By request, a poll about storage. Tell us how you store your fragrance collection — samples and bottles — and any other methods you use (databases, etc) to organize and keep track of what you have.
Note: top image is Empty card catalog [cropped] by Sage Ross at flickr; some rights reserved.
OH, the card catalog!!! Miss them. . . (and apparently, I’m not alone, as they can be had for HUNDREDS of dollars in “antique” stores here in hip Portland!)
My bottles are stored in my “perfume cupboard.” It is a wall vanity that I bought for $10 at a reuse store. I like the narrow shelving–bottles can’t hide too far behind each other–and it’s *nearly* large enough for my collection. Always finding myself looking at cute things to replace it with that have more space . . .
Samples are less-well-situated. I have a hanging jewelry organizer (that needs reorganization) that used to be alphabetical samples I was choosing to keep for reference. Then there’s the large bowl of untesteds. And a few piles of them, too. And then there’s the box of samples to give away as freebies or whatever. Throw one in there, and it will not be sniffed again!
I have a spreadsheet. I used to keep track of everything. Now, since I’ve switched almost entirely to my iPad, I never update the spreadsheet. I’d like to, but I don’t want to pay to get Word back. Would love to know if there’s something similar that folks use and like.
Google Sheets! Free and web-based, so you can use it on any device.
I agree, Google sheets is great and there is a free Google docs app for iPad and iPhone.
Can it be used without internet, too? My iPad is on wifi, so sometimes I don’t have a connection.
You can mark a file keep on device so that you can access it without internet.
I don’t know if it’s available for iPad, but I use Open Office on my laptop. It’s free and open-source, and it is compatible with Microsoft document formats (i.e. .doc, .xls, etc)
Thanks, Sweetgrass! I like knowing I have a few options to consider. 🙂
I miss them too! I’ve been tempted to buy one more than once, although no idea what I’d do with it. Back in the day, though, I honestly kept a list of my own books.
I might have been the source of this poll, but in any case I am very grateful to see it and enthusiastic about all the inspiring practices I’m going to see. I wonder if collectors are natural list makers?
Bottles take up a couple of shelves on a bookshelf and samples take up 5 small shopping bags (from buying perfume)–one bag has untried manufacturer samples, one bag is “use up bit don’t rebuy” which is my version of purgatory, one is tried manufacturer samples along with tried samples that have packaging (MIN and Sephora), and 2 are of samples that I have purchased organized by various colored organza bags so that the samples I purchased around the same time have their own color since I tend to go on sample buying binges.
Today is my 6 yr cancer free day and I will be celebrating by hanging out with a few NY fumies and buying a new perfume (of course)
Oh, and I forgot having a little box of samples I don’t like that I eventually give away
Ended up getting Marions Nous. I had a blast hanging out with a couple of NY fumies. It was really fun to compare what each of our chemistries did to the same scent. Realized we spent almost 4 hours straight with almost every sentence( except for a few about brunch) talking perfume.
Big congrats! Sorry I couldn’t make it this time.
Have a wonderful day today, Rena! And again, big congrats to you on cancer-free for 6 years!!
6 years!!! Do you feel relief, or is there still a sense of waiting-and-seeing?
Congrats on the anniversary, and many more to come!
Congratulations on 6 years!
How lovely, huge congrats!!
Congrats on your six-year anniversary. I hope you buy something wonderful to celebrate!
What a wonderful anniversary! May you have many more.
Congratulations! Have fun on your fumies get-together. I hope to make the next one.
How wonderful! 😀 Congratulations
That must be a great thing to celebrate. Hope you have a wonderfully fragrant time!
Congratulations! You are a warrior! Hope you are having a fabulous day!
6 years – wonderful! Have a great day and do let us know what you get to celebrate. You are a joy.
Rena, congratulations on 6 years cancer free! Wish I could be there to celebrate with you. You are such a kind lady–I’ll always think of meeting up with you in NYC and sharing the JAR experience! That was such great fun. May you continue to have fun, fragrant adventures.
Hoorah! That’s wonderful, so glad you celebrated well!
Sorry that I had to miss this. Congrats and enjoy your new full bottle! How many places did you guys make it to?
Congratulations! So nice that you found such a great way to celebrate.
It was great fun…thanks for including me! Looking forward to trying my sample of your purchase too. Good choice! Hope you had a wonderful evening…
Wearing vintage Fendi Uomo.
For storage, i bought an Ikea bookcase that I set up in my walk in closet. It is dedicated to my addiction. On the lower shelves I have storage boxes for all my back up bottles. On the top shelf I keep the prurgatory basket, frag related books and a journal where I keep notes on perfumes I’ve tried, liked, loved, hated.
One shelf is reserved for those what-was-I-thinking FB.
Oh no! An entire shelf of “what were you thinking?!” That’s unfortunate.
