how.
Great video, and a balanced opinion. My 2 cents: you summed up what im looking for in my collection at 13:06, but people are naturally discouraged to blind buy really expensive quality stuff, which means the average person who does not go into fragrances with a business purpose/selling in mind will blind buy a bunch of designer blah and middle eastern clones. Also when it comes to selling, people hang on to a lot of mid stuff that smells okay but is overshadowed by other fragrances in their collection, which means the bottle gets really minimal wear.
I try and get my hands on 10ml travel atomizers or official manufacturer samples when I can. Theyre sealed much better than 3rd party sample (almost no leaks), and in the case of the larger size travel atomizers, allow you to actually spend a lot of time with the fragrance, and let go of good-not-great stuff when it has run its course.
I will say I blind bought Xerjoff Renaissance cuz it was a really good price, really didnt like it at first and now i love it. So I think your arguments for blind buying is legit. But i could never blind buy something over $150
I have very few L’s from blind buying but the cost of how expensive those bottles are led me to samples and decants. I almost blind bought Amouage Black Iris but I got a decant instead. Saved me from a $300 mistake. I blind bought Amouage Epic and it was a fail. Then I traded it in a Facebook group with a guy I traded with before and he stood me up. He got Epic cause I packed and shipped it well but he never sent the fragrance he was supposed to send. I advocate for sampling and buying decants.
I sample and skin test everything. There have been times i loved a decant enough to purchase a full size and after wearing 5 to 6 times the thrill was gone and I’d discovered something I like more. It’s those times I’ve been glad I didn’t own a full size.
I can spend 200 on one bottle or 125 on five 10mL’s. I get more enjoyment from the variety. ❤
I agree, sampling is expensive. I prefer blind buying as well. I have never had a blind buy fail
I prefer sampling. However, blind buying provides you with a non-linear experience and lasting memories. There is nothing like having a bottle even if you dislike it. I remember everyone I gave/sold a bottle to. I also remember who have given me partials. With this in mind, I am now 40+ and I need all bangers in my collection. If there is no use case; I don't want it.
What a wild life this is. I NEVER sample. I’m a blind buying machine for the most part unless I got a free sample and liked it. Last night I made a cart with 6-7 samples. Now this video. Thank you for making my life even more difficult. Joking of course, I like your perspective and it’s one I share. It’s hard for me to sample to due to the price per milliliter theory. My mother always raised us on unit price at the grocery store, so it’s hard for me to sample on that notion.
I hope I didn’t come across too hard against sampling 😅 I obviously have sampled a lot I’m not ‘against it’ just at a place where I realized if I wasn’t doing these videos where I need samples to review them I’d be more of the type to blind buy here and there and just sell what stops serving me. That being said, if I were to sample I just think I’d go for more polarizing houses typically where I’m bound to get more of an experience than ‘another vanilla’. That cost per ml thing is real like at $12 for a 2ml you’re basically paying the equivalent to $600 for a 100ml.
@@CgScents I couldn’t agree with you more. The few samples I were looking at were for sure along the lines of more unique. I most certainly will blind buy a designer without blinking. I have been so lucky, my failed purchases or simply ones I didn’t fall in love with, I’ve been able to utilize Facebook groups to swap/sell as you mentioned. It really isn’t a bad route. The only ones I need to sample I think from here on out are much more expensive scents and as you mentioned maybe more unique. I want to sample about 4 scents at the moment. 4x3ml is like $55~ just so hard to justify that. But Royal Oud and Reflection 45 are pretty expensive so it might not hurt. I really do agree though, I don’t need to sample simpler fragrances. Especially because if they’re mass appealing, they’ll probably sell or swap with relative ease.
fragrance is art, not a commodity like a food ingredient from the grocery store. optimize for experience, not price per qty
@@beach_lionvery well said
I love all these responses.
