In this article, we cover all you need to know about perfume testers and why you would want to buy one.
Are Perfume Testers Original?
Yes! Perfume testers are 100% legitimate and original perfumes.
Testers are much cheaper due to less fancy packaging. You get the same “juice” at a much lower price. You just need to understand what you are getting from fragrance testers.
In this article, we are going to cover all the things you need to know about fragrance testers. We also talked about what differences there are and why you should buy perfume testers.
If you want to buy genuine tester colognes for as much as 50% off, keep reading.
What Are Perfume Testers?
Perfume testers are new, authentic, and original fragrances.
Perfume testers are for testing purposes.
Manufacturers make standard perfumes for retail. They also make the same perfume and mark some of them as “testers.” Fragrance testers are for stores to display on shelves to encourage customers to sample them.
- Testers are brand-new products.
- Perfume testers are original authentic perfumes.
- Testers have the exact same content as normal retail fragrances do.
Fragrance testers usually come in plain boxes without a cap. Due to the lower costs of packaging, perfume testers are almost always less expensive than full-priced retail fragrances.
Are Perfume Testers Authentic?
Yes, perfume testers are 100% authentic.
Stores use them to encourage their customers to sample and test perfumes and, hopefully, buy them.
Manufacturers usually make too many products. They make too many perfume testers as well. Brands offer fragrance testers to retailers to promote their products. When there are too many fragrance testers, they may be sold at discount stores.
Fragrance testers are NOT bottles that have been tested.
Why Are Perfumes Labeled as Testers?
Perfume testers often have different labels so people can tell the difference between them and the actual product.
Fragrance testers are not for sale. They are for customers to smell and “test” to see if they like the fragrance.
These cologne testers don’t have the original packaging so the cost is lower for the retailer. In order for the stores to tell the fragrance testers from retail bottles, some of the perfumes are labeled as such.
Why Do Stores Carry Perfume Testers?
The purpose of perfume testers is to encourage sampling.
Scents are subjective. Sometimes totally different perfumes can smell the same and both be pleasant to untrained noses. Customers might be unable to tell an excellent perfume from its cheaper competitors. Therefore, it is usually important for them to test the perfumes.
By testing before buying, you can also experience the full head-heart-base note accords. Customers are not limited to experiencing part of the notes found on fragrance tester strips.
Retail stores do not want to carry too much inventory for a long time.
Retail stores have a limited amount of space to display products. And stores cannot promote the same product all year round. When retail stores have too much inventory, they have incentives to get rid of some of it.
Some of the fragrance testers end up on third-party perfume discounters’ websites or other e-commerce platforms.
Gray Market
“Gray markets” are marketplaces where legal buying and selling occurs outside official selling channels. Due to differences in prices in different geographic locations, the gray markets are typically happy when the transactions involve international parties.
In fragrance communities, gray markets also refer to legal distributors that sell authentic fragrances with discounts. The distributors probably sourced large quantities of perfumes from other countries at deep discounts. The distributors sell the perfumes back to the US market.
How Gray Market Works
For example, Creed has stores all over the world. The retail prices of Creed perfumes can go as high as $1,600.
Also read: Why Is Creed Perfume So Expensive?
But the same product with a $1,600 price tag can have a different price in the middle-east market. The price is lower due to different GDP levels and consumers not yet being familiar with niche perfumes. Even if they are priced exactly the same, foreign exchange rates can cause differences in the actual cost.
If for some reason, a foreign store with Creed products decides to get rid of its inventory, the store might lower the price for someone willing to buy in bulk. The actual cost is lower because Middle East Creed prices are lower.
Therefore, distributors manage to purchase a lot of authentic Creed bottles outside of the US. The distributors can list all these bottles on their websites to sell.
Gray Market is Legal but is Usually Against Policy
Gray markets are completely legitimate and legal. (Or they would be “Black Markets” instead of “Gray.”) But the gray market itself goes against the manufacturer’s intention for selling (thus the name “Gray.”)
For example, in the US, it is 100% legal to sell genuine fragrances purchased overseas. However, a US brand owner might not want competition from others selling the same product for less.
Sometimes brands even prohibit reselling. They can go as far as to write it in their terms and conditions and ban companies that don’t follow the terms.
Some of the gray market perfume distributors are
- FragranceNet.com
- FragranceX.com
- Maxaroma.com
We now know that perfume testers are for testing and not selling. However, in order to boost sales or to make profits, retail stores get rid of excessive inventories for cash.
The gray market distributors also buy fragrance testers in bulk at a deep discount for more profit.
The tester bottles are usually printed with “Not for Sale” disclaimers. But retailers are under no obligation to follow the manufacturer’s preferences, especially if the transactions are outside of the US.
