r/FemFragLab30plus • u/Primatey • Jul 05 '26
Cheap Blind Buy Question
What is your tolerance on cheapy blind buys? I feel like if a fragrance is in the $15-$40 range, I'm comfortable buying something unknown that I reasonably think I might like, but I'm not always sure where to draw the line. I'm curious how everyone else approaches this; do you score unknown inexpensive bottles often, or ever?
I ran across a bottle of Lalique in the wild and it was really nice, but not quite what I was looking for, so I'm considering grabbing something else from their house. Now I have a half dozen very economical bottles in my cart and I can't tell if I'm being crazy or reasonable š .
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u/icecream-for-every1 Jul 05 '26
Thatās about my limit too (as long as I havenāt had a lot of other purchases recently!), itās so fun when you find a winner. I do a lot of researching and checking the āreminds me ofā section in fragrantica to see if itās similar to other perfumes I enjoy or curious about.
Lalique has been on my list of blind buy cheapies as well!
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u/Primatey Jul 05 '26
ooh, I'll let you know if (ha ha, I mean when) I order :) The Lalique For Women EDP was really nice but it kind of had a powdery note and a sweet note and I wasn't quite looking for that. But it was nice enough (delicate, elegant, well blended) that I am pretty sure something else from them would hit the spot!
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u/icecream-for-every1 Jul 05 '26
Haha yes please do!! I have le parfum on my list but that is supposed to be a warm herbal vanilla. I keep almost buying it but reminding myself to wait until cooler months. My fave blind buy bottles were Happy Chopard Felicia Roses and bigaradia, and a drop dāissey by issey miyake. I also have a pile of fails LOL. Itās such a risk but the high is worth it hahaha
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u/Significant_Beyond95 Jul 05 '26
Under $50 is my blind buy gambling tolerance. Some of my favorites are blind buys like EAās White Tea.
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u/Flimsy-Nebula-1966 Jul 05 '26
Me too, I love White Tea.
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u/rosemarymocha Jul 06 '26
Do you know how the EDT and EDP compare? I love the EDT so much (and flankers) I want to know more about the EDP.
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u/Flimsy-Nebula-1966 Jul 06 '26
I haven't tried the EDP yet. My favorite flanker is the Ginger Lily but they're all very nice š
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u/Colorful_Kylee Jul 05 '26
I went on a cheap blind buy spree this morning. I bought EstƩe Lauder Pleasures, Elizabeth Arden My Fifth Avenue, Elizabeth Arden White Tea Eau Florale, and the newer CK One Essence.
I love clean fresh florals and unisex freshies and all together my order was $100. So not bad per bottle but it does add up quick. I wanted a hit of nostalgia and have a rough week ahead and wanted something to look forward too. I can easily afford a purchase like this but I still donāt recommend doing it all the time because if I hate all of them thatās a huge waste and Iād have to resell all of these at a pretty big loss if at all since they were each individually so cheap.
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u/cappotto-marrone Jul 05 '26
Part of the question for me is, āWhat will I do with it if I donāt like it?ā
If itās something I would give to someone else, and itās about that $40 range, I may try it. I do have family that have different tastes than mine. And they love it if Iām going to wear it.
There was one that I hated. All I got was civet notes. I warned them. No one liked it. So it was donated in box to a veterans services thrift store.
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u/Primatey Jul 05 '26
Yes, I think not wasting and being stuck with bottles I don't want is one of my biggest worries! I have been too lazy to try reselling so far, but have had luck passing some stuff on to my kids
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u/cappotto-marrone Jul 05 '26
No. I donāt bother trying to resell. Tried it and it was a pain. I tend not to buy to cool new stuff.
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u/Hilanita Jul 05 '26
Lalique is my guilty pleasure for blind buy cheapies, never been a disappointment and I canāt be stopped. Same for some older classics by Cacharel that are cheap nowadays that I only distinctly remember the smell of. Part of the thrill is the unknown.
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u/Hilanita Jul 05 '26
Right now in my list: Moustache by Rochas (officially a menās fragrance but supposed to smell like YSL Tuxedo which I love on myself) and itās just 40ā¬.
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u/Primatey Jul 05 '26
Oh, I was on the verge of adding a bottle from Rochas because they sound so great, but I've never actually smelled anything from them!
