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Lost treasures: alternatives for discontinued favourites

Lost treasures: alternatives for discontinued favourites 5 years ago
Doesn't it suck when the perfect little thing you love gets discontinued? Well, here's one of my discontinued faves.

I used to buy this drugstore body mist by FCUK called Polished. The scent was described as "a warm and sensual scent that blends sparkling mandarin and osmanthus flower with creamy vanilla notes". To me it was simply the holy grail of inoffensive slightly seductive woody sweetness. Got discontinued, obviously. The closest I could find was Lee Stafford's hair mousse (which some claim is very similar to Mugler's Angel but to me it is absolutely not) but it's not a perfume of any sort and fades in 5 mins. I wonder if anyone of you have any ideas about the possible alternatives to FCUK Polished?

Let's share our lost treasures stories here.
5 years ago
That sounds really lovely. I'm sorry it's been discontinued. I have a knack for falling in love with scents doomed to be discontinued and, often, forgotten by time. This is why I buy backup bottles whenever possible. I did it with "Shalimar Parfum Initial", "Sahara Noir", "I Love New York For Her" and others.
5 years ago
This is a timely post. I've recently been able ($$$) to get back into fragrances only to find that two of those on my wish list were toast. ARGHGHG. For me, it is Atao (Lostmarc'h), and Pale Grey Mountain, Small Black Lake (DS & Durga). I don't know anything about Polished (sorry!) but if anyone knows scents similar to these two, I'd be grateful.
5 years ago
I think that some shops in Italy still have some bottles of Atao.

There are so many perfumes of which I regret discontinuation:
Daphne Cdg
Angelique Encens Creed
Rubj Extract Vero profumo
Vetiver pour elle guerlain
Great Subject! 4 years ago
I understand discontinuing fragrances that smell bad or don't sell well, but I'm really curious as to why to manufacturers don't simply bring back discontinued fragrances that are highly rated. Some of the very top rated fragrances (Gucci Envy comes to mind) are discontinued.

Seems like this would be an easy money maker for fragrance producers. In some cases, discontinuing a product is a deliberate marketing ploy to limit supply, build up demand, and release it sporadically to spike sales, like the McDonald's "McRib" sandwiches and the release of Grand Theft Auto video games, which is the top seller in the industry but released at least seven years apart. The fragrance manufacturers, however, generally don't bring titles back once they give them the kiss of death.

Is anybody close enough to the industry to know why they do this? Do they not like making money? I am thoroughly confused.

In the meantime, it seems a whole cottage industry has sprung up trying to match these discontinued scents. They don't seem to be getting very close in the match, though, as the consumer reviews for these producers are not always stellar.

Personally, I like the notes search feature in our fragrance directory, as I use it to try to find the closest match to a fragrance currently in production across the three notes. It beats paying a 1000% markup on eBay for something in increasingly limited supply and, unlike, say, artwork, is designed to be consumed. Thank you for this topic, which I'm sure is super relatable for many of us.
Last edited by Meetjoeblack on 14.06.2020, 03:34; edited 1 time in total
So great to see I am not the only one confused! 4 years ago
I'm glad that you guys find this post relevant. Imagine a brand stumbling upon this and reconsidering their choice. But I am sure they are aware of what people think of that reading reviews on various other websites and yet nothing happens, sadly. It really remains a mystery as to why some of the very popular, even iconic scents do get discontinued. Perhaps there is an individual explanation in some cases, perhaps there is indeed some marketing ploy in some others. I personally find relief in the knowledge that I am not the only person that can't get over not being able to experience a particular scent again Smile
@VivienneK 4 years ago
Same here!

I've given this some more thought, for one reason or another, and I have some hypothetical explanations for why fragrance makers might do this:

(a) To encourage people to buy backup bottles just in case, much like our friend @Exciter76 in this thread and many others. This way the manufacturers can boost their short-term cash flow and provide returns to investors sooner.

(b) Especially on the higher end, to promote an active secondary market in their fragrances, so that people will have an additional incentive to buy a bottle now if there is a possibility, however remote, that the scent will be well-liked, discontinued, and then they can sell it online for a large markup. For example, a car enthusiast on the fence about buying a Porsche may pull the trigger and buy it if she has reason to believe that the car design will be completely changed or ended next year, and it might become a collector's item!
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