I know it’s Sunday already, but let’s pretend I published it yesterday. Leaving aside that most of us shouldn’t be buying more perfumes, period, and that most of us would break and buy a bottle we wouldn’t have otherwise if tempted by an especially good deal…
Saturday Question #239:
What Perfume Do You Not Buy Only Because Of Its Price?
Is there a perfume you really like and would want to wear, but you just can’t bring yourself to pay full price (or even with a 10-15% discount)? Do you keep checking hoping for a better price or leave it to chance?
My Answer
I have such a perfume! Byredo La Selle. When it launched in 2016, it was very expensive compared to most perfumes (Xerjoff, Roja Dove and Clive Christian excluded). So, even though I liked it when I tried it, I didn’t even think of buying it.
Thanks to a kind perfumista friend, I got a sample of La Selle, and recently, when I decided to use it up before it turned, I realized how much I enjoyed it. What did I do? I went to check its price. I discovered two things. First, La Selle was re-released under a new name: Sellier (I hope it still smells the same, but I’ll have to test it eventually to confirm). Second, these days its price doesn’t look that obnoxious any longer. I mean, it’s still very expensive. But in the last 8 years, perfume prices have soared, both for existing brands and for hundreds of newly emerged brands. And now, the price for this Byredo’s “special” edition perfume doesn’t look as surprising.
As I mentioned, I liked La Selle very much, and I would wear it if it was in my collection: it’s a soft leather perfume that works for me. But I am not prepared to pay $375 + tax. Theoretically, it should be possible to catch it with a 20% discount, but even that wouldn’t move the needle. I am not saying that it’s not worth it (it’s worth as much as they can sell it for). But with the size of my collection and at this point in my life, I’ve decided, I refuse to pay that much. How much would I pay for it? I’d say around $200 would make me think really hard.
Now it’s your turn.
Undina's Looking Glass 
I feel like Puredistance is always my go to answer when it’s about price. I love probably half of their offerings, but just can’t afford to satisfy the longing in all cases. However, I have enough Warszawa that I can be pickled at death.
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Puredistance is quite expensive, I don’t think I’ll ever buy a larger bottle (not that I need that amount of any perfume). But I am contemplating getting a 17.5 ml bottle of Gold because I liked it very much. Maybe next year.
I like Warszawa, but it’s my number 6 or 7 in the line of favorite Puredistance perfumes.
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I like Gold, although it doesn’t speak to me as much. HOWEVER, it is the one that gets me the most compliments. What ones are your 1-6? I love Warszawa, Antonia, Gold, White, The newest red one…
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Antonia, White, Gold, Rubikona, No 12. Warsawa, Opardu and Papilio come next, I’m not sure in which order. I like Sheiduna, but this is one of those perfumes I wouldn’t buy. Black is great on my vSO. The rest do not work for me.
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Sheiduna was my least favorite, and normally I like that spicy kind of perfume.
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Well… it was Interlude 53 Man by Amouage. I have a sample vial that has lasted me for years because two tiny spritzes last me the whole day. I’ve brought it with me on many trips and it works well in all weather (as long as I don’t overspray, as too much is suffocating).
The bottle was retailing for about $500, so I never thought about buying it, but as I was looking it up just now to double check the price, I saw that a couple of sites had it for less than half…… and now I need a new answer!
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It happens to me all the time! I am checking something out for a different purpose – and find an offer I just can’t refuse. I don’t mean just perfumes. And not necessarily in hundreds dollars range. But the situation is very familiar.
Congratulations on your new bottle?
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Thanks! It arrived quickly and I haven’t opened it yet as I still have some of the sample left.
I have a feeling this sort of thing might happen again to both of us in the coming weeks, though as you say, maybe on a smaller scale!
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Love the Saturday questions :)
I think for me it’s the whole Frederic Malle line. I really love almost everything. I look to discounters to buy it-it’s just too $$ for me at a proper store, plus we pay 15 % tax on everything. So I wanted Heaven Can Wait, but I had to wait almost a year to find a 50 ml bottle on FB marketplace. I got it for $200, but it’s about $450 on a regular site. That’s a huge difference to me. It’s also getting nearly impossible to buy the 10 ml size. I thought those were great. I remember when the line came to Canada you could could choose three different scents, to make up a three pack, which shipped in its snug small red box. Even the 30 ml bakelite bottles – those were about $200 CDN. Think that was limited edition packaging to celebrate their milestone anniversary during the pandemic.