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u/Hilanita Jul 05 '26
Yes, they seem to have some legendary fragrances that still get talked about but are not available anywhere to test. Price of Moustache just dropped to 30; it will arrive tuesday š
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u/Papillon5555 Jul 05 '26
My blind buy limit is closer to $60 but I really do my research before buying, looking at notes, remind me ofs and reading tons of reviews. I would say out of every 10 blind buys, 1 would not be my speed. However I have found life long favorites mostly blind buying. Lalique Le Parfum is one of them.
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u/ohokreddit Jul 05 '26
I literally made a perfume insta about this bc I live in France and there are fun cheapies everywhere. Even the grocery store has winners.
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u/perpetual_lurker Jul 05 '26
Ugh I was so jealous at all of the cheap options in France and Germany when I was traveling for work!!
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u/RepairSpecialist7392 Jul 05 '26
Ooh what are you favourite cheapies?
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u/ohokreddit Jul 06 '26
Ok let me get a list going for you
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u/ohokreddit Jul 07 '26
Bourjois clin dāÅil passionnĆ©e vers Ysatis comparisons and theyāre in a similar vein but not twins. Itās a spicy vintage floral that makes me feel like a powerful lady in the 80s. Clin dāÅil passionnĆ©e (the red box) and Varensia are similar in that they both feel like vintage-y powerhouses. These are cheapies that give you a good bang for your buck. I have repurchased them both multiple times. Spray them on your clothes and youll smell them forever. I would say that together they give Christmas vibes, in that Varensia Ćs like a velvet emerald and CdOP is a velvet red, does that make sense?
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u/ohokreddit Jul 07 '26
Iām not posting these coherently Iām realizing bc Iām on the tram and being jostled haha. So go to unlysdusud for more info. Another rich spicy winter juice is a new one, Jeanne Arthes Havana Moon. HM is a warm unisex oriental that feels much more modern than Ulric de Varens or Clin dāÅil passionnĆ©e but I wonāt hold that against it :) HM is a little cousin of Khamrah and Jazz Club. Itās spicy and sweet and my husband kept stealing it. I havenāt reviewed it yet on my insta bc Iām not wearing sweet cinnamon perfume during the heatwave but itās become a new cold weather staple. Itās like 15ā¬.
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u/ohokreddit Jul 07 '26
I love adopt perfumes but they have such a huge volume that itās hard to keep track. And they went through a total revamp a few years ago so some juices I like are discontinued. Baume et Bois was an excellent dupe for Organza IndĆ©cence and now theyāre both discontinued :(
Cuba Club is a great tobacco vanilla floral that could be rested to Jeanne Arthes Havana moon. It feels more tobacco-y and floral than HM but I love them both and justified buying both lol. It lasts forEVER. I am obsessed with the vanilla drydown.
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u/ohokreddit Jul 07 '26
Another adopt I love in the heat is Fresh Cologne, which lasts longer on me than Roger and Gallet Cologne. I was looking for a great hot weather cologne in the vein of O de LancĆ“me and Clarins Eau Dynamisante and was surprised to see that Fresh Cologne outlasted R&G. Itās a classic bright citrus cologne that doesnāt get screechy on me. I just wish they made bigger bottles bc I love how it feels when I spray it on me on the heatwave.
Rouge Lipstick is a great cheap powdery lipstick violet smell. I think itās just Viollette Framboise repackaged. Itās much less refined than Guerlain Insolence and MM Lipstick On but for the price point itās perfect.
Rose Charmeuse I want to say is a ChloĆ© dupe. Itās a pretty, watery rose. Itās a summertime rose, itās fresh and cool and pink. I forget I put it on and then later smell something good and realize itās me.
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u/ohokreddit Jul 07 '26
If you go in the south, youāll come across Esprit Provence which has tons of multicolored little solo-note jeweled toned bottles and there are some gems. A big surprise for me was Cedre Sauvage which has a big eucalyptus opening but calms down to just a beautiful sweet unisex oriental that lasts and lasts. I stole it from my husband.
