Archived Post
Rant & Rave: Rollerball Perfume
This Week’s Topic: ROLLERBALL PERFUME!
Your Mission: Tell us what you love, hate, or are otherwise indifferent to about rollerball perfume products and all that those entail.
Explore Temptalia
We're here to help you make better beauty purchases that you'll enjoy and love! We recommend signing up to take advantage of personalized features like tracking products you own, viewing dupes that you already have, and more!
Here are some useful resources for you:
Compare Any Two
Curious how two shades compare to each other? Type in the shades below to get instant side-by-side swatches!
46 Comments
Comments that do not adhere to our comment policy may be removed. Discussion and debate are highly encouraged but we expect community members to participate respectfully. Please keep discussion on-topic, and if you have general feedback, a product review request, an off-topic question, or need technical support, please contact us!
Please help us streamline the comments' section and be more efficient: double-check the post above for more basic information like pricing, availability, and so on to make sure your question wasn't answered already. Comments alerting us to typos or small errors in the post are appreciated (!) but will typically be removed after errors are fixed (unless a response is needed).
We appreciate enthusiasm for new releases but ask readers to please hold questions regarding if/when a review will be posted as we can't commit to or guarantee product reviews. We don't want to set expectations and then disappoint readers as even products that are swatched don't always end up being reviewed due to time constraints and changes in priorities! Thank you for understanding!
Comments on this post are closed.
We try to approve comments within 24 hours (and reply to them within 72 hours) but can sometimes get behind and appreciate your patience! 🙂 If you have general feedback, product review requests, off-topic questions, or need technical support, please contact us directly. Thank you for your patience!
My favorite ever roller ball that I keep in my purse is LAVANILLA’s Vanilla Grapefruit. It’s perfect for any occasion, fresh and sweet, but not sickly sweet. Just pure vanilla and fresh squeezed grapefruit juice.
How long does one rollerball last for you? I like their glosses, maybe I’ll check their perfumes out!
They never smell the same as spritzing a fragrance does. They are very convenient, but I don’t like that they never smell the same to me.
I agree with you,i feel the same way about it.
I agree too! It seems to last like 30 minutes and then it’s gone. I tried a couple different fragrances thinking maybe it was just the one but they both turned out the same. I wont be buying anymore rollerballs 🙁
I love Marc Jacobs Daisy for summer. It is so easy to just throw in my purse and be on my way. Great for travel!
Same here! I never go through a whole bottle of perfume anyway!
I love them! They are portable and if you want to try out a fragrance without shelling a lot for a whole bottle, the rollerball is not only convenient but would substantially cost less. I hardly stay loyal to a fragrance anyway, rollerball perfumes are perfect.
Love them! A great way to try a new fragrance that won’t break the bank. And a great way to touch up during the day. Only one I have ever had a slight problem with are the ones made by Philosophy. You have to make sure to shake the beejeebies out of it so it stays blended.
I love the DKNY Delicious Duo Rollerball ….
great to go fragrance!!!
I love rollerball perfume because it’s so easy to apply without making a mess or accidentally spraying the wrong part of your body.
The only downside is that it can be a little trickier to smell in the bottle.
Don’t like them. After rolling them on your pulse points a few times the scent changes from the natural oils of your skin mixing with the scent. I have yet to find one that actually smells like the bottle and dosen’t change with use.
I REALLY dont like rollerball perfumes… but this may be because I have yet to find one that works for me….
