Do you ever blind buy? Or do you always test first?

I just made my first ever blind buy. It’s a niche fragrance with stellar reviews, and was north of $250. 

Given appreciation for a fragrance is a very individual / personal thing, buying blind is clearly not recommended. I could have bought a sample from a decanter for less than $10, but I threw caution to the wind and rolled the dice. I’ll know if I regret my decision in a week. 

Who else here is willing to risk buying blind?

No, I'd never blind buy at that price. Previously, I only blind bought cheaper fragrances, $30 to $40 tops. Have recently stopped doing that as well.

Totally agree. There's only one where I'm tempted since I can't find any decants, but it's still under $100.

My preference is to buy a decant before hand. I have purchased fragrances in boutiques after smelling them their for the first time. It is one stepped removed from blind buying. In many cases I do let the fragrance dry down. That said, on occasion I have purchased online blindly. I try not to do it often. I've been lucky in that it has worked out.

I don't but I have in the past. My favorite scent "40 Knots | XerJoff" was a blind buy and I consider it a masterpiece. I just had a very close call and a very apparent lesson not to blind buy once and learnt my lesson. I wanted Carlisle pretty badly, amazing reviews, you'd think the scent is liquid gold! In a moment of weakness I went to blind buy it 😆, had it in my cart about to checkout but I decided last moment to buy another scent "400 | XerJoff" I had tested and already knew I love and then sampled Carlisle instead, got my sample in and wore it and mann, I did not like it, it smelt like burnt rubber on my skin, I was getting ready for my day and wanted to take a shower just to scrub it off my skin haha. I was so glad I didn't blind buy it because here in Australia it would have been a $500+ mistake, I took that as my sign to stop blind buying things completely and now only sample first and buy afterwards.

I'd love to hear what scent you have purchased though and hopefully it works out for you!

I live in Finland where it's definitely not too easy to sample. We basically have only the most popular designer fragrances available widely but anything niche etc. you could sample only in a couple of stores near our capital city but nowhere else and the selection even there is quite limited. Ordering samples or discovery sets with shipping costs is usually almost as expensive as buying full bottles. So in order to smell something not popular that you're really thinking would be amazing, blind buying is usually the only option here. So yes, I sometimes do blind buys. In an ideal world I would always sample first. But I have done probably over 100 blind buys during my life and I can remember only about 5 unsuccessful ones. My taste in fragrances is super wide and I love so many fragrances that it's extremely likely that I end up loving the blind buy anyway. I also do a lot of background research (reading reviews etc.) before the blind buy in order to know if it's likely that the fragrance smells like expected.

I have blind bought in the past based on good prices and a reasonable degree of certainty based on the notes/reviews.

Most cases I have been successful. Perhaps I missed out on some I may have liked, but I played it safe. I know I don't like sweet/vanilla (so stay away from JPG or SWY), and that woodsy is more for me.  Terre d'Hermes, Dior Homme 2020, Tumi Continuum, Boss Bottled Elixir, Ferragamo Uomo Signature, Coach for Men, Bvlgari Wood Neroli, Versace Oud Wood, Spicebomb -- all successful blinds, but only because I was confident based on the notes, and all are very safe.  

I wouldn't blind on something more 'controversial'. I tested Dior Homme Intense, Prada L'Homme, Prada l'Homme Intense, and picked up decants just to give them a longer test drive. I know iris can be a bit hit or miss. Something expensive or niche, or where it might be less safe and more exciting, I'll test it or grab a decant first. 

Now, I sample and buy decants -- to test a smaller version, save money, and get to wear without committing to a full bottle.

Yes.

I'm a blind-buy king, haha!

I blind purchased African Leather, Ganymede, Blazing Mr. Sam, Eau de Memo, Vanille Havane cœur de Oud,....

It's easier to do this now because I know the notes I like, the noses behind it, and the fragrance houses themselves. I would never have dared to do this eight years ago!

My most regrettable blind buy was Jousset Parfums' Crème Brûlée (🤢).Though I've since recovered from that flop, I've cautiously returned to blind buying, albeit more selectively. The thrill of discovering a new scent unseen is just too tempting, especially given my surprisingly high success rate! That said, I still primarily stick to samples and decants for exploring new fragrances.

The only thing worse than buying dozens of decants that suck is buying dozens of full bottles that suck. I've learned that I must be the pickiest because my hit rate for trying frags is like 1 in 50. I will only blind buy if I can flip it easily without losing any (or very little)

I’m a bit curious @Bleufraglvr what did you buy? Has it arrived yet and how’d it work out for you?

I guess I’m a bit like @Ihwayne , my hitrate isn’t that high either so I’m too scared buying blind. Even if I’m absolutely positive I find it hard to justify the prices sometimes.

But I can understand the thrill of ordering something completely new. You’ve read and heard a lot about it. You paint a picture inside your head as to what it should smell like and then it arrives… opening the box, seeing the bottle and that first spray… bam that must be something!