Also, it is almost impossible for production lines to accurately predict the volume they will need ahead of time. If there are more bottles than they can sell, the perfume brands themselves also (unofficially) rely on gray markets to deal with excessive products.
Are Perfume Testers Any Different?
We have mentioned that perfume testers are authentic and brand-new products. Fragrance testers are also exactly the same perfumes as retail counterparts from official channels.
However, the biggest differences in fragrance testers are price and appearance, including packaging and caps.
Differences with Perfume Testers
- The packagings of perfume testers are usually plain and cheap and made with recycled material or cardboard boxes.
- The caps of perfumes testers are sometimes missing. (By removing caps, it is easier for customers to sample perfumes at stores.)
- The prices of the tester bottles are almost always lower due to the lower costs of packaging.
You might see different languages printed on fragrance testers. The boxes come with foreign words such as Asian or Middle-Eastern languages. This means distributors are likely to get perfumes from other countries. It is normal to see different languages printed on the box.
Perfume Testers’ “Notes”
Perfume testers might come with extra information printed on the bottles. Apparently, this allows customers to know more about the product when sampling it. The difference in appearance can make them more preferable, depending on what the user wants.
Take Stronger With You EDP by Armani, for example. Normal retail fragrances are clean on the sides. But a perfume tester bottle comes with extra note printed on the side of the bottle.
Perfume Testers are Identical to Retail Perfumes
- Perfume Quality – Same. Perfume testers have the same content.
- Manufacturer – Same. Original manufacturers made perfume testers.
- Shelf life – Same. We don’t see stores displaying multiple tester bottles at a time. The assumption that perfume testers are displayed longer is baseless.
Do Perfume Testers Have Shorter Shelf Life?
No. Perfume testers have the exact same shelf life.
Fragrance testers are bottles that were manufactured with the same production line but with cheaper packaging. Perfume testers are authentic and contain the same fragrances as standard perfume from official channels.
Perfume testers do not have shorter shelf life than standard perfumes
Perfumes are made of chemical compounds. Constant exposure to an abnormal amount of light (ultraviolet, UV) or high temperature may degrade the fragrances. Therefore, the manner by which perfume bottles are stored could play an important role in keeping the quality of the scent.
Some people worry that perfume testers might have a shorter shelf life due to constant displaying and light exposure.
But stores display perfume testers one or a few bottles at a time. The other unused fragrance testers are stored the same way as other unused perfume bottles.
Perfume testers are stored the same way as standard perfumes
Stores wouldn’t unbox and display multiple new tester bottles. They also have no reason to take out tester bottles all at once. Instead, stores use only one or a few bottles until they go empty.
It is baseless to assume that stores treat fragrance testers differently. Since they contain the same fragrances, they do not have a shorter shelf life as long as people treat them the same.
Perfume testers will remain the same quality if stored properly
Perfumes interact with oxygen in the air and the quality may change due to UV exposure. Therefore, it is usually recommended to store perfumes at room temperature without direct sunlight.
There is also the assumption that fragrance testers without caps are more likely to interact with air. If they did, we would see a shorter shelf life for perfume testers than normal fragrances.
However, perfume caps are not air-tight at all. Both perfume testers and normal bottles have a limited amount of air touching the perfume surface directly.
The differences between a tester and a normal bottle in terms of air exposure due to caps is negligible. Same for the physical limitations of scattered/diffused indoor lighting. It is difficult to say whether the environment will make any noticeable difference between any two bottles.
Perfume testers have the exact same shelf life as other standard bottles.
The quality of fragrance testers could be affected by their environment just as a standard full retail fragrance is if not stored correctly. There are no differences.
Are Perfume Testers Diluted?
No. Perfume testers are NOT diluted.
Fragrance testers contain new, authentic, and original fragrances. They have the same quality and concentration as the original retail bottles. On the other hand, there is plenty of discussion about the opposite.
Do Perfume Testers Have Higher Concentrations?
No. Perfume testers contain the same formula as retail perfumes.
Some people reported that fragrance testers have performed differently compared to standard versions. They also pointed out that stronger perfume testers might allow stores to sell more products. If customers experience better and longer performances from fragrance testers they are more likely to buy. Therefore, perfume testers tend to be stronger.
After thorough investigations, we found these arguments baseless.
Possible Reasons to Think that Perfume Testers are Stronger
The reasons might include different storage environments or different concentrations. But we are talking about fragrance testers in general. We are not talking about any single opened bottle for display.
It could also be due to people’s impressions. People might assume that perfume testers are stronger for various other reasons.
