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Beware: FragranceNet.com sent me a bogus Gendarme

post #1 of 22
10/28/07 at 3:56pm
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I received a bottle of Gendarme, that vaguely smells like Gendarme when first applied, then after about a minute or two the worst blast of PVC odour takes over. It smells so toxic. I e-mailed Fragrance.net at the address for customer service on their website and the e-mail was bounced back as address unknown.
Has anyone else had problems with them or with a toxic Gendarme?
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post #2 of 22
10/28/07 at 4:07pm
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Is this fragrancenet.com or some other site? I ask as the full stop is in a different place which could either incriminate or eliminate it!!

I was thinking of ordering Virgin Island Water from fragrancenet so I have a vested interest.
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post #3 of 22
10/28/07 at 4:23pm
I've ordered from Fragrancenet and never had any problems. Their customer service is fantastic in my experience.
What email address did you send the complaint to? I was actually thinking of ordering Gendarme soon from them - they have it pretty cheap - maybe it's because it's glue.
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post #4 of 22
10/28/07 at 4:28pm
I think he means fragrance.net not fragrancenet.com.
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post #5 of 22
10/28/07 at 4:32pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Robert06 View Post

I think he means fragrance.net not fragrancenet.com.

Fragrance.net redirects to fragrancenet.com.
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post #6 of 22
10/28/07 at 4:35pm
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Hmm.. not sounding good for fragrancenet.com

Ruggles would it be possible that you have a contaminated bottle? Are you sure it is off? This could be damaging to the site after all.
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post #7 of 22
10/28/07 at 4:37pm
I recently had a problem with them but it was minor (something wasn't in stock that the website said was in stock) but they refunded the cash to the account within 3 days and shipped it out the same day. But I do like the free shipping to the U.S. on orders over $60 and the 15% off coupon codes you can't go wrong with that ! lol
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post #8 of 22
10/28/07 at 5:22pm
I don't know that it's "bogus"

Gendarme either varies widely by batch, or it goes off easily. I'm leaning towards the latter. Nice fragrance- amazing when it's fresh. After a period of time it just smells OK. I thought maybe I was just used to the smell and it didn't wow me anymore, but random testers of Gendarme either smell magical or ho-hum.

I've never smelled a Gendarme that seemed toxic, but it doesn't sound pleasant. Good luck!
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post #9 of 22
10/28/07 at 5:25pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by r2s View Post

Hmm.. not sounding good for fragrancenet.com

Ruggles would it be possible that you have a contaminated bottle? Are you sure it is off? This could be damaging to the site after all.

Sorry everyone, it is FragranceNet.com. The e-mail address that I sent my complaint to is: orders@fragrance.com
I will call their toll-free number tomorrow.
I just sprayed it on again, the opening notes are Gendarme, but then it morphs into this horrible toxic solvent smell. The sprayer is a screw-off type, so it's possible that it's been diluted with something.
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post #10 of 22
10/28/07 at 5:43pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ruggles View Post

Sorry everyone, it is FragranceNet.com. The e-mail address that I sent my complaint to is: orders@fragrance.com
I will call their toll-free number tomorrow.
I just sprayed it on again, the opening notes are Gendarme, but then it morphs into this horrible toxic solvent smell. The sprayer is a screw-off type, so it's possible that it's been diluted with something.

dude not good...i wouldnt spray anymore on you just for your own safety! Hope it all works out, thanks for the heads up!
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post #11 of 22
10/28/07 at 7:42pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ruggles View Post

Sorry everyone, it is FragranceNet.com. The e-mail address that I sent my complaint to is: orders@fragrance.com
I will call their toll-free number tomorrow.
I just sprayed it on again, the opening notes are Gendarme, but then it morphs into this horrible toxic solvent smell. The sprayer is a screw-off type, so it's possible that it's been diluted with something.

Their website says orders@fragrancenet.com.

From others' experiences, it sounds like they'll sort things out once you get a hold them.
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post #12 of 22
10/28/07 at 8:06pm
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Originally Posted by sofresh View Post

Their website says orders@fragrancenet.com.

From others' experiences, it sounds like they'll sort things out once you get a hold them.

Thanks, for your help.
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post #13 of 22
10/28/07 at 10:03pm
They sell a lot of old product. My recent negative experience involved Creed Tabarome which was rancid. I stopped using them altogether because I like my fragances to be fresh.

As far as Gendarme, if the product turned yellowish instead of clear, then it's old (per Gendarme's website).