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I feel the same about Frederic Malle perfumes. I have two bottles I bought years ago and a travel spray. I used to check it out at Barneys. But it closed. Since then, as there are no retailers nearby, I don’t get tempted. If it weren’t for the price, I would have probably bought a couple of travel bottles. But I don’t know if those perfumes that I used to like still smell the same after all the changes.
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I’m at the stage in my life where another bottle of perfume adds to my collection. I’m supposed to be on a low buy (just.could.not.do.the.no.buy) and yes, I’ve bought this year BUT have definitely slowed down. For what it’s worth, I view perfume pricing as inelastic and will buy if I feel like it. I would go crazy if I need to research where I can buy something cheaper although it is really nice of a sale just happens to come along …
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No matter what my budget or financial situation is, I just can’t make myself to buy anything full price (plus tax!) unless I’m convinced that I can’t get it with a discount, GWP or any other perks.
If I were to absolutely love some very expensive perfume that I tried, I would have saved to buy it, regardless of the price. But with all the great perfumes I own and not wear, the chance of that happening is slim.
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My answer is, I don’t know. Perfumery that is out of my budget I won’t even try!
I miss splits. It was such a great way to get the juice without buying a whole bottle
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Agreed
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I liked splits for trying perfumes I didn’t have access to otherwise. But I think I haven’t participated in any for more than 3 years.
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Since the money I earn has changed and the ay it gets spent is now different I have a lot less ready cash. It’s really changed the way I buy perfumes and how much that seems reasonable. Couple this with the near stratospheric aspiration pricing it means I’m buying less and less.
The newer Amouage, DIOR Prive, Atelier des Ors, Fragrance Du Bois and Creed releases are all way out of my range now. So many are.
Portia xx
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I guess these big £££££ scents will only feel the pinch if the aspirational spenders who buy maybe 1 or 2 bottles a year stop paying these silly prices.
As they often buy not only for the smell but for the bragging & display as well.
We juice collectors have to be more creative in finding special things without paying the cost that these faux niche brands expect
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This is all so true Alityke.
I really miss being able to send and be a part of splits. They were such an excellent way to try 5ml of a few things. The post has ruined our fun.
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Sigh
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Luckily for us, our collections are full of wonderful perfumes that we can wear. And it got much easier to test perfumes in stores or buy small samples if we are really curious about some of those uber-expensive offerings.
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This is very true in bigger cities Undina. Even all the way down here in Sydney there is good range for testing.
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I’d have to say The Revenge of Lady Blanche by Penhaligon’s. I like it very much, but I just balk at the price. Maybe I’d go for it if I didn’t already have so many other fragrances, but I do.
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Luckily for me, with Penhaligon’s portraits, bottles that I liked had perfumes that weren’t my favorites, and those perfumes that I liked were housed in bottles that I liked less.
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That is lucky! I don’t really care for those bottles either.
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I’m only almost a week late. But anyway, to answer your question, there are too many brands to even list. I have been more disciplined with myself about how much I’m willing to spend. I’ve even blacklisted Chanel now because prices are beyond ridiculous. I know that I won’t live until 150 so that I can use up what I already own. I’m still tempted by decants, though I try to avoid the really spendy ones in case I fall in love. Still buying lipstick though.
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It’s never late! My blog is quite slow, so you can come and comment any number of weeks or even years later :)
I haven’t tried the latest Chanel exclusiff yet, and I don’t know any more how much any of the private line cost these days – I just know that all brands raised prices, and I don’t like it because they weren’t cheap already.
I keep buying lipsticks as well. More than I have lips to wear them ;)
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Well, frankly that would cover most perfumes I would like to own – no, make that all of them! Far too many to mention. In my mind a bottle of niche perfume should cost about £60…that world is long gone, but my “price elasticity” is not very elastic. ;)
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