I find that they usually tend to be sticky or even somewhat solid… never just liquid… I also like how a perfume can spray on your clothes or spray on the skin but spread because of the mist whereas rollerballs can only be applied in select places directly on the skin
I also find that they can be a little unsanitary… lets say your sweating and you roll the perfume on your sweaty skin… then when you are clean and you roll it on, your are rolling the sweat infested perfume! eek!
i have one roller ball at a time for carrying-in-purse purposes. i don’t always carry it, but on trips definately. it was in a little ziplock baggie in my purse for a long (4days each way) trip to canada and back — and on a greyhound, that thing saved my nose 😉
it smells more alcoholy and it seems to get used up way faster
I love the one that came with my full size VERA WANG PRINCESS fragrance that the bf gave me for V-Day 🙂
How funny – I literally bought one yesterday with my Sephora VIB discount. I bought my favorite Fresh scent, Citron de Vigne. I love the rollerballs because I can’t seem to commit to one scent/big bottle. Also they are portable which is nice to throw into my makeup bag. I work out during my lunch break so it’s nice to have to touch up after my quick rinse off shower. So obviously it’s nothing but LOVE for me!
Unless someone can tell me otherwise, I don’t like them because I feel like when the oils contact the ball, the ball then gets into contact with the perfume or product… and then the oils mix and mess up the original scent. I would rather have a small spray bottle I can take with me. 🙂
sorry this has nothing to do with you comment, its just WOW
my name is Sara Lynn
hahaha that just kind of weirded me out, but anyways have a nice day =)
I’ve never tried rollerball perfume. Do you guys like it better than solid perfume? Should I try it?
Ilove them because you donthave todealwith messy sprays, defective sprays and you just can quickly rollit on anywhere. It also it’s slim enough to fit in your purse.
I usually buy the roll on ones for my purse or I like the scent right now, but I’m not sure if I’ll continue to like it. It’s just easy carry around and apply. The only problem I have with it is that the scent never lingers as long as the spritz ones, but that’s to be expected. Currently, the one I’m using is The Beat by burberry and I’ll probably end up purchasing the bottle soon. XD
I don’t mind rollerball perfumes. I have a few of them and they’re pretty convenient and easy to use. You can carry them easily in your bag and they’re great for touch ups. I even like the kind that have perfume on one end and gloss on the other.
I was considering getting the Vera Wang Princess one… should I get that or the mac hush cream color base?
Nice way to try a perfume and not have to commit to paying $65 or so! I wish Dior would make these especially.
I have been buying my perfumes through Amazon and having them fulfill the shipment so it’s like rollerball price for me! I got a Hanae Mori 3.4 oz perfume recently for $33 (plus no shipping or tax) rather than $90+tax!
Anyways I only have 2 rollerball perfumes at the moment and I cherish them! They are Stila Creme Bouquet and I hope they bring those back!:(
I love rollerball perfume, it’s so convenient to take places with me. i can just toss it in my bag and reapply throughout the day!
I love them but sometimes they don’t smell same. I like them though. Sometimes I feel like they are heavy in my purse (especially when you have a couple) for such little containers.
I have three and I love them. They are very convenient and I don’t have to worry about not being able to use they spray if I drop it, like I’ve done to quite a few of my perfumes.
I love Stella, especially in the rollerball form. But the one gripe I have with the rollerball is that it often leaks because the cap slightly unscrews itself. But the convenience of the rollerball far outweighs any cons for me.
I love the portability and convenience, plus the cost factor. I find that I would rather purchase a rollerball at $16-$25 to try a fragrance before laying out $60-$90 for a bottle of something I may not like.
I currently own about 8 rollerball fragrances and plan to purchase many more!
you guys have to check out the smashbox roller ball perfum in their present collection. It smells just like their bronze body lotion. SO GOOD. smells like summer 😀
Okie dokie! I went on a rollerball perfume kick from ebay a few yrs ago. I loved how you could get a whole whack of them for a pretty good price. Half were perfume oil, the other, regular edt just in smaller roll on bottle. I also love how you can take them with you and control how much you use (not like the whole “walk into a cloud and lose half your expensive Alien perfume”)
Then again, the perfume oils (not edt rollons) that I bought weren’t designer inspired, they had names like “orchid rain” and stuff like that. I had no problem with the longivity, I think it all depends on the maker. A designer roll on may not be as great, maybe as a way to get you to just dish out for the big bottle, but perfume oil roll ons seem to work fine for me. I just have to keep the lid in tight or it’s a leaky oily mess.
