brehs lets talk cologne game

[WIA20XX]

These 3 are ones that the YT reviewer talks about a lot!
Definitely gonna get these
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Dior Homme Intense
Frederick Malle - Portrait of a Lady
Goldfield and Banks - Pacific Rock Moss
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Don't think I heard him mention these but I think I'mma get these too
Tobacco Blaze
Valentino - Born in Roma Yellow Dream
_____________________________________________

So basically these 5 are gonna be my next buys!

@WIA20XX

That DHI is really nice, but it's very "lipstick-y"
Portrait of a Lady - Kevin Samuels classic - but it's without a doubt a Rose. There's floral and then there is rose and iris. I'd say Lavender and Geranium show up in colognes because they're usually in barbershop style colognes.
G&B - Wore that today oddly enough. It's perfect for a hot day, or that shower after the gym. The other big one from Rasasi is La Yuqawam, and that gets a lot of love online.

Tobacco Blaze - I might be the only person that likes this. But it's prolly in my top 10-20.
Born in Roma Yellow Dream - Smell this at Macy's even before you get the decant. (all the other ones might be hard to find outside of Nordstroms/Saks level department stores. There should be more pineapple scents aimed at men, but most really fruity/sweet fruit is aimed at women.

No cologne is safe to buy blindly.

 

[Sonic Boom of the South]

That DHI is really nice, but it's very "lipstick-y"
Portrait of a Lady - Kevin Samuels classic - but it's without a doubt a Rose. There's floral and then there is rose and iris. I'd say Lavender and Geranium show up in colognes because they're usually in barbershop style colognes.
G&B - Wore that today oddly enough. It's perfect for a hot day, or that shower after the gym. The other big one from Rasasi is La Yuqawam, and that gets a lot of love online.

Tobacco Blaze - I might be the only person that likes this. But it's prolly in my top 10-20.
Born in Roma Yellow Dream - Smell this at Macy's even before you get the decant. (all the other ones might be hard to find outside of Nordstroms/Saks level department stores. There should be more pineapple scents aimed at men, but most really fruity/sweet fruit is aimed at women.

No cologne is safe to buy blindly.

https://youtube.com/@ThePerfumeGuy

This the reviewer I watch

Dude mentions Portrait of a Lady and Dior Homme Intense all the time.

He definitely bigs up Frederick Malle and Maison Francis Kurkdjian fragrances the most.

 

[WIA20XX]

https://youtube.com/@ThePerfumeGuy

This the reviewer I watch

Dude mentions Portrait of a Lady and Dior Homme Intense all the time.

He definitely bigs up Frederick Malle and Maison Francis Kurkdjian fragrances the most.

Sebastian knows his stuff. He's A-Tier when it comes to fragrance.

I think he's a lawyer in SF, and that's how he could afford all this when he started.

 

[Pharaoh]

I couldn’t really get into Sedley the mint note smelled like breath to me lol

I take back what I said…I had a sample of this come in and it smells wayyy different on skin. I need a full bottle now.

 

[Monoblock]

Maison Francis Kurkdjian Aqua Celestia Cologne Forte​

Try the Aqua Universalis Cologne Forte...shyt is super clean and

 

[WIA20XX]

EXCLUSIVE: Parfums de Marly and Initio Parfums Privés Are Acquired by Advent International

Advent International has acquired Parfums de Marly and Initio Parfums Priveés.

wwd.com

What this means to the avg consumer is that

• Prices go up
• Quality/Concentration of Ingredients/Quality of Ingredients goes down.
• Price of old bottles goes up.

Layton, Layton Exclusif, and Herod are all on my "purchase at some point" list. But I might just cop a used bottle of each and KIM.

I'm really surprised that they move that kinda weight though.

Average man on the street doesn't know PdM, much less Initio.

 

[BronxBomber]

EXCLUSIVE: Parfums de Marly and Initio Parfums Privés Are Acquired by Advent International

Advent International has acquired Parfums de Marly and Initio Parfums Priveés.

wwd.com

What this means to the avg consumer is that

• Prices go up
• Quality/Concentration of Ingredients/Quality of Ingredients goes down.
• Price of old bottles goes up.

Layton, Layton Exclusif, and Herod are all on my "purchase at some point" list. But I might just cop a used bottle of each and KIM.

I'm really surprised that they move that kinda weight though.

Average man on the street doesn't know PdM, much less Initio.

Fam the fragrance industry is FLEECING the consumer. I see what it costs us and we are peons!

I think the fragrance world is truly fanatical. It's similar to the sneaker heads. We have several customers who come in to our physical location 2-3 times a week, for years now...

 

[WIA20XX]

Fam the fragrance industry is FLEECING the consumer. I see what it costs us and we are peons!

