AIBU to think it’s strange you only get a sample if you buy a £300 perfume?

[Annmay]

I had an experience recently that I can’t quite stop thinking about, and I’m curious if this is normal now or if something has changed.

I was in a well-known luxury department store, exploring niche fragrances — just taking my time, asking questions, trying to understand what I might actually like on my skin.

I came across Maison Crivelli and was genuinely interested. The fragrances are not cheap (around £300), so naturally I wanted to test properly before making any decision.

At one point I asked if it would be possible to have a small sample — just to see how it develops over a day or two.

I was told I would only receive a sample if I purchased the full bottle.

What surprised me wasn’t just the answer, but how quickly the tone of the interaction changed after I asked.

It went from friendly and engaging to… noticeably colder.

I was there with my daughter, and she even asked me:
“Why are they looking at us like that? Can we go?”

And honestly, that stayed with me more than anything else.
Because I’ve had experiences in other places where you can take your time, ask questions and feel comfortable — and this felt completely different.

Here, it felt like I had to prove something.

I completely understand that samples can’t be given endlessly — that’s not what I’m expecting.

But for a £300 fragrance, is it really unreasonable to want to test it properly first?

It just made me question whether luxury today is about experience… or just transaction.

Curious what others think — is this normal now?

In fairness I use a long hyphen often and I am not an AI user.

“I couldn’t help but wonder…”

On its own it's not conclusive, but with the weird rhetorical questions, marketing-speak, and sentence format, the em-dashes are the icing on the cake.

I think a spray from a tester bottle would have been enough to tell you if you like it on your skin or not after a few hours.
I never buy fancy perfumes, I just apply for samples whenever I see an offer online , I've got lots of different ones 😊

I wasn’t asking to try multiple fragrances or take advantage.I was interested in one specific scent and wanted to understand how it develops before making a decision.With more niche fragrances, they can change quite a lot over time, which is why I didn’t feel comfortable making that kind of purchase without being sure.

And I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect a respectful response , being told that “everyone wants samples” or that I could just come back and spray it every day didn’t feel particularly appropriate.

The problem is everyone wants samples, few buy bottles

I wouldn't expect a sample no. You had a spray, that can develop over time and you can make your decision then.

Oh, interesting. I feel like I haven't seen that many,

I just checked Guerlain, and they do one, but it's not from the perfume line I want, which is the Legendaires. That line has many I've never heard of or smelt, along with old favourites like Samsara and Champs Elysees.

And she's wrong not to - a huge number of high end brands will give you a refund against a purchase of a full bottle. But even so, it's a worthwhile investment to find a perfume that works.

Sorry to completely miss the point but I strongly dispute the idea that a “—“ always signifies AI. I’ve used dashes my whole life. AI uses dashes precisely because people do. Free the dash!!!

If you can afford a £300 perfume you can afford to pay for a sample online. If not, then join me on the Perfume Parlour website.

Yes, I understand that and I agree that buying samples separately is an option.I think for me it just felt a bit different, because I had gone in specifically to explore the fragrance and was hoping to be able to make that decision there.With more niche scents, I find they can change quite a lot over time, so being able to try them properly has always felt like part of the experience.

So I do see your point👍🏻I think it was more how it was handled than the sample itself.

Same! It's a bad habit of mine, but I've been throwing about - long before ChatGPT was a thing.

A small sample bottle - say 1-2ml - would probably cost £5-£10 though. Did you ask if there was one you could buy?

but for me it’s not really about whether I can afford a sample.It’s more about the experience and how I was treated in that moment.I had gone there genuinely interested in the fragrance, but after the interaction I didn’t feel comfortable continuing or testing it further.

So it wasn’t really about finding another way to try it but it was about how the whole situation was handled.

Noone said that an em-dash "always signifies AI". OP's post had multiple "tells" for AI to anyone au fait with it. So no need to dispute anything, strongly or otherwise.

I wonder if beauty counters are more reluctant to give out samples nowadays because they know they will so often get sold on eBay or Vinted for silly prices.

You might have only wanted one. But so might 99 other people. That is the point.

People who are umming and ahhhing over £300 bottles of perfume aren’t going to buy it, that’s why you didn’t get a sample. You only get the ‘luxury experience’ if you’ve actually got the cash to buy it, otherwise you’re just taking them away from other customers.

Tbf I am referring more to the high end independent brands, most of which will do, and not a multi billion dollar company like Guerlain who probably can afford to give away free samples.

NOBODY GIVES A FUCK! FFS, stop trying to derail the thread. Who cares if someone uses AI to help make their post clearer? This is like the modern day equivalent of the grammar police - pointless and sneery. Surely you got the gist of the OP’s point without having to resort to acting like the school bully.

OP, perfume samples are pretty rare these days and most likely given as a marketing tactic - e.g. you buy a brand’s foundation and lipstick and you might get a tester of their latest perfume or body lotion as a ‘bonus’. They know you’re invested in the brand as you’ve already bought something and this is a way to build customer loyalty and hopefully lead to more sales. They're unlikely these days to just hand out a sample of an expensive perfume to someone who has just wandered in off the street otherwise they’d just spend all their time handing out free samples and that’s a terrible business model.

It is absolutely unreasonable to expect this. Samples are generally only given out as a little gift to customers purchasing something else.

I’ve got quite a few at the moment from LV & Dior & Gucci given when I’ve bought something.

what I do is to use the tester cards to determine whether I like the initial scent - bonus points to Parfum de Marly their use of coffee beans to stop your nose being overwhelmed.

then I will choose one to test on my skin. I can let it develop over the course of the day just as well from a tester bottle than if I’d taken a sample home.

I think we may just approach it differently 😊
For me it’s a more considered decision, especially with more niche fragrances, they can change quite a lot over time and don’t always feel the same as the first impression.Even after trying it a few times, I still felt like I needed more time to understand it properly.

That’s why I didn’t feel comfortable making a decision straight away.

You mean you don’t give a fuck!

people are different.

generally it doesn’t bother me if someone uses AI to help support their writing but this OP goes way beyond a bit of help.

If someone has a different view on sampling or shopping, that’s completely fine😇we’re all different, as you said.
But I’d rather keep the conversation respectful and focused on the experience it🙏