Discover why and how to decant perfume

Amongst the perfumistas decanting from the large 50ml or 100ml bottles that perfumes tend to be purchased in is a fairly common occurrence. But why would anyone want to decant perfumes, and if they do how would they go about doing it?



There are a variety of reasons that someone might want to decant their perfume into a smaller container. One of the most common (and most useful) reasons is to create a ‘travel-size' version of your favourite scent that you can take on holiday with you, or simply throw in your handbag to have available when you need it. Alongside this reason many perfume fans like to swap samples of perfumes with one another. By decanting a few millilitres they are able to give fellow perfume fans enough to try the perfume out for a few days and decide whether or not they like it. Additionally many perfume collectors have a huge selection, and they would rather not have to buy a full size bottle of each fragrance. These people are able to split bottles by decanting some into separate vials or atomisers.



Now that you are aware of some of the reasons for decanting perfume you're probably realising how useful it can be and thinking you should be doing that as well. So what will you need to get started, and how would you go about actually decanting the perfume.



The first step will be to ensure that you have all of the necessary supplies. Empty bottles can be purchased easily online and typically come in three styles: spray bottles, roll-on's and splash bottles. Everyone will have their own style preference but with roll-on bottles you will need to be particularly wary of dust and dead skin getting into the perfume and spoiling it. Bottles come in a wide range of sizes depending on your needs and if you intend to use smaller bottles (and even bigger bottles depending how steady your hands are) you will likely want to purchase a funnel; stainless steel is preferable as it won't retain any traces of the scent allowing you to reuse it. You may also want to use pipettes or syringes if you are planning on decanting into very small vials or atomisers.



Once you have all of the supplies the actual decanting process is fairly straightforward. I you are decanting from a splash bottle you will be able to simply pour the perfume straight between the two bottles. If you are decanting from a spray bottle however you might be able to unscrew the top but otherwise you will just have to get the nozzle as close to the receiving bottle as possible and spray the perfume straight in.



Sam Qam (Current favourite scents: Hugo Boss aftershave and Ghost perfume)