Who can doubt that fragrances have become part of our everyday lives? Whether you source wholesale perfumes or use a local perfume outlet, the modern man or woman considers themselves 'undressed' if they leave home without a splash of this or that ladies perfume or men's cologne.

Of course prices can be very steep, though in these difficult financial times more and more retailers are prepared to 'do deals' and the sales season seems almost 12 months long. There is plenty of room for discounts, have you ever wondered why they occupy pride of place in every Department Store? Why ARE these items always right at the front of the store? The answer is simple - that is where the greatest number of people will pass and these items have the greatest profit margin in the entire store. Place the items with the biggest mark-up where everybody needs to pass by - it's simple commercial common sense.

Many people have memories of some special event or special person that is linked with a particular fragrance - usually a person of the opposite sex, though not always the case. Some perfume smells are equally associated with places or even members of people's own family. My own memory of my father is embedded with the fragrance of Old Spice, a fragrance that was very popular with men in the 1960s. Mum always wore Coty perfumes, I cannot remember quite how that evolved, but French perfumes were considered 'designer brands' in those days, so it may just be a question of perception and following fashion. Anyway, no matter if you have sourced wholesale perfumes or bought yours from a local perfume outlet, the whole idea of wearing a fragrance has become inextricably associated with status and sexual allure, though rough, tough men might deny it outwardly!

When out socializing or even at the workplace, you generally have to be quite close physically to someone to detect the fragrance he or she may be wearing. That was not always the case, in the mid 90s some of the top-selling fragrances seemed to be detectable at a mile away! Do you remember Poison by Christian Dior? Boy, if you passed a group of women wearing that, you almost fainted because of the overwhelming smell of that ladies perfume.

Body chemistry should be taken into account when choosing a fragrance. People from African countries have a very different skin type to people from European or Asian countries and any given fragrance can smell differently on them. Being able to test that over a perfume outlet counter does offer advantages over buying wholesale perfumes.

So now you have purchased your ladies perfume or men's cologne - do you really know how best to apply it to your skin for maximum longevity and effect? Much is made of the technique of layering and that obviously involves other wholesale beauty products like foundation creams, body lotions. This is a wise strategy because perfume will be very quickly absorbed into dry skin and the fragrance will tend to have a much shorter lifespan.

The big downside of course is price, if you CAN source wholesale perfumes from a perfume outlet, then that may well take some of the pain away, though even then it's not likely to be a cheap experience. Now you know WHY these items are given pride of place in stores, you may look at them with a slightly better understanding - don't be afraid to ask for discounts, particularly in smaller stores where the owner may be in attendance. Shop assistants don't have the authority to agree discounts, but an owner clearly does.