30, 50 or 100 ml: choosing your fragrance size

Choose a size before looking for a discount

Choosing between a small bottle at €48 and a large one at €85? The price per 100 ml answers a cost question, but says nothing about your available budget or the quantity you need. Start by deciding whether you are discovering a fragrance, replacing a familiar product or looking for a portable bottle. Then compare offers that suit that decision.

The amounts in this guide are fictional examples, with no real merchant or promotion. No size is presented as the best purchase for everyone.

Build a genuinely like-for-like comparison

Record the full name, variant, concentration, volume and packaging. A 50 ml eau de parfum and a 50 ml eau de toilette are not two offers for the same product. A similarly named edition may also be a different product. A shared product code can help identify a match; read the description and selected variant too.

A refillable bottle is still a bottle. A refill sold on its own needs a compatible container. Do not combine their prices in one comparison without explaining what the buyer receives. For a set, list each component: adding up millilitres of fragrance and skincare does not produce a comparable fragrance price.

An example where the unit price is not enough

To calculate the price per 100 ml: bottle price × 100 ÷ volume in ml. Each row in the table represents the same fictional product. The assumed charges belong to this example and do not describe any real delivery policy.

• The 100 ml size has the lowest unit price, but requires €32 more than the delivered 30 ml bottle.
• With a total budget of €60, only the 30 ml bottle fits this example.
• The 50 ml bottle may match the quantity you want even though its price per 100 ml is higher than that of the 100 ml bottle.

Compare the amount you will pay

Record the product price and delivery charges separately, then add the known amounts. Check the country, the address served and any offer conditions in the basket. For purchases in France, the French consumer authority DGCCRF highlights the importance of information about prices and additional costs. An unknown cost remains a detail to establish.

A discount requiring a code, membership or minimum spend only belongs in your comparison if you meet its conditions. If you add an item solely to obtain delivery, compare the whole order total with the delivered cost of the bottle alone. Do not deduct the value of a gift you would not otherwise have bought.

A checklist to complete before ordering

Copy this list to keep a record of the offers. If two entries no longer describe the same product, go back to identifying it rather than choosing a winner on price.

• Full product name and variant: …
• Volume and presentation: bottle, refill alone or set; exact contents: …
• Merchant, delivery country and date checked: …
• Product price and discount conditions: …
• Known charges, total paid and maximum budget: …
• Final basket check: product, quantity and total.