The new year is coming up, and I’ve resolved to give up some of my bad perfume habits and pick up a few good ones. Now Smell This is the perfect place to post resolutions, in the hope that if everyone sees them I’ll be more likely to stick to them. Here, then, are my perfume resolutions for 2007:
Don’t buy unsniffed. Buying bottles of scent based solely on an alluring description has caused the most heartache of any of my bad perfume habits. For a minute, I thought I might tally up how much I’ve paid this year for perfume I’ve bought unsniffed and regretted, but I can’t bear to see the hard facts. I tell myself that a particular perfume is a bargain, that it’s had terrific reviews, that Catherine Deneuve wears it, and presto! I’m online with my credit card. I must remind myself that the perfume I’m so eager to have won’t go away overnight, and that I have time to order or swap for a sample and make a smart decision.
Clean out my perfume collection. Thanks to my bad habit of ordering unsniffed, I have bottles of scent that I either don’t like at all — or more often — just find so-so. I also have perfume that I loved a few years ago, but am tired of now or doesn't seem to suit me anymore. I want to find these bottles a good home.
Buy the smallest bottle available. As great a bargain as a 100 ml bottle may be, it's more than likely I’ll only be able to use a third of it before it turns. Related to this resolution, I want to buy more decants or split bottles (after having sampled the scents, of course). Why don’t companies put out more 30 ml bottles?
Put samples in order. My perfume samples clog a small drawer in my vanity. I need to sort them — by alpha order? by type? — and put them in zip lock bags. I’m open to ideas, if anyone has a good system.
Try room sprays. Room sprays have always carried the stigma of Febreze and Lysol to me. But with a dog and two cats, I could use a freshening scent from time to time. I need to reread Kevin’s reviews and choose a few to try. This will be a fun resolution to keep, for a change.
I already anticipate challenges to my resolutions. For instance, I have to calm my breathing whenever I think about the new Chanels coming out. I know the reviews will be tantalizing and I’ll be wildly tempted to order a few bottles without trying them first. Even so, these resolutions should be easier to keep than some I’ve made, like the year I resolved to marry a man with health insurance without any particular prospect in mind and a predilection for artists.
Do you have any perfume resolutions this year?
I, too, need to throw out those so-so scents that I hang onto simply because I don't hate them. Why not give them to someone who'd actually wear them instead and make more room for new, expensive addictions?
And by the way, I'm de-lurking to let you know (as if you don't already) that the January issue of Lucky magazine blurbs you as THE go-to blog for information about scent.
Ah! Perfume Resolutions to 2007!
I have two.
(1) I will continue my much beloved hobby of choosing a new perfume house to sample and then methodically testing each one of their offerings. For 2006, this was Caron, the Rosines and Bvlgari.
For 2007, not sure where to start…so many to choose from
(2) I resolve to try to find out where you will be swapping or selling your unloved bottles LOL
Happy New Year to All!
If you have any fabulous ideas for disposing of unwanted perfumes (short of chunking them in the garbage) please share! I am in desperate need of more space on my perfume shelves.
I think the new Chanels will help you keep your bottle split resolution – I, too, am very interested, but I am absolutely baffled as to why they are coming in those enormous bottles. Which ones are you most interested in? Bel Respiro, 28 La Pausa and 31 Rue Chambon all sound like they could be suited to your preferences. I am looking forward to No. 18 and Coromandel.
Ack – Angela! Didn't even notice that this was written by you and not Robin! Well, now, it seems more likely that you would be interested in Coromandel and possibly No. 18 – perhaps I have a split-buddy? 🙂 I may get a chance to try these in France – don't know when they'll eventually show up in the Chanel Boutique here, which seems to be a little slow on these things.
It's so hard to give up bottles of perfume, but just last night I packed up three bottles to send to a friend. I know I'll wear them a couple of times a year, tops, so why not find them a better home?
Thanks for the heads-up on Lucky!
Exploring perfume by house is a fabulous idea. I'm impressed you were able to plow through the three you did in 2006! I wonder which house you'll choose next?
I've done some swapping on Makeup Alley, but mostly I've been swapping with people I've met through NST. Perfume swappers seem to be unanimously great people
Makeup Alley is a good place to swap for perfume–you can swap samples, decants, or whole bottles. It would just be too, too sad to throw a bottle away that could make someone else so happy.
Yes, definitely count me in for a split. I'd love to hear what you think of them if you have the chance to try them in France. By the way, I'm getting a jump start on my resolutions and have packaged up a few things for you….
I swap on MUA as well and am new to this site/blog – so glad to find it for the new year 🙂 I think I found it during a Google search.
I have a funny way of testing fragrances. I keep a notebook of sorts of on the computer. After each test, I immediately log the first two, maybe three at the most, sentences that come into my head regarding the scent. It's interesting to come back later and skim through them quickly.
