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Thrift Store Finds!

post #1 of 38
4/5/12 at 11:05pm
Thread Starter 
I usually frequent the male forums, but I think this applies far more to the female forums in both interest and quality of responses!

So, what are the best things you've found for a steal at thrift stores?

Here are the best things I've picked up in just the past month from local thrift stores, none costing me over 10USD a piece:



Diorissimo(sealed), Azuree(unused), Shalimar(sealed), Shalimar(used but very good), Shalimar Powder(sealed), Samsara(unused and original formula), Cabochard(used and a bit expired)




Replique (Sealed)

And just today...



Very old 2.8oz Chamade Parfum tester, with just under an ounce remaining in the bottle! The juice isn't the best, however; the top notes smell like paint thinner. The drydown is nice, though.
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post #2 of 38
4/5/12 at 11:46pm
Aaaahhhh... you're killing meeeee! Lol.... Wow, those are very impressive finds. Are you kidding???

I immediately wondered if you may have well heeled retirement communities nearby these stores? I have found interesting (but non-perfumey) things in stores in such areas, but currently nothing, nada! Well, I did find a half used bottle of "Russian Leather" aftershave by "Saxon." They were trying to sell it for $6, and I bargained it down to $3. The price originally printed on the corner of the label (does that tell you how classy the bottle was? ) was $5. Whoo hoo!
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post #3 of 38
4/6/12 at 2:28am
Treasures! I'm so envious! I have a friend who has been indoctrinating me into her best kept secret thrift shops but I haven't found and fragrances yet. Enjoy!
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post #4 of 38
4/6/12 at 3:12am
Congratulations - what wonderful treasures indeed! Unfortunately most thrift stores around me don't even accept cosmetics donations, unless they are sealed/NIB!
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post #5 of 38
4/6/12 at 3:13am
Lucky you!
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post #6 of 38
4/6/12 at 4:52am
Great stuff. I find quite a lot at the recycle shops here in Japan. Not a lot of rare stuff, but I do pick up quite a few minis of fragrances that have been discontinued for a dollar or two each, the best recently being a mini of By Man from D&G that I got for about $1.50.
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post #7 of 38
4/6/12 at 5:20am
Very nice finds, consider yourself a resquer.

Our Goodwill stores have been a lot less impressive -- Avon (mostly empty bottles), Mary Kay, BBW, mostly.
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post #8 of 38
4/6/12 at 6:52am
I am very envious. Thrift stores here don't have perfumes!

Especially curious about the Diorissimo. the current one isn't much, but I have vintage parfum and it is sensational.

cacio
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post #9 of 38
4/6/12 at 8:31am
Thread Starter 
Wow, I thought you would have all had better luck. Maybe it's just the fact I'm in beach-area Florida... People move here with all their shit and then die, so I guess it has to go somewhere! Yard sales are another great source of perfumes around here, though the good stuff has really gone down a bit with the economy (and the same for goodwill).

Get out there and find stuff! It takes a lot of looking around.
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post #10 of 38
4/6/12 at 8:38am
Thread Starter 
There is a place around here that has a few more vintage assorted fragrances for sale. I may pick up a few more; VC&A First EDT, Oscar Parfum, Vintage Miss Dior Cologne, Vintage Obsession, and a few others.
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post #11 of 38
4/6/12 at 8:53am
Lucky you, I guess there aren't enough old people here in DC.

Absolutely yes to vintage Miss Dior!

cacio
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post #12 of 38
4/6/12 at 8:57am
Quote:
Originally Posted by lovingthealien View Post

There is a place around here that has a few more vintage assorted fragrances for sale. I may pick up a few more; VC&A First EDT, Oscar Parfum, Vintage Miss Dior Cologne, Vintage Obsession, and a few others.

Snap 'em up!! (pea green).
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post #13 of 38
4/6/12 at 8:57am
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Nice haul lovingthealien!

