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Miniatures: do they smell as good as the larger bottles?

Miniatures: do they smell as good as the larger bottles? 11 years ago
This past weekend I've ventured onto the Dutch eBay ("Marktplaats/Market Place")and bought a number of miniatures.
What struck me was a few things: perfume gets 2 different listings: when one wants to sell the juice , it goes into the 'Perfume' subsection of Jewelry and bags.
But miniatures or bottles go into the collectors area where they are called 'perfume collection'.

After having read so many warnings about fake bottles and being wary of having large-sized bottles (no space and a too high absolute price and wanting to own MANY different fragrances, no matter what size), a miniature seemed like a safe choice.

However, I started to wonder: don't most people who own miniatures just have them for the bottle? So they don't care about storage conditions (sun, heat) and simply don't care whether the bottle is full with awesome or turned juice or even water.
Fortunately those that are intentionally filled with water, mostly carry an identification and a warning : factice. Those are the fake bottles on dispay in perfume stores, issued by the perfume house itself.

Bought 4 different miniatures on Sunday, first one arrived today (a 7,5ml Opium edt) arrived today and smells quite OK! (tested the pure parfum and fell in love!)

How has your experience been? Perfume still smelling great or are there bottles that have gone bad?

And vice versa, if you don't mind pre-loved bottles, how do these smell versus miniatures of the same age that are still full? I've also bought a 100ml bottle of Givenchy Amarige with approx. 30ml remaining content for about the same price as a miniature that was about 5ml in size , which made me wonder what was the better choice: would that miniature have smelled better (assuming the same person would offer them, which was not the case)
There is no generalization, it probably varies. 11 years ago
Fortunately I have only had good luck with minis. They smelled exactly the same. However, I shopped them via

www.shopping.yahoo.com

and then looked for the best deal and a reliable seller.

Your concerns that some tiny bottles may been decorative objects and could be expired, is warranted. But, you have no way of knowing by looking at the photo.
Last edited by Pipette on 16.01.2013, 01:22; edited 1 time in total
11 years ago
I think minis give a good indication of a perfume.

The minatures I own are predominantly vintage. I buy them out of curiosity, for reference purposes and/or because I might not be able to find a FB. Or one that I that I can afford at any rate.

So I'm building a little archive, and because I buy minatures for the purpose of keeping and not really wearing I suppose I'm a "collector" of sorts.

You do have to take into consideraion that they might have been used for display purposes and their condition sufferred as a consequence. Many of the older ones fall into the category of travel souvenirs and might have been treated as keepsakes rather than items of display. One thing I have noticed about vintage minis is that while the perfume smells wonderful in the bottle it may vanish on the skin.

I have a Fidji and an original Bandit where sadly this is the case.

I have also been puzzled by the fact that eBay and sites like it treat mins as collectables. Presumably they do this on the basis that they think minis primarily appeal to perfume bottle collectors, who they no doubt equate with the same sort of people who collect and display those little liquor bottles.

I'm not into display. In fact one of the most horrifying things I have ever seen on ebay was a large collection of mins, some wonderful and rare perfumes among them, the contents of which had been adultereted with dies to make them display better!

WTF Shocked
Last edited by Seatonica on 15.01.2013, 23:41; edited 1 time in total
11 years ago
The only perfumes I've received in swaps (as extras) that had turned were minis. I assumed it was because they're mostly in splash bottles with a less than perfect seal.

All of the minis I've purchased online have been in good shape.
11 years ago
Of the minis I have purchased (not too many, and I don't have them anymore but that's because I swapped), I have found them to smell just fine. Most of the sellers I have purchased from seem to take good care of them, keeping them in cabinets or on the dresser but dusted routinely.
11 years ago
Thanks for all the answers. From everything I read here (and elsewhere where I posted the same Q), I get a good enough vibe to keep buying them.
Apart from easier storage and less 'angst' for spoiling and 'I'm never ever going to be able to finish that bottle' , there's also the distinct advantage of them mostly fitting in a padded envelope, so postage is much lower and fairly easy to ship world-wide as opposed to the current witch-hunt going on for those 'dangerous combustible fragrances' .

PS: the 3 different miniatures I'd bought on Sunday arrived safely today and they all smell terrific! Phew!
Last edited by DutchSniffer on 16.01.2013, 18:41; edited 1 time in total
11 years ago
For some reason I don't really trust minis. Partly because of what you mentioned--that people and warehousers may not care for them properly. I also seem to have a vague suspicion arising from the surface area to volume ratio. If it's true that exposure to light damages perfume, then it seems to me that minis exposed to light should be completely ruined. On top of all of that, the caps are often poorly designed. Some of my perfume in minis evaporated completely away!

I should add, though, that I harbor the same suspicions about older samples obtained from discounters. I've had weird initial encounters with perfumes (Annick Goutal and Robert Piguet are two examples) which I later found to be quite different when drawn from full-sized bottles...
Confused
11 years ago
Keep the pros & cons coming!

At least the miniatures won't have been sprayed into sample vials, like the decant shops do. The manufacturer's samples are different of course or so I assume.
Both the Opium and the Samsara were simple pull-able lids. The Angel miniature was a PITA as it had to be unscrewed. I love it that I can dab instead of spray!

Slightly off topic.. I am about to strangle the person who posted the video demonstrating how 'easy' it is to decant using a syringue. Regular needles were too thick and now the tiniest syringe (diabetic insulin needles) aren't strong enough to get through the tube!
Here goes the hope for spill-free and topnote-saving decants!
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