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How Often Do You Visit the Fragrance Counter?

post #1 of 28
5/10/07 at 5:58pm
Thread Starter 
I have to admit to visiting one of NYC's many fragrance counters at least twice a month, maybe three times. I think that that must be a lot. Wonder what others do?
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post #2 of 28
5/10/07 at 7:15pm
I'd say I hit the niche perveyor's counter three times in two months. I'll hit Sephora's shelves or walk around department stores's counters for new releases once a month.

There's also a very good store selling the harder to find Guerlain, Caron, and older scents of all kinds, a mom & pop perfume store for sure, and I go there once every three months because they're so nice there it embarasses me when they fall all over me to show me twenty scents and I'm probably not going to buy. That's where I like to shop, but like I said, it makes me feel uncomfortable. I make sure I buy presents for people there though, when I don't go online.
--Chris
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post #3 of 28
5/10/07 at 9:26pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by DustB View Post


There's also a very good store selling the harder to find Guerlain, Caron, and older scents of all kinds, a mom & pop perfume store for sure, and I go there once every three months because they're so nice there it embarasses me when they fall all over me to show me twenty scents and I'm probably not going to buy.
--Chris

I know exactly how you feel. I can't go to mine without telling myself, "I have to buy something no matter what".. I always plan on buying something when I go there, because they are so nice and helpful.
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post #4 of 28
5/10/07 at 10:19pm
I try to remember to walk through the local discount perfume store every few weeks or months. Their website stopped working, so I have to show my face to see if they have any irresistable door-crasher specials.

The department stores and Sephora, near where I work, usually have testers out so I don't mind wandering through them, but that is just casually when I'm taking a break. Not too much new there, I go anywhere from a couple of times a week to every other month.

The local specialty perfume store that is lovely I'm afraid to go back - I know she meant well, but I don't want to worry about my skincare regime when I'm looking for perfumes, so I'm scared to go back. I guess I go every couple of years.
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post #5 of 28
5/10/07 at 10:43pm
once or twice.....or three times a month...depending on homework load and parents' mood
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post #6 of 28
5/11/07 at 1:16am
On average 1 or twice a month.
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post #7 of 28
5/11/07 at 1:47am
Visiting twice a fragrance counter in the real world is no problem. The dilemma starts online... Almost everyday on a perfume-selling-site. Well, virtual world - real money.
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post #8 of 28
5/11/07 at 2:12am
Only once a month, if at all(rare).
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post #9 of 28
5/11/07 at 3:16am
I don't remember the last time I went to the fragrance counter because I already have too many scents on my swap list that I need to trade. The only exceptions that I tend to make are for specialty stores, like the Fresh store that I used to live a block from, because I couldn't sample it anywhere else.
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post #10 of 28
5/11/07 at 8:14am
Every single time I am at the mall I MUST visit the fragrance counter...not always to spray (sometimes just to browse) but always to window shop.
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post #11 of 28
5/11/07 at 10:32am
Probably twice a month or so...

I check stuff more often online (but of course you can't smell there!!).

Yesterday was a reasonably big outing.. I was scheduled to go to a Guinness beer event downtown at 8:30pm and got done at work before 5pm. I went up to Lenox mall and shopped for a bit, noting that Neiman Marcus has nearly the full line of Diptyques and checking on the progress of their buildout of the luxury wing. I then crossed the street to Phipps. In the 'sexy fragrance' thread a few people mentioned Tiffany for Men as a good one and so I went by the Tiffany boutique to check it out. (excellent service, but of course no samples) Discovered a Caswell Massey storefront and wandered through their stock for a bit.

From here I'm just waiting for the new Diors to arrive so I can check those out for myself and I've got a co-worker who wants to broaden his interest from just Curve and stop in at Sephora when we're out to lunch one of these days.
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post #12 of 28
5/11/07 at 10:37am
I worked at Macys this winter so every day when I got to work I would try on a different scent.
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post #13 of 28
5/11/07 at 10:54am
Hell...these past few months I felt like I worked there..lol. I've been to Macy's so much I had to branch out to Huntington Saks and Roosevelt Field so as the counter women dont think I'm nuts!

I go, I test on paper, take em' home and sniff sniff like sniffing a fine wine..lmao...THEN buy online at a cheaper price, what the hell should ya buy from a pricey Mall store for right? lol

I did buy Princess though from Macy's...felt bad and had to buy it, the ladies were so nice and helpful.

After I round out my collection I HAVE to stop...cold turkey...this stuff can be addictive man'! Seriously...you feel like your missing out on a scent and ya keep going back for more..lmao.
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post #14 of 28
5/11/07 at 2:36pm
Once a month. I almost never buy anything because I know I can get it for much cheaper elsewhere, but it's a great place to sniff!
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post #15 of 28
5/11/07 at 7:02pm
I will do testing at department store counters twice a month. Once a month at a discount store like Marshall's to check on what they have.
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post #16 of 28
5/11/07 at 8:34pm
I go to the fragrance counters at least once a month (many times, 2+ times)... and the people at both Macy's and Von Maur know me very well.

