Throughout history men and women alike have used a variety of beauty products to make themselves feel and appear more attractive. One of the most popular beauty products through the ages is perfume; a fragrance created by mixing fragrant oils and aroma compounds and is meant to give a person a pleasant scent. Since the fourteenth century perfumers have been developing and marketing new scents including long-time favorites like Chanel N?5, White Shoulders by Elizabeth Arden, and Black Cashmere by Donna Karan. Every year new fragrances are created and men and women all over the world buy perfumes and colognes for themselves and as gifts for others.

For a woman, wearing the right perfume can make all the difference in pulling together an outfit and in affecting the right tone for a certain occasion. Some of the big name designers like Christian Dior and Armanis have perfected the art of perfumery, creating a harmony of "fragrance notes" that appeals to the wearer and makes an impression on everyone nearby and for these reasons many women choose to buy designer perfumes as much for the scent as for the designer name that comes with it. Designer perfume, however, can be rather expensive so some women purchase their perfume at a discount fragrance shop or on discount perfume websites. While discount perfume may not come with the designer name, neither does it come with the designer price tag.

Fragrances for men are generally referred to as cologne. Just as a designer perfume shop exists to supply women with all of the name brand perfumes, a designer cologne shop is the best place for men to buy designer colognes. Some of the most reputable designers of cologne for men include Hugo Boss and Calvin Klein, though there are many other popular brand names in the industry. While some men enjoy wearing a brand name cologne, others are not as concerned as women can be with being known for wearing a designer label. For these men, a discount cologne shop or website is the best place to shop for cologne. Some cologne shops, both on- and offline, are even able to offer designer labels for discounted prices. All it takes to find the best deals is a little bit of shopping around.

While the fragrance industry is largely fueled by individuals making purchases for themselves, perfumes and colognes are also very popular as gift items. Women like to receive perfumes for gift items any day but holidays like Valentine's Day and Christmas are perfect occasions for giving perfume as a gift. With all of the big discount perfume shops and websites that currently exist, perfume does not even need to be an expensive gift to give to a loved one. It is possible to find a great fragrance, for yourself or as a gift, within any price range, all you have to do is spend a little bit of time looking around in order to find the fragrance and the price that is best for you.