Some Overall Tips

[nick6489]

Whats goin on guys. I guess I started my cologne collection about 2 years ago but it was limited to Tommy by Tommy Hilfiger, and claiborne sport, oh and the Joop my dad no longer wore. WEll anyway im up to 7 bottles now which are the three previous mentioned which i dont really wear except for the Tommy and the next four are Burberry London, Perry Ellis 360 Red, Jean Paul Gaultier Le Male, Calvin Klein Crave (debating on exchanging this one for maybe Lacoste Pour Homme). Well anyway my question is i only have this small collection and notice that bottles ive had for 1-1.5 years are used so minimal.. So my question is this, does cologne ever seem to weaken as time goes on? Im just curious, and wonder how all of you with large collections seem to be able to wear them all!

[SmellsLike]

Claiborne Sport is my favorite out of your collection, so I wouldn't retire it to the back of the shelf just yet.

In my experience, fragrances stay good a long time (years). However, as a precaution to preserve them, it's a good idea to keep them away from heat and especially light. I keep mine in a cabinet, mostly in their boxes. Some people here keep them in the fridge, or get a separate minifridge just for fragrances.

--Steve

[nick6489]

Also one more question, what are some good online reliable sites to order cologne from? They are noticeably cheaper than stores, but i am always worried that i will get somethign that has been watered down..I look on perfumeemporium for reviews..Well thanks just let me know a few!

[SmellsLike]

I've had very good experiences with Scentiments (they tend to have the best prices, but don't always have things in stock) and Perfumebay. Parfum1 also has a very good reputation.

--Steve

[tatchan]

I second all three of the online stores Steve mentioned above, and would ass imagination perfumery as well.

In principle, "watering down" is not really something you have to worry about. After all, considering that most modern bottles are crimped shut, getting at the fragrance to dilute it is really not worth the trouble.

Two things you should look out for are:

1) downright fakes--actually pretty rare, and usually easy to spot. these pop up on ebay every once in a while, but none of the four stores mentioned above would ever put its reputation on the line by selling fakes

2) old stock--this is harder to guard against because it is virtually impossible to prove how old a fragrance is unless it has been discontinued or the bottle design has been changed. On the other hand, I tend to think that your chances of buying old stock are just as great when buying in person at a retailer. In addition, when one considers that the frags in many retailers are stored right under those bright (and hot) display lights for months at a time, I think you might actually have a better chance of getting a fresh frag from an online retailer.

just my 2 cents!

[nick6489]

Scentiments prices are crazy.. They are so low, this is great my collection might just expand! Do they include samples with orders?

[SSSS]

Scentiments used to ship with samples four/five years back-not anymore.

[ironmics]

I've had very good experiences with Scentiments (they tend to have the best prices, but don't always have things in stock) and Perfumebay. Parfum1 also has a very good reputation.

--Steve

Parfum1.com has the best prices on some rarer stuff like Comptoir Sud Pacifiques Molinard, and Caron's their service is incredible also.