I hadn't really set foot in one of the bigger department store fragrance sections until the other day. This was The Bay in Vancouver (on Granville). What really puts me off is the pushiness I've seen in the past and lack of cooperation with what the customer really wants. Nothing new in my experience except for a few details here and there, but I thought I'd share nonetheless.
So I hope this doesn't sound snobby, but I went into The Bay to try the Mugler A*Men Pure Malt and several Annick Goutal (Les Orientalistes). Immediately one of the SA's ushered me over to smell Givenchy Play and Play Intense. I told her Play was boring and Play Intense was boring with a touch of something mildly interesting, but these weren't for me. I felt like I was swimming against the current, being pulled out to the sea of mediocrity.
I wandered away to smell Antaeus - mostly to see how bastardized its become with reformulation. Despite the reformulation(s) it was still the best fragrance I smelled in the store that day. So the SA catches up to me.. "Have you tried Pi Neo?" I said "No, thanks.. I'm really not interested". "Oh but you must!" So I did.. and it didn't do anything for me. I made a remark that everything seems to want to be like Aqua di Gio and Cool Water these days and that I could appreciate D&G The One - barely. Apparently that was her son's favorite fragrance and immediately I think I was put on the s**t list.
Much to my surprise all of the best fragrances weren't in "Men's Fragrances". They were scattered amongst the various kiosks (YSL, Chanel, Boucheron, Dior) and in "Ladies' Fragrances". A Chanel SA told me that Bois des Iles and Coromandel are both very feminine and that she couldn't imagine a man wearing them - especially a "macho" guy like myself (?) I said I'd happily wear either. I told her I used to enjoy Platinum Egoiste but preferred Pour Monsieur and Egoiste. She told me she dated a guy "like.. 20 years ago!" who wore those - well good for her
It was funny how she said "THESE are the ones you're looking for".. "THESE are for ladies only." I also had my pronunciation corrected, incorrectly, several times.
So anyhow, I got a chance to try some of the Annick Goutal line and felt like I had to leave before they started pressuring me to get out. I really wanted to stay and check things out a bit more but my head was really spinning after inhaling the Givenchy Play, Pi Neo, Armani Attitude Extreme, etc. etc.. I don't think there's any way I'll be returning to The Bay, Macy's, Dillard's, etc. to look at their fragrances. It was also shocking to note the PRICES were outrageous. To put it in perspective, I purchased two 100ml Parfumerie Generale fragrances for $280 CAD earlier that day and was shocked to see the insane prices for a lot of this generic, bland, uninspiring garbage.
Again, if this sounds snobbish I apologize.. but taking cost:benefit and overall shopping experience into consideration it's pretty simple what my next moves are, going forward. Thanks for reading.
So I hope this doesn't sound snobby, but I went into The Bay to try the Mugler A*Men Pure Malt and several Annick Goutal (Les Orientalistes). Immediately one of the SA's ushered me over to smell Givenchy Play and Play Intense. I told her Play was boring and Play Intense was boring with a touch of something mildly interesting, but these weren't for me. I felt like I was swimming against the current, being pulled out to the sea of mediocrity.
I wandered away to smell Antaeus - mostly to see how bastardized its become with reformulation. Despite the reformulation(s) it was still the best fragrance I smelled in the store that day. So the SA catches up to me.. "Have you tried Pi Neo?" I said "No, thanks.. I'm really not interested". "Oh but you must!" So I did.. and it didn't do anything for me. I made a remark that everything seems to want to be like Aqua di Gio and Cool Water these days and that I could appreciate D&G The One - barely. Apparently that was her son's favorite fragrance and immediately I think I was put on the s**t list.
Much to my surprise all of the best fragrances weren't in "Men's Fragrances". They were scattered amongst the various kiosks (YSL, Chanel, Boucheron, Dior) and in "Ladies' Fragrances". A Chanel SA told me that Bois des Iles and Coromandel are both very feminine and that she couldn't imagine a man wearing them - especially a "macho" guy like myself (?) I said I'd happily wear either. I told her I used to enjoy Platinum Egoiste but preferred Pour Monsieur and Egoiste. She told me she dated a guy "like.. 20 years ago!" who wore those - well good for her
It was funny how she said "THESE are the ones you're looking for".. "THESE are for ladies only." I also had my pronunciation corrected, incorrectly, several times.So anyhow, I got a chance to try some of the Annick Goutal line and felt like I had to leave before they started pressuring me to get out. I really wanted to stay and check things out a bit more but my head was really spinning after inhaling the Givenchy Play, Pi Neo, Armani Attitude Extreme, etc. etc.. I don't think there's any way I'll be returning to The Bay, Macy's, Dillard's, etc. to look at their fragrances. It was also shocking to note the PRICES were outrageous. To put it in perspective, I purchased two 100ml Parfumerie Generale fragrances for $280 CAD earlier that day and was shocked to see the insane prices for a lot of this generic, bland, uninspiring garbage.
Again, if this sounds snobbish I apologize.. but taking cost:benefit and overall shopping experience into consideration it's pretty simple what my next moves are, going forward. Thanks for reading.
"Noir" comes out as "noy-ur." 
