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Follow up question to " How Important is Longevity?" Poll

post #1 of 17
5/12/10 at 3:50pm
Thread Starter 
So, it looks like I am in the minority (very surprising to me) of people that will choose a fragrance on smell alone, and don't care that much if it has less than optimum longevity.

I want to ask those that posted that poor longevity is a 'deal breaker', no matter how much they like the actual fragrance, a hypothetical question or two.

1. What if your 'Holy Grail' or your favorite all time fragrance, the one you can't be without, was reformulated? The reformulation smelled exactly like the old formulation to your nose, but now it had poor longevity. Would you stop buying it?

2. Does a fragrance with great longevity gain any points in your opinion, based purely on it's great longevity?

3. Will you buy a 'borderline' fragrance if it has exceptional longevity?
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post #2 of 17
5/12/10 at 5:17pm
Longevity goes hand in hand with the actual scent for me. No, I won't buy Joop because it has longevity if I don't like the smell. Nor will I buy West Indian Limes by Geo Trumper, although I like it a great deal, because it lasts about 20 minutes. What is the point of a scent that you cannot smell? Especially when spending $40 and up on average for the typical fragrance these days. Sure, the scent is the deal maker but only if it is visible/discernible.

I have some scents that I enjoy that don't last very long (2 hours or less) that I rate lower for that reason. If I can get 6 hours, that is acceptable to me.
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post #3 of 17
5/12/10 at 6:26pm
For me, it comes down to cost. If a great smelling scent only lasts like 2 hours on me (there aren't many that are that bad), I probably won't buy it if it's like $60, but I might if it's like $20.

The one exception for me is Eau Sauvage. It has probably the worst longevity of any scent I own, but I love the way it smells so much and I've worn it so long, I'll pay almost any price for it. Besides, it's a frag that brings me good memories when I wear it.
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post #4 of 17
5/12/10 at 6:31pm
Good questions.

1) I would stop buying it.

2) No

3) Maybe
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post #5 of 17
5/12/10 at 6:31pm
For me longevity is a pretty much always a must. Projection varies. I may have one or two that have closer to 2-3 hours of longevity, but any less then that and it's useless IMO. I might be going out for a night on the town or doing a half day of something but no matter how amazing it is, if it lasts less then 2-3 I would never buy it.
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post #6 of 17
5/12/10 at 6:32pm
I'm a bit with Shamu here...kind of gauge it on price. Just the way I am. If you want to charge big bucks, it should last through my workday at least.
If it's an inexpensive scent with poor longevity that I like, I might go for it.

If it's a so called "borderline" scent with fantastic legs, it doesn't matter to me. If I don't like it, I won't wear it.
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post #7 of 17
5/12/10 at 6:44pm
I'd be curious to see how the same poll did over on the female side. But not curious enough to actually run it myself. I have trouble getting my mind around the idea of longevity or projection mattering more than quality, or even competing with quality. Why would you want a longer and higher-volume experience of something that isn't the best scent? I'd rather wear the best stuff and carry an atomizer.
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post #8 of 17
5/12/10 at 6:44pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Simon Moon View Post

So, it looks like I am in the minority (very surprising to me) of people that will choose a fragrance on smell alone, and don't care that much if it has less than optimum longevity.

I want to ask those that posted that poor longevity is a 'deal breaker', no matter how much they like the actual fragrance, a hypothetical question or two.

1. What if your 'Holy Grail' or your favorite all time fragrance, the one you can't be without, was reformulated? The reformulation smelled exactly like the old formulation to your nose, but now it had poor longevity. Would you stop buying it?

2. Does a fragrance with great longevity gain any points in your opinion, based purely on it's great longevity?

3. Will you buy a 'borderline' fragrance if it has exceptional longevity?

1. Depends on how poor. If adored it, but it lasted less than three hours, I'd keep a decant around for the memories but wouldn't wear it. Anything less than love? Sorry, it's dead to me.

2. Yes, take two fragrances that are identical, give one weak longevity, one twelve-hour-plus longevity, and I'm going to go for the latter every time, even if it's no "better".

3. I try to only buy fragrances I love, period. That being said, sometimes longevity can sway me on a fragrance. For example, if someone asked me to choose between Tom Ford's Noir de Noir and Montale's Black Aoud, I'd buy the latter, even though I like the former a little more. Noir de Noir is just too ephemeral on my skin, whether dabbed lightly or splashed on.

