There are almost no doubts when it comes to full bottles. I say “almost” because I could never figure out how to classify 10-15 ml bottles of pure parfums. But other than that, it’s clear. Travel bottles are also self-explanatory. But what about decants?
Saturday Question #102:
What Do You Consider A Decant?
Clearly, any amount of perfume transferred from the original brand’s bottle into a generic vessel is a decant by definition. But on your personal scale, where does the demarcation line go between a sample and a decant?
My Answer
When I tried to answer my own question, I realized that my logic isn’t that straightforward. In my perfume database, everything under 2 ml I classify as a small sample; 2 ml+ is marked as a large sample; 5ml and up is a small decant; and everything 10 ml and above is a large decant.
But when talking to others, I consider 2.5 ml and below as a sample, and everything larger is a decant (terminology-wise, I always try to talk in ml).
Is it important? Not on its own, though from my experience I learned that when dealing with others, it might be useful to establish a common ground. I remember how many years ago I was swapping perfumes with another perfumista. It wasn’t a formal swap but rather a friendly exchange of perfumes one of us had and another wanted to try. So, we didn’t do any usual dance people do for a formal swap. We just discussed what we would exchange, the word “dacant” was used during email communications, and then packages went to their destinations. It was one of the first few perfume exchanges I’d done ever. So, I carefully decanted and packed several 4-5 ml spray bottles with perfumes we discussed and was eagerly awaiting for the package with treasures for me. Back then, my collection was much smaller, and I was regularly wearing perfumes from samples/decants. So, you can imagine my disappointment when I unpacked 4 or 5 half-full 1 ml dabbers. In my swapping pal’s defense, she was coming from the Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab World where, as I know, it was customary to exchange 0.2-0.3 ml (since those were oils sold in small bottles to start with).
Since then, I always talk milliliters, even though now if I exchange anything with anyone, it’s with people to whom I don’t mind sending samples/decants without getting anything in return, so terminology is immaterial. Ironically, these days I prefer getting 0.7-1 ml samples for most perfumes I want to try and rarely 2.5-3 ml decants of those that I consider buying but want to wear a couple of times first.
Undina's Looking Glass 