I think the fragrance world is truly fanatical. It's similar to the sneaker heads. We have several customers who come in to our physical location 2-3 times a week, for years now...

I always knew that $100 bottle of cologne was like less than $1 for the juice and prolly more for the bottle. But all cologne, even the 20 dollar joints at Marshalls are luxury goods imo. Soap, Shampoo, Deodorant, at least in America, is not a luxury good.

I think that fact that smell/cologne is a sensory thing, that's why it's so addictive. A breh on here talked about this a few months ago, shoulda saved the post.
There's so much I want to at least put my nose on, most of it old stuff. I've only seen a few new joints this year that I want to peep.

 

[BronxBomber]

I always knew that $100 bottle of cologne was like less than $1 for the juice and prolly more for the bottle. But all cologne, even the 20 dollar joints at Marshalls are luxury goods imo. Soap, Shampoo, Deodorant, at least in America, is not a luxury good.

I think that fact that smell/cologne is a sensory thing, that's why it's so addictive. A breh on here talked about this a few months ago, shoulda saved the post.
There's so much I want to at least put my nose on, most of it old stuff. I've only seen a few new joints this year that I want to peep.

We went to visit the manufacturing plant and was LIKE these folks printing money... Im thankful we are in this business and make an affordable amazing alternative but it is astonishing. Fam try a $500 or $1000 bottle being made for $1 maybe all together it may be $1.60 MAYBEEEEEE....

We did a fragrance for a high end luxury company and lets just say, they had at an 600% markup and the fragrance was still affordable..

Yea fragrance is addictive. We have been having meetings to control what we develop because we started getting out of hand just trying to many smaller houses, houses that have fragrances similar to what we carried etc.

But we all be like yea lets do it I think I smell a small cinnamon note not in this one

 

[Remote]

We went to visit the manufacturing plant and was LIKE these folks printing money... Im thankful we are in this business and make an affordable amazing alternative but it is astonishing. Fam try a $500 or $1000 bottle being made for $1 maybe all together it may be $1.60 MAYBEEEEEE....

We did a fragrance for a high end luxury company and lets just say, they had at an 600% markup and the fragrance was still affordable..

Yea fragrance is addictive. We have been having meetings to control what we develop because we started getting out of hand just trying to many smaller houses, houses that have fragrances similar to what we carried etc.

But we all be like yea lets do it I think I smell a small cinnamon note not in this one

Are there circumstances where a markup is warranted?

I don't believe that a $400 bottle of a fragrance is worth $200, although we sometimes pay it.
What I'm asking is, do you think there is a situation or is there an ingredient that will drive costs up?

People will often say that a clone of a designer fragrance will be 90% of the original. For most people, I suppose that's good enough. That said, is there a time when that 10% difference is massive?

I don't want this post to be taken as a dig at clones. I want to ask if there is ever a reason to pay that premium?

 

[BronxBomber]

Are there circumstances where a markup is warranted?

I don't believe that a $400 bottle of a fragrance is worth $200, although we sometimes pay it.
What I'm asking is, do you think there is a situation or is there an ingredient that will drive costs up?

People will often say that a clone of a designer fragrance will be 90% of the original. For most people, I suppose that's good enough. That said, is there a time when that 10% difference is massive?

I don't want this post to be taken as a dig at clones. I want to ask if there is ever a reason to pay that premium?

Well it's like this..... As a company we could charge what the market bares but we have a soul. If any of yall noticed we did some limited metal label releases on Gelato, Tan Boy, we gonna start doing on some new hot releases. I can get those metal labels made for .30 on LOW volume (Turkey). If I go china I can get medium volume for .08-.10 a piece. If I went high volume maybe .02. Those metal labels I could tack on $5-$10 to the cost. The upgrade is DOPE! It feels better, gives more quality to the product but does it change the fragrance..... nah.

Now there are times that we do have to charge more because it costs us more to develop a fragrance. Case in point, when Bitter Peach was announced, I maneuvered and go at all my plugs to get me a bottle 2-3 months before it came to the US. I paid $700 for a bottle that I think was sold here 2 months later for like $300. BTV fragrances cost me wayyyyy tooo much... but many times we will offset the cost with a lower cost developed fragrance to keep a roll on between 9.99-12.99. We could sell Molecule 01 for 4.99 and Torero for $15.99. Most of the times the ingredients do not dictate the cost. Cost more to produce One Million Prive then Clive Christian fragrances

Ive said and I will continue to try and school cats. The white mans ice is not colder. I dont really mean it literally but a good clone house should have access to millions of dollars of Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry machines. What people pay for is branding, now that Im connected with China.... Boy. I just got a better quality hoody then Polo made for like $15. That just getting like 20 of them. If I did 100 I could get them for like $7. I just got more colors made. Polo will not get any more of my bread


Sorry for rambling working on these new releases and always nice to have a conversation about VALUE.

