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Are the fragrances from Duty Free shops authentic?

post #1 of 10
2/26/09 at 4:09pm
Thread Starter 
Hi guys, I was going to this fragrance retail store to try on some fragrances. My pick were A*Men, Davidoff Cool Water Game and Gucci Pour Homme II
At first, 3 bottles smell very different. But after a couple of hours they all smell very similar. Like some cheap soap! I wondered if this was because their base notes were alike or if they were fake.
I re-called that the Hugo Boss Energize that my friend bought from this store also ended up smelling like this!
They said their stuff was taken from the Duty Free shop!
I'm planning to buy some fragrances from the Australian Airport (Melbourn or Sydney) Duty Free shop so I want to ask you guys if their stuff is authentic/trustable. Plus I see on their websites http://www.firstdutyfree.com.au/ all the prices are in "$". So I wonder if they're US Dollars or Australian Dollars because if they're USD then the stuff is unreasonably expensive!
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post #2 of 10
2/26/09 at 4:13pm
If they are so expensive then don't buy them there. I don't think that they would allow their products to be sold at those places if they were fakes, but everything cannot be monitored. Maybe they are fakes, or a diluted version to make more bottles. You can call the companies and as to see if they sell their products there because you are unsure about a bottle you received. That would be my suggestion.
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post #3 of 10
2/26/09 at 8:19pm
Are you sensitive to musks in other frags? That's the only common note I see in their basenotes.
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post #4 of 10
2/26/09 at 8:25pm
Thread Starter 
I'm pretty sure that's not musk! I have musk base note on half of my fragrances and each of them dry out differently don't like those 3 from that store. Plus we have Musk-only Deodorant here so I think I'm pretty much familiar with the smell.

Quote:
Originally Posted by EnvYuS View Post

You can call the companies and as to see if they sell their products there because you are unsure about a bottle you received.

I didn't buy those fragrances, just testing them out, thankfully!
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post #5 of 10
2/27/09 at 3:48am
Yes, musk is in almost everything. It's no surprise that it's a common basenote in the three you tried. Of course there's no law that the published notes are the only notes in the juice - or even the most important ones. There's a good article somewhere on how little use the published list is.

Back to the question of authenticisty. Years ago I bought a "smells like Chanel #5" for my wife. It didn't have anything extra, just less richness & less lasting power. If you're obsessive enough you can order decants of the three on line (e.g., The Perfumed Court) & see how the real things smell.
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post #6 of 10
2/27/09 at 7:32am
I've never had a good fragrance shopping/buying experience at Duty Free.. I was stranded in the Vancouver airport for 4 hours during my last trip and thought I'd sample fragrances.

Well, half of them didn't have testers.. the prices were outrageous.. and the few that DID have testers were either almost totally used up or fragrances I wasn't interested in.

This was Aldesea (sp?) Duty Free I believe, which is for all intents and purposes.. crap.

Quote:
Originally Posted by jasonx View Post

Hi guys, I was going to this fragrance retail store to try on some fragrances. My pick were A*Men, Davidoff Cool Water Game and Gucci Pour Homme II
At first, 3 bottles smell very different. But after a couple of hours they all smell very similar. Like some cheap soap! I wondered if this was because their base notes were alike or if they were fake.
I re-called that the Hugo Boss Energize that my friend bought from this store also ended up smelling like this!
They said their stuff was taken from the Duty Free shop!
I'm planning to buy some fragrances from the Australian Airport (Melbourn or Sydney) Duty Free shop so I want to ask you guys if their stuff is authentic/trustable. Plus I see on their websites http://www.firstdutyfree.com.au/ all the prices are in "$". So I wonder if they're US Dollars or Australian Dollars because if they're USD then the stuff is unreasonably expensive!
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post #7 of 10
2/27/09 at 8:24am
Quote:
Originally Posted by jasonx View Post

Hi guys, I was going to this fragrance retail store to try on some fragrances. [...] They said their stuff was taken from the Duty Free shop!

I believe what you buy at Duty Free shops is authentic. As for your retail store-- that might be another story. If they are selling fake frags, they likely will not be honest about their supplier either.

Also, I agree with anthonydg that Duty Free shops aren't necessarily the best places to find a good bargain on fragrances. There are some reputable online retailers (you can check the Big List of Online Stores thread for more info) that probably have better deals.

Welcome to Basenotes, and good luck!
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post #8 of 10
2/27/09 at 8:58am
I have never found anywhere near a bargain at Airport Duty Free Shops. I do have to say that the last time I passed through Philadelphia Airport I saw the best Duty Free selection I had ever seen anywhere.

Best,

Otto
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post #9 of 10
3/3/09 at 4:06am
I've never seen any scents going cheap in the Melbourne or Sydney dutyfree shops. You can get better deals in the stores of Melbourne or Sydney - basically because duty is only 10%, and the airports charge so much for the shops to be there that they wipe the benefit for of duty-free for everything other than alcohol and cigarettes which have much higher taxes.

I've found Strawberrynet to give better deals than most dutyfree shops at airports, despite the postage.
Renato
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post #10 of 10
3/3/09 at 10:48am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Renato View Post

I've never seen any scents going cheap in the Melbourne or Sydney dutyfree shops. You can get better deals in the stores of Melbourne or Sydney - basically because duty is only 10%, and the airports charge so much for the shops to be there that they wipe the benefit for of duty-free for everything other than alcohol and cigarettes which have much higher taxes.

I've found Strawberrynet to give better deals than most dutyfree shops at airports, despite the postage.
Renato

I check the price and I think the duty free is cheaper, for example, Hugo energize EDT spray 125ml/4.2oz - Strawberrynet: 64 USD - Airport Duty free: 50.51 USD. Much cheaper!
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Basenotes › Basenotes Forums › Fragrance Discussion › Just Starting Out › Are the fragrances from Duty Free shops authentic?