I'm all for asking people to get me the thing I dearly love and want and will treasure rather than something average - there's a major difference between the perfume you adore and just 'some perfume - that one's too expensive so got a totally different one'. At the same time, I also wouldn't dream of asking someone to buy me such an expensive gift, so am a massive believer in saying please could you all chip in to get me just this one thing I really really would love, rather than all separately getting something else. And if even with them all chipping in if it's too much I'm happy to contribute myself. I asked my DH and my parents to contribute to a small mulberry handbag one year (MIL wouldn't - see below) - still cost more than I would ever expect them to spend on my birthday present so I paid the rest. I still think of it as a gift from them, and I absolutely love it, had it for years, use it all the time, will continue to use it all the time for years to come.
Not everyone is on board with that - I know my MIL doesn't like contributing money as she wants to 'give me a gift'. The problem is I end up with a load of quite random stuff I don't particularly like so the money is wasted to be honest....
We all share wish lists in my family and we know it's specific - if someone lists a specific perfume it means that specific one don't bother getting a different one.