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I had a pretty great WIN today. A fragrance order arrived from my SA (Sales Associate), and when I opened the package I found an absolutely ridiculous assortment of samples, discovery sets and gifts from houses throughout the fragrance department. 😂 And then came the biggest surprise: A full 50ml tester bottle of Golden Wood from The Harmonist. 😳 That one stopped me. My SA is actually with Armani. He’s also the person who first introduced me to The Harmonist, and I’ve since become a fan of the house and added several of their fragrances to my collection. But I don’t have a relationship with The Harmonist SA. I’ve never even met them. When I asked my guy about the bottle, he told me he’d gone over to The Harmonist and their SA offered the 50ml Golden Wood for me, explaining that these bottles were generally being reserved for their top clients. Apparently they know me through him. And THAT is where this became about much more than a free bottle of fragrance. I’ve spent my entire professional life in sales and building a business, and one lesson has followed me through all of it: Relationships matter. Building them matters. Maintaining them matters. Taking care of people matters. And loyalty has to work in both directions. We live in a world where it’s incredibly easy to go online, type in the name of something we want, sort by price and buy from whoever happens to be cheapest that day. And sometimes that’s perfectly fine. But I’ve never believed that the lowest price automatically means you got the best deal. My SA knows I’m a fragrance enthusiast. He knows what I own and is learning what I like. He’s willing to walk me away from his own Armani counter and introduce me to other houses and other SAs simply because he thinks there’s something I should experience. That’s actually how I discovered The Harmonist in the first place. And I try to reciprocate. Whenever possible, I make sure my business goes through him. He also knows my wife is every bit as interested in fragrance as I am. So while putting together this frankly absurd assortment of things for me to explore 😂, he made sure there were things specifically for her as well. That may sound like a small detail. It isn’t.

There’s been a lot of talk lately about the decline in participation here, so I figured I’d throw my two cents in. For me, I comment when I actually have something to add. If I own the fragrance, have sampled it, smelled it at a counter, know the house, or I’m interested in trying it, I’ll usually jump in. I like comparisons, first impressions, SOTDs with some substance, unpopular opinions, performance talk, clones versus originals, new releases, and anything that can actually turn into a conversation. But I also think the lack of engagement goes a little deeper than the posts themselves. I think people have become too sensitive to criticism and disagreement. A respectful difference of opinion is not disrespect. We are not all going to smell the same thing, like the same thing, or agree on what is better. That is actually where a lot of the learning comes from. I also think some good brothers have left because disagreements turned into resentment instead of just being disagreements. That is unfortunate. You should be able to tell me you completely disagree with my take on a fragrance, explain why, and we both move on. Maybe I even learn something from you. There is also a little selfishness with engagement. Some people want everybody commenting on their posts, but you rarely see them interacting with anyone else’s. If everybody only participates when they are the one posting, then eventually there is no real community. I have also heard people blame the AI bot for some of the decline. I think that is kind of ridiculous. I understand why people do not like the regurgitating and automatic bot engagement. I am actually not a fan of that part myself. But one comment from a bot does not prevent experienced brothers or newcomers from adding their own thoughts. If ten guys want to have a real conversation underneath it, the bot did not stop that. The human engagement is still up to us. Then I hear about the paid portion of the platform. I have not seen anybody kicked out of the Brotherhood because they did not participate in the paid side.

How Fragrance Buyers Really Buy: Clones, Designers, Niche, and Artisan One thing I have noticed after being around fragrances for a long time is that people do not all buy fragrances for the same reason. There actually is some factual support for this. The fragrance market has different types of buyers, and price, value, brand recognition, exclusivity, craftsmanship, and discovery all play a part in what people purchase. What I do not think works is simply saying, "clone buyers are cheap buyers" or "niche buyers have better taste." It is much more complicated than that. You have one group that I would call the value and variety buyer. This is where a lot of Middle Eastern fragrance brands, clone houses, inexpensive designers and discounter fragrances fit. This buyer may look at a $200 fragrance and think, "Why would I spend $200 on one bottle when I can get three or four fragrances for the same money?" For them, value matters. Performance matters. Variety matters. That helps explain the popularity of houses like Lattafa, Armaf, Paris Corner and similar brands. It also explains why many of these same buyers will pick up inexpensive designers, rack-store fragrances and discounted older designer releases. They are not necessarily chasing the perfumer, the raw materials or the artistic story behind the fragrance. They are often chasing how good it smells, how well it performs, and how much fragrance they can get for their money. Then you have the more traditional designer buyer. This person may stick with Dior, Chanel, Armani, YSL, Prada, Givenchy, JPG and the other major designer houses. They want something recognizable, easy to find and generally dependable. They may not necessarily care about going deep into niche or artisan perfumery. They know the brands, they trust the brands, and they like what they are getting. Then there is another group that I think is especially interesting: the niche and luxury buyer. This is the person buying Amouage, Ex Nihilo, Roja, Xerjoff, Memo, Bortnikoff, independent houses and artisan fragrances.

Yesterday before work I hit the pharmacy for a prescription. While waiting, I browsed the perfume section to test something new. (I only pick 2 frags at a time to test.) I chose Acqua di Giò Profondo and Dior Homme Eau Man. At the opening I slightly preferred the Dior, but as the night went on I fell absolutely in love with it — it became a "must have" buy. So I go to look up the price online... and discover it's been discontinued for years. Today I went back to the pharmacy to investigate. The clerk (I'm a regular, we know each other) insisted the EDT they carry is the Eau Man. I told her to open the box — if it matched, I'd buy it on the spot. She opened it with total confidence I was wrong... and then her jaw dropped when the juice was obviously a different color. I tried to buy the tester bottle right there, but she didn't have the authority and the manager wasn't in. She suggested that if I bought a travel atomizer, she'd fill it for free — and mentioned they usually give away old testers for a $5 charity donation (didn't catch which charity, something women's-related 🤣). Perfect. Bought the atomizer, got 5ml free, made my $5 donation. Now the tester is locked away with my name and number on it, flagged as donated, just waiting on manager approval. If it goes through, I'm looking at roughly 50ml for $5 — on top of the $20 atomizer fill!! Pray to the perfume gods for me, brothers 🙏 I'm already thrilled with 5ml for $20 — but if that tester comes through, it'll be the best perfume score of my life!