Why luxe fragrances are worth purchasing

You invest in your health. You invest in your skin care. So why not invest in your scent? After all, the perfect juice can allow you to leave a lasting impression, as well as reignite memories and become a signature part of who you are.

But are luxurious fragrances really worth purchasing? And why are deluxe scented liquids so expensive? Erica Moore knows why. As a fragrance evaluator at Fragrances of the World, she is well educated when it comes to depicting the differences between lavish scents and mass-market juices, and she certainly knows quality is definitely worth the investment.

3 REASONS LUXURY FRAGRANCES ARE WORTH PURCHASING

#1. A lot of research and time goes into creating them

Amazingly, luxurious fragrances aren’t born in an instant. “The longer a perfumer has to develop, evaluate, modify, rework and re-evaluate the formulations of a fragrance, the better the result will be,” adds Erica. A luxury brand also generally employs the services of an in-house perfumer, which means they can work directly with the perfumer until the fragrance is finalised. “Luxury brands often have a more liberal budget to work with, and also have time on their sides. An in-house perfumer could spend months or even longer developing and perfecting a fragrance formulation.”

#2. They contain expensive ingredients

According to Erica, a distinguishing aspect of luxury fragrances is that the percentage concentration of the juice is generally higher. “Natural florals are possibly the most expensive materials on a perfumers palette,” says Erica. (Think rose, jasmine, orris – the root of an iris – and orange blossom.) “The expense of natural materials comes down primarily to cost of processing and producing the plants, and converting them into a usable format.”

Up to 10,000kg of roses may be required to create one kilo of rose oil, so when you consider the cost of harvesting, picking and processing this large volume of flowers for such a low yield, you can see why these ingredients are so expensive. However, thanks to advanced technology and the production of sophisticated synthetic raw materials, Erica says the fragrance world is also seeing some very expensive synthetic raw materials being used to improve the performance of a luxury perfume.

#3. High quality ingredients are extremely beneficial in a perfume

Simply put, better quality raw materials do improve the performance and efficacy of a scent. “A good analogy for this is fashion,” explains Erica. “We can generally expect more expensive designer clothing and accessories to have better design, better quality fabric, and maybe even some hand-finished touches.  Everything across the board is improved. Fragrance is similar – there may be elements that are on par with a less expensive product, but the overall effect is an improved performance.”

Storage sidenote...

Regardless of the cost of your juice, if you don’t store it correctly, it’ll never last. If you want to get the best from your fragrance (read: note strength, sillage and longevity) keep it away from heat, light and air. Extreme temperatures and direct sunlight destroy the formulation of a fragrance long before its time, so it’s never a good idea to store your scent in the warmest room of the house. Fragrances don’t like the cold either – anything below five degrees is too cold, says Erica. Obviously this isn’t something we need to worry about too much in Australia, but if you’re planning on an overseas trip during winter, it might be wise to leave you expensive juice at home.

Do you spend a lot of money on fragrances? What’s your favourite luxe perfume?