I visit a local Thrift Shop, a huge one where they usually have a very good selection of lightly used to new books, CDs, DVDs for sale at reasonable prices. They also have a glass display case near the checkout area displaying about 40 bottles of various fragrance for sale, some with but most without boxes. Unfortunately there is never anything interesting displayed when I browse. Mostly low-end mass market drug store items. And the almost always used bottles are priced (non-negotiable) at or above full, undiscounted manufacturer's recommended retail for NIB! Thrift Shop? Not for those items.
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post #14 of 38
4/6/12 at 9:07am
Fabulous finds!!!! I never find boxedanything and the prices are much higher here. Some stores won't accept donations of perfume. But I have found a few goodies because they think the Victoria's secret donations are the most desirable LOL-
Dilys by Laura Ashley, Hana Mori, Aromatics Elixer
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post #15 of 38
4/6/12 at 9:11am
These make me jealous, green with envy, and very happy that somebody who loves them got them! I am a thrift store addict when I am out traveling, and have found a few things. I posted up a pic of my last finds on here somewhere...

There: http://www.basenotes.net/threads/297...ted?highlight=
and
There: http://www.basenotes.net/threads/297...oto?highlight=

This thread makes me want to go out searching again today! But I will be traveling soon. I think I have stripped all local shops of vintage inventory!

Good hunting to you!
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post #16 of 38
4/6/12 at 10:44am
I've never seen fumes in a thrift store..that's pretty sweet.
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post #17 of 38
4/6/12 at 12:13pm
Great finds.....Congratulations!!!
Gary
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post #18 of 38
4/6/12 at 1:03pm
I've never seen fragrance in thrift stores around here. Most are run by volunteers who get first pick of anything that gets donated to them, perhaps that's why.
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post #19 of 38
4/6/12 at 6:52pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by jacona View Post

I've never seen fragrance in thrift stores around here. Most are run by volunteers who get first pick of anything that gets donated to them, perhaps that's why.

That is very possible. I know if there were any frag-heads from here allowed that sort of power there wouldn't be much perfume to sell!
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post #20 of 38
4/6/12 at 7:09pm
I am going to print some very simple little cards and leave a few with all the thrift and antique stores I visit. They will just say I am interested in buying such and such: vintage and new, and even used fragrances, feminine and masculine.

That might work, yes?
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post #21 of 38
4/6/12 at 7:35pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by KarmaLee View Post

I am going to print some very simple little cards and leave a few with all the thrift and antique stores I visit. They will just say I am interested in buying such and such: vintage and new, and even used fragrances, feminine and masculine.

That might work, yes?

From my experience, they never call you.
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post #22 of 38
4/6/12 at 9:05pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by lovingthealien View Post

From my experience, they never call you.

Darn it! But with your luck, you don't need calls. Those are gorgeous finds! Did you go get some of the others?
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post #23 of 38
4/15/12 at 5:24pm
Visited the usual suspects this weekend- Nothing. Just one half full CK Truth for men for $19.99 Fuggeddaboutit!
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post #24 of 38
4/16/12 at 4:11am
Thread Starter 
Here are some new finds, everyone!



Lagerfeld Jako 75ml EDT - $12. New & factory sealed, but unfortunately a terrible fragrance. Synthetic cloying fake sandalwood blob. Anyone wanna swap?
Raphael Replique 7.5ml Parfum - $10. Another new & sealed one. I love this bottle; it really showed me what the fragrance is supposed to smell like!
Estee Lauder Estee 7.5ml Super Perfume - $15. New & Cord still intact. This is good! So much more floral than other concentrations of Estee in a good way. Speaking of concentrations, this contains more fragrance compounds than it does alcohol. I think it may be difficult for me to wear; barely tapping the corner of the stopper to the inside of one elbow is unbelievably overpowering. This is the strongest perfume I have ever encountered in my life.
Carven Ma Griffe 15ml extrait - $18. New w/ factory plastic wrap. Love at first sniff! This is an amazing and soft floral chypre. I've really been on a chypre kick and this takes the cake so to speak on my recent find. I adore the florals in this, which are never cloying or overpowering in the fragrance. It has a beautiful and unusual cinnamon/iris drydown that makes the whole thing feel very modern. I adore this. I must have more.
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post #25 of 38
4/16/12 at 8:08pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by lovingthealien View Post

Here are some new finds, everyone!



