What Your Nose May Not Know

Some people are "perfume people".  They look forward to seasonal launches, read extensive blogs on the subject, attend Sniffpalooza events...I'm just not one of them, though I always thought it would be divine to have a "signature scent".  Ultimately, I'm fickle and what I enjoy wearing in the winter, is not the same thing I feel like spritzing on in the summer on a 90 degree day with 100 humidity.  As, well there are really only a handful of fragrances that I think smell good on me.  I love certain fragrances like Hermes 24  Faubourg.  If you are wearing it around me, I may have to refrain from nuzzling your neck. On me??? Meh.

My post college, N.Y.C. roommate Lori, is a devoted fragrance aficionado.  She has been telling me for quite some time about an online resource called The Fragrance Shop, that supplies replicas of all of her favorite scents, as pure perfume oil at a fraction of the price.  The Fragrance Shop is a family owned business out of North Carolina, run with devotion by the Kay famil since 1996.  They were kind enought at Lori's behest to send me two of my favorite "types" to sample; Parisienne and First. 

I finally understood what Lori was raving about!  There is a distinctly "clean" smell to these fragrances that smelled nearly identical to two of my faves.  In the case of the "First", it actually smells better!   They both last signifcantly longer and travel beautifully.  I get it and I am grateful!

I found their backstory and explaination of their process compelling.  For those of you who will be skimming, I highlighted the essence of each passage:
What's wrong with your perfume?

EVERYTHING! Over-sweet or fruity at first, heavy and earthy later and all gone in an only hour or two. Let us introduce you to your fragrance the way it was meant to be. Pure perfume without alcohol or other useless fillers. Discover what the Designer had in mind - smooth, long-lasting, rich, balanced and full of luscious aroma - Pure perfume.


We have - or can blend for you - every important Designer fragrance in pure oil form . We also have an exhaustive selection of domestic and imported essential and fragrant oils.

If a scent you want is not in our extensive collection, we are also master fragrance blenders, replicating rare and out-of-production fragrances for hundreds of customers around the world. Interested in replicating a fragrance? Visit our Fragrance Replication page to get started, or for more information on this unique service.

Under Control

Pure fragrance oils are far more sophisticated than perfume with fillers. Never offensive or overpowering, long lasting and balanced. They occupy only your own private space and leave a gentle trail only where you choose.

Pure Fragrance Is Better For You

Just like jewelry, pure fragrance oils vary tremendously in quality. We have put an enormous amount of effort into selecting the best possible quality pure fragrance oils of every type. If you have been to The Fragrance Shop, there is no need to explain. But, for those of you who have not visited us, here is what makes the difference:

Just Say 'NO' To Alcohol

All commercially available "fragrances" are actually fragrance oils with fillers. The fillers are usually mostly alcohol, sometimes with water.

The alcohol filler has two main purposes:

First, and foremost, it causes the fragrance oils to evaporate faster than they would by themselves - up to 10 or 15 times more quickly! This gives the impression that the perfume is 10 or 15 times stronger than it actually is. That's why, when you first put on a fragrance, the aroma may sometimes seem overwhelming to those around you. It is also why the scent is almost all gone within one or two hours. The pure fragrance oils have evaporated along with the alcohol!

The second reason for all those fillers is just 'good' marketing -- a bigger bottle containing fragrance plus fillers seems like a much better value than a smaller one of pure oil. This illusion is further reinforced by the strong, short-lasting, alcohol driven aroma.

What's Wrong With Alcohol Anyway?

It doesn't smell very nice and tends to kill off some of the nicest notes in many fragrances which in their pure form are truly delicious.

It is not very good for you. Perfume fillers generally use ethyl alcohol, sometimes called ethanol. Your body considers ethanol to be a poison and many people who think they are allergic to perfume are actually allergic to the alcohol in the perfume.

Alcohol is a drying agent used by industries all over the world as an additive to make things evaporate very quickly. Unfortunately for you, as the alcohol evaporates, it also takes away the fragrance and your own natural body oils along with it, drying your skin as it goes!

With Pure Fragrance, your scent can last all day long

Our fragrance oils last on both your person and your dressing table as well. Pure fragrance oils last most people 6 to 24 hours, depending upon skin type, evaporating naturally during the course of the day or evening. But, just as important, pure fragrance oils will also last and last in the bottle. Many people are not aware that perfumes with fillers spoil! Industry experts say 6 to 18 months is the usual shelf-life of a perfume, depending on the components and their quality. But, pure fragrance oils will retain their fragrance year after year.


Because of the mystique surrounding the fragrance industry, you might think that fragrances are the private property of the Designers, but the courts have held that fragrance is something that belongs to nature and not to any individual. Therefore a fragrance cannot be patented or copyrighted and a manufacturer cannot prevent someone else from matching or improving upon any aroma in whole or in part.

Of course, the brand name of a Designer fragrance can be copyrighted or registered and others may not use that name to their profit. That is why we are so careful to point out that we are not offering the orginal Designer Fragrances - Our versions are clearly labeled with the term "- type" to make the difference clear.

We are very proud of what we do

Day after day, customers tell us our versions smell better than the originals. Perhaps the lack of alcohol or, in some cases, higher quality oils makes the difference. Ounce for ounce, our perfume bottles contain fifteen to twenty times as much pure perfume oil as the typical Eau de Toilette, but choosing pure fragrance oils is not so much a question of saving money, as it is of getting your money's worth.

I must admit, I am very impressed and would not hesitate to try other of their versions of  "my" perfumes.  Who knows???  Maybe without "alcohol and fillers" 24 Faubourg "type" might become my "signature scent" after all...

xox,
DD