It depends on the cost of the fragrance for me. I can't spend $200 on some obscure niche bottle and I find out it smells terrible. What most people don't tell you in this community is a lot of bottles you don't like will just sit there collecting dust because nobody will buy it. I've had issues selling super popular mainstream designers. You're not guaranteed to sell anything and you could be out $200 versus.... an $8 sample. Also, selling a bottle you will almost always be at a loss unless it's rare/discontinued. Samples are also a problem when you buy tons of them at a time and in the bigger sizes... cost can add up here just as fast or even faster than a bottle. Both ways can turn into a slippery slope fast
I 100% agree with you cost is a major factor and samples can become excessive because they’re so much easier to justify
What to do with the samples? It's quite simple; I have a couple of small metal boxes and I store them there. The boxes are stored in my dressing. I can bet it takes a lot.less space than 20 full bottles that you blind bought and that you might or might not like and wear. They are worthless? No, not really. I may want to revisit a certain perfume a few years later, so I take the sample out of the box. Maybe a friend smells the sample and loves it, so I gift it to them so they can wear it.
I keep samples in my glove box & gym bag and use them when traveling. I also give them to my friends children (young men who aren’t necessarily into fragrances yet)
Selling lightly used or unused fragrances for a fair price is easier said than done. Otherwise full bottles would be considered the ultimate sample.
It’s time consuming and I do end up losing some money plus there’s risk involved. Some fragrances just don’t sell. Really my blind buys have a much higher success rate and ultimately I have sold bottles that I sampled and was sure about in the past just grew away from them.
12:30 exactly why Papillon Salome is my favorite purchase of the year.
Very animalic but also so beautifully white floral spicey
I’ve literally never bought a sample and the only fragrances I’ve ever regretted buying have been cheap fragrances from like Ross for 20 bucks and what I usually just give those away to friends and family. Blind buying if fun.
This year I started to sample much more than I had previously. Still blind bought more than I liked, but working on it. I can see how most people think blind buying is insane, but if you've been in game a while and have smelled a lot of things, you get to a place where you know what you like in notes and scent profiles. If you're experienced, the blind buying hit rate should be pretty high. I think the hidden danger with blind buying is that you could end up with a lot of fragrances you "like", and few fragrances you truly love. At least that's what I noticed happened with me. Sampling is a form of blind buying only with less risk. I use the samples as throw ins when I sell fragrances.
I started my journey sampling as well and lost a ton to evaporation as well. In the end I could t be bothered to sell individually so just sold as a large lot at a large loss. Totally agree with you
A lot of great points as usual Cg. Having recently sold off most of my collection, I found out that something is worth only what someone is willing to pay for it and a lot of people are looking for a deal. Losing 25% reselling a $200 bottle definitely hurts more than spending $20 on a decant and you're definitely right about that rush you get from blind buying. Having had my fair share of blind buy fails I say there is a fiscally responsible way of sampling by putting in as much research into the samples as the full bottles instead of sampling an entire line which is what I've found myself doing and ending spending $150 on samples with no resale value
Blind buying is a nice surprise but also forces you to stay a bit longer with the scent and give it time to grow on you. Still, be responsible and don't blind buy 10s of fragrances, after all you'll have to wear them. Unless you're filthy rich, then do w/e. Buy me some blindly even :D
I just throw samples out I don’t like or feel I like but don’t fit my personality. Might be a waste of money but I feel they will just take space, sit there and degrade as I don’t wear them.
You know what CG? I completely agree with you and that is why I usually get bottles. I get a TON of sample but I can count on a hand the frags I actually bought after sampling. The conversation is way bigger than this comment and needs to be expanded!
Yeah, it’s weird. I just look at my collection and most my keepers were blind buys. I think the honey moon stage and first impression ties into my memory association of the scent.
It’s weird but it’s true for me at least.
