Are Perfumes Worth the Price?

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Thursday, July 19. 2007

Are Perfumes Worth the Price?

In August, Marc Jacobs will launch Daisy, a new fragrance for women. Developed by perfumer Alberto Morillas, Daisy will include notes of wild strawberry, violet leaves, red grapefruit, gardenia, violet, jasmine, musk, vanilla and white woods.

We love the novel idea of naming a perfume after a fun, freedom-inspiring flower—the daisy, of course—even though it's not exactly known for having a pleasant scent. The bottle is to die for with whimsical white flowers made of soft plastic adorning the bottle cap.

Anything Marc Jacobs attaches his name to tends to be stellar, so we considered the $55 pricetag to be entirely reasonable. After all, our grandmother's bottle of CHANEL N°5 is, for us, a priceless heirloom. And it still smells as lovely as the day we became its owner.

Then we wondered: Are pricey perfumes worth the cost? Is there a considerable quality difference between the pricier and less expensive brands? How much are you willing to fork over for a precious fragrance?

Posted by The Budget Babe in Budget Beauty at 06:05 | Comments (7) | Trackback (1)

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my first reaction was that there is no difference in quality between the cheaper and more expensive brands. perfumes are very subjective - you either love the smell or you don't. at least that's my personal experience.

but i asked my hubby the chemist and he said, yes, there is a difference. they all use alcohol as a solvent, but the quality of the actual ingredients is what makes the expensive ones more expensive. if a perfume uses actual extract of roses, for example, it is more costly to make than one using synthetic attar, and the quality of the fragrance is better. who knew there was synthetic attar?

i am willing to pay up for something special, but i get angry when i buy an eau de toilette and the smell wears off after 20 minutes. this has been my experience with "L'Occitaine" perfumes/eaux de toilette.

#1 maggie z on 2007-07-19 09:54 (Reply)

I think that there is a difference, I hate to say it but people can always peg the cheap scents when you walk by (think the girls locker room in high school filled with the many scents of Bath & Body works) gag personally I don't mind forking over the money- if its a good quality scent you don't have to spray as much on to get the same effect as a cheap scent, and it usually lasts longer- so really the bottle of expensive stuff will last you a while (my last bottle of Escada lasted me over a year), and you won't have to make return trips to B&B throughout the year- and maybe I'm being a bit extreme when it comes to girls scents, but NOBODY can deny that a cheap men's fragrance is horrid! lol!

#2 Anonymous on 2007-07-19 12:24 (Reply)

you do not exagerate, ms. anonymous.
there's nothing worse than a man who marinates himself in cheap cologne. eeeeuuuww.
think old spice, brut, and that old stand-by from the 60's, canoe!
choke choke
LOL

#2.1 maggie z on 2007-07-19 16:04 (Reply)

You ladies have reminded us of another major faux-pas: wearing perfume on an airplane. We don't care how pretty it smells or how much it cost because once you're on a plane, every passenger's scent mixes and mingles into one funky cloud with the recirculated air. DOUBLE GAG! OR imagine a transatlantic flight sitting next to a man wearing Canoe! The horror.

#2.1.1 The Budget Babe on 2007-07-19 16:13 (Reply)

always remember, with England, we speak the language - a lot better than some of the Brits these days - and it is still a fun and different place to visit - and yes, there are bargains for which one must look

#2.1.2 Patricia Jones on 2007-07-24 14:05 (Reply)

I agree. One's choice of fragrance is subjective; therefore, if a person finds an scent she really likes, then to her it's worth the price. After all, finding the perfect fragrance that works for your body chemistry can be a daunting task. I've stuck with Clinique's "Happy" because it's light and compliments my body chemistry, I have friends who will spend $120 on Bvlgari's "Pour Femme" because they absolutely love it. It's all subjective.

#3 Judy Mi Cha (Homepage) on 2007-08-21 12:30 (Reply)

Good point--We fell in love with the way L'Eau d'Issey smelled on one of our friends. Went out, bought it, brought it home, put it on...and well, it just didn't smell the same! So disappointing, but that's how we learned firsthand just how important body chemistry is! Might smell sweet on someone else, but just so-so on you.

Fortunately, we have Chanel NO.5 and Jean Paul Gaultier's Classique to keep us content

#3.1 The Budget Babe on 2007-08-22 20:42 (Reply)

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