Are perfume decants authentic? A checklist for judging a decant shop

That is the whole idea of this guide. A decant has no box and no house bottle, so the usual checks for a full bottle do not apply. They move to the shop, and then to the atomiser when it reaches you. Below you will find six checks to run before you order, questions you can send a shop, the warning signs, four checks for the parcel and a wear test against a tester.

The short answer: judge the shop, not the liquid

A decant is a small portion of perfume moved from a full bottle into a travel atomiser. If the bottle was an original and nothing was added, the liquid is the original perfume. Only the container changes. Our guide to what a perfume decant is goes through the basics.

So the question is never "is the liquid in a decant different?" It is "did this shop fill it from an original bottle, and can I tell?" You cannot read a batch code off a box that is not there. You can read what a shop tells you about itself, and you can test what arrives.

For full bottles the checks are the seller, the label, the batch code and the price. Those live in our guide on how to check if perfume is authentic. Use that guide for a bottle in a box. Use this one for a decant.

Before you order: six checks on the shop

Run these in order. A good shop passes all of them without effort, and the answers are usually on the site already.

1. It names where its bottles come from

A good shop says plainly who supplies its bottles: the perfume houses themselves, or distributors the houses supply. Look for a sentence you could repeat to a friend. "From our partners" or "from worldwide sources" says nothing. If the page is vague, ask. If the reply is vague too, you have your answer.

2. It explains how it fills

Look for a short description of the method: each decant is poured from an original bottle of that perfume, nothing is added and nothing is diluted. A shop that fills by hand and says so is easier to judge than a shop that says nothing about the process.

3. Every listing names the house, the perfume, the concentration and the size

"Eau de parfum" and "extrait" are not decoration. They are different strengths, and some are sold as separate perfumes. Baccarat Rouge 540 and Baccarat Rouge 540 Extrait share a name and a house, but they are not the same perfume. A listing that says only "Baccarat Rouge 540" leaves a question open. A good listing closes it, and it states the size in ml.

4. It shows who it is

Look for a legal notice with a postal address, an email address and a phone number. Look for published shipping, returns and privacy policies. Look for prices that say whether VAT is included. A shop that hides who runs it is asking you to trust a name and nothing else.

5. It sells only originals

A catalogue of original perfumes is easy to judge. A catalogue that mixes originals with the shop's own blends named after famous perfumes is not, because you can no longer tell what a listing means. Scroll the catalogue before you order and see what else the shop sells.

6. The price per ml makes sense

A decant is poured from a bottle the shop paid for. Work out the price per ml: divide the price by the ml. Then set it against what the full bottle costs per ml at the retailers the house supplies. A decant priced far below that is a question to ask before you order, not a find to grab.

As an example, Aventus as a 10ml decant at 10ML is 35,91 €, which is 3,59 €/ml. You can do the same sum for any listing in a minute. Our guide to perfume sample prices shows how minis, travel sprays and decants compare per ml.

Questions to send a shop before you order

A shop that is sure of its answers will reply in plain words. Paste these into an email or a contact form:

• Where do your bottles come from?
• Do you fill every decant from an original bottle, and is anything added?
• Which concentration is this listing?
• What does the label on the atomiser say?
• Where are you based, and how can I reach you after the order?

Save the reply. A shop that answers in writing before the sale has put its name to the answer.

Warning signs

One sign on its own is a reason to ask. Two or three together are a reason to walk away.

• No answer about the source, or a different answer each time you ask.
• No postal address and no legal notice.
• Perfume names with no house and no concentration.
• A price per ml far below the full bottle's.
• A catalogue that mixes originals with the shop's own blends.
• Contact only through direct messages, with no email address or phone number.

If you are still choosing a shop, our comparison of perfume decant shops in Europe sets out what to look at side by side.

When your decant arrives: four checks

The parcel gives you a second round of evidence. Four checks, none of which need tools.

1. The atomiser is sealed and has not leaked. A sealed atomiser that has not leaked is what you want to see.
2. The label names the perfume and the size you ordered. If you chose a concentration, it should be on the label too.
3. Expect a travel atomiser, not the house's bottle. A decant moves the perfume into a different container. That is why the box and batch-code checks for full bottles move to the shop.
4. Wear it against a tester. The next section shows how.

