This week my YouTube stream is overflown with Sephora spring sale recommendations, so discounts, sales and offers are on my mind. I know that most of my readers slowed down in their quest for new perfumes, especially when it comes to full bottles acquisitions. But let’s talk in general of what seems interesting or significant enough to consider a purchase.

Saturday Question #210:

What Percentage Off Would Motivate You to Make a Purchase?

Let’s not talk about one-of-a-kind bargains, eBay finds or insanely discounted blind buys. But when it comes to regular stores, specialized online perfume boutiques or brands’ sites, what would incentivize you enough to buy perfume that you had on your wish list for some time?

Bonus – the same question but about skincare, beauty and makeup.

My Answer

As I said, Sephora was on my mind. My friend was supposed to share with me her Rouge status, and I was contemplating (strictly necessary!) purchases with her great 20% off discount… when we discovered that her status had elapsed before that sale. That was a disappointment! But after some considerations, I realized that 15% that I could get with my own status wasn’t that much worse, and I would end up spending probably just $5-7 dollars more. Still, before settling for “mere” 15%, I looked around to make sure that I couldn’t do better somewhere else. And while many brands offer the same 15% and sometimes even 20% for the first purchase, usually one has to spend $50+ to get a free shipping. And since each of the items that I planned to buy was under that threshold, placing separate orders at brands’ sites would end up costing more then buying everything at Sephora, which I did. None of the few items I bought was perfume-related (if not to count a free sample that I chose but might not get if they run out of those), but it made me think about discounts when it comes to getting perfumes.

I realized that my expectations and valuation of offers and discounts heavily depend on what I think is possible. I remember hunting 6 months for free shipping from the brand that usually didn’t offer either discounts or free shipping and being ecstatic when I managed to get it. On the other hand, if I know that some sites do 20% off once in a while, I would be patiently waiting to get that discount not being tempted by anything less. And for sites and brands that never do site-wide sales, I would be checking for some bundle or extra samples offer because it feels wrong to pay the full price and not to get anything “extra” – even if I don’t need it.

So, both for perfumes and beauty items that I plan to buy anyway, any discount is good and enough to push my decision – as long as I think that it’s the best I can do before I need to use it (if I’m running out of some beauty items) or have to buy it (if perfume is getting harder to get or being discontinued).

How about you?

What Percentage Off Would Motivate You to Make a Purchase?

I know, I know, it’s a very broad question. But I thought: if “Do you like vintage perfumes?” is a legitimate question, why wouldn’t this one be?

Saturday Question #209:

Do You Like Modern Niche Perfumes?

Give your own definition to what you consider “modern,” and what you classify as “niche,” and after that tell me whether you like them, find new favorites, I’ll even dare to say – buy them?

My Answer

As a rule, I do not feel old (or even “older”). But recently I caught myself thinking that the way I feel about new niche perfumes that I come across makes me sound old, because my mental mantra these days is: “in my time” perfumes were better.

I am not talking about ingredients that were banned and substituted (even though, of course, that plays its role in my perception of new perfumes). I am not even complaining about lack of originality or not being memorable. But more and more I test new perfumes that smell either very minimalistic or too gender-neutral or overly artificial or not really perfume-y.

And after a while, I realized that those are not just poorly constructed perfumes (well, some of them are), but it seems like a new style. The industry keeps creating new aroma chemicals that become popular, and many new brands eagerly utilize them. They are not necessarily unpleasant, they don’t even smell identical. But many of them have some recognizable characteristics that just don’t excite or inspire me. And if perfumes aren’t expensive, I think: “Of course, how much could these aroma chemicals cost?” And if they are expensive, I think: “How could these aroma chemicals cost that much?!!”

I’m not a fan of vintage perfumes. I remember hundreds of perfumes of the past that I didn’t like. And I still come across some perfumes I like. But in general, I do not like the prevailing style of modern niche perfumes.

How about you?

Do You Like Modern Niche Perfumes?

Don’t ask me how I came up with this one. It just emerged from some depth of my end-of-work-week brain (in the US, Good Friday isn’t a public holiday).

Saturday Question #208:

Have You Ever Used Someone Else’s Perfume Without Permission?

If yes, what were the circumstances? What perfume was that? Were you “caught”? Did/do you have that perfume in your collection?

My Answer

As a child, I loved perfumes my mother and grandmother wore. And sometimes they would allow me to use some. I understood what perfumes were, I knew that I wasn’t supposed to touch them on my own. But somehow the concept of perfume leaving an “evidence trail” of my misbehavior escaped me at that early age, so on more than one occasion, being left alone, I would perfume my favorite doll with one of my mom’s Diors (pure parfum!) or “sniff” my grandma’s Climat parfum almost dipping my nose in the bottle opening. I wasn’t sure afterwards how adults could tell that I touched their precious bottles.

