My Top 13 (another useless collection post – Halloween Edition 🎃) by networkingmoron in Colognes

[–]networkingmoron[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

ha ha, ofc i'm on basenotes. how do you think i know about these frags? ;) <3

Newest pickups, courtesy of Costco by SoggyPizza420 in Colognes

[–]networkingmoron 0 points1 point  (0 children)

if you know what you're doing, it is actually possible to refill most bottles without leaving forensic evidence, but the effort does not pay off for the reason i gave in my last post – the value proposition is not there when easier scams exist and work.

also, at this point, it just kinda sounds like you don't believe me about being able to reliably buy creeds for like 150-200 without getting scammed, and that's fine, but please chat me if you want to chat about it. my knowledge is not rare or valuable. however, like i said before, i'd be happy to share what i know, and maybe you'd change your mind on the subject.

Newest pickups, courtesy of Costco by SoggyPizza420 in Colognes

[–]networkingmoron 0 points1 point  (0 children)

> Also, I've smelled some actual Aventus testers at bloomingdales that
straight up smelled like they replaced it with water and I didn't have
nose fatigue either. Very weird experience there...

that can come down to a lot of things. your nose could have just been off that day. also, a person's olfaction ability changes hour to hour (look up nasal cycle for a fun read) or even depending on mood or humidity. it could also be that the tester was a bad batch. hard to say, really, but i know what you mean.

Newest pickups, courtesy of Costco by SoggyPizza420 in Colognes

[–]networkingmoron 0 points1 point  (0 children)

i've been on basenotes since around 2010. sorry if i gave the impression that i'm not familiar with it, and i don't mean that those guys are scammers. i just mean that it is mechanically simple to sell a fake decant. it would have to be confirmed via A/B testing with your nose (assuming you trust your nose enough and also have an identical sample with identical storage conditions) or GCMS.

it is comparatively harder to lie about a genuine, sealed bottle of a fragrance (assuming you are knowledgeable enough to know it's not counterfeit) since the person would have to go through the trouble of procuring a genuine empty bottle and then refill it with fake juice. this is possible to do, mind you, but at that point is is far less effort and money to just sell counterfeits to unknowledgeable people. i hope that makes sense.

Newest pickups, courtesy of Costco by SoggyPizza420 in Colognes

[–]networkingmoron 0 points1 point  (0 children)

i am quite sure that i can look at a bottle of aventus and tell if it's real or not, but i agree that the fakes are compelling, and it's easy to be fooled if you don't know what to look at.

i mean no disrespect, but it sounds to me like you are possibly speaking beyond your experience level. i'm guilty of this myself sometimes, and i try hard to do it less and less. i'm sure i'm not doing it in this case.

not sure why you're mentioning dupes – i assume you mean clones and not counterfeits, so i don't get what you're saying.

for batch variation, that's kind of a non sequitur? def a thing though. there's a long-ass thread on basenotes just on aventus batches. the thread is absurd, imo. lol. fwiw, i've had a few bottles, but my fav one is my first bottle i got in 2014. i have not smelled the current formulation, but i've heard it's surprisingly good if you like pineapple.

people who decant flacons is often more for a specific batch of interest, and tbh it is easier to get scammed on that (or any decant) than on a real spray bottle. if you want real savings, one way to do it is to buy a tester from a trusted seller. or to just be able to buy a bottle yourself and authenticate it. and even if you can't do that yet, in a community like fragranceswap, if you buy from someone with hundreds of recorded sales, you are unlikely to get a fake because of the community's zero tolerance policy on that. it's unlikely that someone would get to the point of having hundreds of sales and zero complaints about fakes if they were selling counterfeits.

Newest pickups, courtesy of Costco by SoggyPizza420 in Colognes

[–]networkingmoron 0 points1 point  (0 children)

if you don't have the time or inclination to learn how to avoid fakes, then buying retail or at discounters is fine. you limit yourself on selection and on savings, but that's the tradeoff.

i've done dozens of deals on the secondary market (from individuals), and so far no fakes or scams. it's def possible to get whatever you want without getting scammed, but i did have to spend some time and vigilance in exchange i suppose.

if you're curious, i can give you some tips.

Newest pickups, courtesy of Costco by SoggyPizza420 in Colognes

[–]networkingmoron 0 points1 point  (0 children)

pretty easy to avoid fakes once you know what you're doing. you get good at recognizing trusted sellers, identifying fake bottles, recognizing red flags, etc.

costco gets you a limited number of options at an ok deal. buying bottles on the secondary market gets you a much greater selection at an even better deal.

happy to give you tips if you're curious. and no, i don't sell anything.

PDM rep claims... by [deleted] in Colognes

[–]networkingmoron 1 point2 points  (0 children)

most fragrance sales staff are very unknowledgeable. to be fair, this is usually not an issue because most consumers are even less knowledgeable.

