Should you buy tester perfumes?
Real perfumes versus fake ones are hard to tell unless you are a connoisseur of fragrance.
In the world of perfumery, there can be a lot of treachery. Real perfumes versus fake ones are hard to tell unless you are a connoisseur of fragrance. But there is another world of fragrances that you might not know about, and that is the world of tester perfumes.
When perfumes are made, they are packaged prettily and slapped with an incredible price tag. And because it is a scent, you get enticed to buy. And, because you are so used to perfumes being expensive, you pay up. That could be because you have not yet come across tester perfumes. That is, unless you are a budding perfumer.
Tester perfumes are the scents that you spritz to get a taste of the flavour you are contemplating to buy. They are specifically sold as tester perfumes. They come in white boxes wrapped in cellophane that say ‘tester’ on them.
Tester perfumes have several reputations. There are those who think that because they are more affordable, they must be fake. Or, because they are tester perfumes and not packaged ‘right,’ they might not be as good as the original.
Testers exist to make your life easier. Instead of a blind buy, or even spritzing a piece of paper, you can actually apply the perfume and get it tested against your skin. Testers help you discover whether the scent you are thinking about should be the one that you buy.
Bottle imperfections
Testers can be found in stores that also stock the real deal. Original perfumes naturally cost more than testers as a result. Even though the only difference is packaging. There are those who opine that honestly speaking, why buy the packaging AND the scent when you will throw away the pretty box that the pretty scent came in?
Sometimes, original perfumes become testers because of bottle imperfections. On occasion, they are sold without the stopper. Not having a stopper for your perfume does make it lose its juice faster. Perhaps that is another reason testers cost less.
The scent does not last as long when it is not capped. Testers have exactly the same kind of liquid in them as do the 100 per cent original perfumes. Yes. Packaging does make such a huge difference. Just like is the case with an original perfume, so is the case with testers. You have to make sure that they are authentic.
These grand perfumes that have brand names attached to them do have testers. A number of perfume enthusiasts aka vloggers tend to buy those. If perfume is your thing, you tend to have a collection, with favourites and some not so preferred flavours. Building that collection takes time, dedication, commitment, and money.
Fake fragrances
Tester perfumes have been in the market for years. And just like original fragrances, there are fake testers too. It is said fake testers hit the market in Malaysia sometime in 2008, and because it is good business, there exists a Kariobangi of fake scents.
The same way you find out about fake fragrances is the same way you find fake testers. Keeping in mind the fact that testers are basically affordably packed originals, the same rules apply. You would have to look for poor craftsmanship on your bottle. Look at the wording and see how it has been written down. Is it wonky? Does it look unusually thicker? Is the paint chipping?
If you go online, you can compare original perfumes to a tester and gauge how real it is. One other thing you could do is check if the original tester actually says ‘tester.’ Do not be fooled by that.
Sometimes, you find out the scent is fake once you have bought it. You realise their scent doesn’t go far. And it doesn’t last long. Except now you already have a watered down version of the original. The unfortunate thing is that there is so much fakery in the perfume business that even the fake perfumes look authentic.
