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If you are a fumehead

Posted by Robin on 6 April 2010 88 Comments

If you are a fumehead, you may hang out on perfume blogs, shop at FragranceNet.com and believe that all the world can be divided into people who do and people who don’t like the smell of cumin. But if you are hearing of fumeheads for only the first time and confine your Web ramblings to sports sites and Ticketmaster, you may think that people can be divided into those who do and those who don’t care about perfume.

— Fumehead? From Splitting Hairs at the New York Times. Note that the article is not otherwise about perfume. Many thanks to SuddenlyInexplicably for the link!

Filed Under: perfume in the news

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88 Comments

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  1. bloody frida says:
    6 April 2010 at 9:02 am

    I dunno about other ‘fumeheads’ but I rarely buy perfume at the web place.

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    • Rictor07 says:
      6 April 2010 at 9:38 am

      I only buy fragrance online for the most part. thats where the most competitive prices are. if you buy at the dept store, you’re pretty much getting ripped off.

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      • bloody frida says:
        6 April 2010 at 12:35 pm

        Rictor, I’ll have to start checking that place out more !

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    • Robin says:
      6 April 2010 at 9:45 am

      I object to the term “fumehead” altogether. Yuck.

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      • Daisy says:
        6 April 2010 at 9:51 am

        it makes it sound like some one wearing ill-fitting, less than clean clothing, all haggard and hanging out in an alley trying to score a “sniff” …

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        • Karen G says:
          6 April 2010 at 12:43 pm

          Hey, my clothes are perfectly clean!

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          • Daisy says:
            6 April 2010 at 12:51 pm

            but haggard and hanging out in the alley to score a sniff is possible? :-D

        • Aparatchick says:
          6 April 2010 at 12:50 pm

          But Daisy, I’m pretty sure we would hang out in alleys to score a sniff of something HTF. ;-)

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      • mjr17 says:
        6 April 2010 at 10:05 am

        I completely agree, Robin! Where in the world did the author get the term “fumehead”? I’ve certainly never heard it before. And it’s just a horrible word. Honestly, if someone is going to write even a short blurb about “us”, said-author should at least do some real research. How insulting!

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        • Robin says:
          6 April 2010 at 10:15 am

          Don’t know…some blog or another might be using that term, so would not assume the author made it up. Whatever though, it’s pretty awful.

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          • Occhineri says:
            6 April 2010 at 11:05 am

            Katie Puckrik uses that term all the time. It’s not my favorite, but I don’t find it offensive. It’s obviously meant to be playful.

          • Robin says:
            6 April 2010 at 11:18 am

            Ah, thanks! No, I don’t find it offensive either. Just don’t like it :-)

      • AnnS says:
        6 April 2010 at 10:54 am

        Totally. It sounds like we all sit around huffing fragrance out of brown paper bags. Yuck indeed.

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        • miss kitty v. says:
          6 April 2010 at 11:31 am

          Oh. You mean I’m the only one who does that?

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          • Occhineri says:
            6 April 2010 at 11:33 am

            Hahaha!

          • Daisy says:
            6 April 2010 at 12:53 pm

            it’s only a problem when you start to snuffle up your left forearm whilst holding one nostril closed with a finger from the right arm…..

        • AnnS says:
          6 April 2010 at 2:51 pm

          Aw, busted! Sometimes I huff the plastic bubble wrap if a decant leaks on the way to me… just imagine now: fumeheads all lined up next to our mailboxes with our noses down into those manilla mailers we all use……

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  2. Daisy says:
    6 April 2010 at 9:36 am

    so what about those of us who have a whole list of online purveyors of fragrance? oh that’s right—that’s beyond fumehead, and gone right to fume-addict…..but I’m ok with that. ;-)

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    • Robin says:
      6 April 2010 at 9:46 am

      I’ll stick with perfumista.

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      • miss kitty v. says:
        6 April 2010 at 11:31 am

        Perfumista sounds classier.

