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From: bzs@bu-cs.UUCP (Barry Shein)
Newsgroups: net.consumers
Subject: Re: Cheap copies of brand-name perfumes
Message-ID: <838@bu-cs.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 4-Jan-86 21:13:11 EST
Article-I.D.: bu-cs.838
Posted: Sat Jan  4 21:13:11 1986
Date-Received: Mon, 6-Jan-86 03:28:30 EST
References: <128@pedsgo.UUCP>
Organization: Boston Univ Comp. Sci.
Lines: 76

In the mid-70s I worked in the 'counterfeit' perfume business, both
training people and mixing tho mostly from cookbooks from a master
perfumer on the staff (I won't mention his name, but his credentials
were impeccable.)

Well, the answer to 'knock-off' or whatever you call those perfumes
which claim to be the same only cheaper w/o the fancy labels etc is
complicated, I will only consider the case where you are dealing with
a reputable company (ours was although counterfeiting was not our major
source of revenue, it was more an amusement for a line of generic
fragrances, something to do with customers at the counter):

	a) No matter what perfumers claim, most perfume sources are
	synthetic, likely originating from Int'l Flavors and Fragrances,
	I forget the reason but the perfume industry has some deal with
	the govt that allows them to lie about this. This is true even
	of expensive, big name perfumes (I heard from an old-timer that
	that wonderful aroma from a freshly opened coffee-can also originates
	at IFF, that the coffee industry was granted that little lie during
	WWII to keep people happy with second-rate coffee and no one has
	removed it from the books, I don't know if it's true, but it's
	an example of this sort of collusion.)

	b) There is an expression in the perfume industry: "The most
	expensive part of a perfume is the bottle", consider the
	Lalique crystal bottles etc, it's probably almost always
	true (next would probably come advertising.)

	c) There *are* however expenses and secret formulas involved,
	knock-offs can only approximate. A very common side effect of
	a cheap imitation is that it smells very good in the bottle
	(heavens forbid, when wafted through the air after being dipped
	onto an absorbant swizzle stick! never the bottle :-) When you
	rub some into your skin and it combines with body heat and
	chemistry the effect may be different. This may range from it
	being too short lasting, too strong odored or even just plain
	changing into something unpleasant.

	d) No, the perfume industry does not bother to sue these copy-cats.
	Their motto seems to be 'imitation is the finest form of flattery'.
	They consider perfume a status symbol and no one who would really
	buy their expensive products would buy a knock-off, only 'common'
	people do that (needless to say, it is a *very* snotty business.)
	Besides, the copycats have never seemed to really cut into their
	business as they figure it, probably for exactly the reasons they
	state (status.) Yes, you could put your copy into a real bottle
	from an initial purchase and who would know but, as the carpenter
	who assiduously oiled and rubbed the parts of his furniture no
	one would ever see said "I (you) would know".

I think, from experience, that the two most important factors in
choosing a counterfeit perfume, if you are so inclined, are the
reputability of the counterfeiter and whether the particular perfume
lends itself to being successfully copied, some do better than others.
As I remember, Chanel No 5 was easy to copy, Bal A Versailles (sp?)
was hard, Joy was probably easy except to a very descriminating nose
(in which case they retched), Y by Yves St Laurent was quite easy,
Shalimar could be mimicked by rubbing your entire body with twinkies
and letting it ferment for a while :-)

How to choose a good source is the hardest, I for one would not consider
ordering such a product by mail. I would go somewhere I could smell it
and then buy the smallest possible amount and try it for a while. If you
did that and had some other people you could trust for an opinion (seriously
folks, if you think you wear perfume for others, ask them once in a while
what they think!) how wrong could you go? You're only talking probably a
$10 risk unless you couldn't stand the thought of being discovered (I have
often been known to remark loudly at a party "Ok, who's the wise guy
wearing the cheap J'Reviens knock-off..c'mon, fess up!")

As Shakespeare once said "A woman smells best when she smells least".
(No, I am not sure he said that, I should look it up.)

	-Barry Shein, Boston University

Gee, ya learn some pretty weird things traveling through life...