A Favorite: The Perfumed Court

With Valentine’s Day around the corner, a lot of us are thinking of flowers and perfume. I couldn’t think of a better time to blog about my one of my favorite online discoveries, The Perfumed Court. Its proprietresses, Diane, Lisa and Patty, specialize in offering samples and decants of just about every fragrance you could imagine, from vintage and discontinued, to limited editions and classics.

How many times have you purchased a perfume, worn it once or twice to find that you don’t care for it? Well, these gals have made it easy for us to test and try. I recently purchased about 9 different samples and am having fun trying them out!

I had so many questions about the decanting process that I was thrilled when Lisa and Patty let me ask them a barrage of questions. Read on for some fascinating info…

How did you start? (your love of perfume, decanting, eBay, then The Perfumed Court)

Lisa - I’ve always loved fragrance. For as long as I remember I sniffed my mother’s fragrances, which she kept on a tray on her dresser. I purchased my first real fragrance (not counting Love’s Baby Soft Musky Jasmine or Avon’s Sweet Honesty) when I was 19 and it was Molyneux Quartz.

I started decanting while on Make up Alley (I became a member in the beginning of 2003) and could not believe what a wonderful idea it was to be able to try so many fragrances without having to invest in full bottles which were difficult to use up as I never was a “signature scent” kind of person. I then moved onto eBay and did that for a number of years before it was stopped by eBay. The Perfumed Court was Diane’s vision and she asked me to be a part of it and I gladly agreed.

Patty – I’ve always loved fragrance as well. Growing up on a farm, it was part of my life, the rich smells that surrounded me, and smell has always been a powerful pull on my emotion – from the way my daddy’s pillow smelled of him, to hanging out with my friends at the drugstore and trying on all the perfumes. Eventually my perfume habit became very expensive, so I started decanting and selling on eBay until Diane asked me to join her also in a website.

What was your first perfume?

Lisa - Avon Sweet Honesty – it was a Christmas present and I felt very grown up!! Charlie followed soon after along with Jontue, Babe and Jovan Musk. My sister and I shared a room and shared our fragrances too.

Patty – Stephen B was my first. My friend tracked down a bottle of this discontinued fragrance for me a while back, and it takes me right back to being 17 again.

What fragrance did your mother wear?

Lisa - She wore Chantilly, Youth Dew and Chanel No. 5 when I was growing up. As I got older, I remember my father buying her one bottle a year (at Christmastime).

Patty - My mom really didn’t wear perfume, she just always smelled of soap and Jergen’s lotion.

How do you decide what to wear every day?

Lisa - It’s based on my mood and the weather. Sometimes I lie in bed and decide and other times it’s a quick decision out the door. I actually work at a garage (our local government) and I’m the only woman. It’s amazing how many of the guys will comment on what I wear (and I never would have expected that).

Patty – It’s always a mood thing. I just stand in front of the collection and think of what sounds good, and something always occurs to me. If it doesn’t, I wear nothing.

What’s the process for decanting?

Lisa- (for all of us) - I decant from the original bottle either by spraying, pouring or using sterile pipettes into whatever size sample or decant that has been purchased. Pouring and pipettes are the easiest way to decant. Spraying can be quite an exacting science as it can splash back out of the decant bottle and make it difficult to get small items (like the 1ml vials) filled exactly. Then labels are made for each decant.

How do you smell all of the different scents? Coffee in between?

Lisa (for all of us) - I always test on the skin; never on a paper tester. I use coffee in between which works wonderfully for me (and has been scientifically proven). I have also heard that you can also inhale into fabric such as wool but I’ve never tried that.

The Perfumed Court Team: (left to right) Lisa, Patty, Diane and Shirl

How often do you travel and what’s the last trip you took?

Lisa - I usually travel outside the US two to three times a year. I go to Chicago once a year and New York once a year for perfume shopping as well. I just got back from Paris. I traveled with one of my partners and met the other partner and our customer service rep while in Paris.

Patty – I usually travel outside the country 1 or 2 times a year. I try to get to New York once a year, if possible and another place or two, if I can.

If you had to pick the most requested scent or perfume, what would it be?

Lisa (for all of us) - Consistently it is Andy Tauer’s, L’air du Desert Marocain. Frederic Malle’s Carnal Flower runs a close second.

How many of your scents are not available in the US?

Lisa - To the best of our knowledge, we carry about 350 fragrances not available in the US.

About how many perfumes does the Perfumed Court carry?

Lisa (for all of us) -I would estimate somewhere around 3,000. We currently have well over 4,000 individual listings but that includes all of our samplers, our decanting supplies and large decant specials on fragrances that are already individually listed.

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Thanks to Lisa and Patty for taking the time to share this great information with us. It's been quite enlightening!

For all of you reading, please visit The Perfumed Court here. You'll have fun perusing through their thousands of fragrances!