Lagerfeld Jako 75ml EDT - $12. New & factory sealed, but unfortunately a terrible fragrance. Synthetic cloying fake sandalwood blob. Anyone wanna swap?
Raphael Replique 7.5ml Parfum - $10. Another new & sealed one. I love this bottle; it really showed me what the fragrance is supposed to smell like!
Estee Lauder Estee 7.5ml Super Perfume - $15. New & Cord still intact. This is good! So much more floral than other concentrations of Estee in a good way. Speaking of concentrations, this contains more fragrance compounds than it does alcohol. I think it may be difficult for me to wear; barely tapping the corner of the stopper to the inside of one elbow is unbelievably overpowering. This is the strongest perfume I have ever encountered in my life.
Carven Ma Griffe 15ml extrait - $18. New w/ factory plastic wrap. Love at first sniff! This is an amazing and soft floral chypre. I've really been on a chypre kick and this takes the cake so to speak on my recent find. I adore the florals in this, which are never cloying or overpowering in the fragrance. It has a beautiful and unusual cinnamon/iris drydown that makes the whole thing feel very modern. I adore this. I must have more.

I insist on going with you on your next outing!!! You are making amazing finds. I bet I would love the Estee and the Carven Ma Griffe.

Keep sharing what you find!!! And I may want to do some swapping. Will check your list and put up some when I am eligible!
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post #26 of 38
4/17/12 at 5:12pm
GREAT Finds lovingthealien!

I love Ma Griffe- I think I 've got all the formulas except the extrait and I have body powder, too.

Yeah baby that Estee is a POWERHOUSE. My grandma rocked that one, back in the day when chypres were chicer than chic.
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post #27 of 38
4/17/12 at 6:00pm
I've picked up in just the past month from local thrift stores, none costing me over 10USD a piece:
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post #28 of 38
4/18/12 at 8:36pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by knit at nite View Post

GREAT Finds lovingthealien!

I love Ma Griffe- I think I 've got all the formulas except the extrait and I have body powder, too.

Yeah baby that Estee is a POWERHOUSE. My grandma rocked that one, back in the day when chypres were chicer than chic.

I don't think the extrait of Ma Griffe is anything similar to the other concentrations judging by the descriptions I've read. On me it is all softly smoky spicy chypre with a tiiiiiinyyyyyy bit of florals.

The Estee super Perfume is positively ridiculous; I just applied the residue from the stopper to my girlfriend and 24 hours later it smelled like it had just been applied. She had long become anosmic to it due to it being on her, but I was amazed how strong it was. Maybe this is why this perfume is so maligned amongst the "old lady" perfume haters.
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post #29 of 38
4/20/12 at 10:02am
Whaaaa? Are thrift stores charity shops? I have never seen fragrances in charity shops here. I must start sleuthing. Great hauls!! Congrats.
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post #30 of 38
8/4/12 at 11:26pm
What amazing finds up-thread. But of course Florida would be the vintage perfume thrift mecca. Next time I hit Palm Beach, watch out bubbies...

Bumping this up, as I've become obsessed with perfume thrifting lately. I deal vintage on the side (don't tell the cops) already so am always at estate sales, thrifts, and bottom-of-the-barrel antique malls--these should be called flea markets, but they insist on calling themselves antique malls... who knows.

I've been spamming up the Today I Bought and Vintage Finds thread a bit too much with the higher-end and rare finds, so here's some more thrift-conscious stuff that I found at a Value Village and then a REALLY awful Antique Mall today after attending some nicer estate sales and coming away empty-handed (almost all of the perfumes had gone bad due to being displayed in the open).

This antique mall--wow, everything was insanely overpriced for the presentation level, the workers were fighting and cursing each other, a guns store was next door. When I tried haggling a little on this Lanvin mini, cause well, it is only half full and it was priced up, the worker shot me one of those "city slicker, i'mma charge you even more" looks. Wooh...funny but being stared at that much for not looking KKK-approved isn't worth the deals (I'm not down on rural people, but this place was like every stereotype of gun-toting America gone wild). Not going back to that "antiques mall" any time soon...