As an adult, I resist those temptations. Though I have to admit to sniffing mini bottles in a couple of my friends’ bathrooms. I don’t know whether they wear perfumes they keep in those guest bathrooms, or if those are used for decorative purposes, but I was intentionally careful not to pick up any of the scents with my nose.

How about you?

Have You Ever Used Someone Else’s Perfume Without Permission?

I missed the last week’s SQ post: I was traveling for work, and it messed up my blog-related activities. But I’m glad to be back: I missed you all!

Saturday Question #206:

Do You Wear Perfumes on a Plane?

I was surprised to confirm that we haven’t done this question yet.

Do you have a routine for such trips? Any special perfumes or methods?

Bonus questions: When was the last time you were on a plane? What airline was it? How was your experience?

My Answer

My business trip (and the most recent flight) was to Las Vegas. One would think that it’s a good destination for such a trip, but I was at a conference where the company I work for was an organizer, and it was held off-off-strip (one of the resorts on the outskirt of the city), so this time I didn’t see Las Vegas much. But I got to wear several perfumes I brought with me without risking to suffocate anyone: those large open spaces were just asking for a hajusuuri-style application (but I settled for about four sprays at a time).

As for the plane, for many years my go-to perfume was Voyage d’Hermes dabbed from a mini bottle. It was our shared perfume with my vSO that fit perfectly to the idea of a travel perfume. And then I got tired of the scent, and Diptyque Volutes decanted in a roller-boll small bottle took its place as our shared travel perfume. But since this time I was traveling alone, I decided to go with something different – and chose Hermessence Musc Pallida (from a small decant bottle gifted by a generous friend). Applied to wrists, it was soft and pleasant, and I’m sure it didn’t bother anyone (on my short flight to Las Vegas there was an empty seat between me and another passenger, and on the return flight I got an upgrade, which also allowed an extra space – not that this perfume required such a precaution).

My flights both ways were on United Airlines. Boeing. Luckily – completely uneventful.

How about you?

Do You Wear Perfumes on a Plane?

Discussing perfume prices, we periodically say something like “It is nice, but not enough to pay that price” or “I wouldn’t pay that much for what it is.” This usually describes our reaction to new for us perfumes that we just smelled or tried. And it is easier to dismiss a new scent that you have no emotional connection with yet. But let’s consider a hypothetical (once again – hypothetical!) situation: one of your top favorites was stolen from your collection. Would you want to get it back?

Saturday Question #205:

How Much Would You Pay For Your Favorite Perfume?

Would you pay its today’s official full price? How about more? What if it is not available for the official price? You know this perfume, it proved over the years that it works for you, and you love it (I’m sure you have at least one or two such perfumes in your collection – so, think of one of them). Provided that you’re guaranteed the authenticity and freshness, what is the absolute maximum you would be willing to pay to get it back even if it means not buying any other perfumes and having to save money for a year or two (or more) to do it? After which price you’d give up and decide that it’s not meant to be?

Don’t “cheat” thinking and telling us that you’d pay any price. But don’t disregard it completely either just because now you have a bottle and a back-up of it and don’t think you’ll ran out any time soon. Ask yourself how much that “one of the top N” perfumes is actually worth to you if you don’t have another choice.

My Answer

My quick scanning of my collection gave me an idea that even though I haven’t paid the full price for most of them, I would have paid a full retail price ($350 or less) for approximately 50 perfumes in my collection (I don’t mean for all of them but rather for any one of them). I wouldn’t want to replace them with anything newer, so if I had a budget, I would have funneled it first towards repurchasing one of these 50.

But if to talk about my absolute favorites – let’s say, one of the top 3 (Lancome Climat, Ormonde Jayne Ta’if and Amouage Ubar, two of which are sadly discontinued now), – I estimate that I might consider paying up to $1K for one of them if I knew they were genuine. I wouldn’t have done it lightly (it’s a lot of money!), but I would be willing to save my perfume budget for as long as it’s necessary to repurchase one of these three. Of course, all of these exercises assume that my regular bills are paid, I’m not starving, and the regular necessities are taken care of. So, one thousand doesn’t feel like something completely out of question. Would I pay more? I don’t know. On one hand, it seems crazy to spend that much on perfume. But then… If I really think that they are that great and love them, aren’t they worth twice as much? Three times? I really hope never to test my hypothesis.

How about you?

How Much Would You Pay For Your Favorite Perfume?