Gone are the days when the only way to test out a perfume was to peruse the offerings at your local department store’s fragrance counter. There’s nothing worse than buying an extremely expensive perfume online or in-store only to get home, spray it on your wrist and realize it’s just not for you. But fear not. This dilemma can be easily avoided. Now, you can experience how a perfume smells and how well it meshes with your body chemistry with just a few clicks — and for less money.
Many fragrance brands offer perfume samplers or discovery sets, which contain mini versions of their best-selling scents, and sometimes even their whole fragrance line. Typically ranging from .01 to 1.7 ounces, these samples are travel-friendly, fit perfectly inside of a handbag and, depending on the notes, are good for layering and pairing with each other to create your own unique scent.
Even the most luxurious and top dollar fragrances come in sampler sets for a quarter of the price of a full-size bottle and with additional scents to try out.
These perfume sampler sets are not only useful for your own olfactory test drives, but also make great gifts for the fragrance connoisseurs in your life. Choosing scents is personal and everyone’s preference is different, so why not give your favorite fragrance lover options to choose from? Whether they indulge in warm and spicy Le Labo scents or lean toward the floral tones of Armani’s Sì collection, you can’t go wrong with any of these perfume sampler sets (even if you’re buying for yourself).
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You can take a relaxing vacation without having to leave your home with these full-bodied scents, though you'll probably want everyone to experience how invigorating they smell. This set from Maison Margiela includes five scents: Beach Walk, Jazz Club, Lazy Sunday Morning, By the Fireplace and Bubble Bath.
Get it from Sephora for $68.
Sephora's sampler sets are a popular option primarily because they come with a scent certificate that you can take to your local Sephora (as long as it's not inside of a JCPenney) and get a full-sized version of your favorite fragrance in the set at no additional cost. This set includes iconic fragrances like Yves Saint Laurent's Black Opium, Prada Candy and Viktor&Rolf's Flowerbomb.
Get it from Sephora for $68.
In addition to Kilian's popular Love, Don't Be Shy marshmallow fragrance, this set comes with four other sample scents, including Good Girl Gone Bad, Straight To Heaven, White Cristal and Moonlight in Heaven.
Get it from Sephora for $30.
If Baccarat Rouge 540 has been on your radar (or someone else's), consider this a sign to add it to your cart today. Or if you'd rather test it out before going full throttle on a regular-sized bottle, opt for this discovery set from Maison Francis Kurkdjian. It includes Baccarat Rouge 540 and seven other scents you may fall for, too.
Get it from Twisted Lily for $50.
This coffret includes Versace's lemony Dylan Turquoise, Tocca 's floral Florence and Nest New York's Indigo. Like Sephora's other perfume sampler sets, it also comes with a scent certificate.
Get it from Sephora for $75.
For fans of scent layering and pairing, Skylar's discovery set is ideal for that. Each of the five scents are inspired by nature, which is apparent from notes like seaweed, caramelized cedar and neroli.
Get it from Skylar for $25.
For less than $25, you can try out all five of Madewell's fragrances. Each scent carries its own personality and notes like peony petals, amber, honey and Australian sandalwood.
Get it at Madewell for $24.
Le Labo's Santal 33 has a serious hold on TikTok's fragrance community and if you or someone you know has been dying to see what the hype is about, the time is now. The New-York based cosmetics brand offers a Nordstrom-exclusive discovery set which has the entire fragrance line, including Santal 33.
Get it from Nordstrom for $89.
Ten of Atelier's best-selling fragrances come in this colorful set — in a mini size, of course. From pink, peppery Bois Blonds Cologne Absolue to Vanille Insensée Cologne Absolue, which takes on vanilla fragrance with a modern approach, there's a scent in this set that everyone can enjoy.
Get it from Nordstrom for $42.
Hermetica offers a whopping 13 scents in their discovery kit, all made with "green chemistry," an approach to science development aimed at minimizing or eliminating the use of harmful substances.
Get it from Bloomingdale's for $35.
Notes of black currant, sparkling pear, and musky wood make up the three scents in this Giorgio Armani discovery fragrance set.
Get it from Giorgio Armani Beauty for $59.
For a luxe perfume gift, Tom Ford's discovery set features six 3-milliliter scents, including warm and spicy Tuscan Leather, musky White Suede, and floral Rose Prink.
Get it from Sephora for $99.
If sandalwood, praline, honey blossom and juicy mandarin sound like a combination made in heaven, then Miel Bébé from UO's exclusive Gourmand fragrance line should have your attention. Luckily for you, it's included as one of the seven mini scents in this sampler set that also serves as a great gift option for the perfume lover in your life.
Get it from Urban Outfitters for $32.
For vegan and hypoallergenic fragrances, look to Pinrose's sampler kit, which comes with nine of their best-selling scents. Instead of bottles, test these out with Pinrose's signature petals, which come with a travel-friendly scented towelette. The petals work great for layering and are ideal if the wearer who isn't looking to commit to one scent all day.
Get it from Ulta for $25.
Fans of Ariana Grande and her fragrance line will love this coffret featuring mini sizes of her best-selling scents: Thank U Next, Cloud, Sweet Like Candy, Ari and R.E.M.
Get it from Ulta for $40.
The fragrances in this set are a part of the Clean at Sephora collection, which only includes brands that are formulated without harsh ingredients like phthalates, sulfates and parabens. Ellis Brooklyn's Salt, By Rosie Jane's Leila Lou, and The 7 Virtues' Vanilla Woods are just a few of the six fragrance samples you can test out.
Like the bestsellers samplers, this set comes with a Sephora scent certificate that lets you redeem a full-size bottle of your favorite fragrance.
Get it from Sephora for $68.