Interesting video and perspective on consumption in general. I almost exclusively blind buy (if not available locally to put on skin). I've made a lot of people happy by gifting (and now my sons are selling off) unwanted or redundant scents. It is fun receiving fragrance hauls and trying then using for them for a while. I look at it the same way as I do clothes. You buy replacements for similar reasons. They get old, you want something new or it is additive in some other way. Anyway, been enjoying your content (especially the FOMO v Gucci Envy).....Fragrance buy is just down from where I live so I typically receive orders same day (hence the hauls lol). Cheers.
Name your price. I’ll buy all of those unwanted samples 💯💯💯💯
I've been sampling now if it's something $100+. I've gotten so many samples of things that sound amazing on fragrantica or from videos that end up smelling so mediocre when I get a sample. Samples save so much money, I'd rather sample than have 10-20 bottles collecting dust that I'd never touch. But to be realistic, a successful blind buy feels way better 😅
Fact: I blind bought all my favourite scents.
I've had lots of success blind buying - I've bought 3 or 4 clone type fragrances that I know I'll never wear.
*PS:* recently ordered a sample of gucci intense oud after hearing you talk about it. GPH1 was something my step dad wore and it really made an impression on me. later on when i got into fragrances, i also really liked GPH2 which had the same bottle design. expecting great things from my sample of intense oud ^_^
Totally agree bro. I have around 25 bottles now and I have blind brought maybe 10 of them and the rest I have purchased from a store. Have never brought a tester..
I like the excitement of purchasing something you’ve never smelt and it arriving and that having that wow factor, especially with a niche fragrance. Gambling in a way 😂😂 Here for a good time not a long time 👊🏼
90% of what I own was blind buys and/or full bottles. I have purchased more than 200 bottles over the last 5 years, and have resold more than 100 them. I have lost a lot less money than if I had purchased 100 decants, that are completely worthless.
Send em to me I’ll cover shipping 😊. I like get samples and abuse them and putting them in every situation I think I’ll use the fragrance but you have a great point on blind buying as it is more exciting and a better experience.
Respectfully I really disagree.
Personally I never blindbuy anything remotely expensive. Here's the thing - even if you end up liking it, it's very possible you won't love it. Sampling allows you to carefully curate something that is truly special and worth the investment.
See, I do agree I am pretty middle of the road but oddly enough I have blind buys that have stood the test of time. Would never sell them. Then, I have things I sampled and was sure of that let go of.
Honestly, I don’t really take a side but if I’m confident in the house, the seller, the product the process of blind buying is more fun and for whatever reason gets a higher success rate. I think that’s psychological.
But I’m also highly for sampling. It’s a case by case thing for me.
There’s a lot of subjectivity here like I do UA-cam and sample a ton. I sell frequently so it’s easy for me to sell at this point. All these things do influence my preference I don’t think I represent the norm which is perhaps why my opinion isn’t a popular one. Really tho, I do think your logic is more sound. It makes more sense.
I blind buy cheapies and sample expensive stuff. Like I wouldn't wanna blind buy Amouage Reflection 45 for 450 Euro.
This. This is exactly what I do. Most expensive thing I've blind bought is like $90. With samples though I almost always end up saying "really like it - not worth $300." 😂
In my country (Brazil) is very very hard to find stores that sells niche, only in really big citties like São Paulo you can find them, so it’s almost impossible to try a niche fragrance for free in a store, the only option for you is buy decants or blind buy the bottle online😕
I always try and get about 5ml samples. It's enough to try on skin, then just on clothes, then a combination of both - and more than once. I'll have a very good idea of whether I really enjoy the frag or not. I'd much rather pay say £15 for a few ml of a £300 fragrance and not like it than buy the full bottle and not like it. If I like it enough to buy then I'm only paying £315 for a guaranteed winner. Selling blind buy fails is a minefield with buyers trying to rip you off, and even if you do sell successfully you're very likely to lose a fair bit more than the price of a sample. I even sample cheapies now as all the £20 or £30+ mistakes soon add up. My last blind buy was actually a cheapie, Liam Grey, that was hyped up by various influencers. Smells like cheap, monotonous chemical garbage. No more, says I. There are a few genuinely great cheapies eg Kayaan Classic, but for every one of those there's a ton of landfill junk. So I just buy a bunch of samples of them from a good site for very little money, and it's just a bit of fun with the occasional gem unearthed. Cheers.