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      • sunshine808 says:
        6 April 2010 at 2:58 pm

        Thank you. (-:

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  3. mindxpandr says:
    6 April 2010 at 9:49 am

    Fumehead sounds like a synonym for huffer. I’m not liking that at all.

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    • Rictor07 says:
      6 April 2010 at 9:51 am

      I thought the same thing. Maybe to some people, we are just as bad?

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      • Daisy says:
        6 April 2010 at 9:53 am

        well, it’s not illegal or unhealthy so I imagine perfumistas are seen as more slightly eccentric…

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    • Suzanne941 says:
      6 April 2010 at 10:20 am

      That’s what I thought! I picutred some teenage kid in a basement.

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    • Robin says:
      6 April 2010 at 10:30 am

      It’s horrid. Although I know some people don’t like ‘perfumista’ either.

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      • Joe says:
        6 April 2010 at 8:32 pm

        Funny, the term doesn’t bother me.

        I thought maybe it was used by some Basenotes regulars? Doesn’t seem like the first time I’ve heard/read it used.

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        • Robin says:
          6 April 2010 at 9:50 pm

          Could be!

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  4. meadowbliss says:
    6 April 2010 at 10:37 am

    I refer to myself as a perfumista. As to fumehead it reminds me of the ‘dumb blond’ tag. I agree it definitely gives off a druggie vibe. Culling all of the elegance from earnest perfumistas.

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    • Robin says:
      6 April 2010 at 11:19 am

      Yes, certainly does not sound elegant.

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  5. Zazie says:
    6 April 2010 at 11:14 am

    I don’t like ‘fumehead. But I don’t like perfumista either, though I do use that term, more often than not.
    (perfumista sounds like a fashionista’s sibling…shudder….)

    I would like to call myself a perfume-amateur. And aim at being connaisseur.
    Does it sound too snob?
    ;)

    Well, if Robin will starts giving out badges, I want perfume-connaisseur written over mine, please!
    With my avatar and the NST flower logo!

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    • Robin says:
      6 April 2010 at 11:19 am

      LOL — but that is too long to type! Come to think of it, so is perfumista. We need a shorter term.

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      • boojum says:
        6 April 2010 at 11:36 am

        I tend to just go with hedonist, myself.

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        • Robin says:
          6 April 2010 at 11:52 am

          HA — that works!

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        • Aparatchick says:
          6 April 2010 at 12:51 pm

          :-)

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        • Aparatchick says:
          6 April 2010 at 12:53 pm

          I refer to myself as a perfume collector, because that term doesn’t conjure up visions of me standing by my mailbox ripping open a padded envelope with my teeth. **is ashamed**

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          • AnnS says:
            6 April 2010 at 2:53 pm

            Oy – teeth and keys – it all counts! But that’s what I say too. I am a perfume collector – it makes more sense to my family and the uninitiated to say you collect something. And helps explain the leagues of samples, decants, bottles, charts, graphs, color coding, etc…………. You are not insane if you collect something!

        • sunshine808 says:
          6 April 2010 at 2:59 pm

          Hilarious!

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      • Liza says:
        6 April 2010 at 12:58 pm

        Perhaps aromaphile or osmiphile would work?

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        • abirae says:
          6 April 2010 at 1:01 pm

          I like it! I’ve just referred to myself as a sensualist. Or a sensualiste when the mood strikes.

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          • mjr17 says:
            6 April 2010 at 2:02 pm

            oooo or how about scentualist?

          • Absolute Scentualist says:
            6 April 2010 at 3:07 pm

            As is obvious, I chose Scentualist for both the play on words and the description. I suppose hedonist would work as well, but ‘fumehead’ just conjures up all the chemically liberated kids in my class who aspired to only find cheaper, home-made methods of earning such a name and who often showed up to school bombed out of their heads. So yes, ‘fumehead’ is not how I describe myself. *cringe*

            If I really need to justify it (“Sweetie! Parfum1 is having another 20% off sale!”), I say I am a fragrance collector with an almost absurd love of scented toiletries and candles as well.

