What is the deal with Folkwinds?

Hi all, I was wondering why Folkwinds perfumes are so outrageously expensive. I find it extremely hard to believe that any perfume is so good that people are willing to spend up to a few thousand bucks on a bottle... I understand they use natural ingredients but so do other houses (e.g. Heretic) and they don't charge an arm and a leg for their scents, so it can't be the (only) reason. Their scents seem very interesting to me but no way I would ever be able to afford one, and they don't offer samples (even if I could afford them, I wouldn't blind-buy a perfume for that price) 😒

If you owned a Folkwinds perfume at any point or at least tried it, I am really curious to hear about your opinions and experiences! Are they really worth it? Thanks!

Never tried these but I have some business education. From what I know, price ≠ materials. Brands are at liberty to charge whatever they want, that's the sad part. Price is rarely representation of product or its physical attribues, for a lot of item categories

I was unfamiliar with this house until seeing your post. While Folkwinds lists a couple of their fragrances on their website for over a thousand dollars, By-and-By and Midwinter Dream (both listed as sold out on Folkwinds' website) the majority of their fragrances, while highly priced, are not out of the range of high priced niche and designer fragrances, such as Amouage, Boadicea the Victorious, and Chanel's Les Exclusif's. Folkwinds explains the cost of By-and-By, saying that it was due to the cost of the materials involved: "This is the first time I’ve ever been able to afford materials such as vintage Kashmiri musk, or vintage gardenia absolute from the Omani treasury; materials such as orris absolute with 80% irone content; materials such as wild, sinking grade Hainan agarwood oil. This is the first time I’ve ever been able to afford to use pure neroli as a top-note. No citrus oils. No accords. Pure, true neroli."

Perfume is a luxury good. Luxury goods are defined as "high-quality, expensive items that are not essential for survival but serve as symbols of status and wealth within society." We can find items that are not expensive that serve the same purpose, but they don't carry the same exclusivity as the more expensive item. A fragrance from Bath and Body Works can serve the same function as a fragrance from Amouage, but it doesn't have the same cache. In the watch world, a thirty dollar Casio can tell the time just as well as a Rolex or a Vacheron Constantin (actually, probably better), but again it does not have the same cache as Rolex or Vacheron Constantin.

As with any luxury good, it's up to the consumer to determine whether it is worth it. Like you, I wouldn't blind buy one of Folkwinds' fragrances. However, you can sample them. Luckyscent carries several of their fragrances (the most expensive being The Wonderland II) and you can purchase a 0.5ml decant from eight to twelve dollars depending on the fragrance.

I do so much agree with you, val.

Thank you very much for your input! I think this is one of those cases where they just randomly decided on the prices.

Thank you for your input. As I mentioned before, there are other artisanal and niche houses that also use actual natural materials but do not charge such outrageous prices for their fragrances. I, of course, have read the information on Folkwinds website, and found their explanation unsatisfactory, so I came here to hear from people who actually bought one of their perfumes.

I also know what a "luxury good" is (as would most people on this website, I imagine). You really did not have to explain the basics, I was not asking for it. I am no stranger myself to spending a couple hundred euros on a 30 ml bottle of a perfume when I know it's worth it. To me, Haxan by Prissana was such a case. However, 200 Euro is not 600 Euro, and definitely is not 2000 Euro, which is the price range of Folkwinds.

Since you have mentioned Amouage, I do also think their fragrances are overpriced, I have tried one of them recently, and the price-to-quality ratio was simply not justifiable to me. But that is not the topic to discuss in this thread.

I have not used Luckyscent so far because I am not in the US, and the shipping is VERY pricey. Plus there is a chance my shipment would be destroyed at the border in the EU due to their new regulations regarding perfumes. But thank you for letting me know that samples of Folkwinds do exist.

🖤🖤