The rise of the €200+ perfume
With some spritzes costing more than a flight abroad, Rosie Green asks if sky-high prices are justified
Maybe it’s my advancing years, but I’m in permanent shock at spiralling prices. Five quid for a flat white? I remember when you could have a night out for that.
In the beauty sphere, it seems perfume is where costs are rising most rapidly. Last week I discovered the fragrances in Estée Lauder’s new Legacy range – a reworking of its classic scents, such as Knowing and White Linen, by renowned perfumer Frédéric Malle – are almost
€300 (The original versions of these scents, which are being phased out, are circa €100.) This is not unusual. Dior, Chanel, Lancôme and Giorgio Armani all have premium ranges that require a similar spend.
Fragrance expert and beauty journalist Alice du Parcq, who is described as ‘the industry’s go-to scent-fluencer’, says ‘70 per cent of the new launches I’ve come across recently have been in the €180 to €240 area. It’s not shocking any more.’
She also says there have always been crazily priced perfumes ‘that come encrusted with jewels or in handblown Murano glass’ which run into tens of thousands and are for the very rich. They become like ‘prized possessions, a sort of modern
alternative to a stuffed rhino’s head above your fireplace.’
OK, but the €240 bottles on my desk are aimed at normal people.
The brands, it seems, are responding to demand. Market research company The NPD Group reports sales of fragrances with a price tag of over €150 made up 11 per cent of perfume sales in the first half of 2022, compared to seven per cent in the first half of 2021. And the trend has continued upwards.
Why are people buying them? Founder of Bliss and Beauty Pie Marcia Kilgore says, ‘People want a perfume that feels special. It’s a “stealth” luxury – and the kind that’s a treat just for you.’
Does Kilgore think the high prices are justified? No. ‘In the luxury beauty world it’s widely accepted that products are sold for up to ten times what they cost to make. There can be a lot of very expensive extras that come with the making of high-end scents, from ads starring A-list stars to cut-glass bottles – all of which you’re paying for but they won’t make you smell any better. OK, higher costs are hammering us all, but how much mark-up is charged is up to the brands.’
Du Parcq defends the cost of (most) expensive scents, saying much of the value is based on ‘the quantity of extracts needed, labour, sustainability, painstaking harvest methods, the sheer time it takes to macerate and yield the extracts. Plus, the skill of a genius master perfumer.’ She also makes a case that quality scents have increased longevity, often lasting through the evening, deep into the night and you can even smell them on your wrist the following morning.
Ultimately, what you spend is up to you – whether it’s a bargain or a precious purchase to treasure. But if you do indulge, just don’t get it confiscated at customs (I speak from experience).