Unfortunate–and I’m sympathetic, not judgey! (Not sure the tone comes across!)
That shelf makes reminds me of the Catherine Deneuve character in The Hunger keeping all of her former lovers in the attic, because she loved them at some point. Lol
Hahaha–now at the top of my to-watch list 🙂
Ha…that’s honesty! My “what were you thinking” are generally hiding in the back of my cupboard where I can successfully pretend they don’t exist.
I know others would have a field day because I keep my collection on my dresser. Right now, my full bottles are really starting to compete with my Galileo thermometer collection and I really need to clean out a space for that old TV stand and refinish it. My worn and reviewed decants go in a make up bag and unworn and un reviewed are in another.
Hey, that’s a great place to be. It’s under control!
Mine are in my closet-arranged in those ikea soft fabric folding strange containers .
A question unrelated to storage, anyone tried the Amouage Sunshine?
That’s on my to-test list too.
I’ll always test a new Amouage! Haven’t done a pilgrimage to Our Lady for a little while, though, so I don’t know if it’s arrived here, yet. . .
There was someone here a month or so ago who had Sunshine as his gravatar! He and a couple of other commenters were discussing how much others they liked Sunshine.
Yes, it was Johanob!
Well..talk away! Would love to hear
Yes, now I remember – let’s hope Johanob drops by this weekend.
Yes, and it was beautiful, aptly named, but I couldn’t tell you more about about it because unusually, it stuffed my nose right up! I was afraid it would be all Amouages but so far not. I have to try Sunshine again.
Hallo Perfumistas!Long time no see!Lol.Amouage Sunshine:ahhh yes.When someone describes Sunshine to you as “Sunshine in a bottle”,please DO BELIEVE THEM!Because it really is.It smells of white and yellow Island flowers and Vanilla.It’s not too sweet or too flowery.You get the “beachy” vibe akin to Bronze Goddess,but more sun-warmed skin than actual sun-tan lotion.Fantastic sillage and longevity.Perfection in summer.a 100ml will last you forever.Hope this helps?Lol.xo Johano
Thank you Johanob. I am ordering a sample.
Sounds very interesting and I could use some “sunshine”
Also, sounds FB worthy!
I own a FB of Journey woman. Its my fav
Journey is gorgeous.My favorite Amouage are Beloved,Lyric Woman and Sunshine.Sunshine is very un-Amouage,and it may surpise or disappoint lovers of the brand,depending on what they found beautiful in their other creations.
This sounds like my kind of scent! Now I’m very curious to try. I appreciate the beauty of the Amouage line, but haven’t found one that’s really “me”.
Then you MUST try this one!;-))
Johano – hello! Long time no chat. Where did you get the Sunshine? I can’t find a US retailer.
Storage for me: on the dresser on a silver tray, in a darkened room; samples in tea cups; banished samples in plastic baggies in a drawer; banished FBs in a bathroom cabinet. I’m not a good organizer.
A question for all: I have Azemour (love) Grand Neroli (um, no, overwhelming). Would Anne Pliska be orange overkill? I love the description but don’t want to focus on orange/neroli/mandarine. Too many other goodies out there.
I am not a lover of these scents, so YMMV, but to my nose, the orange in Anne Pliska dissipates into the warm, sweet heart pretty quickly. And it isn’t the dry orange of Azemour, but more of a sweet, orange creamsicle kind of note.
Thanks. Marjorie Rose. Not sure creamsicle sounds like a good idea. Isn’t it odd how tiring neroli can become?
One more thing: I will put Grand Neroli on the next swap meet unless a niece swings by in the interim and poaches my things.
Annie!My friend!So behind on news!We need to mail!Still owe you a postcard and a vial as well…Sunshine came directly from Dubai with a friend who visited Turkey and had a stop-over in Dubai.Gotta love the mules.Lol.xo
Johano! I owe you samples, and a card. Wish I had a friend in Dubai 🙂 Hope you are well, email me at ann dot dalrymple at gmail dot com or send a postcard! Also tell Merlin I had samples set aside for her a year ago and never got her address. Perhaps I can take care of both commitments with one trip to the post office (and one tiny fib to the postal person).
Aedes in New York city carried Sunshine
Thanks, Lovestosmellgood. I need to be in NYC later this month, although at the dreaded Javits. Will try to find a way to the West Village. Appreciate the tip!
I usually keep samples in the manilla envelopes they usually come in, but I’m a bad perfumista and keep my full bottles on top of my dresser in the open for display! I don’t have that many and most are about empty so I’ll take the risk, but I probably will need to find some better storage if I keep falling down the rabbit hole.
Scentless right now, but hopefully going to do some window shopping later and will probably spray Opium or Shalimar on while the counter clerks aren’t looking!
Just doused myself as best I can with a sample of En Passant that I found last week. Waiting to see if it casts its spell on me. I find it pretty, but so far, kinda wish it was MORE. How does it do with a proper spritzing?