I just bought a fragrance I think will be my first blind buy regret. Secretions magnifique etat de l’orange. Yeah I was unsober when I got it. 😅
100% this. samples and decants can be useful but they cost a lot per ml
Huh, vials or samples are the best for me! It helps me to decide if i want it or not. And 2 ml vials gone so fast, even only using it 1 day and its gone
I still prefer to sample personally, but I also feel like I haven't experienced enough to where I would be comfortable making good blind buys. I'm still surprised by how certain ingredients smell especially how they interact with other ingredients in a scent. I mainly just gift all of the samples of things that I either buy a full bottle of or don't end up purchasing to friends/coworkers.
Plus my gf also absolutely loves fragrances, so its fun for us to get a discovery set snd sit down snyd try new things together even the horrible ones. We regularly visit stores to sample things, and I'm pretty sure they hate us there. 🤣 Because even if i find the greatest thing ever, I'm still headed to the discounters.
My wife and I always head to discounters 😅. Honestly, the horrible samples are the best ones. Zoologist is so much fun lol my wife and I still show penguin to everyone that comes over and T Rex is a common running joke in our home lol.
I think part of it is I’ve sampled ‘too much’. I prolly should step back I’ve made almost 100 videos in 5 months lol. I think I’m building some sort of tolerance to samples or something 😅.
@@CgScents @CgScents Oh yes, especially when you already know the face they're going to make when it's their turn. Actually the zoologist anthology is something I really really want to do soon. A few drinks and that roller coaster of a scent journey sounds like a pretty fun night if you ask me. 😅
I mean you have definitely been knocking it out of the park with the content that's for sure! I also feel like you're probably pretty capable of being able to paint a picture of a fragrance just by the notes though, especially since a lot of houses kind of have their 'signature takes' on certain styles. I'll get there eventually but I'm still not quite there myself. 😆
@@chaostheory3011 thank you man! I try to speak my mind and what I truly think or feel without any worries. I really enjoy the expression it’s a hobby I love both the production and fragrances.
I honestly think I’m just too confident selling or swapping and am in a place where I have time for it. My reputation in marketplace is decent enough if I price things good they fly. I also see that even when I sample and get something I love it’s rare it’ll stay really long term. There’s this weird perspective I have, I don’t think it’s very relatable, but I make fragrance videos so obviously I’ve gone pretty deep 😅.
The house thing is real. Le Labo is my highest success rate house and I’ve liked everything but love most of them. Patchouli 24 would be my next purchase I’ve considered going to the boutique and getting a sample but it’s pretty polarizing I think I’d really need to invest in that one 😅. I’m pretty sure I’ll love it I love Gaiac 10 which also smells like barbecue to me.
Honestly my worse regrets of blind buys had more to do with bad performance than scent profile. I can’t stand scented water.
@@CgScents Not a problem, I'm glad I stumbled upon the channel you're definitely a go-to if there's something I'm curious about and want to get a good perspective on it!
I have yet to get my nose on a single le labo scent outside of clones, and those I'm not even going to count. My area is pretty sparse as far as what I can go sniff, creed and bond no 9 are about as niche as it gets here sadly.
Having said all that about sampling, I did literally just blind but African Leather though. 🤣☠️ So fingers crossed I end up with your success rate though I have a good feeling about that one!
@@chaostheory3011 you’re going to be fine with African Leather that’s the kind of scent I would blind buy it’s super easy to like. I’ve had my eye on that one because my wife said she’d wear it too. Always a good value when two can enjoy it.
My approach. If I can I test tne fragrance on store I'll do that first. If not, it's a monetary equation. If I like the description and note break down I look at the price. If it's $50 or under I blind buy. If it's closer to $100+, I'll try to get a sample, or buy the dupe (if it's exists) to get an idea.