- People might have a more vivid “first impression” smelling a spray from perfume testers at a store. In comparison, it could be his or her 2nd or 3rd time smelling the same scents after purchase and actually wearing the perfume. The first impression is usually stronger.
- It makes sense to assume that fragrance brands want to “trick” customers with better concentrations on fragrance testers.
Perfume Testers are Not Stronger
- It does not make economic sense for manufacturers to separate production just for perfume testers. The cost would skyrocket by producing two similar products. It is cheaper to produce one single product.
- It does not make sense legally to “trick” customers with a better performance tester. The potential legal risks are much higher than the profits. If angry customers find the actual product comes with a different formulation, there could be lawsuits or reputation damage.
- It does not make logical sense to produce different products under the same name and same concentration. Brands usually use “intense” or “EDP/EDT” for different concentrations.
The bottom line is, fragrance testers perform the same. Even if there are any differences, being more intense is usually not a bad thing. From this perspective, perfume testers are safe to buy one way or another.
Perfume Testers vs Other Perfumes
Perfume testers are brand-new, un-opened, and authentic perfumes.
Here we compare all the differences between fragrance testers and other perfumes.
Perfume Testers vs Unboxed or Open-boxed
Perfume testers are NOT the same as “open-boxed.” Unboxed means fragrances that have been opened. There could be various reasons behind unboxed perfumes, including customer returns, damages during shipping, etc.
Open-boxed perfumes are usually found online or at local marketplaces. But perfume testers are unopened and unused products.
Fragrance testers are NOT unboxed or open-boxed perfumes.
Perfume Testers vs Used Perfumes
Used perfumes were fragrances that not only were unboxed but also sprayed or used by other people. Used perfumes are also referred to as second-hand, or pre-owned fragrances. They are usually found in marketplaces like eBay and Etsy. A more detailed description of the product condition is usually required when listing on those websites.
Perfume testers are brand-new, legitimate, and authentic fragrances that are NOT used before.
Perfume Testers vs Fakes
Fake perfumes are illegal and they are counterfeit products that do not meet the standard of the brand.
Perfume testers are authentic, genuine, and original fragrances.
Fragrance testers are not fake products. But this does not mean that all fragrance testers are genuine.
Just as normal official retail fragrances could be counterfeited by others, people who make fake perfumes also make fake perfume testers.
Therefore, you should be as careful, if not more, when purchasing fragrance testers from untrusted sources.
People DO Make Fake Perfume Testers
Gents Scents, an online perfume reviewer and YouTuber exposed a fake Creed Aventus perfume tester bottle. You could clearly see the awful printing quality from the product image. The store intentionally listed the fake product as testers.
Perfume Testers vs Retail Perfumes
There are some perfume brands that care not only about the content of the fragrances but also the process of how perfumes get to end-users.
If you decide to purchase perfume testers instead of paying full retail prices, here’s what you might miss:
Tiffany & Co. Shopping Experiences
All tiffany purchases come with the classic “Tiffany blue” boxes with white ribbons and a thank-you card. Purchases from official Tiffany retail locations are covered by Tiffany. The physical stores worldwide provide further product information and product care anytime after the original purchases.
This should give some ideas about how shopping from official channels is different.
Of course, Tiffany fragrances should require much less post-sale care compared to Tiffany jewelry. And you might be able to get more perfume information simply from perfume websites or forums. The actual differences between full retail and a perfume tester might not be significant in this case.
Le Labo Made-to-Order Lab Experiences
Le Labo, a niche fragrance house from New York, takes the full craftsmanship very seriously. They even freshly hand-made every new bottle when a customer visits a retail store to make a purchase.
Each customer’s own name and the information about the bottle are also printed on the customized label to show the uniqueness of the perfume.
This could be a dealbreaker for those who are considering cheaper Le Labo perfume testers over retail purchases.
Perfume Testers vs Retail Perfumes – Resell Value
A perfume collector will likely value a fragrance more when they come with a full manufacturer packaging. Collectors might also prefer standard full-price bottles with caps.
Once in a while, you might see a different design on perfume tester bottles. Take Stronger With You EDP by Emporio Armani, for example, A retail standard bottle has nothing printed on the sides. For tester bottles, there is visible extra information printed on the right side of the perfume bottle.
Extra printed information includes the following notes: Baies Roses, Vanille, Bois Bmbres, Pink Pepper, Vanilla, and Amber wood. A “tester mark” is also printed under the notes.
Therefore, if you consider reselling the whole bottle after purchase or if you are building a collection, you might want to think twice.
Bottles might come with extra information on fragrance testers. And there could be differences in resale values as well.