I’ve tried this about 3 times (sprayed) very well made and even lovely, but no angels began singing. I don’t plan to part with my decant but I also don’t plan to spring for a FB.
I could see myself getting a decant some time. Or maybe will be lucky enough to see a coffret for sale again–that 5mL bottle might be just the right size. 🙂
It’s lovely but it never gets to MORE for me. I enjoy its serenity, but it’s not something that lasts a long time and that’s important to me. Like allgirlmafia, I won’t spring for a FB but I thought is was worth the 10ml travel spray.
Serene is a good word for it!
Agreed: lovely, but it doesn’t have enough presence to really stick around on me. Sigh.
We need to invent a scent-magnifier!
Wouldn’t that be fabulous!
Could be terrible, too! 😉
Might BE terrible. Especially if somebody used it on a sillage monster like Aromatics Elixir. Or Youth Dew. Or Poison.
OY.
I’m certain there was an article here a while back,on a Comme de Garçons release that was something like a scent or note-magnifier?
I can’t think what that was! There’s the Concrete Primer, but that’s not quite the same thing.
My husband bought it for me after I had taken it off my wish list ( he doesn’t know this) because although I love it for about the first 5 minutes…. The fragrance dissipates very quickly on me, on my pillows, on my scarves… I’ve tried it all.. . That said, I deal with it by spraying liberally and often… But this regimen makes it one of my most expensive perfumes. I do love the Pathway in Monet’s Garden in Giverney scent of it regardless.
Oh, and such a thoughtful gift, too! So sorry it hasn’t quite worked out for you! Into my hair is my usual back-up plan for a weak scent, but that’s difficult to test with a dabber sample. 😉
Yeah it makes sense to me that it may not be your steez. I love it, like, superlatively so, but I’m really kind of a lightweight (e.g. lots of Tauers strike me as so beautiful but more powerful than I can wear comfortably), so I can see how those who enjoy some oomph to their perfume may feel a little underwhelmed by this one.
It’s ok, more for me 😉
Yes, I remembered that you loved this one! It *is* pretty, but as you say, I tend to like my scents with some oomph. There are exceptions, like L’eau d’Hiver, which is not powerful on me, but sticks around and gives me a wonderful, sneaky whiff here and there, and sometimes that’s exactly what I want! I might tuck this sample away until the weather heats up–my collection for the hottest days is still quite paltry.
Oh weather is such a good call–it’s almost entirely a spring fragrance for me, occasionally summer, and then by fall/winter, it really doesn’t stand up. Yes that may well be the issue, do try it again in warmer temperatures!
I bought a cupboard at Ikea a long time ago that is 5ft h, 2ft w, 1ft d with four shelves. Then I had to buy 3 of those 3-shelf expanding shelves (like they sell for kitchen cupboards so you can cram more spices in). Those are full and the untested samples and eventual give-aways have spilled over to the top of the dressing table. My samples are in labeled baggies by house, and then stuck in a shoe box alphabetically. Somehow it all works and I can find what I want to wear.
I love card catalogs, and that photo is wonderful!
Wearing the original Lolita Lempicka today.
Libraries are continually asked nowadays, in a casual manner, if they have any old card catalogues lying about to be bought for a pittance. Answer: no. ..
I can believe it.
I have two mirrored trays on the top of my dresser, roughly divided into the Summer side and the Winter side, with a scarf thrown on top of them to protect from sunshine. In the living room there is the bowl of samples, and a candy box of unwanted samples and probably unwanted perfumes.
I am now imagining a dramatic “tossing of the scarf” after glamorously spritzing with a lovely fragrance. . . (probably a slight wind blowing the hair back from your face along the way, too)!
🙂
Shoe boxes when I’m good. A carpet of perfume across all available surfaces when I’m bad. In other words, carpets and shoeboxes.
The shoe boxes contain smaller boxes — the ones used to package scented candles fit very nicely — which contain samples and most decants organized into a these families:
rose
other floral
green/aromatic
citrus
chypre
edible
amber
abstract — aka huh?
leather/dirty/musky/animal
smoke/tobacco/incense/resin/woods/patchouli/vetiver
stuff my wife wears
The ‘edible’ candle box recently spawned two additional boxes: non-citrus fruity and vanilla.
Inside the candle boxes, theoretically everything is also in an appropriately-sized zip-up baggie, and some of those have categories as well, e.g. the floral box has baggies for purple, green, white and yellow; the edible box has baggies for coffee, chocolate, booze, honey, spicy, coconut, other nuts and grains, and dessert.
Funnily, the most-articulated categories are my least favorite overall: gourmands and ambers. I think I started labeling them so precisely to avoid an annoyance particular to the disorganized, adventurous, yet persnickety perfumista: “Let’s try something new today!” I think to myself. And then the disappointment when I realize I’ll be smelling of nutella-grape soda all day because it’s time to leave for work. My insane system lets me calibrate my sampling adventurousness. For example, “anything but amber” comes up pretty often.