            I also love Fragrancenet but find Scentiments can be more competitively priced. Department stores are only if I feel the impulse to leave with a frag that isn’t much cheaper online and to give my favorite saleslady the sale since she takes great care of me and gets my passion for perfume. :)

        • Daisy says:
          6 April 2010 at 3:52 pm

          aromaphile might be okay….but osmiphile sounds a little too much like the police have your address on file….

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          • miss kitty v. says:
            6 April 2010 at 6:10 pm

            Actually, they both sort of sound like paraphilias. I am thinking that aromaphile sounds like the smelling version of frottage. (While on the topic, has anyone ever caught someone trying to surreptitiously smell them, like in a store or on a crowded bus? It’s really creepy. Saying “you smell nice,” or “what’s that you’re wearing?” is ok, standing behind someone and inhaling deeply is not.)

          • sunshine808 says:
            6 April 2010 at 7:11 pm

            @mskittyv
            I wear perfume everyday, free of creepy experiences.

          • Joe says:
            7 April 2010 at 1:38 am

            Ms. Kitty… I’m sure it can be creepy, but I would find it kind of flattering. It sounds hilarious, but no, I’ve never had someone doing that (that I KNOW of).

            I’ve sort of done a MUCH MORE ELEGANT version of that maneuver if I catch a nice smell coming from someone and they walk by me, I’ll inhale more deeply (not audibly!) to try to get a better sense of what it is they’re wearing. Now and then I’ll ask someone what they’re wearing… almost did it just a day or two ago.

  6. carmencanada says:
    6 April 2010 at 12:50 pm

    Fumehead is a particularly awful term, I find. I’m not crazy either about perfumista, but the new “perfumisto” I find barbaric — perfumista comes from fashionista, itself a Spanglish term: the noun/adjective, for instant “comunista” (ie communist), always ends with an “a” so it’s got no business ending with an “o”.
    I tend to say “perfume lover” now in English and “amoureux des parfums” or “amateur de parfums” in French. Longer than perfumista but at least no Spanish, English or French word is harmed in the process.

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    • abirae says:
      6 April 2010 at 1:00 pm

      All this time I thought Fashionista came from Sandanista, but it makes sense that it would come from Comunista. I thought Fashionista was a gently mocking tongue in cheek term (like, what revolution are they fighting?) so I wouldn’t necessarily identify as a perfumista, but I thought it was catchy.

      Now ‘fumehead – I only get called that when I’m listening to Night of the Living Bass Heads with a bottle of Fracas in a paper bag.

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      • carmencanada says:
        6 April 2010 at 1:10 pm

        Sandinista too, as in “partisan of Sandino”… “-ista” is Spanish for the suffix “-ist”, so it’s just a way of forming a word. “Taxista” is “cab driver”, so it’s not necessarily linked to any revolution.

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        • Joe says:
          7 April 2010 at 1:42 am

          In addition to Spanish, also Italian in origin (cf. the prevalence of the occupation of coffee “barista”, male or female). I too have a pet peeve about the “-o” ending on ‘perfumisto’…

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    • Robin says:
      6 April 2010 at 1:16 pm

      Perfumista, yes, not crazy about it but don’t hate it and it’s already widely used, so I’ll live with it.

      Do NOT like perfumisto, or perfumeo (which I’ve also seen used).

      I adore “perfumanity” because it sounds so absurd, but it doesn’t fill quite the same purpose.

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      • miss kitty v. says:
        6 April 2010 at 2:30 pm

        If I called myself what others do, it would be “that nutjob that never shuts up about perfume and spends more than she makes in a year on it.”

        I still prefer perfumista. Or plain old “nutjob” would work, I suppose.

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        • AnnS says:
          6 April 2010 at 2:55 pm

          Or how about “That smelly woman!”

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          • miss kitty v. says:
            6 April 2010 at 3:41 pm

            Thankfully I have not been called that since the days I marinated in Dune. I recall being in a meeting once where someone cracked a door, even though it was freezing cold in the room to begin with. I knew it was because of me. That was also the start of my “no more than 3 sprays” rule.