If something does not match, write to the shop with your order number and say what you noticed. Be specific: the label, the colour, the smell at a set point. A shop that wants to be trusted will answer.

The wear test against a tester

The most useful check is the one on your own skin. You need a tester of the same perfume. A perfume shop or counter that stocks the house may have one, and you can ask to try it on your wrist.

1. Spray the decant on one wrist and the tester on the other, on the same morning. Skin, not paper: paper cannot show you how a perfume develops.
2. Smell both straight away. Note the opening: the first sharp, bright impression.
3. Smell both again later in the morning. The heart should have settled, and the two wrists should read as the same perfume.
4. Smell both in the evening. This is the dry-down, the part that stays on skin longest.
5. Repeat on another day, with the wrists swapped.

Keep one thing in mind. A difference in the first minutes can come from your skin and how much you sprayed, so do not judge on the opening alone. Compare the dry-down. If the two wrists agree there, that is a good sign.

What to smell for: three examples

Notes below come from each perfume's published note list. Use them as a map while you test.

Baccarat Rouge 540 Extrait by Maison Francis Kurkdjian

Baccarat Rouge 540 Extrait launched in 2017 and is unisex. It opens with bitter almond and saffron. The heart turns to Egyptian jasmine and Virginia cedar. The base runs from ambergris through woody notes and musk to ambroxan and cashmeran.

On longevity, the community leans towards "eternal". Voters most often choose it for winter and fall, at night and in the evening. Check that the listing names the Extrait, because it is a different perfume from Baccarat Rouge 540.

Guidance by Amouage

Guidance launched in 2023 and is listed for women. It opens with pear, hazelnut and olibanum. The heart is osmanthus, rose, saffron and jasmine sambac. The dry-down brings sandalwood and vanilla, with akigalawood, ambergris and labdanum.

On longevity, most community voters choose "eternal". It suits fall and winter best, they say, and night and evening wear. In a wear test, watch how the sweet nutty opening gives way to the woods and vanilla at the end of the day.

Aventus by Creed

Aventus launched in 2010 and is listed for men. It opens with bergamot, black currant, apple, lemon and pink pepper. The heart brings pineapple, patchouli and Moroccan jasmine. The base is birch, musk, oak moss, ambroxan and cedarwood.

Community votes on its longevity lean "long lasting". Voters pick it most often for spring and summer, and for day wear. Its bright citrus and fruit opening comes first, so wait for the birch and moss of the dry-down before you decide.

How 10ML answers the checklist

Here are the facts, set against the six checks.

• Source. 10ML buys its bottles from authorized EU distributors and directly from the brands. You can read more on the authenticity page.
• Method. 10ML decants every perfume itself, by hand, straight from a full bottle of the original perfume. Nothing is added and nothing is diluted. How a decant is filled and what arrives is set out in about our decants.
• Labels. Each atomiser is sealed and labelled with the perfume's name and its size. What reaches you is the perfume in 10ML's own travel atomiser, label and packaging, not the house's bottle or box. Product photos may show the original bottle so you can recognise the fragrance.
• Who we are. 10ML ships from the EU, and prices are in euros with VAT included. Shipping, returns and privacy policies are published on the site. You get an email when an order is confirmed, when it ships, with the courier's name and a tracking link, and when it is delivered. Contact is contact@10ml.com, and the postal address is in Dortmund, Germany. The legal notice lists the full address and the phone number.
• Catalogue. 10ML sells only original perfume and makes none of its own. It is independent and not affiliated with or endorsed by the perfume houses whose fragrances it sells.

You can send 10ML the five questions above and judge the reply the way you would judge any shop.

Try a decant of your own

A decant is the easiest way to run this checklist and find out whether you like a perfume. Pick a size to match what you want to learn:

• A 3ml decant lets you discover a scent, with around 60 sprays.
• A 10ml decant lets you wear it for weeks, with around 200 sprays.
• A 30ml decant lets you keep it, with around 600 sprays.

Start with a 3ml of the perfume you are curious about. Run the wear test on two days, check the label against your order, and decide whether to move up a size.

Per il quadro completo: Come trovare il tuo profumo firma in tre passi.