Perfume and Colognes for men

[NanSanPedro]

Here are my two cents on colognes and perfumes:
First, resolving language confusion: In English perfumes are for women and colognes are for men. As far as I can tell, in Spanish, "perfumes" are used for both genders. Can someone clarify?
Second, The risk to avoid is paying full price for a knock-off (fake). To avoid this risk, do this:
a. Buy only at sites that have ample testers. These will be high-end venues (e.g. Blue Mall--one shop; SAMBIL--one shop); duty-free areas of airports). La Sirena in ZC, Duarte/Mella, for example has a new cologne/perfume locked cabinet. Out of ~ 10 available, only ONE has a tester. That's a "no go."
b. When you find one you like via tester, read the label on the box carefully. Confirm with staff that the labelling on the bottle must match the label on the box and that you will be refunded it it does not. (I once bought White Diamonds at MegaCentro in ESD and the name on the bottle did not match the name on the box. I paid ~RD$3,500. Staff refused to refund me. MegaCentro is a working class mall. Go high-end only.
Third, re: buying online and sending via courier: Amazon has some fakes, so Caveat Emptor! There is a site called fragrance.net. If you Google it, you'll find many people questioning if it is legitimate. I have used it several times and have found it to be a site with a large selection and the merchant claims that all products are original. I have ordered twice and had no issues. I also needed to contact customer once and that was successful. I have not ordered enough or recently to give it a hands-down approval but I would say that it's worth investigating.

My 2 cents: Don't waste your money on pefumes or colognes. Use of a deodorant is good enough.

Also, I think you're correct about pefumes being for both genders here. I know it's the case in Haiti.

 

[Lucifer]

There are "impressions" of expensive perfumes and colognes that cost a fraction of the price of the real McCoys.

I can't afford my all-time favorite, Clive Christian 1872, or any Tom Ford, but the impressions are almost as nice. There are Creed impressions that can fool the experts, too.

 

[AlterEgo]

I’ve always thought wearing fragrances in DR attracts more mosquitoes, I don’t know where I got that impression.

Maybe I need a citronella parfum. 😂

 

[johne]

Here are my two cents on colognes and perfumes:
at the labelling on the bottle must match the label on the box and that you will be refunded it it does not. (I once bought White Diamonds at MegaCentro in ESD and the name on the bottle did not match the name on the box. I paid ~RD$3,500. Staff refused to refund me. MegaCentro is a working class mall. Go high-end only.

 

[johne]

LOL. Hi end promises vs. middle class store. YES, you can always trust the elite. Hi class malls are where the elite meet to greet. Right? Nope?
Go high end...Listen to Bernie Madoff. LOL!

 

[tee]

Does it matter if it is fake or original if you like the smell? I rarely use cologne because my wife is allergic to cologne and perfume, but some smell very good. Fake everything is almost as available here as Korea.

It makes a big difference as fake perfumes use much more alcohol and also synthetic scents whereas original perfumes use for the most part natural scents but are also oil based. The oil makes the scent last much longer. Spray on a fake perfume and although it may smell nice, the scent is gone in less than an hour. A good perfume the scent should last for hours.
On Amazon there are many fake perfumes, you just need to check the reviews to see if the product is legit. Here in the DR there are many places that sell fake perfumes but as someone else already mentioned, Zara clothing store have their own brand and they are really good.
I have a large selection of colognes, about 25 which are all originals, 6 of which are from Zara and each time I go to Santo Domingo I always buy another bottle for myself.