I like NST. Whenever I get there, I enjoy glancing over some perfume news and reading friendly exchanges in daily SOTD threads. It doesn’t happen often these days because I’m too busy when most people are active there, so by the time I can take a break most commenters are already gone – and I didn’t see a point in talking into void. So, with any extra time I have, I prefer to visit friendly blogs. But I am trying to watch for splitmeets because it used to be my steady source of 5 ml “samples” for interesting new releases.
This year I knew it was coming – and then almost missed it. I remembered about it last moment, went there in some giddy anticipation… and was both surprised and disappointed. Not only I didn’t find anything that would interest me (I’m not even sure what I wanted – maybe Chanel Comete?), but the even itself was quite underwhelming: 8 splits were offered, just 2 of them “closed,” 2 got no takers, and the rest gathered some interest, but I don’t know whether they went through.
Saturday Question #217:
Are Perfume Splits Dead?
From the SQ four years ago, I know that many of my loyal readers did not participate in splits for various reasons. But my today’s question is not just about whether you stopped or didn’t start participating in friendly splits, but also about your opinion as to what’s happening with this part of our hobby. And, if your answer is “Yes,” why do you think it is happening?
My Answer
I know, this is my fault, it happens to me all the time: I might be going to a restaurant or a store for years; then something happens that introduces a prolonged pause in my visits; and the next time I decide that “It’s been too long, let’s visit X!” I find that X has closed. So, with my no/low-buy in the last couple of years, I’m not surprised the splitting subsided.
Jokes aside… I know, this is my fault. Well, not just mine, since probably each of you contributed to this. More and more brands have finally realized that “perfumista size bottles” (10-15 ml), about which we all kept talking for the last 13+ years, is where money are. And while small bottles from brands are more expensive per ml than a friendly split, those official bottles survive better than their manually decanted counterparts. So, having said our farewells to more than one evaporated decant neglected in our collections for two long, when (or rather “if”) adding anything else to our SABLEs (“Stash Above and Beyond Life Expectancy,” according to Vanessa’s (Bonkers About Perfume) SIL), we might be more inclined to buy a travel bottle.
What do you think? Is it my fault?
Undina's Looking Glass 
My splits in the UK were largely via Basenotes. There were one or two London based chaps who regularly hosted them. I also participated in splits via Facebook. These were largely hosted by people in the US.
Due to health & financial reasons I took a step back from almost all fragrance forums.
When I dipped my toe in the water of fragrance forums again after a decade or so, splits seemed to have disappeared.
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I bought decants from FB groups, but those were rather commercial splits where the host made some profit from running the splits. NST’s splits were cost-based, which made them appealing.
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There are still frequent splits on the facebook groups, but I personally have stopped buying because I have too much perfume.
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I don’t remember when I visited FB last time. I should check a couple of groups I used to follow to see what they offer. Though, same as you, I don’t buy perfumes much any longer.
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I’ve never participated in splits so can’t comment on how it’s changed. However, I’m also glad to see more brands offering smaller bottles.
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For a while, splits were a relatively economical way to test new perfumes or wear some that you liked but weren’t ready to buy a bottle of.
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I have participated in a few splits in the past; I’m with you, though – I no longer work regular hours so I never got on NST when anyone was actively commenting and my erratic schedule meant I wasn’t there often – so I have missed the last bunch of splitmeets. I like the idea, but at this point I’m really trying to dial back my collection so it’s ok that I haven’t added splits.
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I’m not sure that I’m ready to downsize, but I definitely don’t want to increase it. And I want to finish some of the decants that I have before they evaporate or spoil.
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I think it’s just sign of the times. Maybe I’m extrapolating based on my own life but right now I find myself to be a bit-tired lol. For me think it was Covid, plus the death of quite a few people and pets I loved. I still look to the perfume community in general, because I love this hobby and perfume people are the kindest. I think after all the chaos and confusion re germs and covid-maybe this isn’t the right time to share things. I did notice the lack of responses to the split meet.
Thank you for keeping your blog going! You have a busy life and it’s generous of you to still take the time to post things, and reply to comments :)
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I’m with you on being tired! And it’s not just a daily physical exhaustion but rather the cumulative effect of the last 4 years. But I do want to keep this blog and perfume ties going because it’s something positive in my life, and I value the company of my fellow-perfumistas. Thank you for the support!