I like them because of no spills. My favourite is Sula Champagne Sugar.
I think they are nice to have so you can reapply on your skin but I just like the regular spray perfumes the best! I feel like then I can spray that in my hair to make it smell nice too…you can’t do that with a rollerball
yea my thoughts exactly on the spray perfumes. i feel like if i spray it on me, i smell like it. im not sure if people can smell you when you roll it on your [pulse [points] instead of spraying it on (your shirt, hair, etc.) but i do like them for ease. i have viva la juicy rollerball, because i was not wanting to shell out the money for a full size at the time.
I received a trial sample of Ralph rollerball a few years ago. At the time, I did not like the spray bottle because I found that the parfume was too strong. Now, I find that rollerballs only smell in a certain area and it is not as eventually distributed as the spray. Also, the scent is lost after a few hours compared the spray type.
The good thing about rollerball is the convenience and it is easier to control the area you would like to apply the scent if you do not want all over.
I LOVE them! I have a couple of them — Fresh Sugar Lychee and Burberry Brit Sheer — and, as much as I love both scents, I’m glad that I didn’t commit to full bottles. I get bored with scents very easily, and I don’t even wear perfume all the time, so most bottles end up just sitting on my vanity. Big waste of money…
Even so, I really wanted to take advantage of the Sephora VIB coupon by buying the Chloe perfume. When I went there, I discovered that if you buy a Sephora atomizer ($10), they fill it up for you for free with any scent you choose! It only holds 3 ml (compared to the 10 ml of a standard rollerball), but I think that is the perfect amount to use up before I’ll want to try something new. So if you get bored easily like me, would prefer a purse-sized spray instead of a rollerball, and/or would rather pay $10 for a little bit than $60+ for a lot, check out the Sephora atomizer!
On one hand, I FAR prefer perfume sprays because I primarily wear perfume in my hair (my skin hates perfume and makes L’Occitane florals smell like apple juice and Miss Dior Cherie smell like cheap mens’ cologne, among other offenses) but I like that rollerballs are usually more concentrated and are way easier for toting around for touch-ups (and last way longer than mini sprays). I just bought Royal Apothic’s Fig and Green Tea rollerballs since they don’t have sprays (yet, I hope) and I have to say, they’re pretty ok (love both fragrances).
I like them for a quick scent when I’m running off to a meeting or something. My three year old love to pretend she’s playing in her perfume. So, I buy them for her to have after I’m done with them to play with.
I really love the scent of Pink Sugar, but knew I wouldn’t wear it enough to justify buying a bottle of it, so the rollerball was a good and cheaper option for me! It is also really handy to keep in my purse or gym bag. Also the smell tends to last longer than when I spray perfume 🙂
I can’t wear perfume, but I’d like to contribute that I love when other people use roller ball perfumes. I am allergic to the chemicals in perfume, and even being near someone who has sprayed perfume on their clothes, hair, etc., makes me physically sick. Headache, blurred vision, nausea, sometimes even vomiting. On the other hand, roller ball perfumes seem to stay put a little better, and don’t “waft” as much as spray perfumes, so they don’t bother me so much.
Please, ladies, think of those who will be around you when you’re putting on your perfume, and don’t overdo it!
i like the portability of them but i don’t like how quickly i use them up.
I don’t like them, the roller balls seem to cheapen the look of the perfume and also to me at least the perfume feels really thick.
i love how concentrated they tend to be, but hate how they also tend to leak!
To further confuse matters, some companies use different notes, or different proportions of notes, in the different forms of fragrance they offer. In addition, some companies reserve costly fragrance oils for their parfum, and use synthetic substitutes in lighter concentrations.
i recently bought the saint rollerball by kat von d; if i put it on in the morning i can still smell it by the time i get off work.