I've found with some blind buys that they I didn't really like them, and if I feel like it won't sell I give some away. The worst feeling for me is keeping things that I know I will never use, especially when I know someone else may enjoy it.
That’s similar to me I’m pretty balanced and case by case. I get the impression I somehow implied that I blind buy like crazy lol truth is it’s a pretty rare process and I don’t have a hoard of bottles. Sometimes I stumble on a good deal of something I’m very interested in and know I can flip it, I’ll blind buy it. And for whatever reason - those end up with a much higher success rate than samples. Actually, looking at my collection all my forever loves were blind buys. I think the honey moon stage of a bottle that works out does something to my memory association almost seals the deal so to speak.
I blind buy everything, I care less about samples, I have ENOUGH EXPERIENCE WITH FRAGRANCES, GREAT TOPIC I NEED TOO FOLLOW THIS SAME CONCEPT ON MY CHANNEL 🤜🤛
One problem with samples (other than them being way to expensive), like you touched up on, is that they don’t give you a great idea. I’ve had so many samples that don’t smell the same as the bottles I then got.
You would have to get like a 3ml+ sample atleast to spend enough time with it. And with a 3-5ml sample you’re getting FUCKED as far as price goes, and like you said you can’t even resell it.
I only blind buy. I don’t pay for samples!!! I have also never bought anything that I was given a sample of.
@cgscents I love doing research, then blind buying. Personally it makes me excited about the fragrance. Anticipating that it’s everything I thought it’s going to be. However, when the fragrance becomes a disappointment, it makes me never want to blind again. I am not rich so I have to save for every bottle I buy. Spending $250, on a fragrance you hate and don’t want to wear really really sucks. However, I continue to blind buy and ride the emotional roller coaster. My goal is to find the perfect 15 fragrances I enjoy.
CG after testing some many fragrances what are your top 15 you can’t live without? Also, I know your opinion will continue to change overtime. And I have seen your top 7 favorite, but I am assuming you smell more since then.
I have about 25-30 bottles and it’s my goal to keep all of them there are some I’ll never trade or sell for sure. I am considering getting rid of jubilation xxv and am like “I could replace it with something I know I enjoy like Haltane or Torino 22 or I could get patchouli 24 which I’ve never tried and if it doesn’t work out I’ll sell it.” I dunno why I lean towards the later I guess I realize now most my forever keeps we’re once blind buys. I think the memory association of the excitement and it working out then having that honeymoon phase leaves a lasting impression. Green Irish tweed and Gucci intense oud for example we’re blind buys oddly and I’d always keep those.
Ones I’d prolly add to that list would be Vibrato and Rose 31. I’ll keep those forever. I am REALLY into interlude black Iris as well lately that ones grown on me so rapidly I don’t even smell anything challenging about it anymore lol. Still need more real world testing.
I totally agree . Awesome video
Example I just blind bought fate man 2 weeks ago did I love it first spray No . Heavy cummin note in the top . Do I love it now Absolutely 👍, and like you said bc I invested in it and spent time with it . If I sampled it I would not have had the same experience. I would have missed the beauty. Again great video 👊
to me Jo Malone fragrances are the best I've ever smelled, wood sage n sea salt is amazing. Most of their stuff is unisex but the have masculine fragrances and feminine fragrances. You should explore this line if you haven't already. Just my take...Nice reviews👍🏻👍🏻
I would rather buy partial, as if i hate it, i can easily sell it. Btw 1ml of perfume is equal to 0.80g to o.88gram. Alcohol is less dense than water, even after adding 15 to 30% perfume concentrate(which weight 0.9gram +-)
That’s usually what I go for too. Sealed environment, can sell it, can be authenticated. Good to know on the weight thing!
I'm like, you Cg. I'm in the middle but lean more towards blind buying based on my success rate.
Of my 15 or so blind buys there have been two I didn't like. Boi du Portugal and Milestone. I was also able to return them for full refund.