I think I may next try the Montales. I have heard so much about them. I found a source online for samples (parfumsraffy) that doesn't look too expensive as I understand that Montale can become an expensive addiction.
I like your method of keeping notes on perfumes you try and then looking at your impressions later. It's funny how my feelings about a scent can change. There are the scents that initially repulse me then become strangely attractive; the sleepers that seem o.k. but not great at first and later become real favorites; and the “true loves” that die a quick death.
I don't know much about the Montales (except, like you say, that they're really expensive), have fun with them!
I'm with you on the don't-buy-unsniffed drive, Angela. The only thing that's worse than a disappointing sample you've been desparate to try, is to have leapfrogged the sample stage and be looking at a Great Big Bottle of juice you'll never use. I have several such Great Big Bottles, alas…but I tell myself that one day my tastes might change and I will love said juices…after all, they rate 4.2+ on MUA! So I am now (fairly) strict – it's sample vial, then decant, then bottle. The decant stage is often enough to identify whether I really love it. However, those Chanels are going to be the biggest temptation…that Coromandel sounds superb…thanks for your great writing, Angela, and Happy New Year!! Nina.
Ditto on all the above resolutions. Also, I resolve to let perfume hypes pass before trying out the respective scents. Hopefully that method will help me eliminate unwanted impulse acquisitions.
Thank you, and Happy New year to you, too! The Chanels will definitely be major temptation. The Coromandel and No 18 sound so alluring, and I'm itching to try the “dry chypre” of rue Cambon, too.
Sometimes I'm actually relieved when a sample I've been dying to try doesn't work out. Then I congratulate myself on not having bought the bottle unsniffed. I recently got a sample of Guerlain Voilette de Madame, and I have to say how happy I am that I'm not crazy about it!
My resolution is never ever to run to the perfume shop at the last minute to snag a new favorite which involves arguing with the security guard that the shop is still open *for God's sake* and a serious loss of breath. OCB – people around me nodded in agreement 😀 And in case you're wondering, the gorgeousness in question was Arpège pour homme!
Happy New Year, Angelita!
I know exactly what you mean about “perfume hypes”. I so easily fall in with the frenzy when I should remember that in six months the frenzy will have subsided, and the scent that was such a must-have will be knocked off its pedestal by something else.
It's amazing how urgent that need for a scent can be. I swear that quitting smoking and losing ten pounds together are easier than resisting the call of the perfume siren, even if the store closes in minutes and its a race against time and cranky security guards.
Still loving the Arpege pour homme? I hope so, you earned it!
Brilliant!
I resolve to find out how /where you are swapping those so-so bottles, and join in on the fun with my extras.
I also resolve not to let SAs bully/intimidate/rush me into buying something 1 nanosecond after it's on my wrist.
Something I have done with my samples that are “so not me, but OK fragrance” in the tiny vials–I fill an attractive bowl with about a cup of rice, then pour the fragrance samples over the rice. You can never tell I have 3 cats and the fragrance changes. It lasts a lot longer than I thought it would, and never smells skanky because it is a constant mix and not on me. Rooms smell great, almost no guilt. Stir up the rice occasionally, change it when it no longer pleases you.
–Q
Terrific idea for using samples! I have lots of tiny bowls and cups that I find yard sales but never quite know what to do with, and this sounds perfect. In fact, I'm going to do it right now, thank you.
I continue to make perfume related resolutions each year, but I'm afraid to say that they're also the first I break (usually involving strict budgeting and unsniffed purchases). I *seriously* need to organize my samples. I have drawers, boxes, bowls, etc. full of them all around the house (the drawers most people would have cutlery or cooking utensils in in our kitchen are filled w/ samples). My plan is to get a few of those long overdoor hanging organizers w/ clear plastic pockets for putting shoes in (and possibly a couple w/ smaller pockets for jewelry) and use them for samples. I'm thinking I'll put labels on each square for house or fragrance type or just “new”.
I'm praying my unsniffed resolve lasts through the Chanel releases this year.
Wow, I have the same exact bad perfume habits except, my unsniffed purchase ended up being good choices for me such as Child perfume and Agent Provocateur! (Lucky me…) I usually give all of my unwanted scents to my little sister. Now, she has just as much fragrance as I do! And most of my friends are not into fragrances… As for samples, I keep my samples on my dresser along with the regular bottles of fragrance and I'll try to wear nothing but samples for one week.
And yes, fragrance houses should start coming out with 30ml bottles. Sometimes, that's all a girl really needs!
I wonder why it's so hard to resist unsniffed purchases? I know I'm getting a little better at it, but the siren's allure is hard to resist. I'll be with you, hanging on until those Chanel releases.
Good idea about the over the door hanger. I've been fantasizing about having a cabinet made to store perfume–something with narrow shelves but doors to keep out light.
