About us
Our company
Yours truly, Jean-Claude Gélinier, is a co-author of several reference books
And starting in 1999, a catalog of new perfume miniatures featuring approximately 400 products has been distributed.
All the miniatures presented come from my personal collection
How to start a perfume miniature collection?
What should you collect? How should you organize your bottles? Which samples should you buy?
For these questions often asked by beginners, it is obvious that there is only one right answer: let your own tastes guide you. Everyone organizes their passion according to their desires, means, wishes, and constraints.
There are, however, a few paths that can be suggested and some pitfalls to avoid.
Often, the beginner perfume bottle collector starts off going in all directions. Starting with a base of bottles obtained for free from perfumers and friends, they wish to develop their collection, complete it, and turn it into a coherent whole that they will enjoy showing, looking at, and managing. The advantage of this approach is that it allows the budding collector to discover the immense variety of the world of miniatures, its colors, fragrances, prices, and rarities. This is a fundamentally indispensable step that allows the collection to grow in volume and diversity.
In a second phase, one quickly realizes that it is difficult today to create a complete collection of miniatures (it can be estimated—with great difficulty, given the absence of reliable sources—at about 30,000 different miniatures worldwide).
The collector will then choose to specialize in a specific theme which can be more or less vast:
- major French brands
- bottles of a specific color ("Bourjois blue" for example)
- a single brand
- antique bottles
- rare bottles
- celebrity bottles
- fashion designer bottles
- Italian bottles
- bottles with original shapes
- bottles evoking a particular theme (animals, women, etc.)
This short list is, of course, not exhaustive. Often, alongside this specialization, the enthusiast continues to acquire or keep bottles that they like even if they do not fit directly into their theme.
Later, when the theme has been exhausted or at least substantially completed, one will often return to either a more general vision or to the choice of another theme.
Where and how to acquire bottles?
The golden rule of perfume collecting is to talk about it to those around you: family, friends, professional contacts. One is often surprised to find that many people may have some of these charming little bottles. Sometimes, they may be collectors themselves and may offer trades. Some of your friends who previously threw their samples away after using them will be delighted to offer them to you in the future (remind them of your passion discreetly from time to time). When possible, show your collection in a small display case: success is guaranteed. Beyond the aesthetic pleasure you derive from it, it is an excellent way to start a conversation on the subject.
You can thus quickly build up a small base of bottles that will allow you to start a collection at almost no cost.
Then, to acquire rarer, more sought-after, and older bottles, you will need to either buy or trade them. There are several possibilities for doing this.
Purchases
Today, one often finds offers in perfumeries for free miniatures with the purchase of a specific product. Do not systematically buy the perfume just to get the miniature even if it interests you. You risk investing unnecessarily in a perfume you do not usually use, and your collection will quickly become very expensive as your bathroom fills up with perfumes and cosmetics you will never use. Conversely, when you make a purchase at a perfumery, never leave without a miniature! Even if they don't have a miniature of that brand, the shopkeeper will certainly offer you one, and perhaps several, if you insist politely. Do not waste time visiting all the perfumeries in your area asking for samples; it is now very rare to obtain them if you are not making a purchase. Many perfumeries now sell miniatures. There are sometimes good deals to be made, but it is not systematic. Before buying, compare prices with those on the second-hand market (second-hand dealers and specialized companies). Also, visit our online store where you will find exceptional prices and conditions.
Indeed, you can also obtain your bottles from collection professionals, antique dealers, flea market vendors, auction houses, specialized merchants, and mail-order companies. Here, it is a bit of a jungle with one single rule that is self-evident: COMPARE. From one merchant to another, from one show to another, from one month to another, the prices of certain miniatures can vary significantly. A frequent mistake not to make is to rush into new items: these are often excessively expensive in the weeks following their release; in 95% of cases, their price will drop quite quickly before slowly rising again as their age and rarity add value to them.
Finally, you can buy from other collectors met by chance at a flea market or discovered through a classified ad. Check the condition of the products offered to you. For large purchases, ask for a receipt as proof of the transaction and pay by check. Unfortunately, there are stolen collections that can be sold off in this way, so do not take the risk of being accused of receiving stolen goods. If you have the slightest doubt about the origin of the bottles, do not carry out the transaction and never buy from a minor without the written authorization of their parents.
Compare, avoid speculative bubbles, travel, stay informed, do not buy dubious lots, and you will build your collection under the best conditions.
Trades
Trading is one of the great pleasures of any collection. Beyond the concrete result they can provide—the acquisition of one or more new pieces—they are above all an opportunity for enriching contacts that will give you the possibility to increase your knowledge, but also to share your own and, the ultimate pleasure, to talk about your collection. For mail-order trades, it is advisable to remain vigilant, especially during the first transaction, which should always be of low value. Also, do not hesitate to make contact by phone with your correspondent. A short conversation often allows you to get a more precise idea of the motivations of your interlocutor and their conception of the proposed transaction.
The usual standard for trading is one piece for one piece. These are, of course, bottles of roughly equivalent value. The convention is often to trade a bottle with a box for another with a box, an old one for an old one, a recent one for a recent one, etc. Nothing prevents you, however, from offering several common bottles for one rarer one; the only rule is, of course, an agreement between the parties such that no one feels slighted. Do not expect to get an old Guerlain for an Yves Rocher or a Givenchy!