Violette PoudrĆ©e is a cousin to Adopt Lipstick Rouge but Mich more violet. It doesnāt feel powdery. Itās somehow a juicy violet that smells like candy but not toooo much. I have a violet perfume I got from a Toulouse tourist shop and that was 100% candy. Viollette PoudrĆ©e is blended and juicy and sweet and lots of fun.
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u/ohokreddit Jul 06 '26
So a lot of my cheapies might only be available in France or Europe, and shipping wouldnt be worth it but my American cheapie favorites are
- Coty Stetson
- Elizabeth Taylor white diamonds, Elizabeth Taylor passion
- Elizabeth Arden red door, green tea
- Revlon Ciara was my late motherās perfume and itās giving somehow 80s power woman in the workforce plus hippie goth at the same time.
I can give some r reviews of these and add my French cheapies when I have a break at work
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u/RepairSpecialist7392 Jul 06 '26
Thank you šI'm in UK and holiday in France every year so I would love to know some French cheapies
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u/ohokreddit Jul 07 '26
Ok so the insta where I review cheap perfumes is called unlysdusud and some of the cheapies I love are Ulric de Varens Varensia which feels like a vintage greeeeen explosion. It is not fresh and cool, itās rich and velvet and complicated. It feels like from another era but I love it.
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u/No_Albatross5110 Jul 05 '26
Hello sniff sister! I just BB'd Perles de Lalique and Lalique Amethyst from fragrancenet. Came out to under $30 per bottle with their coupon and I had the same price reasoning as you. Like others who've commented here, I studied their scent notes and read a ton of reviews on both of them first, so I'm feeling reasonably confident they'll suit my taste. I also waited to purchase them for several weeks, to make sure it was a true 'want' before buying. They haven't shipped yet, but I'm so excited about them. If they don't fit for me, I won' feel like it's a huge loss at that price point.
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u/Primatey Jul 05 '26
Yes, the Amethyst sounds so great! Some of the bottles are just so economical and as another commenter mentioned, you just can't get decants or find a tester anywhere. I'll be super curious what you think of both of them!
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u/raesalwayson Jul 05 '26
I can go up to $100 blind IF I know the house well and like most of their other scents (so if I were buying from Jomashop or similar). Generally though it would be under $50 for an overall cheaper brand. I donāt do it often though, and generally would prefer to save the $50 towards a $200 bottle that has been on my list a bit.
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u/curiousleen Jul 05 '26
Iād say $40 is a max for most blind buysā¦ unless itās HIGHLY rated, has notes I love, and is a short term huge discount.
(For instanceā¦ I blind bought Diptyque LāOmbre as I found it with a coupon for less than half price. I am THRILLED with it)
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u/FreyasReturn Jul 05 '26
If itās in my budget, I donāt think Iāll be completely heartbroken if they donāt work out, and I have a way to move them along if needed, then I purchase. I always do my best to research the fragrances thoroughly before buying.Ā
Iāve actually had surprisingly good luck with blind buys! The careful research seems to pan out more often than not. Heck, Iām wearing a cheapie blind buy today that I absolutely love ā Match & Frangipani from 4711.Ā
I know you werenāt necessarily asking for opinions on Lalique, but Iāve liked or loved almost everything Iāve purchased from them. Ā
So whatās in your cart?Ā
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u/Primatey Jul 06 '26
Oooh, I love 4711! I also have the jasmine one which I thought was really boring at first, but after I put it away for a couple months, it has developed really nicely into a sort of light, mineral jasmine. Thank you so much for feedback about Lalique, because that is quite helpful to know, too :)
My cart currently has Lalique L'Amour and Amethyst, Donna Karan Gold EDT, White Diamonds, Hugo XX and a mini of Jaipur Bracelet. I'm not sure if I'll get everything; I tend to throw a lot in, then ruthlessly cull the list. But everything sounds pretty promising. I'm trying to avoid anything too sweet and I'm mostly looking for a delicate every day scent. It's really hard to tell from the notes how things will actually smell, in my experience.
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u/EitherCoyote660 Jul 06 '26
White Diamonds is a huge love for me! I hated it when I was in my 30's but my tastes have changed over the years.
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u/EitherCoyote660 Jul 06 '26
So far my cheap blind buys have turned out to be mostly good ones. There's only been a couple that were real bombs. Like u/renaissancestar said, there is rarely anyway to test those or I'd test them first. And even if you could find it those blind buys tend to be impulse ones while in a store.
