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Good-smelling cheapies are hard to find

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10 years ago
Perfumers Workshop Tea Rose. It's a huge honking Rose Soliflore. I can't quite believe how cheap it is.

Yardley Citrus and Woods A more than respectible little citrus/pepper/woody/vetiver which can be had for buttons.
10 years ago
Foustie:
Perfumers Workshop Tea Rose. It's a huge honking Rose Soliflore. I can't quite believe how cheap it is.

+1 on this one. It is one of my mother's personal favorites, so I bulk buy for her at TJ Maxx, Marshall's, or when it's on sale online.

Another vote for Tabac Original Great stuff that lasts and lasts.

Aqua Quorum Kind of like a cross between Wings for Men and Polo Sport, but unlike either, I actually like this one. Goes all day on my skin and is a great summer fragrance.

Everlast Original 1910 by Everlast. Starts off citrusy like so many sporty, athletic fragrances, and then surprisingly, dries down into a rather beautiful woody Oriental.

Avon Wild CountryClean(in an old school sense), barber shop type fragrance. Can be had for $10 or less on sale, lasts very well for a cologne, and smells far better than people give it credit for.

Perry Ellis 360 Degrees White Definitely a JPG Le Male Vibe going on but not so cloyingly intense as the original. Cuba Gold and the now discontinued Javari by The Body Shop all fall under this category.

Cuba Royale Poor man's Paco Rabanne 1 Million, except I actually like the Cuba Royale Laughing

Santa Fe Smells shockingly similar to The 3rd Man by Caron...not as complex or intense, but certainly nice at the $2 a bottle I spent for mine. Worth a blind buy if you can find it cheap nowadays.

Canoe EDT I do not bother with the cologne strength, but the EDT is a fresh lemony burst, along with lavender and vanilla to back it up. Lasts as well as anything out there, and I finally understood the attraction and all the magazine fanfare back in the day after sampling this strength.

Old Spice No, it doesn't smell as good as it did when made by Shulton, but it still smells darned good and it's a pretty safe bet for a good cheapie.
10 years ago
I really like Rihanna's "Nude". It's a fruity floral celeb fragrance so I understand it may seem like a teen thing but it is far from the sappy sweet concoctions I usually associate with this target market and price range. Has quite a credible sandalwood at the base, too, which I can't get enough of. I can find this in Finland for under 30€ and it gives incredible value for money, I imagine it's loads cheaper elsewhere.
10 years ago
Molinard is who I usually turn to for a cheap thrill. I absolutely adore Vanille Marine!
10 years ago
NikkRouse10:
Molinard is who I usually turn to for a cheap thrill. I absolutely adore Vanille Marine!

I would have to add "Patchouli" by Molinard as well.
have never liked cheapies either... 10 years ago
But recently tried Candies (I do love perfumes that smell like candy) Sugarplum Blossum, and I love to spray it in the house. Bought three bottles.
10 years ago
Cruella:
I don't think Elizabeth Taylor perfumes should be considered cheapies, at least not the first three she released, they all cost over 160 dollars an ounce and debuted at the most high of the high end stores. Specially White Diamonds which cost 200 dollars an ounce upon release.

I had no idea Shocked they float around eBay for 10-20 USD for a 100ml bottle so something has clearly changed.
10 years ago
Cruella:
Sweetgrass:
Cruella:
I don't think Elizabeth Taylor perfumes should be considered cheapies, at least not the first three she released, they all cost over 160 dollars an ounce and debuted at the most high of the high end stores. Specially White Diamonds which cost 200 dollars an ounce upon release.

I had no idea Shocked they float around eBay for 10-20 USD for a 100ml bottle so something has clearly changed.

Yes, I really don't know why Elizabeth Arden has allowed the Liz Taylor brand fall to the lowest depths of drugstore horror when in fact the brand was never intended to be a drugstore brand in the first place. White Diamonds is still the highest selling celebrity endorsed perfume in the world, and has been for 20 years, but you wouldn't know or think it was any good given how cheap it is, but it didn't start that way.

The scents released after Black Pearls never debuted at the top like the first three though, I would say those are proper drugstore scents.