As an aside, I am very lucky that my favorite genres - rich florals, orientals, and chypres - tend to have good longevity. If I adored citrus, I just might go nuts.
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post #9 of 17
5/12/10 at 6:47pm
my criterion:
smells good...no screw good, AMAZING
lasts atleast 6 hours
must. not. be. linear. oh my god do i hate linear scents unless theyre AMAZING

ive found that the scents i like generally have all 3
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post #10 of 17
5/12/10 at 10:21pm
1. Probably not but I would look for substitution
2. Maybe, I wouldnt like Pi so much if it hasnt great longetivity. But I will never buy fragrance like JOOP, or maybe 212 Men just because of good longetivity and sillage
3. No

Fragrance collection is very expensive hobby. In my country with average brutto salary of 900 Euros (with most average people below this border), and prices above those in USA its even more expensive than in USA. I started buying expensive fragrances because of better longetivity than average Adidas, Avon, etc. I will never waste my hard gained money to buy something that lasts 2-3 hours top. Well maybe if I am millionaire, but not right now.
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post #11 of 17
5/12/10 at 10:37pm
No
No
Yes
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post #12 of 17
5/12/10 at 11:18pm
1) If the difference is dramatic, it will probably prevent me from buying it.
2) A simple No!
3) I only buy something I really like AND that shows me a new/unique aspect and I expect better than average longevity to be worth included in my collection, eg. Tam Dao vanished too soon for me, although I really liked it.
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post #13 of 17
5/12/10 at 11:39pm
1. It wont be so "Holy" a "Grail" anymore

2. No

3. No
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post #14 of 17
5/13/10 at 12:38am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Simon Moon View Post

1. What if your 'Holy Grail' or your favorite all time fragrance, the one you can't be without, was reformulated? The reformulation smelled exactly like the old formulation to your nose, but now it had poor longevity. Would you stop buying it?

2. Does a fragrance with great longevity gain any points in your opinion, based purely on it's great longevity?

3. Will you buy a 'borderline' fragrance if it has exceptional longevity?

With me, longevity, sillage and smell have to walk hand in hand with each other. That's how I evaluate the quality of the scent. I don't care for a scent with poor longevity no matter how amazing it smells. To answer the questions:

1. Take an example of dating for this case. If your boyfriend/girlfriend changes from a caring, loving person to a cold hearted. The face, the body is still the same but the love and what comes from within is not there anymore. What would you do? Keep putting up with it and live unhappily? I pack my bag and find someone else instead

2. As stated above, longevity, sillage and smell are must have in a scent

3. I truly think that you somehow miss the whole point of that post about longevity. IMO, that post is for scents that already smell good. For me, I don't buy a stink frag that last 24+ hrs as well as a smell good one that die way too young.
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post #15 of 17
5/13/10 at 3:43am
I think longevity is directly related to price. hours per dollar would be a good standard for me.

1- As long as it doesn't get ridiculously short lived and keeps the hour per dollar same, I would keep buying it.

2- no but it loses points if it doesn't have decent longevity.
if frag great had 6 hour longevity and frag good had 18, I would buy frag great.

3- no.


projection is another matter, and I don't really care much for it.
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post #16 of 17
5/13/10 at 5:46am
Quote:
Originally Posted by perfaddict View Post

1. It wont be so "Holy" a "Grail" anymore

2. No

3. No

Exactly.

I buy a fragrance based on its smell AND longevity.
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post #17 of 17
5/13/10 at 7:17am
1. I agree with one of the other posters that stated that it would cease to be a "holy grail" fragrance if the longevity was attenuated. For me, the "holy grail" has to be a great performer, which means great longevity and "appropriate" sillage.

2. I would not buy a scent only for its longevity and I have no problem getting rid of a scent that smells good if it doesn't last long. There are just too many long-lasting fragrances to waste time reapplying.

3. If its borderline but has great longevity, I'll consider purchasing it if its economically favorable as well. I say this because I have a tendency to find the good in fragrances, and I can learn to love many different smells. Plus, my nose is always evolving and changing. I own fragrances now that I turned down 1-2 years ago.
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