Here I am and feeling very satisfied. Yesterday I was off to Norrköping to shop for the gift check that I won.
It was me and two of my daugthers that went to Norrköping. First we visited a really nice second hand store, where I manage to find a lot of nice clothes for almost no money at all. I´ve got two tank tops, a bare shoulder top and a hood sweater for about 15 euro. Middle daugther manage to get an entire wardrobe with shoes, dresses, shirts and tops for about 50 euro. I really love second hand stores, and the one i Norrköping is one of my faves.
After that it was time for Kicks (Kicks is a Swedish cosmetics, skincare and perfume chain). I usually never buy perfume over desk in Sweden, but still have some idea about the prices and supply. And, yes I tested a lot of perfumes, even though some of them was so discrete and neutral that I forget that I´ve had tested them. After a while there was three different scents that wanted to follow me home; Kenzo Amour Le Parfum, Prada´s Ambre and JP. Gaultier´s Fleur de Male. When I discovered that the Prada scent wasn´t available I decided to buy both Kenzo and Gaultier even though the final sum was a little more then 100 euro. It´s also nice to bring home a frag that both me and my husband can use.
But it is after all a little shocking to discover that perfumes that I can find on the net for as little as 10 or 20 euro are as expensive as 70 euro in Swedish stores. I´ve noticed that a lot of customers at Kicks seem to be young, trendy girls. Aren´t they aware of internet and the huge price differences? This makes me wonder how usual perfume store manage to survive considering the rivalry from net-retailers?
I was also so naive that i thought I would get me some nice perfume samples since I support the store with more than 100 euro, but no, the girl in the cashier shrugged, they didn´t have any. But she gave me a small skin care sample at least. Wow, I´ve got 1,5 ml face cream for free! I find it a little starnge, since I heard of perfumista friends all over the world that gets a lot of free sampels whenever they buy a bottle of perfume. Why isn´t that common in sweden? Or maybe I had only some bad luck? Otherwise I think some "goodies" to bring home are a great way to make customers to become returning customers.
Well, it was a great day anyway.
Since i´ve had so much luck I´ll host a little draw. Leave a comment and I will draw two winners that´ll get some samples from my newest scents and maybe some decants as well and a little this and that that i find in my drawers. And maybe I´ll even throw in a small sample of face cream. Don´t miss it! ;) I´ll draw two winners totally on friday morning (9/7) and please in the comment tell me where you usually shop for perfumes and if you have had some particually nice or bad perfume shopping experiences?
Prenumerera på:
Kommentarer till inlägget (Atom)
Oh, a draw! I want in. :)
SvaraRaderaLately, I usually buy almost everything online - different sites, there is something interesting to be found on almost all of them.
And if I feel like spending more money, I visit one of the 2 niche stores here. Which are both really good (and unfortunately expensive but can't be different since they carry such stuff).
I have had some interesting shopping experiences to say the least.
SvaraRaderaIn Australia we very rarely get free samples of anything. They will only be generous in stores if you spend over $150.00, and sometimes you'll leave with 2 or 3 cheap samples.
It is believed that the staff usually take the samples that are made available to them by the manufacturers, leaving none for the customers. We don't have a Sephora here either that makes up samples. Even using tester sprays gets you a dirty glare from a sales assistant, especially if the tester bottles are behind glass cabinents.
From experience I've noticed that many customers here in Australia very rarely test a fragrance before buying. We are a frivolous nation that hands over the cash without thought a majority of the time.
I know what you are saying! In the USA too, the cost of perfume at stores is very high in comparison to online. But I do like to support local businesses when I can--it's hard to strike a balance.
SvaraRaderaPlease enter me in the draw! Thanks!
Hi, I hate when I buy something (spend so much money) and don't get any free samples. UH! :)
SvaraRaderaSince I was unemployed for quite a lot of time I couldn't afford to buy in the stores so I found forums :) and internet stores and that simply great! 50% off :) No need free samples there hahaha
I think I became sample freak in a way that I am more happy with 10 different samples than with 1 decant... :) I collect them like crazy :)
In a way, I am happy that there is expiring date because I am sure I wouldn't be able to stop collecting samples (and perfumes). having in mind that I should keep perfumes for cca 3 years - I try to use them more and buy them less... Although I have around 26 of them :D
Yeah I have the same experience here, too. As much as I generally prefer the brick-and-mortar experience, it's just so much more expensive!