What do you mean “what am i gonna do with this”? Its a sample. You try it you use it to find out if you like it or not then you throw it away. Its a s-a-m-p-l-e
@@axelbrambila2802 it was a rhetorical question
I blindly bought over 300 fragrances 😂. The only fragrance I smelled 1st before I purchased is Eros flame haha.
My rule. Anything over 300ish sample. I am single income with 3 kids though you do you.
Using small samples is hit or miss. Many times the sample does not spray properly. You are not able to do a heavy spray if you want to. I want to spray the sample like I plan to wear it. I don’t want to spray a test strip. I am happy I bought a sample of Creed Spice and Wood. $400-$500 a bottle……….please.
Yeah. Spice and Wood has some pretty bad performance issues and isn’t all that interesting. Nothing will piss me off more than getting something with laughable performance.
Awesome video bro
ITS CG KID NO WAY 😭😭
Blind buying for me. Looking up the notes first and was never disappointed.....
@@robertb.3651 yep! That's what I do. Look up the notes. If possible, get a sense of what category the fragrance falls under. Having some general idea of what particular notes smell like and what they add to a scent can help ....sometimes. Read and watch some reviews if I can.. if it sounds like something I'm looking for. I go for it. This has worked out pretty good for me so far.
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Nice content. But you are creeping me out with that horror movie sound effect imitation at the end of each video.
You dont have to own something whenever you spend your money. When you buy a sample you pay for the experience. If you dont like it you move on to the next if you enjoy it you use it and buy a bottle
Blind buying is just dumb. Yes we all do it but its dumb. At what point does buying something that sounds nice become a good idea?
You sound like you have impulse problems.
The wearing experience of a fragrance you love should be more exciting then spraying something hoping you'll like it
Very depressing...🤦♂️
Great bit of contrarianism. Really.
Yeah this should be unpopular 😂 sounds like you force yourself to like it over time too.
Never feels forced to me just feels like I give it more of a chance and learn to appreciate things. But like I said I don’t think we can ‘force’ our brain to like or dislike things I believe tho it receives various cues. I enjoy both sampling and blind buying to each their own. In some cases I sample first it depends.
wait is this cg kid ??
The act of decanting and sampling only happens in the modern times. Thanks to the internet. Back then buying and smelling a perfume was experienced at the store. Fragrance producers hate decants.Their reasons are confused. Partly, they are obsessed with brand control and despise the idea of their product being sold in unauthorized packaging, into which it is dispensed in who knows what conditions, and partly they have the curious notion that this undercuts their sales. Given that the people decanting pay for the fragrance and increase its exposure and market, this last objection makes no sense, but some brands pride themselves on being unknown and unavailable. Fortunately, an increasing number of fragrance firms have noticed the thriving business of decants and are now competing by offering smaller sizes, with lots of one-ounce bottles and more travel sprays, so again, capitalism is operating as it should.
So if you have time and money, the best is to experience it in stores. Test it. Try it. And if you love it, go for it. Blind buying or sampling, well thats up to you. But i hope you'll have a great experience in your fragrance journey. ❤
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You gotta sample always if possible but I will say samples don't always give you a full picture. Got to be at least a 2ml spray sample as well. Those none spray dab ones aren't worth it.
Yeah those dab ones are the worse
In my humble opinion sampling first off is for the individual who simply enjoys fragrances as part of their human experience. All fragrances are wonderful in their own unique way and for fragrance lovers sampling is a way to test a fragrance that you may appreciate but may or may not want a full bottle but valued the experience the sample gave you.
This fragrance journey is supposed to add beauty and experience to your human journey like a trip or an art painting or gathering with old friends.
This UA-cam community is taking this way more serious than it’s supposed to be a demonizing the experience that is here for us to enjoy. If you are that hung up on collecting samples simply throw what you don’t like away and move on. Too much life to experience getting social complaining about something that can easily be resolved.
Don’t forget to enjoy your experience with fragrances