Why it's worth paying more for a luxury perfume
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The cost of perfume varies wildly. From pocket money prices to needing to take out a small loan, or even needing to be a millionaire to afford this perfume at $1.3 million! If you’re wondering if more expensive perfumes are better or worth the extra cost then read on.
Realistically, in most stores or if you choose to buy perfume online you’ll be looking at a price of over £100 for a high end perfume. But are they worth the cost when you could grab a cheaper fragrance for £20-£40?
Here are some of the reasons why luxury perfume is more expensive and why it can be worth paying a premium.
Luxury perfumes are more likely to use natural ingredients
The main difference in the cost should come down to the quality of the ingredients used to create a perfume. More expensive, luxury perfumes should use more natural high-quality ingredients as opposed to synthetic. They do usually still contain some synthetic ingredients, for example musk is only available as a synthetic ingredient as it’s originally from a secretion from a sack in front of a deer’s penis (!) and this method is now banned, so it has to be synthetic when included in perfume.
Luxury perfumes use rare and costly ingredients
Most luxury perfumes will contain rare ingredients that naturally cost more, therefore making the cost to consumer higher. Natural ingredients cost more than synthetic and take time to grow and extract. Pulse of Perfumery can be a great place to visit if you are into luxury perfumes.
Luxury perfumes can smell better
Scent is subjective, but luxury perfumes tend to have more notes and are more desirable than their cheaper counterparts. This is due to the better quality ingredients sure, but also to the time spent researching and developing them. A perfumer may spend months or even years developing a formulation for a luxury high-end perfume, whereas a cheaper fragrance may have less research budget to create such a complex and desirable scent.
Luxury perfumes have better packaging
When buying a scent most people look at the packaging first, so it needs to also be high-quality and stand out. Luxury perfumes will also use better quality packaging such as thicker glass bottles and real metal lids in comparison to cheaper fragrances using thinner bottles and plastic caps.
Luxury perfumes contain more perfume oil and last longer
Although pricier, a luxury more expensive perfume should contain more perfume oil than cheaper versions. This means you can use less and it will last longer. By needing to use less, the perfume will be more cost-effective. More perfume oil means a stronger scent that doesn’t need constant reapplying. A cheaper, weaker perfume will need reapplying several times a day as it will fade quicker. One easy way to know how strong a scent will be is to look out for these labels:
- Parfum - this is the strongest meaning it’s pure perfume created from the highest concentration of oils and will last the longest, even all day from one application.
- Eau de parfum - these are mid-range perfumes with a lower concentration of perfume that lasts four or five hours, so will need reapplying half way through the day, or more often.
- Eau de toilette - this is weaker again and will only last two or three hours.
- Eau fraiche - this is the weakest available perfume with just 1 to 3% essential oil. It translates to ‘fresh water’ and this water based fragrance will only last around one hour.
Choose quality over quantity
Many people have a selection of perfumes from each category to use depending on the situation. For example, if you are travelling and out all day long you’ll not want to lug around your most expensive and prized parfum, so instead you may take a cheaper eau de toilette or eau fraiche to spritz on throughout the day.
It's no different for men. The same principles and facts apply for mens cologne. Buying low-end, cheap or imitation products will most likely be produced with poor quality ingredients a fall short of your expectations.
However, it can pay to choose quality over quantity when it comes to choosing perfume. A high-end luxury perfume made with natural ingredients is always going to be better for your body and the environment than one made of synthetic ingredients. It will also last longer with a smaller amount and therefore be cost-effective in the long run. Buying less also contributes to less manufacturing and production, less transport and as such is a better choice again for the environment.
Alternatively you could save your cash altogether and opt for your very own eau de naturelle!
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