 

[Remote]

Well it's like this..... As a company we could charge what the market bares but we have a soul. If any of yall noticed we did some limited metal label releases on Gelato, Tan Boy, we gonna start doing on some new hot releases. I can get those metal labels made for .30 on LOW volume (Turkey). If I go china I can get medium volume for .08-.10 a piece. If I went high volume maybe .02. Those metal labels I could tack on $5-$10 to the cost. The upgrade is DOPE! It feels better, gives more quality to the product but does it change the fragrance..... nah.

Now there are times that we do have to charge more because it costs us more to develop a fragrance. Case in point, when Bitter Peach was announced, I maneuvered and go at all my plugs to get me a bottle 2-3 months before it came to the US. I paid $700 for a bottle that I think was sold here 2 months later for like $300. BTV fragrances cost me wayyyyy tooo much... but many times we will offset the cost with a lower cost developed fragrance to keep a roll on between 9.99-12.99. We could sell Molecule 01 for 4.99 and Torero for $15.99. Most of the times the ingredients do not dictate the cost. Cost more to produce One Million Prive then Clive Christian fragrances

Ive said and I will continue to try and school cats. The white mans ice is not colder. I dont really mean it literally but a good clone house should have access to millions of dollars of Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry machines. What people pay for is branding, now that Im connected with China.... Boy. I just got a better quality hoody then Polo made for like $15. That just getting like 20 of them. If I did 100 I could get them for like $7. I just got more colors made. Polo will not get any more of my bread


Sorry for rambling working on these new releases and always nice to have a conversation about VALUE.

Respect.
I really do appreciate the candor and honesty.

(also I had my eye on a $125 hoodie last winter but I just couldn't do it. Somehow I just knew that shyt was ridiculous, LOL)
Edit - I'm trying to remember the hoodie now, lol, I wanna say it was a Flint & Tinder

 

[BronxBomber]

Respect.
I really do appreciate the candor and honesty.

(also I had my eye on a $125 hoodie last winter but I just couldn't do it. Somehow I just knew that shyt was ridiculous, LOL)

All good man. I mentor several businesses and help them grow. I have another business but I just haven't put on here, but it's an easy money maker. Eventually may post on here just to help cats get motivated to go get it. Cause in 5-10 years it's gonna be HARD to make a decent life out here.

When I get some good pics I'll post them here, I'll probably weigh them so I can do a comparison. I got a hoody and sweat pants made with puff letters for like $30! My own brand. If you do 10 suits you could do several colors and probably spend $500-$600 with shipping.

 

[Complexion]

People will often say that a clone of a designer fragrance will be 90% of the original. For most people, I suppose that's good enough. That said, is there a time when that 10% difference is massive?

If a scent uses captives then use that difference can be quite large because of things like diffusivity and impact. Certain aromachemicals are "trade secrets" in the sense that they dont sell the actual molecules to the public. Instead they get a different isomer or variant which is close but not quite. 8/10 people will never be able to tell but these accords are often what create the wow effect that gives the scent its initial rep as it makes your nose dance on smelling it. Example:

Spoiler

Paradisione (captive)

Hedione (similar but not quite):

​

Think of both of them playing the same movie but one is at the theater and the other at home on a small screen. You still get the message but the scale and impact are quite different. Paradisione is based on the natural Jasmine and its creates a pheromone like sexual response in people who smell it and thats why its in loads of scents. It also adds a floral air and depth to a frag as well as a performance boost and overall sheen. Think of it like having subs in the trunk.

Whatever is playing then Paradisione will add a bump. Pretty much all of the huge selling scents over the past 3 decdaes have all featured an overdose of it. Think of it as the OG Ambroxan/ISO E which are the new jacks and they too have their own captive/retail deal as well.

That and there are things like micodoses that do not show up in gcms and various other aspects of reconstruction vs creation. Overall though the entire industry is a huge con because back in the 70s-90s the prices were way lower and quality was much higher as pretty much everyone used naturals vs aromachemicals now. Its wild how what was designer became the current niche with todays designer being the old drugstore scent as the content of the bottle is around $1-$5 maximum anyway.

The rest goes on promo, profit and pimping people who want to flash a brand for the associated prestige as scents were always designed as a diffusion line to increase corporate awareness before they realized how much money it could make and here we are. Same can be said of couture as I've mentioned previously as its all trading on past glories these days and those who know, know.

 

[DrunkenNovice]

Tldw: PDM and Initio are being bought out. He recommends buying your favorites now before they get reformulated

Edit: just saw @WIA20XX posted the news