A special case concerns trading with professionals. At a trade show, a merchant's time is often precious and trades take time. Try to come at a time when there are no customers at the booth (at opening, at closing, or during meal hours). Spot bottles of equivalent value to yours that might interest you. A merchant may be interested in bottles they do not have in stock and will generally gladly trade them for others they have been able to obtain in multiple copies. Of course, if they are also a collector, as is often the case, they will be very eager for any bottle they do not possess for their personal collection. Many professionals, who must pay the costs inherent to their business and generate profit to make a living, ask for two bottles for one. This is not shocking. It is up to you to judge if the transaction remains valid for you. To trade, you can use the classified ads in specialized newspapers (club newsletters, La Vie du Collectionneur, Le Collectionneur Français, Aladin), or go to shops, flea markets, and trade shows, and of course, go to club meetings if you are lucky enough to have one in your area, and visit specialized shows.
On the Internet, the main auction sites offer wide possibilities for contact.
How to manage your collection?
At the beginning, one easily remembers all the pieces one owns. Over time, it becomes difficult to know if you have this or that variant, if this old bottle that interests you is not in better condition than yours. By the way, do you have the box? To avoid these questions and the risk of missing a piece or, conversely, buying a duplicate unnecessarily, we strongly advise you to keep a list of what you own from the beginning. This list should include the product brand, the manufacturer name, the possible variety (gold cap, black cap, etc.), the condition of the bottle (empty, with box, damaged), and possibly your purchase price, which allows you to track the evolution of the bottle's value. This book can help you in this process because it associates a reference number with, on the one hand, the irreplaceable richness of a photograph and, on the other hand, information about your own bottles. Thanks to it, you will be able to make a list of the miniatures that are missing and that you would like to acquire as a priority.
The "10000 miniatures, 3000+, 2000+ and subsequent" catalogs will help you organize and value your collection. The site www.ventesuroffres.com can also help you identify your miniatures.
Do not hesitate to adopt this desire for organization from the very beginning of your collection because, when you have many bottles, you will probably no longer have the courage to list everything. If you have the possibility, managing your collection on a computer can be excellent and is easily possible on any database manager.
Samples or miniatures?
A great debate has long raged among perfume bottle collectors regarding the definition of the terms "sample" and "miniature." A sample is a product offered free of charge containing a small quantity (but sometimes up to 25ml, like some Guerlain Shalimar samples) of the product one wishes to promote. The sample can come in the form of a tube, a standard bottle, or a replica more or less faithful to the commercial size.
A miniature is a small-sized product. It can be either a sample or a small-sized bottle intended for sale.
Should you collect one or the other? As far as we are concerned, we would be tempted to say that you should collect what you like, without ostracism and without letting yourself be influenced by one trend or another. Why, as some claim, would the mention "exclusive sale by an authorized distributor" replacing the mention "not for sale" take all interest away from the product? Especially since when both versions exist, the bottle is often exactly the same. When you find a "first size," frequently in a luxurious presentation and often more beautiful than the sample, if the price is reasonable, why deprive yourself of it?
The organization of the perfume bottle collecting market means that miniatures of brands little known to the general public appear, which are often little or not distributed in France in perfumeries. Contrary to a falsely widespread idea, these are not products intended exclusively for collectors (there are a few, but very few, and besides, sometimes very beautiful and worthy of being in a collection). They are often either French productions intended for foreign markets (Middle East, Asia, Eastern Europe, United States, South America) or foreign products originally intended for the local market, but which arrived in France in more or less significant quantities. In this last category, we find in particular many Italian bottles which, while not to be shunned, should not be paid for too dearly because they are often quite widespread.
With box or without box?
Today, all collectors prefer bottles with boxes and one can only encourage them in this direction. The box is an integral part of the product it protects and which it sometimes highlights. The packaging is also an important source of information about the perfume and the manufacturer. DO NOT THROW AWAY YOUR BOXES. Even if you display your bottles in a showcase, keep the boxes elsewhere. If one day you wish to resell or trade certain bottles, the absence of a box will lead to a significant depreciation.
This judgment must be tempered by the following remarks:
- if your budget is modest, you can start a collection with bottles without boxes provided you pay much less for them. For common modern bottles, the depreciation should be at least 50%.
- some bottles have never had an individual box; it would be a shame, for example, to deprive yourself of the three Lalique miniatures released in mid-95 under the pretext that they are not samples in the strict sense (they are not offered but sold) and that they are not presented in an individual box!
- antique bottles are often difficult to find with their box (and often the box has flaws). One should not let an interesting bottle at a reasonable price slip away just because it does not have its box.
Let yourself be guided by your common sense and the beauty of your discoveries.
Gift sets?
Above all, a gift set is a compilation of bottles without boxes and therefore, a priori, less interesting than bottles in their individual packaging.
They must, however, be separated into two completely different categories. First, the set made by a manufacturer with their different product brands (Guerlain set with the three eaux de toilette, for example). This type of set is often linked to a short-term promotional offer; it contains bottles, some of which are sometimes quite expensive individually. It should not be ignored.
Our opinion regarding sets grouping various brands is more nuanced. They are often artificial collections featuring second-tier brands that are quite easy to acquire otherwise in their individual boxes. Often intended for a tourist clientele (tax-free sales in airports or souvenir shops), the set in this case provides no added value compared to miniatures without boxes, and for a price often close to that of miniatures with boxes. Do your math.