I would love to see more companies offering small bottles–though perhaps not as tiny as this micro mini of vintage Bandit perfume.

Though “cute” is not a word I’d ever apply to Bandit, is this not one of the cutest wee bottles you’ve ever seen?

Who doesn’t love a mini? The squee factor of a scaled down beauty is hard to overlook. Even with a higher pounds-per-ml price, the lower sticker price can be a powerful persuader. It can be hard to justify adding another 100ml bottle to a crowded shelf of scents.

While I used to be a serial monogamist with scent, now I’m fickle, and rarely wear the same scent two days in a row, so I know a fresh 100ml of almost anything is probably going to end up outliving me. But a travel size? It’s like ice cream: there’s always room.

I’m far more likely to take the plunge with little bottle, and wander off into new territory, exploring unknown brands or different styles. And if I empty it? Then I’ll probably move up a size next time. Plus, of course, all the boring but practical reasons like carrying it around without decanting, or easing the airport rituals of tetrising everything into that one infuriating plastic bag.

So I love being able to buy individual 10ml sprays from @fredericmalle or @4160tuesdaysperfume , for example, and discovery sets with dinky 5, 7.5, or 10ml bottles can be absurdly appealing, particularly if you can mix and match the contents (for which I thank you, @hermes.) The @aedes_parfums discovery set was a real winner for me, so were the ones from @paul_schutze_perfume and @thezoonyc, and if I didn’t already have two bottles from @beaufortlondon I’d be hankering after their set (who am I kidding, I am *still* hankering after that set)*.

* Beaufort have just launched 7.5ml travel sizes (december 2025)

originally posted 26 March 2019, with additional photo