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i just cant go back to mass market

post #1 of 13
9/12/07 at 5:40pm
Thread Starter 
ever since ive become a fragrance enthusiast ive taken the natural progression towards niche and high end scents such as chanel exclusives, creed, lutens, you name it. At first my idea was to buy a few to wear on special occaisions, but now i find myself wearing them every day to the neglect of the rest of my old (mass market) perfume collection (which I use to love so much). I just cannot go back to mass market perfume. Not only do I use my expensive perfumes on a daily basis, I also can't seem to prevent myself from using the hard to find discontinued perfumes that ive got as well. owning something like versailles homme, I can't justify it just sitting there on a shelf, i HAVE to use it. Now, im not a fragrance fiend, and I can *somewhat* control my purchases in terms of not putting myself into debt or anything, so I dont think this will ever become a financial problem. I don't even really know what the purpose of this post is other than sharing that observation that I've made about myself. Anyone else in this boat? or do you guys still use mass market as "daily" frags and indulge in your niche scents on special days?

if anyones curious heres a list of stuff ive been wearing lately

Bois des iles
Arabie
Tabarome
Versailles PH
Santal Imperiale
REL
Chaos
Angelique encens
Pure Ambergris Oil
Patou PH
Tabac Blond
Oud Oil from the Borneo region (1985)
Another Oud based fragrance from Al Haramain
another Arabic Khalta and Oud based fragrance

Upcoming purchases may include:

Mouchoir de Monsieur
Oud Cuire d`Arabie
Poivre
perhaps a clive christian if i can find a sample first
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post #2 of 13
9/12/07 at 5:56pm
I wouldn't want to be without my Pino Silvestre, my Monsieur Musk, my Eau Sauvage, my That Man etc. Niche frags are great, no doubt (with some very notable exceptions, mind you), but I wear whatever smells best on me and whatever gets me the most compliments.
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post #3 of 13
9/12/07 at 7:50pm
Just admit it and be done with it.

You're a fragrance snob. So am I.

You have great taste in fragrances (wow...where'd you get Chaos?!).

Seriously, I experienced the same thing when I started learning about niche/luxury fragrances. After a while, I had to admit that there were some old and new 'mass market' stuff that smells pretty good also. But, if you're floating on your niche/luxury 'pink cloud' for now, just enjoy it. And stick around Basenotes - you'll meet many just like yourself.
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post #4 of 13
9/12/07 at 10:29pm
I've actually found the opposite, to be completely honest. I started with designer fragrances and liked them fine. I started the dabble in niche, expecting to be blown away. But you know what? I was generally underwhelmed by the niches I tried. They are hit and miss with my skin chemistry, and they often have notes that can be very hard to warm up to and can be annoying to others.

Of course, there are some niches that smell fabulous too, but I don't think that, as a whole, I would totally give up designers for niche, especially given the difference in price. I bet a lot (not all...) of that price difference can be traced back to the limited scale of production of niche brands: a high price does not automatically indicate a better fragrance and noticeably better ingredients. I think there are plenty of great designer frags out there (mainly in the higher end of the spectrum) that are just as creative and pleasing as niche.

Basically, wear what smells good. It looks like you've had very good experiences with the niches you've tried, but that doesn't mean you should abandon mainstream scents. Try some Hermes, Dior, YSL, Chanel, and others. Good stuff, niche or not.
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post #5 of 13
9/12/07 at 11:17pm
I have tried almost all the niche houses. While I agree that there's a certain level of perfume quality below which a typical Basenoter will wince, that level is not at the uber expensive niche arena. Rather, its the quality designer stuff from the likes of Hermes, Dior, Guerlain, Caron etc.

I don't see a big leap in perfume artistry or quality going from these houses to the $200 bottle juices of the oft mentioned niche brands but I do see a noticeable drop if compared to some of the mass market and lesser designer stuff like Axe, Ck, et al. Infact, some of these houses have such variety and quality in their offerings that I can understand people being loyal to a single house (e.g., Guerlain, and there are many like that!). Also, now that most of these traditional houses have launched their uber expensive "exclusive" lines, if you ever feel the itch to plunk down $200 for a bottle just for the heck of it, they have you covered as well
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post #6 of 13
9/13/07 at 1:29am
I see you chose the red pill

Of course niche is not by definition better than mass market, but on average niches are indeed infinitely better - simply because 99% of mass market fragrances are crap. But the other guys are right about the need to differentiate - houses like Guerlain, Hermès, d'Orsay or Caron to me are not even "mass market" proper, though they are of course widely available (does anybody happen to know how the volume of production compares between Guerlain and a brand such as Calvin Klein or Boss?). And in the wide ocean of tens of thousands of past and present designer and drugstore fragrances, even 1 percent adds up to a few hundred great perfumes. I love my Villoresi, my Creed, my Lutens, but I too enjoy Pino Silvestre, love Monsieur Balmain, adore Cacharel ph, Burberry Brit, L'Eau Bleue d'Issey, Terre d'Hermes and many others.
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post #7 of 13
9/13/07 at 4:07am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mikeperez23 View Post

Just admit it and be done with it.

You're a fragrance snob. So am I.

You have great taste in fragrances (wow...where'd you get Chaos?!).

