Why Two Decants Of The Same Perfume Can Smell Different

If you have ever tried the "same" perfume from two decant sellers and noticed a difference, you are not imagining it. In most cases, the cause is not mysterious skin chemistry or "batch magic". It is much simpler: sourcing, incentives, and whether the seller can actually guarantee what is in the bottle.

This article fits directly with our other Journal pieces: Behind The Discount and Inside The Decant. If you only remember one idea from this post, let it be this: a decant is only as trustworthy as the bottle it came from and the process used to transfer it.

1. A decant is not the risk, the supply chain is

Decanting, done correctly, is simple: the original perfume is transferred into a smaller atomizer. Nothing is added and nothing is removed.

The problem is that many sellers do not operate with controlled sourcing or controlled standards. They buy "cheap" bottles from channels that are outside official brand distribution, then decant from them. In that situation, even if the seller has good intentions, they still cannot honestly guarantee authenticity.

If you want a deeper explanation of these channels, read: Behind The Discount.

2. The price per ml test: why "too cheap" decants are a red flag

This is the easiest way to evaluate a decant seller without drama. Compare the decant price per ml to the full bottle price per ml.

Here is the logic:

• A decanter who buys at full retail pays full retail.
• Decanting adds extra costs: atomizers, labels, labor, payment fees, packaging, customer support, and losses from leaks or defects.
• Because of those extra costs, a serious decant almost always costs more per ml than the full bottle, not less.

So when you see decants priced at a similar per ml cost to the full bottle, or even cheaper, only a few explanations exist:

• The seller is operating at a loss (rare and usually not sustainable).
• The seller is cutting costs aggressively (very cheap atomizers, minimal handling standards, no support).
• The seller is sourcing bottles below retail, which commonly means grey market supply.
• In the worst cases, the seller is increasing margin by cheating (dilution, topping up, or other manipulation).

This does not mean every "good deal" is automatically fake. It means cheap decants remove the one thing you should never remove from fragrance: confidence.

3. Why grey market sourcing breaks the promise of "guaranteed authentic"

Many decant sellers rely on known discounters and parallel import channels to buy bottles far below retail. That is how they can offer prices that look impossible.

The issue is not only "fake vs real". The issue is traceability. Once a bottle comes from unknown warehouses, unknown intermediaries, and mixed supply, you lose the ability to prove:

• who handled it
• where it was stored
• whether it was returned and re-entered circulation
• whether it was swapped, refilled, or mixed at any stage

Grey market can include real bottles. It can also be a door that allows counterfeits and altered goods to enter a supply chain. That is why serious sellers avoid it, even when it would be profitable to use it.

4. The most common ways dishonest sellers can cheat

Let us be very clear: many sellers are honest. But the fragrance world is expensive, margins are tempting, and customers often shop by price alone. That creates incentives for bad behavior.

Here are the most common cheating patterns customers should understand:

• Dilution
  Adding extra alcohol or another liquid to stretch expensive perfume and increase total sellable ml. The result is often weaker performance and a thinner, less textured scent.
• Topping up or mixing
  Blending remaining amounts from different sources to create volume, sometimes even mixing different batches or different bottles. This can change balance and make performance inconsistent.
• Refilling genuine-looking bottles
  Real packaging can be reused. A genuine bottle can be refilled with cheaper liquid and look convincing to most buyers.
• Mislabelling
  Switching labels, misrepresenting concentration, or selling one version as another to move inventory.

The uncomfortable truth is this: if you cannot trace the bottle, you cannot guarantee the juice.

5. "Influencers said it is 100 percent authentic"

Influencer marketing is everywhere in fragrance now. Retailers use gifting, paid partnerships, affiliate codes, and commissions. That does not automatically make a review dishonest, but it does mean something important:

An influencer can review a scent. They cannot audit a supply chain.

When you hear "100 percent authentic", ask a better question: "Can the seller prove their sourcing through official channels, or are they relying on discount narratives and trust-based marketing?"

6. What a serious decant boutique should be able to say plainly

When you buy a decant, you are buying trust. A serious seller should be able to state clearly:

• Where the original bottles come from (official retail channels, not vague "suppliers")
• What tools are used to transfer perfume
• That nothing is added and nothing is removed
• That labels, atomizers, and handling are clean, consistent, and professional

This is why we wrote: Inside The Decant.

7. How Gouttes Rares does it

At Gouttes Rares, we choose the harder path on purpose.

• We do not rely on grey market discount sourcing for our bottles.
• We decant using lab grade, full glass Socorex syringes.
• Glass is inert and non reactive. The perfume touches glass and the original bottle material only.
• There is no dilution, no mixing, and no alteration whatsoever. Only the bottle size changes.

If you want to explore our selection, you can browse the catalogue here: Gouttes Rares Catalogue. And if you want to understand the broader market context, read: Behind The Discount.

A simple conclusion

Two decants can smell different because two sellers can be operating in two completely different worlds. One is built on traceable sourcing and controlled process. The other is built on cheap bottles and marketing claims.

In perfume, the cheapest price is often the most expensive lesson.