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I noticed the lack of response, too. I don’t participate in splits, but I’ve been a regular on the freebiemeets to clean out my closet. The separate freebiemeet was closed, so I hope the swapmeets stay open! I check NST daily for news, but I notice perfume blogs are getting scarce.
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Swaps never worked for me: I rarely see anything I would like to get, and I have a hard time letting go of any of my perfumes. But I should try rehoming something that I know I won’t wear – I’ll keep my eye on the swap meet schedule.
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Hi all,
Splits used to be so good. I had a few very trusted splitters UK, USA and HK, was in a worldwide split group and a few of us in Oz would split.
The post office blocking sending perfume took its toll, even when you can find a way it’s prohibitively expensive.
The sheer number of releases made choosing anything so complicated.
We of the 2010s craving crew are now 15 years older. Perfumistas from before that, especially those involved since MUA, have been doing real perfume collection for 30 years or more. Maybe we all found different things to spend our money on? Or have less money to be frivolous with.
One of the split groups I was in was amazing for years and they’d have the newest things to me within weeks of them being released. It was bloggers heaven. Then it became a month, months and the last split set I was involved in came over 6 months after ordering. By then the newness was well gone, so I pulled out.
Lastly, I think the rise of reputable decanting businesses has meant that we are less reliant on buying a few from each person.
The last split I ran was CHANEL Le Lion and once upon a time I’d have to get in two or even three 200ml bottles just for the split. Didn’t even get the interest for one full 200ml.
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I agree with all your points. But it’s interesting that the next generation of perfume enthusiasts (those who haven’t been collecting perfumes for decades and are new to the hobby) do it differently. Probably because we have so many new releases, no “authorities” on what’s good and test-worthy (perfume blogs used to fill this niche), and wider availability of samples and decants.
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I never participated in one. I feel like when they were happening, there were fewer releases, so people got really excited about new releases. I don’t get the sense that happens quite as much today.
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I am slightly sad that we’re not at that state any more. I’m not sure we benefited from that explosion of the perfume market: too many brands/perfumes created to make a quick sale and not because people had anything “to say.”
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I love splits but have not participated in ages. You would think that with time on my hands I will have time to shop and split; however, my low buy has prevented me from being enthusiastic about splitting a large bottle.
As to evaporating decants, I don’t think it’s anyone’s fault. There are many different types and qualities of atomizers. Using parafilm could help but I know that even the ones with parafilm have also evaporated to oblivion.
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I don’t think about evaporating decants as of a problem – it’s the normal process. As someone who makes decants for personal use, I know that they evaporate or spoil faster than perfumes that stay in the original bottle. So, with decants it’s “use it or lose it” – even with parafilm (which I use religiously! :) ).
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Like Nose Prose, I’ve never participated in splits, so I have no reference point. I could usually get my hands on samples, which allowed me the chance to discover and decide on whether the perfume was worthy of owning.
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10-15 years ago it was harder to get samples of niche perfumes, and it was not much cheaper to buy a 1 ml sample from a business that sold samples or eBay than a 3-5ml decant from a friendly split. But today it’s probably easier to use one of the services and buy a bunch of samples.
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You’re right, Undina. Dial back the clock, and it wasn’t easy getting niche samples. Thank goodness that has changed.
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I am a former sometime splitter, and I also don’t know what happened to it all, though the UK postal rules tightening up – and insisting on only full bottles being sent in their original packaging – certainly put the wind up me to a degree. I still try to buy decants, which I know is not quite the same thing, and am often thwarted on the UK Fragrance Sales / Swap / Split Facebook site (name is approximate!) because I am immediately signposted to the various sample sites that also do decants of different sizes. It is as though the bottle owners in the perfume community can’t be bothered anymore either.
Another obstacle I can think of is “badly behaved nozzles”. I am coming across more and more of these in my collection. For example, I was trying to make a friend a 5ml decant of something recently and must have wasted nearly as much again because every time I depressed the nozzle it swivelled 90 degrees and went everywhere but where it was supposed to. If you were trying to split a 100ml bottle 3 ways, you could end up with nothing in that scenario.
PS Thanks for the blog shout out, and mention of my SIL’s coinage of that acronym. ;)
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I never really did splits, but like you, I’ve noticed that the ones on NST seem much less active. I think others who commented here about all the other options now available are probably right.
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