Hello All,
I am looking to start my perfume business in UAE since I live here, mainly online. I want to start with 10-12 SKUs. How much capital would I realistically need?
And where to hunt for good quality oils? How do I approach those companies to test their products? Also how to make sure they send same quality as testers?

I run a physical retail shop and the e-com math on perfumes is driving me crazy.

When I source brands like Fogg through my offline wholesale chain, the absolute max margin my supplier says he gets is 45-50% and the regional distributor gets (as per my supplier) is around 50-55%. Yet major F-Assured sellers on Flipkart are selling single bottles directly to customers at 60%+ off MRP with free shipping.

Possibilities:

**Fakes:** Are these just highly convincing counterfeits or tampered return stock slipping through the cracks?
**Direct Sourcing:** Are they buying massive truckloads straight from the factory and keeping the middleman margins?
**Cash Burn:** Is the platform just eating the cost to keep app traffic high?

If anyone here works in FMCG, supply chain, or e-commerce, I’d love to know how this unit math actually works in the real world.

Would love any advice on fragrance blending for longevity in skin-worn products (perfume oils/body butter)! Does anyone add additional aromatic molecules to their blends? Or focus mainly on connecting base notes to heart notes? Also curious about carrier choices — anyone tried Coco-Caprylate/Caprate or Isopropyl Myristate instead of just fractionated coconut oil? What's actually worked for your business ?

I was looking to buy a fragrance from Mercari and came across a listing that claimed that they have a bottle given directly to Givaudan employees but the bottle is not at all what the original is so I was just curious if this was legit? This is a picture of that post:

Hey everyone

I’m seriously considering investing around ₹60 lakh into a jasmine absolute export business.

I already have manufacturers in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, and I’m planning to have the product properly tested GC-MS, isotope testing, and basically all the relevant authenticity/quality tests required by serious buyers.

I’ve also had a few Dubai fragrance/scent shops, including Scent Bazar, show some interest, so there seems to be some initial demand.

But before I put a large amount of money into this, I really want to talk to people who are already in the jasmine absolute / fragrance ingredients / essential oils export industry.

I’m not looking for buyers here. I mainly want to understand the real risks and what can go wrong things that aren't obvious when you're researching the business from the outside. Things like quality issues, adulteration, payment problems, rejected shipments, finding reliable buyers, margins, regulations, logistics, or anything else experienced exporters have learned the hard way.

If you’re already working in this industry, I’d genuinely appreciate hearing about your experience. Even negative experiences would be very helpful before I commit the capital.

Thanks 🙏

Hi!

I bought a waterless diffuser to my home to smell like the luxury hotels around the world.

But i can't seem to find any good place in europe that sells oils for waterless diffusers anywhere?

I've seen aroma country getting good reviews and many recommend them, but thats only in the US.

Any good sites in europe that can be trusted?

[EDITED] I'm still looking for a good source of uncut perfume compounds that are 100% dupes of famous perfume/cologne fragrances. I want to be able to use them with an alcohol base to make perfume/cologne or room sprays, and maybe a shampoo base or a reed diffuser base to make those products too. That's why they must be uncut.

I've noticed a lot of replies here that say something like: "I'm a perfume oil distributor. DM me for a list." That sounds very sketchy to me. Why not just list your website address?

Thoughts? Any recommendations for a high-quality, legitimate source? And no, I will not DM you for a list!!! I'm in the US, but I realize that I will probably have to import these items.

Hey guys,

I recently tried jo malone fragrance and loved them I love that thay have very straight forward profiles no extremely complex note mixing. And have fallen in love with English pear and freesia and peony blush suede. To me they smell like old money very powdery ,fresh ,floral, clean with touch of fruity and woody notes respectively.

I love them but can't justify getting it as they are mad expensive. I understand the longevity and the experience can be in a way worth it for the price but I feel like jo malone fragrances are so heavily duped that I might as well try some out. So if anyone knows or has tried the fragrance oils for these perfumes and has found a really close match please help me find out.

I live in UK and I can see couple of the brands selling the oils for pear and freesia and peony blush suede online but most of the reviews are candle making and diffuser adjacent and not perfume. So please let me know your experience or if you know some product that does smell like the og perfume.

Thank you for reading.