          • Daisy says:
            6 April 2010 at 3:54 pm

            :-D LOLOLOL :-D

          • sunshine808 says:
            6 April 2010 at 7:18 pm

            I’ve had someone who was sitting beside me mumble expletives because of the perfume I was wearing. I threw the bottle away that day. That was when I was an amateur perfumista though, my nose is expert now. I know what works with my body chemistry; I’ve given away gorgeous scents that turned rancid on me, but was lovely on other folks. Ah, time (sigh)

        • Robin says:
          6 April 2010 at 6:36 pm

          HA — yeah, “that nutjob” is probably how I’m referred to also.

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    • mjr17 says:
      6 April 2010 at 1:24 pm

      Oh I totally know what you mean! It drives me crazy how all the BN boys call themselves perfumistos. It sounds wrong and overly masculinist. Certainly there are better ways to assert one’s maleness.

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      • Joe says:
        7 April 2010 at 1:44 am

        Many (some?) men into perfume (if they *call* it perfume) seem to develop many coping techniques for asserting their maleness. Pity.

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  7. Rick says:
    6 April 2010 at 1:15 pm

    “There are two kinds of people in the world, those who believe there are two kinds of people in the world and those who don’t.” — Robert Benchley

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    • Robin says:
      6 April 2010 at 1:16 pm

      LOL! Most excellent, thanks.

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    • mjr17 says:
      6 April 2010 at 1:24 pm

      Right on!

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  8. Katie Puckrik says:
    6 April 2010 at 2:22 pm

    Gulp! Tiptoeing into the comments here to claim credit/accept blame for coining the term “fumehead”. When I started doing my YouTube fragrance reviews in 2008, I wanted an inclusive term for perfume fans, and felt that “perfumista” sounded a bit precious, and also played out on account of “fashionista” now being a cliché. Also, it implied exclusion of the menfolk, what with the “a” ending.

    I hit on “fumehead” as a variation on “gearhead” (car fanatics), or “deadhead” (Grateful Dead zealots), and liked the fact that “fume” was both an abbreviation for “perfume”, as well as suggesting the huffing that goes on when exploring new scents.

    It is, as Occhineri observed, a playful term , one I use to make our rarified world of connoisseurs more accessible to my younger viewers, as well as to celebrate our fragrance “addiction” in a light-hearted way. ‘Cuz when you think about it, we’re really not so far from the paper-bag snorfers – all those gorgeous scents that give us such delirious pleasure. Right, fumies? ;-)

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    • miss kitty v. says:
      6 April 2010 at 2:28 pm

      Sticking my nose down my shirt all day isn’t any different, no. :)

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    • AnnS says:
      6 April 2010 at 2:58 pm

      Well, in all fairness, as I admit above, I do “huff” the plastic bubble wrap if fragrance leaks in transit….. If there was a dark alley nearby with samples of Frederic Malle in paper bags, I am sure I’d be there sniffing away!

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      • NathanBranch says:
        6 April 2010 at 5:27 pm

        Ann, this imagery is cracking me up! A dark alley with samples of Frederic Malle fragrances in paper bags — brilliant.

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        • AnnS says:
          6 April 2010 at 5:31 pm

          Paper strips, paper bags…what’s the difference? It would be awesome!!

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        • Daisy says:
          6 April 2010 at 5:51 pm

          in case you hadn’t guessed: we have little or no shame…. ;-)

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    • RusticDove says:
      6 April 2010 at 5:25 pm

      Well, I can see that your word choice did make sense. But still, ‘Fumehead’ does have kind of an unattractive ring to it. Fumefan perhaps? Someone here @ NST came up with ‘Fraghag’ one time, which is hilarious – but also has a rather unpleasant sound. I mean, I wouldn’t want to tell my mother in law, for instance, that I’m a ‘fraghag’. I do like ‘Perfumista’, but it would be nice to have a less chichi sounding term. I know that one of the creative types here can some up with something.

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      • Katie Puckrik says:
        6 April 2010 at 6:07 pm

        Well, the “head” suffix is a pretty standard way to indicate one is an aficionado of something, and “fume” is a punny double entendre for both perfume as well as an indication of what trails out of the bottle. “Fumefan” is fun and pithy, too.

