Perfume

Remembered fragrances evoke cherished memories of snuggling with Grandma or a brief hug from elegant Auntie Ruthie. Now they are long gone, and the perfumes they wore also no longer exist. Bittersweet nostalgia sometimes accompanies the search for the perfect scent.

Why Are Beautiful Perfumes Discontinued?

It may seem hard to believe that a popular company like Lancôme or Estee Lauder could ruthlessly pull a lovely scent from the shelves. However, perfume manufacturers are not sentimental. No matter how beautiful a fragrance might be or how loved it once was, if a cologne or parfum is not profitable, they will stop offering it in the blink of an eye.

Fashion is a fickle mistress, and perfumes are subject to her whims. Many of the beautiful fragrances of yesteryear fell out of fashion or simply didn’t meet the manufacturers’ sales expectations and were discontinued. A scent that manages to stay on the shelves for ten years is already considered a classic, but some of the world’s best-smelling fragrances were created forty years ago or more.

Furthermore, some popular perfume companies purposely issue limited edition fragrances to boost sales and create demand. These scents are only offered for a short period of time, and anyone who falls in love with them will have to hunt long and hard to find a bottle of their lost perfume.

Why Would I Want a Discontinued Perfume?

There are many reasons why people hunt perfumes that are no longer available. Perhaps you fell in love with a fragrance and want to wear it again. Maybe you are looking for a particular parfum or cologne for nostalgic reasons - it was the favorite scent of a beloved relative, or you wore it on your wedding day forty years ago.

Many people also believe that the quality of older perfumes cannot be matched today. It used to be that every major company would hire their own “nose” - an artist who used scents as a canvass - to develop their fragrances. The profession of being a nose was often hereditary. Today, many perfumes are mass-produced and consist largely of synthetic scents rather than distilled natural ingredients.

Finally, wearing a lost perfume means that you will likely be wearing a unique fragrance, a scent as individual as your signature. Many people enjoy wearing a parfum or cologne that can’t be bought at the local mall.

How to Find Discontinued Perfumes

In today’s digital world, the hunt for lost perfumes has become easier. The Internet has drawn together people from around the world who share an interest in finding and collecting discontinued fragrances. If you are seeking a fabled fragrance or just want to try something out of the ordinary, many websites cater in the trade of long-lost scents.

Finally, some online stores are resurrecting lost scents by recreating them in-house. Once again, you may enjoy the enhanced memories of yesterday with these fragrances. The demand for lost perfumes has made this a popular and profitable business for many online companies.