9 Comments

What a fantastic and fascinating piece. A peek behind the curtain! I'm a huge fan of fragrance but given the prices, I have to choose carefully. I trust your judgement implicitly when it comes to fragrance (and Sali Hughes) because it's not always possible to smell a fragrance before purchase so I need all the advice I can get! Thank you so much for everything you do 💖

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This is such lovely feedback, thank you! I also trust Sali implicitly (btw her Substack is excellent if you don't follow it yet!) and felt entirely confident when making a very expensive Celine fragrance purchase with her once (it was Black Tie - dreamy). xxxx

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I'd love to get Black Tie too. It's on my wishlist!

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Oct 20Liked by Alice du Parcq

Dear Alice

I’ve been into niche perfumes for years and spent really more than I can afford on them and have often found that some cheaper stuff actually appeals to me more.

I certainly can’t afford the Clive Christian, I won a Tauer perfume because I completed a crossword about perfume [years ago] set by les Senteurs and once bought a Roja Dove [after going to a talk he gave at the V&A] but it wasn’t to my liking.

I think I became annoyed about a year ago when I went to the Le Labo shop in Covent Garden. I bought one of their perfumes, which I love [Santal 33, sorry], and the guy went off into the back room to ‘decant it’.

I felt so patronised, of course they must have thought that this old lady needs to justify spending 150 quid on fragranced liquid and so we’ll make her feel as though we’re preparing something especially for her.

I know that some perfumers use very expensive materials and these are not easy to buy if sourced in a principled manner, but the big companies that have bought out smaller independents are probably using the same chemical fragrance profiles they use in washing up and charging us a fortune. I often wonder if I should spritz myself with Febreze instead of a Frederic Malle.

I’ve therefore decided, that although I will always wear scents I love, I’m going to try hard to find perfumes that are truly affordable, I will no longer buy into the latest niche brand that springs up.

Thanks for all your reviews, I really look forward to listening to you and reading your reviews.

Best, Sandra

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Thank you so much for taking the time to write and put these views across. So interesting - and yes I am awfully ‘rolleyes’ about the Le Labo nonsense. They’re now owned by Estée Lauder Co. and should have made efforts to absorb some of the costs that a true niche brand couldn’t possibly manage. I’ve written/posted/filmed many times about affordable credible perfumes so hopefully there’s something in my content that can inspire you; but I would definitely explore Olfactive O that I mention in my piece, L’Occitane, Beauty Pie, Arkive and The Body Shop. So many more out there and even worth looking in a larger M&S store for gems by Floral Street and their other brands xxx

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Oct 20Liked by Alice du Parcq

Thank you so much for your frankness. I think this is a Thing in many consumer goods: clothes, certainly, but it's creeping into everyday purchases (don't get me started on artisan crisps). Anyway I like that some places like Les Senteurs do samples, so some days I can smell of Heeley Cardinal even though I can't afford it. I pass on all my scent samples to other people, particularly teenagers who might like to try new things. Anyway thank you for all the help and the good advice xxx

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Thank you I really appreciate your feedback. Les Senteurs is an absolute godsend for samples. CHANEL have a sample system where if you buy one of their Les Exclusifs you get it in a little vial too, so that if you don't like it you don't need to crack open the big bottle. I'm sure other big luxury brands do this too - it's such a good idea! Xxx

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Oct 21Liked by Alice du Parcq

Thanks for posting this, Alice! It’s definitely an interesting topic. It’s true fragrance is one of the most marked up of all retail items but like you I see both sides, and every brand has a different story. Personally I like the ones that are transparent in their supply chains, give fair prices to farmers and include a balance of safe synthetics and higher cost naturals. But high cost definitely doesn’t always equate to that.

My most recent eyebrow raise was Liberty’s new line. I absolutely love several of these but who knows what they were thinking with their prices, and I’m a huge lover of the store. Why could they not have gone for the £180 ballpark, which still would have been very (reassuringly) expensive. £225 is crazy for fragrances that come off as highly molecular (which I do enjoy).

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author

Hard agree on the Liberty's fragrances - that pricing was utterly absurd.

Thanks so much for your feedback; we're definitely on the same page! xx

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