High quality/reasonably priced fragrance houses

[Tales101]

I'm a student who has recently fallen into fragrances. I like fragrances that don't smell like everything else out there and are of quality, but can't afford to go out and buy Penhaligon's left right and center.

I recently received some cologne from SCS and will order some Gary Sargent's from Mama Bear. C.O. Bigelow also has been getting high praise in these here parts as well.

Are there any other smaller companies that make quality cologne at student budget prices?

 

[markb]

I like and recommend Mont Blanc Presence & Bvlgari BLV Pour Homme. Both can be found in tester versionss for a reasonable price online ($25 ~ $40). I like them precisely because they DON'T smell like everything else out there.

 

[tsmba]

Tabac comes to mind but, by and large, the words "reasonable" and "perfume houses" don't belong in the same sentence.

 

[The National Razor]

you could always go decants and get less quantity of more variety. I hear the Perfumed Court is a great way to do this, although I never have

http://theperfumedcourt.com/

 

[Niles]

There are several really good fragrances that you can get at your local drugstore such as Grey Flannel, a favorite of mine. Most fragrances don't come cheap unless you happen upon a good deal on ebay.

 

[StylinLA]

You've got a couple of possibilites that I see...

The Perfumed Court can provide a variety a decant sizes from 1ml to 8ml.

An 8ml decant can last longer than you'd think, especially if it's filled with a potent niche frag. They are pricey, and it's a bit annoying mathmatecially (ala a bottle of wine you pay $12 for in the store is $8 per glass in a restaurant.)

Still, you can purchase some of the pricey heavy hitters that way at a size large enough to provide for a few wearings, but small enough not to bust your budget.

I believe there is also Badger Decants that may be more reasonably priced and I'm pretty sure they're loaded up on most of the scents you'll see B&B boys rerference.

You can also do a little research here and at Basenotes and pick up on some of the classic department store scents, many from the 80s which can be had at reasonable prices online. e.g. Grey Flannel, Anteus, Cool Water, Kouros

Read reviews by members in both sites and you'll get a picture of which scents have still got legs.

 

[theperfectstorm]

Commes des Garcons,
Parfum d'Empire,
Guerlain and
Etro

will all offer some stuff in the $75 range. Not much more than you would pay for the latest middle-class dirt-common brew from Varvatos, Cole, or Rodriquez.

 

[crocto]

the bigelow elixirs all have a nice scent to me. its a bit harder to find but the bigelow bay rum is awesome. i've also read good things about taylor of old bond st.

having once been a poor college student (as opposed to now where i'm just poor) i feel your pain. also i think its crazy to spend $100+ on smelly water.

 

[Greybeard]

As Dennard said Grey Flannel and especially Bowling Green from Geoffrey Beene are very good.

Puig makes high quality fragrances for a reasonable price. Some are love it or hate it, but they are quality. Test before you buy.

Rive Gauche pour Homme by Yves St. Laurent is a quality affordable scent.

If you can find it, Eau de Rochas pour Homme is the most wonderful citrus scent for not much money. Better than Eau Sauvage and Signoricci.

If you can find Quasar by Jesus del Pozo, it's usually cheap. It's an aquatic that's unique and complex. Much, much better than Acqua di Gio.



-Peter

 

[The Nid Hog]

Caron's fragrances are also very reasonable--you should check them out too.

 

[theperfectstorm]

Caron's fragrances are also very reasonable--you should check them out too.

Forgot them. Good catch.

 

[Sterling Cooper]

L'Occcitane. $46/bottle. The scents are very nice and complex if somewhat rustic.

 

[StylinLA]

Caron's fragrances are also very reasonable--you should check them out too.

+1 on Caron too.

Good stuff. Classic. I've seen it for around $40-$45. Not so well known as some of the other suggestions coming in so in spite of some of them being older frags, they'll still be distinctive.

 

[BarryR]

I very much agree with the idea of getting decants. BadgerDecants is back and very reasonable.

You can also get samples for free or cheap from many of the fine fragrance houses including C&S, Diptyque, Creed (from the dept store), Trumpers, T&H, Penhaligons, Floris (?), L'Artisan. Sephora will also give you samples and they have a few from Guerlain.

TOBs makes some good scents that are very reasonably priced.

Though there seems to be variation on this, I think 1 ml lasts me more than 7 or so applications, so if you buy some 8-10 ml decants and get / buy some 1-2 ml samples it'll actually last you a good while.

 

[andrew98]

Eau de Gray Flannel is one of my long-time favorites, and it's very reasonably priced. I find Gray Flannel too powdery for my liking, but it's a unique, popular fragrance. You may like it.

-Andy

 

[Scentronic]

L'Occcitane. $46/bottle. The scents are very nice and complex if somewhat rustic.

I agree - You can get some good "bang for your buck" from L'Occitane.

 

[Tales101]

Thanks for the replies. A few people have commented on L'Occitane which I've been eyeing for some time now. Their Vetiver has my interest. I don't think there's a L'Occitane store where I live, but I think some of the department stores carry it.

 

[andrew98]

Thanks for the replies. A few people have commented on L'Occitane which I've been eyeing for some time now. Their Vetiver has my interest. I don't think there's a L'Occitane store where I live, but I think some of the department stores carry it.

L'Occitane Vetyver is one of my new favorites. That would be an excellent choice. Several of their fragrances are great, and as someone said above, "rustic" is a good word for them. I like that about the L'Occitane fragrance line. They smell very natural.

-Andy

 

[Pollock Joe]

look for testers. I just got a 3.4 terre d'hermes tester for $55 from fragrancex.com with free shipping.

 

[The Knize]

Eau de Gray Flannel is one of my long-time favorites, and it's very reasonably priced. I find Gray Flannel too powdery for my liking, but it's a unique, popular fragrance. You may like it.

-Andy

Sorry to jump in. Would be better if I sent you, Andrew98, a note and let you change the posting if you thought it worth while to do so, but hopefully I am saving you a few key strokes and you do not mind.

Just to be clear (I hope memory serves here), "Eau de Grey Flannel" (clear bottle, blue liquid, released 1996) smells very little, if anything at all like "Grey Flannel" (dark grey bottle, I have no idea what color liquid, released 1976.). This can be very confusing reading scent notes, etc. Why the maker decided on this naming strategy, no one knows, unless it was purely to gloom onto the sucess of the original GF, which was a huge seller in the late 70s, early 80s, and to my mind, rightfully so a huge seller! An assertive and unique frag then, and while not quite unique now, still close to unque.