...I replied that the price of a dinner for two with a decent bottle of wine in a decent restaurant was about the upper limit for me, so let’s say $120 or so for 100 ml of EdP or a half ounce of proper extrait. To my mind everything way above that, e.g. Lutens’ Section d’Or and a swelling host of others, are simply sad jokes perpetrated on sad sacks.
— Luca Turin on a reasonable price for perfume. Read more at Enough already at Perfumes I Love.
It truly is sad what fragrance goes for these days. I really have to stop buying full bottles and just get decants, because I usually end up getting tired of most of them after a while anyway… 🙁
Brands are trying to confer prestige via pricing. I do think many people assume if the perfume costs more, it is in some way worth more, or that it cost more to make.
Yes to decants, samples, minis, and partial bottles. Life is short and there are too many fragrances to try.
Vox populi.
Please note tongue placed firmly in cheek.
YMMV
Not sure which part you’re objecting to…
Prices are ridiculous.
Wealthy people CAN complain as authentically as the poor.
Just not convincingly.
YMMV
Ah, gotcha. But to me it is not a function of whether you are poor or rich, really. It is a matter of understanding what you are paying for.
But also I think there are unintended consequences of egregious luxury pricing, just as there are unintended consequences of releasing too much product.
It’s the same with certain types of clothing and accessories (of which perfume makers are also a part of!) The pricing of something DOES confer a sort of prestige, even when it is not warranted. But then there is desire: how does it make the person feel? and based on that feeling, is the person willing to pay?
Price is not always a true reelection of quality. My favorite perfumes are well, cheap! I have drawn that $150 per bottle line in the sand too. I just do not feel comfortable purchasing at higher price points. I am glad Luca articulated this.
True reflection. Good lord, where are my glasses!
Also, true re-election, because people do elect, again and again, to fall for the false luxury/nich game.
As soon as I read the headline I felt sure it must be dyspeptic Unca Luca. And he’s right. People think that the more something costs, the more it’s worth, as if there were a direct correlation between those two things. Most people don’t understand retail psychology at all.
LOL!
+ 1 To your first sentence. 😀
What I personally liked was that he was writing this from Zurich, just because.
Sure, a nice meal is nice, but the next day, well, let’s just say it is not as nice to look at. I say spend what you can on things that are important to you…
Oh my! 😀
Totally agree. You eat a meal once, 100mls of perfume will give me many, many days of smelling good.
No one would argue with the madness of perfume pricing, but I wouldn’t choose $120 for 100 ml as the line in the sand. As just one example, L’Air du Desert Marocain is $135 for 50 ml (absolutely reasonable), and it got five stars in Perfumes: The Guide!
Are there thousands of amazing fragrances under $120 for 100 ml? Absolutely. Are there terrible fragrances at absurdly inflated price points? So, so many. But I can think of quite a few smaller brands for which a price point of $120 would be taking a loss, or breaking even at best.
135 then.
At the time it was rated 5 stars i think it was in a much lower price bracket? No doubt it was worth much more than it was being priced (and I’m not doubting that it was and is a five star fragrance) but was it really being sold at a loss before?
S2
My sentiments exactly, Ari. $120 may be fine for a mass-produced scent but for a quality niche perfumer, who has to give 50-80% of their profits to the distributor, that is not enough to run a business.
I’m reminded I need to finish watching this talk from the TED Radio Hour episode “Brand Over Brain”:
http://www.npr.org/2014/05/09/308756512/what-s-the-difference-between-real-and-perceived-value
Great talk; puts an interesting spin on it all! Thanks for posting 🙂
Was thinking about this tonight when I was in Harrods where they were giving some talks on home fragrance. Tom Ford was relaunching his candle range, and candles that when originally released a couple of years ago retailed at £50 have just been rereleased in the same size, very similar plain jar, almost identical packaging but packed with a brown metal cover – the price of these candles now? £165 each ! Bizarre to me that a Tobacco Vanille candle is more expensive than a 50ml bottle of the perfume – instead of lighting a candle I may as well just spray the EDP around the room – it’s more cost effective! I think some designers charge what they think the market will let them get away with and have a constant oneupmanship with competitors that’s drives the prices higher and higher.
Only £165? They’re $250 here! 😉 Tom Ford in particular seems very fond of outrageous pricing.
Well, he does have an outrageously extravagant lifestyle to fund – that doesn’t come cheap !
Am i a sad sack because i have tp pay more for a woman’s perfume than a men’s? I feel like one!