I agree with this. I own a bottle of Passion for Men. It is a beautiful incense and vanilla based oriental fragrance. Nothing smells cheap about it in either the initial application or the drydown. I bought a tester online for about 12 bucks for a 3.4 oz bottle. Great bargain, but it does give the brand a cheap drugstore vibe when it is anything but cheap smelling. I do not like White Diamonds myself, but I respect that it is a beautifully crafted fragrance.
10 years ago
I will do that Cruella! Smile
10 years ago
Cheapy cheapy cheep cheep. A little bird named Sherapop told me about Molinard II. There are other votes for Vanille Marine and Patchouli. I wish I had seen these before I ordered Fancy Nights. The $ damage was negligible but I don't like it much and wish I had known about the Molinards. I bought a bottle of Y (YSL) and consider that to be the classiest discounted perfume. Cant do much better than Y.
10 years ago
Grey Flannel is not expensive and it is a warm, well rounded, persistent eau de toilette whose notes I have discovered in more expensive brands.
Mackie by Bob Mackie. A well achieved oriental, strong and with good sillage, in good taste and elegant, less expensive than Van Cleff and Arpels, Lancome etc.
L'Or des Scynthes by Novaya Zarya. A $15 bottle for a marvelous, extremely powerful perfume.
10 years ago
Tessa:
Grey Flannel is not expensive and it is a warm, well rounded, persistent eau de toilette whose notes I have discovered in more expensive brands.
Mackie by Bob Mackie. A well achieved oriental, strong and with good sillage, in good taste and elegant, less expensive than Van Cleff and Arpels, Lancome etc.
L'Or des Scynthes by Novaya Zarya. A $15 bottle for a marvelous, extremely powerful perfume.

Grey Flannel is great value, the sharp violet is well treated
10 years ago
"Far Away" is ridiculously cheap, especially if you purchase it on sale. It lasts for hours on end, a little goes a very long way. This is a sultry perfume, a very heavy oriental full of spices, coconut, gardenia and musk.
10 years ago
I am stunned that no one has mentioned the house of Balmain yet. Their line of fragrances are always of quality, and always affordable. My favorites:

"Jolie Madame"
"Balmain de Balmain"

And my favorite vintage:
"Vent Vert" -- the original one by Germaine Cellier. I have not tried the reformulations (1991 Calice Becker, 1999 Nathalie Feisthauer), so I cannot speak to those.
10 years ago
Agree, SystemeD. I bought my Miss Balmain 100ml for $40, which is a bargain in this country and it's very tenacious for an EDT. It's discontinued so I thought of acquiring a back-up bottle. The two you mention go for similar prices (probably less in the US).
For the blokes, Paco Rabanne pour Homme and VC&A Tsar are also budget friendly classics. Elizabeth Arden's 5th Avenue sells for about $29 for 125ml here and smells really good.
10 years ago
How could I forget!! Cabochard by Gres. It can be found very cheaply. It is a fantastic bitter green chypre. It's said to be a lether chypre but I find it more green than leathery. It has so much galbanum and oakmoss that you can taste it! It's an important fragrance I think. A real classic and a great addition to any collection. Don't be put off by stories about reformulation. It is terrific!
10 years ago
SystemeD:
I am stunned that no one has mentioned the house of Balmain yet. Their line of fragrances are always of quality, and always affordable. My favorites:

"Jolie Madame"
"Balmain de Balmain"

And my favorite vintage:
"Vent Vert" -- the original one by Germaine Cellier. I have not tried the reformulations (1991 Calice Becker, 1999 Nathalie Feisthauer), so I cannot speak to those.

The new Ivoire can be found at the discounters very cheaply. It carries the watermark of old Ivoire but has been reinterpreted by Michel Almairac and Jacques Fiori. I think it's gorgeous, bottle and all. One couldn't go wrong with all those mentioned. I am very pleased to see that Foustie mentions Cabochard in its reformulated state; I was put off by a Bois de Jasmin review, but now I have to try it again!
Cheapest Fragrances 10 years ago
Their are so many cheap perfume brands available online but the fact is which one to choose. Some give a good smell some do not give a pleasant smell. While going through some research i just found a nice perfume calvin klein it's a nice brand and also affordable.
10 years ago
Cheapies that i love
- brut
- old spice
- tabac
10 years ago
I am stunned that no one has mentioned the house of Balmain yet. Their line of fragrances are always of quality, and always affordable. My favorites:

"Jolie Madame"
"Balmain de Balmain:76175fa1f6]
Yes! and I would add "Ambre Gris"

I am kicking myself for giving away my 100ml bottle of "Balmain de Balmain", which I got online for under $40. I loved the bottle, with that retro looking label on the corner. Classy!
10 years ago
SystemeD:
I am stunned that no one has mentioned the house of Balmain yet. Their line of fragrances are always of quality, and always affordable. My favorites:

"Jolie Madame"
"Balmain de Balmain:4910f223ab]
Yes! and I would add "Ambre Gris"

I am kicking myself for giving away my 100ml bottle of "Balmain de Balmain", which I got online for under $40. I loved the bottle, with that retro looking label on the corner. Classy!

Ambre Gris is an absolute steal. There are bottles of Apres L'Ondee to be had (FRA NET) very cheaply. These may be the last people, get one now
10 years ago
Last year I bought a 7.5ml pure parfum of the discontinued Versace "Blonde", exquisitely and ornately boxed, from my local online discounter for about $40. They still have this in stock. It was a blind buy and unfortunately made me realise I very much dislike tuberose soliflores. Gave it away to my sister. Nevertheless, a good buy for fans of this style and in parfum concentration.
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