To return a bottle of Chanel's Allure as it does not smell as it should?

[BewilderedPiskie]

I have been wearing Allure for 30 years; it's the only perfume I have found that doesn't give me headaches and nausea as it's so light and floral with no musky notes and I have stuck with it.
It's my annual Mother's day gift and the large bottle just about lasts me a year. I've just sprayed from the new bottle I received this morning and it smells grim. Really heavy and musky and sickly sweet, properly bleurgh and the nausea and headache are already kicking in. I've checked with DH and he agrees it does not smell as it should. The bottle was about £90 I think which is a lot of money to waste but there is no way I can use it.
Am I being unreasonable to return it? Can you even do that with perfume? How can I prove this doesn't smell like the perfume I've been using for the last 30 years. I literally finished the old bottle a few days ago and am somewhat stumped as to how to go about getting the money back. Is it possible Chanel has changed the fragrance? I can't find mention of this online. I'm so confused!!
Has any one else ever had this issue?

I LOVE allure and have worn it for years. I haven't bought a bottle since pre-covid though, so not aware of any formula changes.

I agree with taking it back to boots and comparing it to their samples. Take the receipt and ideally get a refund.

If you're not happy with it, return it.

Definitely return

I wear it too and my husband had trouble getting a bottle at Christmas. He ended up paying the same for a small bottle as he usually does for the 100ml. I wonder if they’ve changed something? I’ve not opened the new one yet but will later and compare the new one with my old one.

People are saying you can't return it as you used it, but how could the OP know it wasn't right unless it was opened?

Of course you can return it if there is something wrong with it, who doesn't know this? It's a basic consumer right. The problem is because it's quite subjective, how do you prove it if they don't agree?

Not if there's a fault with it.

Random, but is there any chance you could have Covid?

My recent bottle of Chanel Christalle doesn't smell right and I bought it from Chanel's own website. I thought it was post covid damage though as so many every day things smell odd to me now. Fairy liquid and L'oreal Shampoo are just two.

Boots are excellent at returns in my experience, I'd definitely take it back. It might be a bad lot or something.

Your chances of a successful return rest heavily on who you find at the counter that day and what sort of person you come across as!

I work in Boots head office. This will be refunded without issue providing you have proof of purchase.

It's not fit for (your) purpose and using it has lead to a reaction which has made you unwell (migraine and nausea)

It really is as simple as that, despite what a few other posters are saying.

Sometimes, if perfume hasn't been stored correctly it can change the smell of the scent. I would certainly return it.

He’s obviously got you a knock of bottle from Facebook market place, leave the bastard.

There’s been new legislation which has meant some ingredients are now banned. All of the big perfume houses are affected so could be one of the key ingredients has had to be changed. You can check to see which online - most likely to be this.

Yes, definitely. I wear Chanel Coco Noir and last year bought a bottle which didn’t smell the same and didn’t last anywhere near as long.

I was worried they changed the formula but emailed John Lewis Customer service and they asked me to send it back and sent me a new one in return.

If you opened it and it smelt like hot piss, it would have unanimous agreement that it smelt wrong, especially given there is a previous bottle with a different smell - so no I don't think it is subjective. You could use a machine to smell it and map out the contents at a molecular level

I doubt any shop would refuse to swap it given you have a legit sounding story

The first huge wave of reformulations due to restrictions on ingredients came in the late 90s and early noughties. Allure (came out in 1996) has been reformulated at least 4 times since then.
If the OP has been wearing it since it came out 27 years ago, but not had issues with those reformulations then it does sound like it's a bad bottle.
I have only had one bottle of Allure, I do keep meaning to get another one.

Dh did exactly this, he bought Tom Ford from Allbeauty as he felt the smell didn’t last

he got refund,

I've had Boots perfume on more than one occasion that just doesn't smell as it should.
I know the perfumes are boxed however when stored in those bright lighted cabinets for months( if not years) in some cases I think some go off.
Just look at the testers that, I know aren't boxed but bloody hell a lot of them are rank and smell nothing like they should and the perfume in the transparent bottles is often badly discolored.

I'd definitely take it back and I'd not want an exchange either.

Have you done a COVID test?

Where was it bought? If it was from Daves Dodgey Discounts on the Sunday market, it could well be a cheap imitation.

If it was from a reputable department store, it may well have been stored too long or incorrectly.

no harm in asking at the shop.

there are two different allures now, do you have the classic one? Because the other one is really sharp and nothing like the classic one.

If it doesn't smell like the perfume usually smells of course you can return it - it's not like you simply don't like the smell, the product has gone bad - which like wine can occasionally happen.

And lol at people saying "you've opened it, you can't return it". Of course you can.

Maybe it's gone off. As it's an expensive perfume they probably don't sell that many.

Also their perfumes have lights on them all the time.