What do you consider a cheap perfume?

[SisterAgatha]

I wear Dior Addict because I’ve loved it for years. A friend remarked recently that she thought it was a “cheap perfume”, I don’t think she knew that it was my favourite when she said this.

I don’t consider it cheap, and was a bit because I think it’s just around the normal range, maybe on the expensive side for everyday. When I was on maternity leave I wore Britneys Fantasy which I do consider cheap but I do like the sweet smelling ones. It’s more an everyday smell.

What do you consider to be a kind of average expense on perfume?

@SisterAgatha Dior do 2 price points, www.dior.com/en_gb/products/beauty-Y0909280-oud-ispahan-fragrance this range is £220 for a small bottle and £450 (I think?) for a large.

Actually I’m a fan of most Britney perfumes, I clearly like the sweet smells and as you say good for at home. I always used to wear fantasy for nights out too because it’s the only one I could smell when I got home!

Cheap is under a fiver.

It's a nice pretty smell, not liquid gold, and you can get those for a few quid if you know what you like and where to look. So much snobbery around perfume.

I’m actually really pleased I started this thread as it’s actually really interesting to read all this and hear what other people wear.

I’m going to treat myself this weekend I think.

Cheap: Avon, perfume parlour dupes, Britney spears etc al

Mid range: Estee Lauder, Dior, Chanel, Calvin klein, marc jacobs

Expensive: Andy Tauer, 4160 Tuesdays, cloon keen, serge lutens, histories de perfum, Francis kurdjistan

^ I own perfumesfrom all 3 groups btw!!
Nothing wrong with an Avon scent as long as YOU like it! :)
Dior addict is not cheap imo

I cannot tell between 4711 and the most expensive French cologne but "cheap" for me is anything that is so over used I think they've bathed in it .

There's one I some on some people that honestly smells like flyspray < not envy .
I am tempted to ask "Ooh what's that scent you're wearing" so I can avoid it !

Cheap - Lidl Suddenly £3.99
Expensive- J’adore Dior
These are the only two I wear.

There's an awful lot of snobbery around perfumes.

I have about 200 and some were a fiver and some are vintage extracts I've collected over the years. I like what I like, and I pay what I feel like if it's something I really want.

I wouldn't give a Jo Malone house space for example. Expensive, bland, and 80% water. If I want a fancy white box fair play, but I'm not about to pay £80 for one containing a bottle of eau de cologne.
I don't mind the smell, don't get me wrong, I've got a lot of JM dupes (made from oils and not colognes so last longer)

One of my all time spring/summer favourites is Yardley Jade £7. Deadringer for Cristalle.

Avon have always produced excellent perfumes, more so in their glory days of the 70s and 80s tbf, but still not bad. M&S too. The Zaras I find a bit sweet, I guess their main demographic is younger women and sweet gourmand perfumes tend to be popular among that age range.

My collection is huge, I'd need to live until about 289 to use it all! Prices range from a tenner to over £300 (that was for Iris Ganache, a Guerlain exclusive). Obscene really but perfume is about the only vice I have left.

I have Addict too, it's a modern classic. It's mid price designer, not 'cheap' as in cheap and nasty at all.

Bengale Rouge by Papillion and Tonka Imperiale by Guerlain might be worth a sniff if you fancy expanding your fragrance horizons. Should shut up your snobby mate too!

It's definitely subjective. I wear a Roja Dove perfume that costs in the region of £600 although I do have a cheaper one that was just under £300. However, I would never tell someone their perfume was cheap. Whatever the implication, it's plain rude.

@Haver74

It's definitely subjective. I wear a Roja Dove perfume that costs in the region of £600 although I do have a cheaper one that was just under £300. However, I would never tell someone their perfume was cheap. Whatever the implication, it's plain rude.

I have refused so far to even sample anything by Roja Dove - too terrified I'd fall in love and have to shell out an extortionate amount.

Which ones do you have?

I have a few of The Prada Infusion line (Iris and Amande)..at over £100 for a large bottle that was bloody expensive for me!

I love Dior addict and I would class it as one of the more expensive ones I frequent

To me cheap is if it smells rank.

I have dupes of my more expensive perfumes. The cheap ones will be worn daily and the expensive version will be for a night out somewhere.

So for me my Chanel No 5 is expensive but I also have the Aldi dupe for work. It's doesn't last as long and isn't as complex but it's fine

My teen DD has an Ariana grande perfume which smells lovely.

Haha, yes I wish I hadn't!
I have 51 Pour Femme and A Midsummer Dream.

Sorry, not sure how to quote. That was to @Blondiney

Cheap meaning smelling nasty, or not costing much money?

I love Tom Ford fragrances but I've got a few perfume parlour dupes in the oil version and apart from a slightly lowered longevity, I'd say the sillage was about the same and the strength of the fragrance was about 75%. It's kind of like wearing a day version of an expensive fragrance. And they're hundreds of pounds cheaper and definitely do not smell cheap at all. But they are incredibly cheap! Bargains. Which means I can use my favourite fragrances (or very bloody similar) every day without feeling like I need to ration all the precious costly drops of them.

I think a truly cheap perfume would be something you'd pick up for £3.99 in Savers. That would likely cover all "cheap" bases.

Dior is not "cheap" at all. Not in either sense or the word. But I really do think that your signature scent is something that's so personal that it doesn't matter what it cost you: it's how it makes you feel as part of your identity. You chose it because it represents you and you love it. It shouldn't even matter if Dior are practically giving it away.

Perfume brings out the snob in some people.
There are some people (maybe your friend?) who think the more money you spend the better the quality of perfume you’re getting. This is not always true with perfume. You’re often paying for a name, branding, the ‘story’ behind the brand etc. This is especially true for some of the high end ‘prestige’ perfume brands.

You’ll also get people who are snobby about mainstream and designer perfume brands like Dior, Chanel etc. Some people prefer niche perfume brands, as they feel they’re getting something more exclusive, unusual or cool.

Different strokes!

I’m an absolute perfume fiend - it’s my big passion - and pretty knowledgeable about it. Fwiw, I have great perfume loves that we’re under £20, lives that are popular/mainstream designer, and a few niche or high end lives that cost upwards of £200 a bottle. Go with your nose, not the name or brand! If you love it, wear it.

P.s. Addict is gorgeous and a real cult classic.

loves not lives!

@Blondiney

SO jealous of your Iris Ganache! Wish I’d bagged it before it was discontinued .

@Haver74

Haha, yes I wish I hadn't! I have 51 Pour Femme and A Midsummer Dream.

Right, they're going to the top of my, 'do not test under any circumstances' list.

Personally I love Fragonard which are about £25 from M&S. cheap in price but big in personality.

@Haver74

It's definitely subjective. I wear a Roja Dove perfume that costs in the region of £600 although I do have a cheaper one that was just under £300. However, I would never tell someone their perfume was cheap. Whatever the implication, it's plain rude.

Totally subjective, and your viewpoint can change! I have a bottle (approx £200 for 100ml) that I used to like but then gave the same one to my MIL and she so floods herself with it that it was overwhelming and now I can't wear it anymore , it feels like cheap old lady perfume, despite me knowing better

Since my budget won't go to the serious end of the market - I have my bottle of chanel kept to last the best part of a year, that's a serious purchase although I love using it. And then a £5 pretty good dupe of it that I wear all the time.

I'd say cheap is an Avon type. I own some though as I like how they smell