Date Published: 10/20/1996

Heritage Sunday, Southgate, MI ~~ A Journal Register Newspaper

Heritage Sunday, Southgate, MI ~~ A Journal Register Newspaper
Focus on Fashion ~~ Evelyn Cairns

New Firm Offers Discontinued and Hard-to-Get Scents

        Do you long for such discontinued and hard-to-find fragrances as Aphrodesia, Tigress, Ciao, Arpege, Babe by Fabrege, Black Label, Patchouli Musk, Sophia or Scoundrel?
        Gary Droz, former owner, with his mother, Dorothy Mills, of ACE Discount in Riverview, MI, may be able to help. They sold ACE in January, and just last week, Gary launched Fragrances Unlimited, a mail-order company offering 250 brands of rare or discontinued perfumes and colognes in more than 400 types and sizes.

        DROZ SAID that during his years in the retail health and beauty-aid business, he encountered firsthand a vast audience frustrated at the unavailability of favorite scents.
        He said he sold a lot of cologne during that time and had fun locating favorite fragrances for people through the network of suppliers and wholesalers to which he had access.
        Droz promises that even with shipping and handling charges, the products he provides will never surpass the retail price, adding that many items will be sale-priced on a regular basis.

        “I ALREADY have received many requests that were special-ordered and will arrive in time for the holidays,” he said. “It’s that much more special a gift when the recipients themselves can’t purchase it on their own”
        Droz said that if stored properly, fragrances can keep as long as five years without losing their potency.
        He said perfumes and colognes do not become rancid ~~ like fragranced body lotions or creams ~~ they just lose their potency.

        A BOTTLE OF Evening in Paris, which was popular in the 40’s, if still sealed, might be straight alcohol by now, he said.
        Storage of fragrances is important, he said, as it is with cigars, which if stored properly in a humidor can last 25 years.
        Droz offers a free newsletter listing the brands and costs of currently available items. To order a copy, write to Fragrances Unlimited, 4836 Washtenaw Ave., A7, Ann Arbor, MI, 48108, or call 734-434-0692.