While you should not judge a book by its cover, sometimes people do value and enjoy appearances. Or they do care about things other than the scents. If you are one of those people, you should probably think about paying retail prices and getting a full presentation and experience.
How Much Cheaper Are Perfume Testers?
In general, tester bottles can save you from 10% to 50%.
Take Pink Sugar EDT by Aquolina for example. By choosing a tester bottle on FragranceNet, buyers save 27.6% from an already reduced retail price on a 3.4 oz version.
1 – ($20.99 / $28.99) = 27.59% in saving
You might be able to save up to $300 or more on tester bottles from higher-end niche brands that have tester bottles circulating on the market.
Perfume Tester vs Full Retail
1 – ($202.15 / $495.00) = 59.16% off
$495 – $202.15 = $292.85 off
For example, the famous niche house Creed sells its Viking EDP for $495 on its official website. On the other hand, the same size tester bottle is currently as low as $202.15 after applying a coupon from FragranceNet.
With this price, you are paying significantly ($292.85 less) on perfume testers. It will give you the exact same perfume content, despite the lower costs.
You can expect to see cheaper packaging (plain or recycled cardboard box) probably no caps.
Where to Buy Cheap Perfume Testers?
There are channels from perfume designers directly, such as Dior’s official website. There are also other official sources, such as department stores including Nordstrom that work directly with designers.
You can buy perfume products from the brands directly for full price and get the full experience. Department stores are usually slightly cheaper and they might have membership programs or sales that could save you a bit more.
These official sources are where brand owners would like customers to purchase all their perfumes.
Fragrance testers, on the other hand, are unlikely to go through department stores or designers’ retail locations. Perfume testers are for sampling instead of selling. You would most likely find fragrance testers from third-party discounters or so-called gray market distributors.
There are plenty of legitimate perfume-selling sources that have been in business for as long as several decades. The distributors also provide professional fragrance reviewers with support and other resources such as review collaborations and sponsorships.
We have done extensive research confirming the legitimacy of these stores. Combined with actual buying experiences, we came up with the following list of trustworthy and long-standing perfume discounters. These websites not only provide authentic fragrance testers but also are backed by fragrance communities as well as key opinion leaders (KOLs).
They are 100% legitimate and they sell genuine perfume testers.
- FragranceNet
- FragranceX
- Maxaroma
FragranceNet
FragranceNet has been in business since 1997. They carry a tremendous perfume selection including niche and designer brands. They have a section specifically for unboxed and tester perfume products.
Most of the professional fragrance reviewers have shared that FragranceNet is one of the major websites to build their collection. This includes Gent Scent and Big Beard Business who have bought hundreds of perfumes. Fragrance communities also reported that they found no fakes out of hundreds of purchases for many years.
FragranceX
FragranceX is a popular website for purchasing less expensive fragrances. The website lists plenty of perfume testers with discounts. Famous perfume Youtubers also endorsed FragranceX, including the most viewed and subscribed – Jeremy Fragrance.
Maxaroma
Maxaroma has been in business since 2010. Its website design and product selection are relatively older and it is harder to find good deals. But sometimes there are nice perfumes listed on Maxaroma that cannot be found on other websites.
Maxaroma sells 100% authentic products as well. Professional collectors including Gent Scent and Redolessence also backed this website.
Is Buying Fragrance Testers A Good Idea?
Yes. Buying fragrance testers is a good idea.
As long as you understand what you are getting, buying perfume testers will save you money.
You get authentic brand-new fragrances. Unboxed fragrances have the same shelf life. You get perfume bottles without fancy packaging. And you could probably save up to 50% compared to full retail prices.
There are several things that you might want to know before purchasing fragrance testers:
Why should you not buy perfume testers?
- If you want a full buying experience, such as gift wraps or a freshly hand-made bottle right on the spot, you should reconsider buying perfume testers.
- If you need everything to be perfect, including plastic wraps, unboxing experiences, and feeling the textures and scent of the boxes, you should not go for fragrance testers.
- If you are buying for collection or later resell, you should think twice about purchasing fragrance testers.
- If you want 100% piece of mind. If you expect absolutely 0% worry about the authenticity and quality of fragrance tester bottles from gray markets, you should not buy perfume testers.
Bottom Line – Perfume Testers Are Original
Before buying perfume testers and potentially saving a lot of money, there are a few things you should know.
Perfume testers are brand-new products. They contain authentic perfumes. Tester bottles have the exact same content as normal retail fragrances.
The major differences in perfume tester are lower costs and cheaper packaging materials.
Have you ever bought a perfume tester or are you considering buying one? Leave a comment below and tell us about your experiences, or let us know if you have any questions!