Honestly, I rarely buy something at either store, but still, we seem to get along.
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post #17 of 28
5/31/07 at 8:11pm
I would love to be a frequent counter visitor, but sadly that's not going to happen here. The only "fragrance counters" around is in one store, Bed Bath and Beyond, and one counter carries only Elizabeth Taylor stuff, while the other offers five women's perfumes tops. The mall takes about 45 minutes to get to and the traffic to arrive there is too horrendous. If only one were just around the corner and HAD a selection....
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post #18 of 28
5/31/07 at 10:43pm
Since I started working at Macy's again on summer break. I visit it about 3 times a week. Every day when I come in for work I walk up to the counter and try on something new.
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post #19 of 28
6/1/07 at 12:45am
once a week
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post #20 of 28
6/1/07 at 12:52am
My last time was during Xmas shopping last year...and that was just to test out Bulgari Black that they did not have...... I rarely go for some reason...too far in some cases, busy or trying not to spend too much.
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post #21 of 28
6/1/07 at 4:01am
I go whenever I feel the need to, especially after coming across something of interest on Basenotes. At least once a month, though.
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post #22 of 28
6/1/07 at 5:33am
Nowadays it seems i don't go much there, but only if you don't count airport duty-frees.
I like to go every 3-4 months or so, but when i go there, i tend to get the whole line(s) of any other house -if i don't already have it(them).
I test everything of course.

I guess it changes from time to time for me to give it a straight answer.
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post #23 of 28
6/1/07 at 7:59am
I look at Marshall's and TJ Maxx probably once a week.

I look at the Mall (Dillards and Macys) every time I'm in the mall (at least once every 2 weeks).

I look at Target's colognes once a week. I look at Kohl's every two weeks.

Yes, I have a problem. I'm afraid to look at how much I spend each month on scents.
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post #24 of 28
6/1/07 at 8:33am
How often do I visit the fragrance counter? OK, I will admit it: two to three times a week, and when I do visit a fragrance counter, I often visit more than one.

My favorite haunts: In San Francisco, we have a great Neiman's. with a Guerlain boutique in it that sells most of what you can usually only find in the flagship store. I didn't have a Neiman's card a year ago, but I got tired of paying cash. (They take only cash or their own card and AmEx, a very tiresome policy of theirs.)

Nordstrom is also a good bet, although they don't have as many exclusives as Neiman's. Saks Fifth Avenue also has a Union Square store here, and they carry some things as exclusives, such as Bond No. 9 (fortunately, not one of my favorites).

Chanel and Diptyque both have San Francisco shops, so I go there from time to time. Hermès, Montblanc, and Emporio Armani have them too, though Hermès is the only one of those I go to much. Still, I got two of the newish Exclusifs de Chanel recently, for example, and renewed my bottle of Diptyque's Opôné not long ago.

Finally, there are three small boutiques in San Francisco that often have stuff that's hard to find elsewhere. One is Jacqueline, run by an old French couple, also just off Union Square. They have lots of French, Italian, Spanish, and German stuff that isn't sold in department stores. The other two are run by a small company that is based mostly in California. The older one is in the Stonestown shopping center, called Perfume Gallery; the newer one is in the Westfield Center near Market and Fifth, next door to the Nordstrom downtown store, called Fragranza. They have a lot of interesting stuff, and can sometimes lay hold of pretty unusual things. I got the original version of Cartier Must EdT (the women's version) there, for instance. This outfit also has stores in LA and San José, and is soon to open one in Sacramento. I hope this will help our state legislators and Arnold the Governator stink a little less than they do right now!

So, you see, I have plenty to keep me busy, and a credit card balance to keep me going to work as often as I must.

Also, you have an itinerary for your next fragrance shopping tour of San Francisco.

I wish I didn't spend so much money on juice, but I very rarely regret a purchase. Alas, they are all too frequent!
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post #25 of 28
6/2/07 at 12:10am
Quote:
Originally Posted by JaimeB View Post

How often do I visit the fragrance counter? OK, I will admit it: two to three times a week, and when I do visit a fragrance counter, I often visit more than one.


I am glad you posted that. I felt a bit alone with my weekly routine! Just tell me you have free access to a lot of Comme des Garcons also, and I am convinced you live in a scent
paradise. My regular counters are way more standard (not even Jules, Xerius Black and other less current items available). There is one great shop for all the better things and we also have many of the international designer boutiques within a few blocks. But you just don't walk in there often with an empty wallet.
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post #26 of 28
6/2/07 at 1:13am
Whenever I go to the city I make a bee-line for the fragrance stores. Everytime, excluding days where Im on some mission for work, or time prevents me from doing so.
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post #27 of 28
6/2/07 at 8:25am
I go probably two or three times a month, mostly to browse, but with the occasional purchase.
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post #28 of 28
6/2/07 at 12:44pm
Maximun 4 times a month, minimun 1 time a month.
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