        I also like “fumies” for its playfulness and similar feel and meaning to “foodies”.

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        • RusticDove says:
          6 April 2010 at 6:29 pm

          Yep, ‘Fumie’ is cute. ;-)

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        • nozknoz says:
          7 April 2010 at 9:58 pm

          I don’t actually mind fumehead. Perfumista seems less obscure but I have trouble identifying with that term for the reason you note. I like to think of myself as a LLLLLanvin Lover, actually ;-)

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      • zeezee says:
        7 April 2010 at 8:10 am

        Frag hag *is* hilarious, though it has negative connotations, perhpas too much so. I personally stick to “fraggle” if I have to, with the added bonus of helping people remember the awesome 80’s cartoon Fraggles. :D

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        • Robin says:
          7 April 2010 at 10:18 am

          Frag Hag originally came out of MakeupAlley, I think, but was later used on the Beauty Bash boards to make fun of people on MakeupAlley…so I think it has definite negative connotations.

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    • Robin says:
      6 April 2010 at 6:38 pm

      Hey, you should use whatever term you want, don’t mind us!

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  9. Tama says:
    6 April 2010 at 2:29 pm

    Well, I never can quite call myself a perfumista, because to me it connotes a bit more expertness than I have. I’m sorry to say I pretty much have designated myself a perfume ho.

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    • boojum says:
      6 April 2010 at 3:11 pm

      LOL Tama, same reasoning as mine. I don’t know anything… except what I like. I can’t tell you if something is “well done” or “cutting edge” or “brilliant”, but I actually don’t care. (Which I suppose begs the question, what am I doing here?)

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      • miss kitty v. says:
        6 April 2010 at 3:38 pm

        Eh. It’s an art, it’s subjective. No one’s an expert, and everyone’s an expert.

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    • Robin says:
      6 April 2010 at 6:38 pm

      Interesting. To me, the term does not connote any sort of authority, more like a measure of just how addicted you are.

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  10. redscorpio says:
    6 April 2010 at 5:47 pm

    Fumehead reminds me of “petrolhead” (car enthusiast) or even worse a petrol/glue sniffer- not the best connotation. There must be a better word!

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    • Robin says:
      6 April 2010 at 6:39 pm

      I have never heard petrolhead either…that really does sound like a “problem” more than an affinity.

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  11. Katie Puckrik says:
    6 April 2010 at 6:20 pm

    Robin, surprised you didn’t mention the author of that the NYT article is Virginia Heffernan, a dedicated fumehead…uh, perfumitrix…uh, scentsualist…uh, classy lady who only inhales fragrances delicately and in refined moderation and can stop anytime she wants to…uh, I give up! Anyway, Virginia’s the one who gave your blog a nice plug two years ago in the Times with this piece:
    http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/16/magazine/16wwln-medium-t.html

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    • Robin says:
      6 April 2010 at 6:40 pm

      Sorry to say I did not remember the name — I have the memory skills of a head of cabbage, sadly.

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    • dee says:
      6 April 2010 at 11:54 pm

      I think I’m going to go with “perfumitrix”. People already think I’m wacky because I walk around inviting them to smell me.

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  12. Joe says:
    6 April 2010 at 8:36 pm

    Maybe one of the reasons I don’t mind “fumehead” is because I’ve commonly heard “gearhead” in different contexts.

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    • CynthiaW says:
      7 April 2010 at 10:46 am

      I don’t mind it either – but being a band nerd and scifi nerd has inured me to being worried about what other people think of my odd habits. I usually think of my self as a perfume aficionado though – but that’s too long to type and/or say, so I stick with perfumista or fumehead.

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  13. mindxpandr says:
    7 April 2010 at 7:30 pm

    How about “fragophile”? Or does that invoke visions of snuggling with creatures from Fraggle Rock?

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    • Robin says:
      7 April 2010 at 9:21 pm

      Yeah, not loving that one either! Anyway, I think perfumista is too widely used to get displaced now.

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