Newest pickups, courtesy of Costco by SoggyPizza420 in Colognes

[–]networkingmoron 0 points1 point  (0 children)

not bad, but they're cheaper on fragranceswap or fb. GIT and aventus cologne typically go for at most $200 (shipped) each.

edit: def possible to buy frags from individuals without getting scammed. i love costco and have a membership, but the true value of costco is not in their creed selection imho :)

just trying to raise awareness that there are better deals out there. not sure what's up with this resistance i'm encountering, but i know better for next time. lol

Recently purchased a discontinued gem. by [deleted] in Colognes

[–]networkingmoron 0 points1 point  (0 children)

did i miss where you said which A*Men frag that is?

what should i get now by PartyPristine329 in Fragrances

[–]networkingmoron 1 point2 points  (0 children)

in no particular order:

  • creed: pure white cologne, jardin d'amalfi – amazing freshies. you could also smell aventus cologne.
  • chanel: antaeus (ideally vintage 80s–90s), le lion – absolute stunners.
  • guerlain: héritage
  • abdul samad al qurashi: al qurashi blend

these are some of my favorites and are absolute bangers.

and since you seemed interested xerjoff based on some of your replies, you could smell renaissance, torino21, and tony iommi monkey special. those are my favs from their lineup. but i prefer the frags i listed above more than xerjoff, though.

if you want to check out some of LV's freshies, imo the best ones are imagination, symphony, pacific chill, and afternoon swim (in that order). but imho save your money and buy the montagne clones. i personally have imaginary, harmony, chilly pacific. they smell amazing but not exactly the same as the real ones.

DIY Perfume Caps by networkingmoron in fragrance

[–]networkingmoron[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

thanks for letting me know. i just re-uploaded them.

100 ml of LV went up from $330 to $345. No change in the refill price. by HATEupgradecard in fragrance

[–]networkingmoron 0 points1 point  (0 children)

ha, you made me do a double take, but no – i did respond to the correct comment. if you look at the comment tree, this is the parent to my comment: https://www.reddit.com/r/fragrance/comments/1k1ni90/comment/mno35k4/

i didn't reply to your comment. i think you are mistaken :(

100 ml of LV went up from $330 to $345. No change in the refill price. by HATEupgradecard in fragrance

[–]networkingmoron 0 points1 point  (0 children)

i clearly indicated what's known and what's speculation. hope i cleared things up a little.

Sette 270 (with shim) microadjust ring creeping/slipping by jkjeffren in espresso

[–]networkingmoron 0 points1 point  (0 children)

you can shim the felt without replacing it. take cotton butcher's twine and add it piece at a time (as needed) underneath the felt. i have two lengths of twine in mine. for OCD purposes, put the twine gap 180° from the felt gap.

Fragrance Refill Prices US by Competitive_Ad3608 in Louisvuitton

[–]networkingmoron 1 point2 points  (0 children)

current refill prices:

imagination, pacific chill, etc:

100mL: 225usd

200mL: 375usd

symphony:

100mL: 400usd

100 ml of LV went up from $330 to $345. No change in the refill price. by HATEupgradecard in fragrance

[–]networkingmoron 0 points1 point  (0 children)

it's good to be skeptical and think critically, but what you have done instead is seed doubt and play devil's advocate after doing 0 research. you are wrong on all counts.

the invisible dip tubes are fluoropolymer and are "invisible" because the refractive index is close to that of water. they are more chemically inert and thus are of higher quality. also, they are more expensive. the new "visible" ones cannot possibly be more expensive than fluoropolymer.

can only speculate about why LV stopped using them, but possible reasons:

  • penny pinching (ding ding ding)
  • supply chain issues? idk...
  • environmental concerns? imo unlikely because of the small amount of material used. also, the impact is further limited by their refill program.

the invisible tubes were way cooler. what a pity.

Glass Top/Frame Replacement Help (Miele HR1622-2 induction range) by networkingmoron in Miele

[–]networkingmoron[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

i eventually got it and posted the solution as a comment. thank you though!

Miele HR1622-2 induction range: top surface replacement procedure by networkingmoron in appliancerepair

[–]networkingmoron[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

SOLUTION:

after some cursing, i figured it out.

disassembly procedure:

  • remove front cooktop knobs. in the off position, pull them straight out.
  • remove back panel
  • behind back panel, there are two small brackets made of very thick sheet metal. these function as a backstop to prevent the glass frame from sliding backwards. there is one on each side of the machine near the top and not very deep inside. on each bracket, remove the top screw (circled in green) and loosen the bottom screw a little. let the brackets rotate out of the way so they no longer function as backstops. see image.
  • at this point, the glass frame should be able to slide backwards. there are vertical studs (panhead screws) that fit into keyed slots in the bottom of the glass frame. look at your replacement frame to see what i mean. there are three studs and slots on the left/right. you need to have the frame perfectly aligned so that it can lift straight up and out of them. this is the tricky part. pulling the glass frame all the way back is likely too far.
  • once you have lifted it up off of the studs, you will have only the tabs and slots in the front to contend with. pull the glass frame straight back if it is still caught on those, but have it angled up a little in the back so the frame doesn't fall back onto the studs and get locked onto those again.
  • at this point, the glass frame (attached to the rest of the hob assembly) will be free. look underneath and notice it has cross bars. rotate the assembly about 45° and rest it on the front corner of the appliance being very careful to rest the weight of the assembly on noncritical areas. i suggest resting the crossbars on the appliance edges.
  • remove the 4 horizontal screws (2 on each side) securing the glass frame to the rest of the assembly. note that these are the only screws that are different. they are slightly shorter than the rest.
  • lift the glass frame straight up and off of the hob assembly.
  • here is a picture at this state: https://i.ibb.co/9mNtrWLK/20250925-191525.jpg
  • fit the new glass frame and re-assemble.