The Essential View: Bigger fragrance bottles can be substantially cheaper by volume. A 400 ml bottle of Hermès Eau d’Orange Verte costs 1.7 times as much as the 100 ml bottle while containing four times as much fragrance. Louis Vuitton’s 200 ml bottle of Imagination costs 1.4 times as much as the 100 ml bottle but holds twice as much fragrance. But fragrance is only a bargain if you use it. Buy big for a true signature scent that you know from experience you’ll use; otherwise, buy smaller and enjoy variety as part of the pleasure.
Should you buy the largest available bottle of fragrance? After all, it’s likely to be the least expensive on a per-use basis. It turns out that the answer—well, it depends. (That seems like a recurring theme around here.)
A quick note on application volume
Before diving in, you might ask: how much fragrance does someone use in a typical application? It’s not easy to answer because it depends on both the specific pump/nozzle assembly and how many sprays one uses.
Common per-spray volumes for high-end pump/nozzle assemblies are 70 and 100 microliters, or 0.07–0.10 ml per spray. A light application of two sprays would be 0.14–0.20 ml, or approximately 500–700 applications per 100 ml bottle. A moderate application of four sprays would be 0.28–0.40 ml, or approximately 250–350 applications. A heavy application of six sprays? 0.42–0.60 ml, or approximately 165–330 applications.
By the way, my personal categories of fragrance users by volume are light, moderate, heavy, and Tom Ford:
I like strong fragrances, and I always have. People always comment on it—maybe at times I’m overpowering. I spray a million things on me all the time. In the morning, when I get dressed, I spray one juice on; when I come to work, there’s another one on my desk... I layer them and end up with a real mix. I am not timid about fragrance.
The math is mathing, right?
Let’s start with an iconic Hermès fragrance, Eau d’Orange Verte.
Hermès Eau d’Orange Verte. Image: Hermès
Here’s the current pricing for Eau d’Orange Verte along with per-milliliter calculations:
50 ml (1.69 fl oz): $120 / 93 € = $2.40/ml
100 ml (3.38 fl oz): $151 / 128 € = $1.51/ml
200 ml (6.76 fl oz): $215 / 190 € = $1.08/ml
400 ml (13.53 fl oz): $257 / 255 € = $0.64/ml
In the most dramatic difference, you’re paying 3.8 times as much per ml to buy in the smallest format as compared to the largest.
Another iconic fragrance is Louis Vuitton’s Imagination.
Louis Vuitton Imagination. Image: Louis Vuitton
Imagination is available in three sizes:
30 ml: $160 / 145 € = $5.33/ml
100 ml: $360 / 300 € = $3.60/ml
200 ml: $510 / 440 € = $2.55/ml
(Note that the 30 ml size is a set of four 7.5 ml cartridges that refill Louis Vuitton’s travel bottle system.)
As with Eau d’Orange Verte, you’re paying far more per ml to buy in the smallest format: 2.1 times as much, in fact.
So the math is mathing, right? You should definitely buy larger?
