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Does a higher price equal better quality?

post #1 of 5
4/13/06 at 2:50am
Thread Starter 
I am intrigued by something: while at Ulta the other day, I tested Nautica Voyage... I really liked it, so I visited their website. Although the "new" Nautica Blue (hmmm) is sold in discount stores such as Walmart, Voyage is being marketed as a "higher end" fragrance. So I am wondering if fragrances like Voyage are really that much better than the classic version(s) enough to warrant the higher price? I understand silliage is important, but what really makes a fragrance better quality? I also wonder about "Soul by Curve": is it really better than Bora Bora? They both have the same drydown so after wearing them both they become the same scent after an hour or so (and Bora Bora is cheaper, of course). Is this just a way for Liz Claiborne and Coty to sneak into "higher end" stores, so she can become even richer?
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post #2 of 5
4/13/06 at 3:04am
Higher Price = nicer packaging.

In some cases, it's due to higher-quality ingredients. Or the brand name that pushes the price up.
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post #3 of 5
4/13/06 at 4:56am
There's really no hard and fast rule regarding the superiority of higher end, and or niche fragrances, versus their cheaper, more mainstream counterparts I've found. Â*Sure, I love my Creeds and L'Artisans, etc, but at the same time I also love such fragrances as Yang and Ungaro III, and neither of those cost me more than $35 online for a 3.4 oz bottle. Â*Sure, there are some cheap fragrances that definitely smell cheap...synthetic and unrefined, but at the same time there are plenty of niche fragrances which are nigh unwearable, and are really just artistic, "concept" fragrances that are geared towards the fragrance connoisseur. Â*But, what may be unwearable to one person, is another person's Holy Grail fragrance. Â*It's all so subjective. Â*So, if it's great stuff to your nose, who cares if it's $10 or $150, as long as you can afford it. ;D Â*

And though I usually wear fragrances just for my own personal satisfaction, I thought I'd throw in (as many here do dig the compliments, and hey, who doesn't like compliments?) that my best friend wears almost nothing other than Curve Crush, and he's always getting compliments on how good he smells. Â*And I'll admit, it does smell good on him. Â*Me, I'll be standing right next to him wearing what I consider to be an awesome designer or niche fragrance, and I get bupkis. Â*Most people just care that you smell good, they don't care that you smell like a redwood forest, or a dewy rose garden.
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post #4 of 5
4/13/06 at 5:20am
Quote:
Originally Posted by seccho

And though I usually wear fragrances just for my own personal satisfaction, I thought I'd throw in (as many here do dig the compliments, and hey, who doesn't like compliments?) that my best friend wears almost nothing other than Curve Crush, and he's always getting compliments on how good he smells. And I'll admit, it does smell good on him. Me, I'll be standing right next to him wearing what I consider to be an awesome designer or niche fragrance, and I get bupkis. Most people just care that you smell good, they don't care that you smell like a redwood forest, or a dewy rose garden.


That's *exactly* why I'd buy Cool Water instead of GIT... It smells almost the same, and nobody but I would appreciate that I'm wearing GIT. Everyone else would think it's Cool Water.

There really are some scents you wear because *you* like it... And sometimes, you wear stuff you don't think smells so good, but you get compliments left and right (Acqua Di Gio, Cool Water, Curve, Clinique Happy, etc). There are some rare exceptions though.

For example, I just bought (among others) Mechant Loup, and loved it so much i started wearing it right out of the shop. I just love that pine-forest smell... And, it turns out, so did many others. Sometimes, a "niche" fragrance can be so unique and pleasing to both yourself, and those around you. Sometimes (Bois Farine) it may be only you that likes the smell... Everyone else may wonder who's eating a sandwich.
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post #5 of 5
4/13/06 at 5:44am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Allen-at-home

I am intrigued by something: while at Ulta the other day, I tested Nautica Voyage... I really liked it, so I visited their website. Although the "new" Nautica Blue (hmmm) is sold in discount stores such as Walmart, Voyage is being marketed as a "higher end" fragrance. So I am wondering if fragrances like Voyage are really that much better than the classic version(s) enough to warrant the higher price? I understand silliage is important, but what really makes a fragrance better quality? I also wonder about "Soul by Curve": is it really better than Bora Bora? They both have the same drydown so after wearing them both they become the same scent after an hour or so (and Bora Bora is cheaper, of course). Is this just a way for Liz Claiborne and Coty to sneak into "higher end" stores, so she can become even richer?

Yeah thats just marketing, especially when you are shopping between frags from the same house (Liz Claiborne and Nautica, are the two you mention) there is gonan be very little difference. Both these houses have a kind of lower-end of the "department store" industry profile, placing them a step above "Drugstore" but far below "boutique". Within any one house, there won't be too much variation- for example, I, for one, don't smell the double-digit-dollar-difference between Boss's Boss #6 and Boss's Balsessarini. Nothing but marketing.
However, if you are talking about different houses, then yeah, there can be a difference. Putting L'Artisan's Dzing on one arm and Bvlgari Black on the other, I can sniff them each and tell which one would cost more. Ditto Creed's GIT and Davidoff's Cool Water. This does not, by ANY means mean one smells better than the otehr, hell, you may prefer Boss #6 to Dzing!, just that you can smell when something is truly "higher end" quality-wise.
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