Fragrance Sales

[lucycat]

Although I normally like sales on fragrances I have been surprised at how many sales and for how long that have lasted. I feel like something is going on in the fragrance industry that I am clueless about. Have you noticed the frequent sales and do you have any idea why?

I got a notice from Fragrance Buddy today on a sale on 6 new scents. The stunner was that they were about $15 per pound. Camden-Gray, NDA, WSP, BB all seem to have a sale right now on fragrances.

 

[MelissaG]

Because their prices are going up and people are buying less. Perpetual sales is a bad sales tactic and it looks bad. They just need to adjust their prices. I do. I lowered my prices a dollar because it sells better. It's not a sale, it's just a lower price. I want to stay in business. I'm willing to adjust to make sure I do so.

 

[Nona'sFarm]

My observation is that there are always fragrances on sale, either because of the seasonal nature of many scents or they are over stocked. In this way they make room in their warehouses for other fragrances. Rarely do I see all of a supplier's fragrances on sale and then it's usually just 10% off vs. 30%-50%.

 

[paradisi]

Although I normally like sales on fragrances I have been surprised at how many sales and for how long that have lasted. I feel like something is going on in the fragrance industry that I am clueless about. Have you noticed the frequent sales and do you have any idea why?

I got a notice from Fragrance Buddy today on a sale on 6 new scents. The stunner was that they were about $15 per pound. Camden-Gray, NDA, WSP, BB all seem to have a sale right now on fragrances.

Also Maple Street , NG, Flaming Candle.

Looks like the WSP-consortium is doing some contraction and maybe the others are "right sizing" a bit as well; a lot of the sales are closeouts.

 

[lucycat]

Also Maple Street , NG, Flaming Candle.

Looks like the WSP-consortium is doing some contraction and maybe the others are "right sizing" a bit as well; a lot of the sales are closeouts.

I have looked at some closeouts and several have IFRA lower than 5%. I was surprised that BB is closing out Kentish Rain that I used for a lot of years. Getting a good strong fragrance with current IFRA requirements may be difficult to do.

 

[not_ally]

I was surprised that BB is closing out Kentish Rain that I used for a lot of years.

That was a nice FO. And strong (although a pretty good accelerator if I am remembering correctly). Has BB reformulated a lot of FOs in the last few years?

 

[lucycat]

BB seems to be quietly reformulating for IFRA 49. They have a line Additional details on the description page and are noting when reformulated for IFRA 49. I am currently testing the OMH reformulated 12/2023 and the lilac (10/2023), and cherry almond (5/2023) three scents that I had used in the past. The tests were 2/18 and 2/24 so not fully cured. The scents are changing so I am not really sure about any of them. I also ordered the Saffron and Cedar but haven't tested it yet. OOB it seems about the same, maybe a touch lighter.

OMH - BB's old formulation had some almond but a strong bakery top note and nice base. So far, the bottom notes are about the same, maybe a bit less almond but the top notes are subtle. It is discoloring more a light brown, a shade or two darker than the old. I tested at 1 oz ppo and it is lighter than the old soaped at .8 oz ppo (which was ok with IFRA 48). The scent seems to be getting fuller as it is curing so I am hoping that the scent will work.
Lilac - I had always thought BB's lilac was sweeter than others and that the sweetness was what caused it to sell so well. The test has changed quite a bit over the last couple weeks. Absolutely no discoloration, at first whiff some sweetness and lilac, but then a bad cheap perfume bottom note and notes that affect my sinus. I like strong scents but this may be a scent that needs to be fragranced lighter. My test was at 1 oz ppo. The bottom notes are going to have to improve a lot before I would consider it.
Cherry almond - The old was so strong I usually soaped at .33 oz ppo (when IFRA 48 was the standard). This test was at 1 oz ppo and is probably correct strength. This seems sweeter. It is discoloring darker, more to a medium goldish tan. Today there is an artificial note I don't like but less today than when first made. It needs at least 3 more weeks to evaluate.

 

[not_ally]

@lucycat, that is very useful. I know a lot of FO's have changed MURs post IFRA 49. Sometimes I don't catch that the MUR has dropped significantly until after I've ordered something I've used for a long time, which is pretty annoying. And there are others suppliers like Candle Science where it seemed like they did a lot of reformulations in the couple of years before IFRA 49 (maybe because they eliminated phthalates?) and it changed their scents a lot.

There was one CS FO that I really liked, Mediterranean Fig, beautiful/green floral/strong sticker that I have not ordered in the year since I started soaping again because I have seen so many comments on the CS reformulation issue. There have been a lot of changes in the FO world in the last decade, it must be hard for the suppliers as well. But I wish they were more transparent about them.

ETA: this kindled my curiosity, the Mediterranean Fig MUR has dropped to 2-3%! So that's a no for me even if it smells the same as it did before. Rats.

 

[paradisi]

@lucycat, that is very useful. I know a lot of FO's have changed MURs post IFRA 49. Sometimes I don't catch that the MUR has dropped significantly until after I've ordered something I've used for a long time, which is pretty annoying. And there are others suppliers like Candle Science where it seemed like they did a lot of reformulations in the couple of years before IFRA 49 (maybe because they eliminated phthalates?) and it changed their scents a lot.

There was one CS FO that I really liked, Mediterranean Fig, beautiful/green floral/strong sticker that I have not ordered in the year since I started soaping again because I have seen so many comments on the CS reformulation issue. There have been a lot of changes in the FO world in the last decade, it must be hard for the suppliers as well. But I wish they were more transparent about them.

Transparency is the big issue with me. Reading historic reviews and even the scents' descriptions are now often a waste of time to me.

If sellers would note the reformulation date, and edit the descriptions, to reflect current behavior and scent, that would help a lot. Who wants to buy a pig in a poke?

As it is, I now figure any fo first made before a year or two ago to be probably a lot different from how it's represented. And maybe a waste of my time & effort.

With eo's, IFRA levels may change but the oils themselves still smell and behave as before.

So clearing out fragrance oils that IFRA have made redundant makes sense. But some of the sales are across the board. It does seem odd.

 

[lucycat]

@lucycat, that is very useful. I know a lot of FO's have changed MURs post IFRA 49. Sometimes I don't catch that the MUR has dropped significantly until after I've ordered something I've used for a long time, which is pretty annoying. And there are others suppliers like Candle Science where it seemed like they did a lot of reformulations in the couple of years before IFRA 49 (maybe because they eliminated phthalates?) and it changed their scents a lot.

There was one CS FO that I really liked, Mediterranean Fig, beautiful/green floral/strong sticker that I have not ordered in the year since I started soaping again because I have seen so many comments on the CS reformulation issue. There have been a lot of changes in the FO world in the last decade, it must be hard for the suppliers as well. But I wish they were more transparent about them.

Part of the reason you didn't notice was because it wasn't on the website that it changed until after you ordered it. I have a couple fragrances I purchased thinking ok and then they were changed.

 

[MelissaG]

If there's a particular fragrance you want that's no longer sold or going off market, you can probably find someone to dupe it provided you have at least two ounces on hand to give them.