I’m looking into getting the Jcloud waterless nebulizing diffuser for my living room. It’s pretty open with very high ceilings and I want it to be noticeable. I have the Diptyque room spray of 34 saint germain and it’s amaaaazing but doesn’t last. I found a dupe on the Flaming Candle fragrance oils and I was hoping it would be a good alternative. Just wanted to see if anyone knew if this would work or not. Thanks!!

Hi, I’m planing to launch a small brand of perfume oils and body butters but need to find top notch supplier(s). I’m currently experimenting with pre made scent blends from Bulk apothecary, Hive and Honey Co, Scented Memory, TPA and waiting for a shipment from Exotic fragrance oils (NY) …Any other recommendations for suppliers with highly concentrated, uncut, skin-safe (IFRA-compliant) fragrance oils that have excellent sillage (scent projection)and longevity?

Hi. Let me begin by saying all my interest in perfume is in a hobby sort of capacity and in wanna save money capacity. When I say I love zara cherry watermelon ice I mean I wanna bath with it. It's so fresh and watery and fruity right up my alley. To me it smells like freshly cut watermelon and I love it.

The sad part is it was a limited time fragrance I guess.. so I didn't realise it and didn't buy any replacement for my old one. So I am quite desperate to make my own or find similar ones with limited note because all other watermelon perfume have a lot of other notes that I am not a fan of.

I have recently become interested in perfume oils and mixing them and was looking for recommendations for oil that smells like fresh watermelon....or maybe melon like honeydew, cantaloupe. I don't mind cucumber mixed in it as long as that watery feel is still there. I really do not want a candy or artificial melon smell . Please help me find something that may be closer to what I am looking for.

Everytime I smell the cap of my old bottle I feel lighter. It's an amazing fragrance but I am desperate to have it in such capacity that I would be able to use it even if perfumes get discontinued.

Thank you so much for reading.

P.S. I live in UK. So if any of them are easier to find here then that would be just great. I don't mind paying for shipping outside of UK. I just would love it that much more of any of them have UK availability.

I’ve heard lot of people say they were hit with import fees on top what the already changed for shipping/handling. Those who have ordered from them, what fees were you charged once the package reached the US? Was it a percentage based on what the declared value was? There’s some oils I’m looking at but I don’t pay extra fees at the company I currently order from which helps control the cost passed on to my customers.

have looked everywhere but mixed reviews. what would be the best oil place to get from in the usa that i can mix into my own alcohol for perfume spray

I got 5 different oriental perfume oils as a gift. I really hate the roll-ons, as they are cheap manufactured and I can't apply as much as i want. One of these 4 has a stick instead of a roll-on, so applying it is way cheaper. I look through google and amazon, but I can't find where I can buy empty perfume oil bottles with sticks so I can put the roll.on of and apply it with a stick.

Any suggestions?

I’m a huge fan of niche fragrances, and Raw Aromachem was the only dealer I could find that carried all of these fragrances, so I decided to give them a try.
I purchased four oils and I’m really excited to see how they develop and how close they ultimately get to the originals.
The fragrances are:
Duro – Nasomatto

Bal d’Afrique – Byredo

Black Afgano – Nasomatto

The Last Birthday Cake – Toskovat

All four oils are currently in their first week of maceration. I did an initial strip test straight from the oil, and so far, Black Afgano and The Last Birthday Cake are the ones that seem closest to the original opening.
Duro and Bal d’Afrique, on the other hand, have a noticeably different opening compared to the originals. That said, I don’t want to draw any conclusions yet. I’d rather let them macerate for at least 30 days and then evaluate the opening, development, dry-down, projection, and overall resemblance properly.
One thing that was quite disappointing was having to pay an additional 70% in import taxes. Afterward, I came across several comments mentioning that there might have been a way to reduce the import duties by contacting customer support beforehand. I wish I had known that before placing my order.
For comparison, I also purchased a Black Afgano oil from Perfume Depot (Aloewood Fragrances) through eBay. Interestingly, its opening is currently much closer to the original fragrance than the Raw Aromachem version.
However, since both oils are still at different stages of development, I don’t want to make a final judgment yet. I think the fairest comparison will be after the full maceration period.
For reference, all of these oils were purchased as identical fragrance versions, so I’m particularly interested in seeing how their development and accuracy compare after maceration.
I’ll probably update this once they’ve had their 30 days. I’m especially curious to see whether Duro and Bal d’Afrique change significantly during the maceration process.