Part 10 - Expensive Fragrances Always Contain Better Ingredients THE MYTH: "If this fragrance costs $400 and that one costs $100, the $400 bottle must contain better ingredients." THE REALITY: A higher price can reflect costly materials, but the retail price alone doesn’t reveal the ingredient budget or the quality of the composition. You can’t work backward from the price tag and know what went into the formula. THE EXPLANATION: Let’s give expensive materials their credit. Certain natural extracts, specialty materials, and particular grades can be costly to obtain and produce. A brand may invest in those materials, and that investment can contribute to the finished fragrance. But the liquid is only part of what you’re buying. The price also supports the bottle, packaging, development, production, distribution, marketing, business overhead, and profit. Different brands organize and price those things differently. Without reliable information about a specific formula, we shouldn’t assume we know how much of the purchase price went toward fragrance materials. We also need to separate an ingredient’s cost from how well it works in a perfume. An expensive material can bring beautiful qualities to a composition. It can also be poorly balanced, overwhelmed by other materials, or used in a way that doesn’t appeal to you. An affordable material can play an essential role and help create an excellent fragrance. Being widely available or economical doesn’t make it inferior. Think about cooking: buying an expensive ingredient doesn’t automatically make someone a better cook. The selection, proportions, and execution still matter. The same caution applies when a fragrance advertises a prestigious ingredient. Naming rose absolute, oud, or orris doesn’t tell you its exact grade, quantity, or contribution to the finished scent. And smelling expensive is an impression, not a laboratory finding. When I describe a fragrance as refined, smooth, or luxurious, I’m describing my experience of the blend.

#sotd... Erolfa by Creed... This is a fresh, marine, and aromatic chypre fragrance. Erolfa opens with a combination of citrus, herbal, and oceanic accords. The mid and dry down goes into a rich, old-money woodiness. As with alot of Creed fragrances, the performance is sub-par. Okay projection for the first hour then it tends to drop off and start to become more intimate. I get around 4 hours for longevity. I enjoy the scent and give this an 8 out of 10. Performance is the only thing holding this back but I can appreciate it for what it is. Interesting fact: The name, Erolfa, is an acronym created using the first letters of the names of Olivier Creed's immediate family members: • ER: Erwin Creed (Olivier's son, 7th generation perfumer) • OL: Olivia Creed (Olivier's daughter and visual artist) • FA: Fabienne (Erwin and Olivia's mother)