Finds for the day from the three sources:



A little splash into cologne:
older Dana Tabu cologne still in box, which is one of my favorite box designs out there! $4
Bal a Versailles cologne, of the Made in France time, considerable evaporation and box was damaged, but still smelling perfectly wearable $10
and this silly thing I have a soft-spot for Babe by Faberge, which I also just got one of on eBay. I only wear it for 70s reenactment pleasure. $8

Then these lovely pure parfum and edp minis, each reasonably enough:



top to bottom:
Halston pure parfum, yes partial only but still smells perfect, $3
Lanvin Eau My Sin ("oh my SIN!"--giggling at buying this in the Bible belt store) $9.99
Patou Sublime $6
Original Escada $3
Ombre Rose $2

None of these quite touch recent L'Heure Bleue and Joy finds at the better shops, but at least a day in the trenches yielded something. Hope posting cost doesn't offend anyone's sensibilities (if it does, go back to 1950! oh and send me some perfume from then, ok?), but the cheap prices are a huge part of the appeal.
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post #31 of 38
8/5/12 at 7:26am
WOW! What a great deal!
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post #32 of 38
8/5/12 at 8:21am
I love hearing about peoples great finds! I'm a little envious but I also get a little vicarious thrill. After all, since I live in a small town I KNOW you did not find them here!

I think it would be a little bit tacky to state what you spent if you were buying very expensive 'fumes (as in 'oh I spent 2 K today on 'fumes as follows ...') but sharing great finds gives people the inspiration to go out and see what they can find where they live.



Quote:
Originally Posted by anomie et ivoire View Post

Hope posting cost doesn't offend anyone's sensibilities (if it does, go back to 1950! oh and send me some perfume from then, ok?), but the cheap prices are a huge part of the appeal.
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post #33 of 38
8/7/12 at 1:05am
I recently had my I-NEED-to-check-local-thriftstore-internal-radar go off.
Result :A half ounce of Tim McGraw Southern Blend,
A new Dreams by Tabu cologne
A boxed mini of Salvador Dali
A boxed mini edc of Denevue -very lovely reminds me a bit of Magie Noire.
I think I may have posted this on the today I bought thread -but it's applcable here too and keeps this bumped .Must check again tomorrow(technically later This afternoon..I am up WAY too late!)
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post #34 of 38
8/7/12 at 1:48am
Quote:
Originally Posted by bookwyrmsmith View Post

I recently had my I-NEED-to-check-local-thriftstore-internal-radar go off.
Result :A half ounce of Tim McGraw Southern Blend,
A new Dreams by Tabu cologne
A boxed mini of Salvador Dali
A boxed mini edc of Denevue -very lovely reminds me a bit of Magie Noire.
I think I may have posted this on the today I bought thread -but it's applcable here too and keeps this bumped .Must check again tomorrow(technically later This afternoon..I am up WAY too late!)

Oh, I get thrift radar, too, it's hilarious. Congrats on the haul.

Ohh Deneuve. Fantastic! I love the bottle design on that one too. And the others are supposed to be good. I love Dali. Never have tried Dreams. Decent? I'll be out finding vintage stock soon and hope to find some more thriftshop goodies. It's such a trip to find these fabulous scents discarded and for next to nothing when we know full well plenty of others value them immensely, even associating so many memories and experiences with them, above and beyond other secondhand things with perhaps the exception of records. Makes me wonder what gets thrown away! Oooh, don't even want to think about that!
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post #35 of 38
8/7/12 at 1:31pm
Wow, I hope I can find such nice things at my local thrift stores. If I find anything worth mentioning, I will.
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post #36 of 38
8/7/12 at 6:26pm
I thought "thrift store radar" was a figment of my imagination. Glad to hear other folks have it sometimes too. Do you think this super power would qualify for the Alphas TV show? (silly, silly- long day on bagels and coffee- need protein)
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post #37 of 38
8/7/12 at 6:55pm
Oh dear God, I'm extremely jealous...
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post #38 of 38
8/9/12 at 8:51pm
I was planning to lay low for the balance of my vacation but reading this thread has inspired me to get up early Saturday morning and rummage through Antique Row. Geeez you guys are professionals.
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