Question:
I like the notes on this one but its hard to find decants, so I thought of this:
The Basenotes Surrogate Program
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1. I want to buy this to try it. (I'm the surrogate).
2. I find someone who already likes it (VT fan).
3. VT fan and I make a gentleman's agreement that if I don't like it, I will sell it to him for a percentage of my purchase price.
4. If I do like it, no transaction occurs, the surrogate agreement is cancelled.
5. If I don't like it, I sell it to VT fan, and can be reasonably sure of quickly recouping the money I spent.
Is this a common practice? If not, does it sound like a good idea?


Answer:
You'd have to trust that person would honor the agreement, and you and he or she would have to come to a price that would be amenable for him or her to buy a barely used bottle of the stuff. I mean, for someone to love Vétiver Tonka but not own it, clearly the issue must be price. So, to be perfectly candid, that person's probably going to try and drive the price down on your used bottle to get a good deal for themselves. How much is it worth to you to find out you dislike a scent? Is it worth more than buying one of the decants that are regularly for sale on eBay?
Better yet, Hermès stores generally send a sample of an Hermessence scent or two to a customer if he or she calls to request one. Find an Hermès boutique and ask if someone will send you one of the ample (4 mL) vials of Vétiver Tonka to you to test prior to your prospective purchase. That way, you can avoid such a risky, elaborate, and potentially costly arrangement and satisfy your curiosity at the same time.

Answer:
In Madrid, I buy the "Hermessence Travel Kit": 4x15 ml (Not Hermessence Osmanthe Yunnan) - 80 €.
My ranking:
1- Vetiver Tonka
2- Ambre Narguilé
3- Rose Ikebana
4- Poivre Samarkande

Answer:
Thanks for the tips gents. VT was so hard to locate here, and through a Google search I just assumed it was an obscure house and frag. However I just took what should have been the obvious step of typing in "Hermes.com" and found out that there is a store here in Atlanta! They're closed today, but I'll check their stock tomorrow.


Answer:
Samples are a much better idea. Otherwise, you have to decide between your idea and decants. Figure at least $5 to reship your fragrance then you have to give them enough of a deal that it was worthwhile not to buy new from a store, so that's a minimum of $10 but it could be a lot more than that depending on the fragrance.

Answer:
Is it the annise note in Osmanthe Yunnan you don't like? That's why I didn't choose it. I'm strongly averse to annise for some reason.

Originally Posted by The_love In Madrid, I buy the "Hermessence Travel Kit": 4x15 ml (Not Hermessence Osmanthe Yunnan) - 80 €.
My ranking:
1- Vetiver Tonka
2- Ambre Narguilé
3- Rose Ikebana
4- Poivre Samarkande

Answer:
Vetiver Tonka is an amazing fragrance - I hope you enjoy it. Give it a couple of hours (in the drydown) to show its true colors.

Answer:
you can get a sample from them a large one, if you play your cards right. it's like 2 ml so be charmant