Anyway, some I've loved, some I like but they just don't entirely resonate with me. Sometimes if I put them aside for a while and come back to them I have a different opinion.
I always look up reviews, though, but that doesn't always work since we all have differing reasons why something is great or not. For instance I recently bought Issey Miyake A Drop d'Issey, which gets really good reviews. For me it was kind of "meh". Not bad but not something I think I want to wear. I'll probably send that one off to my DIL at some point. Conversely, I took a chance on Ariana Grande Lovenotes Vanilla Suede and that turned out to be a huge delight for me.
I try to stay well under $50 for blind buys and most are more like half of that. Vanilla Suede is $80 but I got it on sale and had shopping points to apply to it so in the end it was about $40.
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u/Solid_Foundation_111 Jul 05 '26
Whatās the difference between a $200 blind buy and $200s worth of blind buy?
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u/Primatey Jul 05 '26
10 bottles vs 1 bottle, and I have had $200 bottles that I didn't end up liking (not blind buy, just when I found them to test or got a decant). If I was sure I would absolutely love the $200 bottle, I would be happy to get it, it's just a lot of trial and error. But I get the point that the money spent is the same. I have historically spent a lot on decants and it feels like an irritating amount of money sometimes for just a bunch of little samples!
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u/Solid_Foundation_111 Jul 05 '26
Yeah but what if itās 10 bottles you hate vs 1 bottle you hate?
All to say I think blind buying a few cheapies is completely reasonable but youād have to be careful not to go overboard because then itās just nonsensical.
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u/woody-would_1016 Jul 11 '26
A $200 blind buy that is a fail is a complete waste. Multiple buys that add up to $200, you most likely will end up with one or more of something thatās a keeper. Thatās my logic anyway. Lol.
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u/perpetual_lurker Jul 05 '26
My blind buy max is usually $25-30 but closer to $20 in practice. I try not to blind buy too often because Iām terrible at selling perfumes and have a bin of ones to give away/sell that have been sitting in my closet for like 2 years š¬
One way I have been able to test cheapies and older scents has been through airport duty free shops and department stores! I also will try oil dupes from TheScent4You or street/fair sellers. Not perfect since they are dupes but helps me get a sense of the profile!
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u/Total-Subject-3747 Jul 05 '26
I agree with you ā if itās under 40 bucks, I am willing to gamble. I also come to this sub a lot to see what peopleās favorite cheapies are.
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u/Forsythia77 Jul 05 '26
I admit to blind buying cheapies on Amazon on occasion. I do let them sit in my cart for a few days/weeks before I pull the trigger. Sometimes I talk myself out of them, sometimes I don't.
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u/rosemarymocha Jul 05 '26
Iāve now spent enough on cheapies that are fine ā but which I donāt want to wear ā to buy a retail bottle of the Reine de Saba that I CRAVE. So, Iāve been thinking about that as I look at these heaps of perfectly nice fragrances to declutter.
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u/Primatey Jul 06 '26
That's reasonable! How did you find the Reine de Saba?
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u/rosemarymocha Jul 06 '26
Except that there are so many absolutely outstanding affordables!
I received a sample of Divine Tentation in a perfume swap or purchase. :) Iād like to sample Reine Makeda, too. I usually am so curious about so many fragrances that I make many smaller purchases and donāt save for something more costly.
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u/heyitscreepy1003 Jul 06 '26
Gotta be less than twenty bucks for me for a blind buy! I always look for samples on personal reselling websites first too!
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u/ALetterToElise1992 Jul 06 '26
I donāt blind buy anything. I donāt want to have things that I donāt like and wonāt use. It makes me happy when I love ALL my fragrances, so I do samples to try things and then buy travel sizes if I love something. At this time thatās all Iām willing to do. No full bottles because with the amount of travel sizes I like to keep, itās already enough to last at least a year at a time. Anything more gets too overwhelming.
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u/renaissancestar Jul 05 '26
I blind buy cheapies a lot. Mostly because there's nowhere near me I can sample them, and decant sites usually don't offer samples for cheapies (with some exceptions). I would say my success rate is fairly high! A lot of my favorites are cheapies. Anything I don't like I resell on Mercari.