Perfumes For Less

here was a time, not that long ago, when cheap perfume was deemed - usually correctly - to be of an inferior quality, and was much maligned for its cloying, nauseating and overpowering fragrant properties.

In literary works the world over, unpleasant or lowly female characters were often described as leaving a "waft of cheap perfume" as they passed by. Consequently, people came to associate cheap perfume with a certain social class and even with a certain way of behaving.

However, more recently, two things have happened to change the way in which cheap perfumes are perceived by the public.

Firstly, perfume production technology has moved forward in leaps and bounds, and the social stigma of wearing cheap perfume has faded in direct proportion to the steady improvement in the quality of readily available inexpensive scents.

In the 21st century, people are far more likely to spray themselves unashamedly with perfumes costing up to four or five times less than the big brand names. This is mainly due to refined production processes and superior quality constituents - not to mention huge economies of scale that allow good quality perfumes to be sold at heavily discounted prices.

Whereas previously cheap fragrances either rapidly lost their scent completely or slowly turned acidic, making them unpleasant to be around, the purer essential oils used in today's perfume production mean that hormone and sweat-induced chemical changes in perfume after its applied to skin are no longer such an issue.

The second factor that has undoubtedly encouraged society's acceptance of cheap perfume is the credit crunch. When our finances are stretched, life's little luxuries tend to be the first thing to bite the dust.

And, whether we like it or not, leading brand perfumes and other toiletries definitely fall into the luxury category. As a result, most of us would consider it frankly irresponsible to spend £40 or £50 on a single (and often rather small) bottle of perfume - no matter how attractive the packaging, how beautifully sculpted the glass of the bottle, or how beguilingly golden the contents.

As a result, the fragrance-buying public - at least, all but the very richest of them - abandoned their highly perfumed principles and contemplated bottles and atomisers in a price range that might not previously have attracted their attention. They found themselves pleasantly surprised by what they found...

Of course, there was the inevitable "merchandise" - fragrant offerings fronted by the latest hot pop idols and film stars. However, there was also a wide range of perfectly pleasant (and completely non-clawing) scents that had the further advantage of being eminently affordable.

It transpired that there were inexpensive perfumes for all occasions - from light, spring-like scents perfect for daytime wear through to heavier, more sensual fragrances for seductive soirees. Better still, they didn't fade swiftly away into oblivion, and nor did they "turn nasty" after a while. In short, they proved to be great value, which is precisely what impoverished perfume purchasers need in times of austerity.

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