I hope your sister realizes how lucky she is! I like your plan of wearing nothing but samples for a week–a great way to get through them. I hope your luck with unsniffed is as good as it was this year!
I'm joining you on the no unsniffed-buys! I have a strange aversion to decants for some unknown reason, and I hate sample vials. Time to get over those – a $20 decant is less painful to regret than a $100 bottle!
And was that Catherine Deneuve comment a subtle dig on my beloved L'Heure Bleue? For shame, missy! 😀
I'm with you–I have a much stronger aversion to losing $100 than I do to a sample vial.
I adore L'Heure Bleue and would never insult it! I have it in parfum and EdP. (Maybe that should be another resolution: don't buy multiple forms of the same scent?)
Ah, excellent! I only have L'HB in EDP right now, I'm looking a .25oz parfum, because I'd never finish the 1oz before it turned, and I would have to cry.
Of course, I'm sure C. Deneuve wore other frags, but that's the only one I remember. 🙂
Angela,
None of my sisters have bought perfume for themselves for quite some time now! LOL!
Thanks! I'm definitely looking into trying out more samples this year! If I had to pick a new years resolution, it would be to try out more non-commercial fragrances! Still have yet to try any Serge Lutens…
Oh, you've got to try a few of the Lutens, they're just not like anything else. Have fun!
I have the quarter ounce, too, and it's plenty for me. The bottle is adorable.
It seems like every time I turn around I hear about Deneuve wearing a different perfume. I'm starting to think she might share our mania. (Of course it only makes me love her more!)
I've been looking around for a small sized bottle of L'Heure Bleue without much luck.
Can you let me know where I can find one? Thanks
pls allow me to clarify – a small sized bottle of the parfum.
Thanks
I heartily pray to the execs at Chanel and the great Perfume God/dess to create a miniature set of the new Chanel Exclusifs by next Christmas! (Valentine's Day would've been even better, but I'm out of miracle coupons!)
I share the same first two resolutions. I'm going to be swapping/selling like crazy once I decide which bottles really need to go. I've already started buying the smallest bottles available. I so wish that a standard bottle would become less than 1oz. Chanel bottles are definitelt too big. It's probably because so many Chanel fans are still into the signature scent thing and wear them every day.
I bought my quarter ounce bottle of the parfum at The Perfume House in Portland, Oregon. Good luck on your search! It really is a beautiful fragrance.
A collection of each in a 10 or 15 ml size would be absolutely perfect! I don't know what anyone can do with such gigantic bottles. Who is the patron saint of perfumistas, I wonder? It's worth investigating to petition for miracles like this.
I feel lucky when I can find a one-ouncer of an EdP or EdT–for so many of the older scent, especially, it seems like they're so often a 100 ml size.
I really think Chanel could make more money buy packaging the Exclusifs in smaller bottles: the price per ml is more in a smaller bottle, and more people would buy them since the overall price is lower.
I am still fairly new to this obsession, LOL.
Are there any places other than MUA and eBay for swapping and selling?
Thanks, Terri
I'm not a championship swapper myself, either, but I think MUA is the biggest swapping forum. I don't think MUA allows selling, so ebay might be your best bet there. If you want to buy samples, you can get them from ebay stores or from stores like Luckyscent and Aedes. If anyone reads this and has other sources, please comment.
*points* Genius.
Thank you.
Basenotes.com?
Basenotes is a good idea and definitely worth checking out for swapping. I think it's basenotes.net. In any case, it's a terrific source for information.
Re: Smaller bottles. **Perfume companies take notice!** I would also prefer atomizers as opposed to dabbers. Also, would like a la carte coffrets. I think there is an implicit marketing intention with any exclusives release–*sigh* those large Chanel bottles are symbolic of a social class I wasn't born into.
These are all excellent suggestions. I prefer atomizers, too–it disperses the scent better and protects the juice from air. And a la carte coffrets? Pure genius. Finally, I'm with you on the Chanel biggies all the way–the people who will love the new Chanels best won't be able to use 200 ml bottles unless they don't wear anything else all year! And people who love scent definitely wear more than one.
I realise this is waaaay after the event, but i have just started browsing through the NST articles archive, and it has been good fun! I love the idea of making perfume resolutions! Sometimes being a perfumista can be a little overwhelming – there are so many Houses to try, so many luscious sounding ‘fumes abound…….i have been darting from ‘House to House’ like a crazed bumble-bee, never settling on one for long enough to properly sample their fayres. For the rest of my 2009, I shall cease my nomadic ways and pick TWO houses and STAY IN THEM! I have already tried quite a few Serge Lutens, so…..OK……I choose, Guerlain and Frederic Malle!! Easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy! (this resolution begins with immediate effect AFTER the samples I ordered from Parfums d’Empire arrive!)
Great plan! It’s so much easy to divide and conquer. Trying to keep up with new releases is almost impossible.