""Why does Gendarme turn yellow?
Gendarme oils are sensitive to light and heat. Most fine fragrances are. All deteriorate with age but most add artificial coloring to hide it. We don't! If Gendarme turns we want you to know it. However most people keep it in a cool dark place and use it up much too quickly to worry about it aging in the bottle. If you get a bad bottle for whatever reason, take it back to where you bought it. Authorized Gendarme dealers stand behind our product.""

""Why doesn't the product I bought online at a discount smell the same as what I buy in the store?
Usually because it's very old and bought from someone who didn't care enough to store it properly. All fragrances should be stored in a cool, dark place.""
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post #14 of 22
10/28/07 at 10:42pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by gregmech26 View Post

They sell a lot of old product. My recent negative experience involved Creed Tabarome which was rancid. I stopped using them altogether because I like my fragances to be fresh.

Which Tabarome was it? Was it Tabarome Millesime or Vintage Tabarome?
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post #15 of 22
10/28/07 at 10:49pm
Tabarome Millesime (1999)
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post #16 of 22
10/28/07 at 11:04pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by gregmech26 View Post

Tabarome Millesime (1999)

That's what I thought. I was unsure of my Tabarome Millesime when I got mine from Scentiments last year. I thought it seemed a bit "sour" and off-- but it was a blind buy, so I had no frame of reference. I remember quite a while back, Griff said that Tabarome Millesime had a tendency to "turn" really quickly. I think he said he bought a new bottle from Neiman Marcus and it turned within a few months.

Last year when I bought VIW at Neimans, I tried their Tabarome Millesime and it did seem a little different than mine. All of the other Creeds that I had bought from Scentiments smelled fine, when compared with the testers at Neimans. But there was something different about the Tabarome, though a bit slight.

I've been wearing my Tabarome lately, and I like it better than I did when I bought it, but it does have a bit of sour tang to it. I think all Tabarome Millesimes are prone to change quickly for some reason. That could be one reason why it can usually had pretty cheaply through discounters. I'd like to test some more bottles of Tabarome Millesime and see what kind of variations I get.
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post #17 of 22
10/28/07 at 11:16pm
Creed Tabarome Millesime was awesome the first time I tried it, when it was fresh. It was simply amazing, even though it only lasted like 15 minutes.

Very enjoyable and classy.

The rancid bottle I got online a couple weeks ago really smelled bad.

All I could smell was the tobacco note for hours.
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post #18 of 22
10/28/07 at 11:26pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by gregmech26 View Post

Creed Tabarome Millesime was awesome the first time I tried it, when it was fresh. It was simply amazing even though it only lasted like 15 minutes. Ver yenjoyable and classy.

The rancid bottle i got from online a couple weeks ago really smelled bad. All I could smell was the tobacco for hours.

That's a bummer.

I want to try Neimans' Tabarome Millesime again, just for comparison -- but I vowed never to go back there again, because they gave me such awful service when I bought Mechant Loup (overcharged me, didn't give me a receipt, and they didn't even give me any samples even though I had also bought a 4oz bottle of Virgin Island Water there that day before from the same saleswoman).
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post #19 of 22
10/29/07 at 8:21am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by sofresh View Post

Their website says orders@fragrancenet.com.

From others' experiences, it sounds like they'll sort things out once you get a hold them.

I called FragranceNet.com this morning. They said they probably got a "bad batch" of Gendarme. If they all smell like the one I got, they certainly did! They sent me an e-mail with a pre-paid postage label. Fair enough.
BTW, the liquid was the correct, light color.
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post #20 of 22
10/29/07 at 8:29am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ruggles View Post

I called FragranceNet.com this morning. They said they probably got a "bad batch" of Gendarme. If they all smell like the one I got, they certainly did! They sent me an e-mail with a pre-paid postage label. Fair enough.
BTW, the liquid was the correct, light color.

That's good...glad to hear they're keeping up their customer service.
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post #21 of 22
10/29/07 at 9:38am
I had a sample that I poured into a small atomizer and it was great....for about 1 day, now it seems to have turned very vinerary and smells awful. I think Tabarome must be prone to spoiling.
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post #22 of 22
10/29/07 at 11:45am
Well, I tried to buy a bottle of Halston Unbound with them and after almost three months I decided to ask them what happened to my package and they said they had shipped - but I don't think so. Then, I asked for a refund and they did it.
But I don't think I'll buy their products again...
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