I love blind-buying fragrances. Normally, I purchase from discounters and re-selling apps, focusing on heavily discounted items or popular perfumes that are in high demand, as well as rare finds and vintages. I tend to go for items I’m confident I can resell without losing money. I’ve been very successful with my blind buys because I know what I like. Plus, I enjoy a wide range of scent profiles and don’t get migraines, so I can often skip testing altogether. However, if it’s something super expensive that never goes on sale and I know I’d lose money on resale, I make sure to test it first.
Edited to add: I’m at the point where I don’t really need new bottles anymore because I already have so many. I’m overwhelmed and recently decluttered quite a bit. So, I’ll be buying more samples in the future. If something doesn’t fit in my perfume closet, I’ll have to store it in the garage or somewhere out of sight. And it’s not fair to the beautiful bottles, which deserve to be seen and loved. Therefore, sampling is the way forward for me.

My only two blind buys have been Guerlain Aqua Allegoria Granada Salvia (because I know and love Guerlain and this series of freshies) and Theodoros Kalotinis Coffee Addict (because highly rated and relatively inexpensive).  I normally don't like taking chances with full bottles.

I'll blind buy full bottles if the price is right. Up to $50 is my happy range. I like the thrill lol and if I myself don't enjoy the perfume I can use it as a gift 😊For more expensive perfumes, I want to sample first.

@XTA@Ceesie

I blind bought Vanille Havane Eau de Parfum

It turned out great! I love it!

Grrr why did you say that!! Heheh that one’s on my radar, sooooo tempted to pull the trigger on it! I keep reminding myself how great it must be to find it “in the wild”.

A bit of a sidestep from the OP but do you know how it compares for example to Herod ?

@Ceesie It’s funny you should ask that. When I purchased my bottle of Vanille Havane Eau de Parfum , I also got samples of :

Herod

Tobacco Vanille Eau de Parfum

Side Effect

My intention with my order was to compare and contrast all 4 of them, given they are all Tobacco Vanilla scents to varying degrees. I will do a side by side comparison soon and let you know my thoughts. I actually smelled Herod for the first time the other day at a Department store, but I think a direct side by side will help get a more thorough comparison.

The most expensive fragrance I blind bought cost some €33, but after getting a handful of full bottles that I didn't really like, even though they were very cheap, I started sampling EVERYTHING before committing to more than a few ml.

It's a bit of an expense at times, but it's definitely a good investment to be sure you're not throwing full-bottle-money away.

I blind blind bought all my extant Guerlain after extensive research online. Guerlain *is* my favorite house. I, however, won’t blind buy any L’Art line, though. It’s too expensive to risk, for me. I get discounts on the other Guerlains on fragrancenet, though. I blind bought Oscar de la Renta and the Tea Rose from the Perfumers’ Workshop but those are very economical. I’ve gone and smelled many others at Sephora, Ulta and Macy’s so far. Only Versace Dylan Purple so far works for me. I’ve smelled Gucci, Lancôme, Mugler, whoever does Mon Paris, many others. I’m going to seek out Chanel; it’s not a safe blind buy house for me. I’m too inexperienced with it and I’m apprehensive I won’t like any Chanel. Also, I’m not looking to acquire a huge, unwieldy collection. Just now grab Guerlain I’m missing that I’m dying to have and try. I’ve also started getting backups for my favorite Guerlains. 🥰

I stopped doing it because I always regret it! Even if I spend a lot of time understanding the notes, reading reviews, and comparisons to other perfumes, it never ends up being the thing I imagined liking. It's a waste of money for me. I always try to find a sample first now and I've saved a lot doing that. 

I'm sometimes tempted (there really is no other way to find cheapies to test sometimes), but so far I've held strong in my resolution not to blind buy. I am very particular about scents (and headache prone). I did a rough calculation, and of the perfumes I've tested properly on skin over 50% were a definite no. Seems like pretty bad odds. But I can see how it would work for someone who is less picky and/or doesn't have as much access to test in store.

Respect for the bold move! Blind buying can be a thrill, but I usually try to test first—especially for anything over $100. That said, I’ve definitely taken some risks before. Sometimes it pays off big time (found a few favorites that way), but other times... well, let’s just say my friends and family end up with surprise gifts.

I prefer to test first if possible. Sometimes samples are hard to come by for certain fragrances, especially the vintage ones I am most interested in. If I can't find a sample and the fragrance is relatively affordable in a small size (like 30 ml), then I will blind buy. I will say that most of my blind buys have been successful, but there have also been a few duds.

Well, I recently had my first blind buy let down. Actually, calling it a let down is a huge understatement. I saw Bentley for Men Intense for sale on Amazon for $27, being sold by Amazon (so I wouldn’t have to worry that I was getting a fake). For $27, I figured, why not? It’s horrible. I couldn’t wash that garbage off fast enough!