Seriously, I experienced the same thing when I started learning about niche/luxury fragrances. After a while, I had to admit that there were some old and new 'mass market' stuff that smells pretty good also. But, if you're floating on your niche/luxury 'pink cloud' for now, just enjoy it. And stick around Basenotes - you'll meet many just like yourself.

I have to agree. As much as I try to be open minded, for me, the quality of stuff at mass market always seems to let me down. Thats not to say that once in a great while when a Black Orchid or Kingdom comes around I won't run right out and buy them. I will. But those kind of risk taking mass markets do not come around all that often.

Regards,
Steve
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post #8 of 13
9/13/07 at 12:29pm
I still try to keep an open mind about designer frags but, I have to admit, it's becoming a lot more difficult to retain my faith in them. I started out buying designer fragrances and was very hesitant about investing in expensive niche fragrances. However, all that's changed - even most of the designer frags I still own are uncommon (Rochas Lui), exclusives (Bois d'Argent) or limited editions (Pi EDP).

I've recently tried to add more mainstream fragrance to my wardrobe but, the fact is, I love the 'uniqueness' of the frags that I own. Call me a fragrance snob, if you will, but I enjoy wearing something that most people, who come into contact with me, know nothing about. It can be a real thrill...

Not all niche fragrances/houses are great and some of the designer alternatives are usually better value for money. However, uniqueness is something that I strive for in everyway and my choice of fragrances is no exception.
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post #9 of 13
9/13/07 at 12:42pm
I now find it difficult to go into Macy's, etc. to test since "learning" about the dark side. I now am forced to order samples from LuckyScents, Aedes, etc. or hit up fellow Basenoters

I do love the likes of Hermes, Givenchy, Chanel and Boucheron though, some of my favorites.

Damn you Basenotes!!! I have become a snob! :-)
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post #10 of 13
9/13/07 at 2:58pm
I will venture out to try more Niche scents on my next adventures. I have tried many and some work for me and others fail miserably on my skin. I saw this posted and quoted a while back by Chris and just loved it.

Oh, it doesn't matter what it smells like. Just so long as it's expensive. That fits me best. No other way to have scents, really by Chris

Fragrance On

Otto
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post #11 of 13
9/13/07 at 3:57pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by smellyliquid View Post

ever since ive become a fragrance enthusiast ive taken the natural progression towards niche and high end scents such as chanel exclusives, creed, lutens, you name it. At first my idea was to buy a few to wear on special occaisions, but now i find myself wearing them every day to the neglect of the rest of my old (mass market) perfume collection (which I use to love so much). I just cannot go back to mass market perfume. Not only do I use my expensive perfumes on a daily basis, I also can't seem to prevent myself from using the hard to find discontinued perfumes that ive got as well. owning something like versailles homme, I can't justify it just sitting there on a shelf, i HAVE to use it. Now, im not a fragrance fiend, and I can *somewhat* control my purchases in terms of not putting myself into debt or anything, so I dont think this will ever become a financial problem. I don't even really know what the purpose of this post is other than sharing that observation that I've made about myself. Anyone else in this boat? or do you guys still use mass market as "daily" frags and indulge in your niche scents on special days?

if anyones curious heres a list of stuff ive been wearing lately

Bois des iles
Arabie
Tabarome
Versailles PH
Santal Imperiale
REL
Chaos
Angelique encens
Pure Ambergris Oil
Patou PH
Tabac Blond
Oud Oil from the Borneo region (1985)
Another Oud based fragrance from Al Haramain
another Arabic Khalta and Oud based fragrance

Upcoming purchases may include:

Mouchoir de Monsieur
Oud Cuire d`Arabie
Poivre
perhaps a clive christian if i can find a sample first

I think I understand your current emotional status. You idealize niche scents.
You want to smell natural smelling scents, and not synthetic...Poivre, Arabie, Bois des Iles... Yes, they are totaly different world from even very well made mass market scents

Nethertheless
1)I like diversity. You can find and for a very cheap price real works of art: f.e. Opium, Habit Rouge, Vetiver..

2) I think about proportion between the price, creativity and quality
I am sceptical about the price of f.e. Armani Prive, Tom Ford Private Blend- 15 scents!!!! - some nonsense.50 ml- 165$. They should be good quality scents, but definetely not worth that price.
What is worth and good? I would say - Dior Colognes
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post #12 of 13
9/13/07 at 4:33pm
I got a bottle of Dzongkha as a gift and thought wow, I have just to learn more about L'Artisan. Next thing you know, I'm onto other houses, then basenotes then lots and lots of samples and decants, blind buy tests etc. I thought, I am never looking back. But you know, a number of those fragrances went on my skin once and then straight to the trash. Or I thought, this one is great, so wonderful to have ---but then I never reach for it. Then I went to Nordstrom's to return something and got snagged by the SA by the fragrance counter andleft with samples of Terre d'Hermes and Fleur du Male. Well, who've thought?! Not bad at all and guess what? Very wearable. Time to think again.

That said, nothing can make me swoon like Black Aoud
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post #13 of 13
9/13/07 at 5:47pm
I notice that I come into Nordstrom's or Macy's fragrance counter much less often ever since I've bought some Creeds...I don't feel the temptation to go in there anymore.
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