SvaraRaderaI shop mostly online too, various European and US sites, I like them all. There are about 1 or 2 normal shops where certain mainstream perfumes (e.g. by Cacharel) cost very cheap.
SvaraRaderaI haven't had any too bad experiences with fragrance shopping, except bad feeling sometimes when I'm only testing lots of things and the shop assistant is spending a lot of time trying to sell me things and finally I don't buy it. And another experience, when I paid certain online store for 2 perfumes and I didn't get anything - it was a scam, I tried to contact them, but nothing worked.
I do 100% of my perfume shopping online... since I am now located in Taiwan. It is tough to find sites that ship perfume overseas. Colette was skimp on samples the first time I ordered, but on future orders I'd request fragrance samples (which they didn't have but threw in others).. overall I'm fairly content with what I am able to get over the internet these days... lol
SvaraRaderaInes: Yes, if I spend (my own) money on perfume I use either internet or visit the stores in stockholm that carries niche perfume (they are often quite difficult to find cheaper anyway). Of course I enter you in the draw.
SvaraRaderaAnonym: I suspect that can be the case in sweden to. And also that a lot of people just buy whatever seem to be most popular, without thinking about their own taste or have any idea about skin chemistry and so on.
SvaraRaderaI´m entering you in the draw.
La Bonne Vivante: Yes, I would love to support the local perfume store here in my own town, but since they don´t have that much to offer and the prices are so much higher I don´t. :(
SvaraRaderaYou´re being entered in the draw.
Bellatrix: For each perfume bottle I buy I think I buy at least ten times as many samples (or swap). I love sampling, and since i´ve got so many samples and decants by now I won´t use them up in ages anyway.
SvaraRaderaYou´re entered in the draw. good luck!
Diana: It´s a pleasure just to look and hold the bottles I think, and that´s a part thats gone missing when buying on the net. With all this sampling and swapping going on, I guess perfume manufacturers must change their way of doing business, just like music artists and producers had to meet the rivaltry from file charing.
SvaraRaderaYou´re in the draw.
solocha: Fortunatly I usually don´t have enough money to buy perfumes on impuls, which is good cause otherwise i think I would buy a lot only not to make the sales person happy.
SvaraRaderaI´m entering you in the draw.
womo531: Yes, and I´ve also noticed that some shops that ships internationally will charge a ,lot of money for shipping, in some cases as much as the perfume bottle costs and that so sad.
SvaraRaderaI´ve enter you in the draw, good luck.
Hi Rebella! I agree! I don't understand how these retail shops survive - except perhaps on impulse purchases. I just purchased a bottle of Eau de Sisley #3 online for $99 (US) - free shipping and no tax. But Neiman Marcus sells the same bottle for $165. If I wanted to purchase it online from Neiman's, I would pay $181 with tax and shipping. Huh? Crazy! That's over $80 more than what I spent for the exact same product! I know these discount online retailers are not sanctioned by the perfume companies - the gray market is controversial...but it exists...and as consumers, if we can find the same product for less somewhere else, we'll buy it. Most of the niche perfumes are not available at discounters, though. I also shop online for niche fragrances since I live too far away from any good perfume shops.
SvaraRaderaCongrats on all your good luck! :-) And thanks for offering the draw!
Karin: Most stores sells cosmetics, skin-and haircare as well, I think they make most of their money on that, rather than on perfumes.
SvaraRaderaMaybe a big part of the consumers have really good economy and at the same time very little (if non) knowledge of internet?
The one thing that can be a little bad is that high quality brands will loose money and in the long run canb´t afford to launch new high quality scents... But all kinds of buisness has been and will be influenced by the power of the internet.
In Sweden we have some good perfume shopping in Stockholm, but where I live there is only mainstream brands available and some high end (at very, very high prices).