That was samples.
Rollerballs and tall-and-skinny decants and minis all share one particularly tall-and-skinny candle box.
Naked bottles are in shoeboxes, more or less by size. Boxed bottles are in a separate shoebox. Minis in their original boxes usually end up being large enough to store with the naked bottles.
Naked minis have their own shoebox, where they are constantly falling over and anyway impossible to find. I love minis in theory, but in practice they are the trickiest for me to manage, and that means I wear those scents the least often.
I’d love to get some advice on minis for the furniture-challenged. I don’t have space for more furniture in my apartment!
I love it that you have a category called “stuff my wife wears.”
How else could she possibly find it?
🙂
Impressive categorization! Boxes within boxes within boxes. I’ll re read this when I want new ideas.
I should have been a 19th century naturalist.
How often have I said this to myself?!
Occupational hazard?
I love your categories–I need to further divide mine, and this is a great idea. I particularly like the baggies within boxes idea. Thumbs up!!
Thanks, HS!
Originally the baggies were there to reduce evaporation and hold the vials upright, but once I started labeling them, there was no turning back.
One bad thing about baggies and evaporation is that sometimes the writing on the vials inside becomes illegible.
I’m still working out exactly what that process is. So far my guess is that the concentration of ethanol within the baggie gets rather high as the perfumes evaporate, and some of the ethanol condenses on the vials, dissolving the ink pigments. The next parts are less obvious to me. Does some of the pigment evaporate with the ethanol? Is there an ethanol-pigment complex that is subject to capillary action by the paper substrate? By the look of the result, I’d say both are true, but I haven’t completed my research….
My full bottles are on my dresser and in a box on the floor – I am trying to figure out a better long term solution. I was eyeing this cabinet from ikea to mount on the wall in my bedroom (http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/60280955/), but it was pointed out how awful it would be if it wasn’t put up right and was too heavy and crashed to the floor 😯 I want something with shallow shelves because I want to be able to see it all when I look in – it is really hard to find a shelf or cabinet that is shallow!
I am, however, happy with my sample storage. Another person (can’t remember who or where) suggested ammo cases for perfume samples and it is perfect! I have a few cases that store the 1 mL vials, and I have them organized by house. I also have another case where I arrange by note, usually whatever note I want to explore at the time (vetiver, rose, etc.). There are cases (for rifle ammo) that fit the larger samples – the 2-3 mL spray vials, like the ones from Nordstroms. This system makes it really easy to find a particular sample that I am looking for.
I keep track of everything I have and want on a spreadsheet, but it needs to be updated. I also note my thoughts down on the spreadsheet when I sample, and make comparisons.
Hi Rose Pepper…. I believe that was me. However, I can’t take credit. I filched the idea from a utube video review for MDCI. Perfume. I’m so happy that this method worked out for you!
Thanks Petunia!
I’m still very new to this so my samples are all easily contained in a small box. I also tend to use them up so they don’t really accumulate.
However, I do want to share this awesome storage system for samples and decants (not decays, caught that one) using ammo trays and test tube holders.
https://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&ei=cgXyVPqnDKi1sQT7soKYDQ&url=http://m.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DrZJDjhwCF88&ved=0CBsQtwIwAA&usg=AFQjCNGaliGn5zLUQ_7cRZtQ2j4Z0mcPLQ
I’m thinking of ordering some of the ammo trays. Even with my limited sample collection I know it would make finding things a breeze.
I have been very happy with the ammo boxes. The 38/357 caliber boxes are perfect for 1 mL sample vials – I have a few of the MTM 100 Round Flip-Top Ammo Box 38/357 Cal. The .222 to .222mag caliber works well for the 2-3 mL size vials – I had a harder time finding ones that fit the larger vials.
Good to know, thanks. I’ll take a look at my local sporting goods store to see what sizes they have.
Oddly enough, I use a card catalog to keep track of samples and small decants! It’s a smaller one (only 6 slots), but it’s a great method!
Samples and decants are alphabetical by house in 2 front and back hanging jewellery organisers. The clear pockets are the best system ive tried for these so far.
3 small bowls piled with untested samples on my dresser.
A 3 shelf bookcase in the dark spare room with all my bottles arranged by house. Niche on top shelf, then in groups of French, Italian etc. The boxes are stored in a big box (or 2) but the bottles are kept behind a blanket. I found i wouldnt reach for perfumes as much if i had to take them out the box each time so thats why they are boxless.
Seasonal rotation of about 20 on my dresser. But i still head to the motherload when I get the craving.. 🙂
Good evening NST folks!
So I turned 25 last Tuesday and decided that my birthday treat will be Aedes Oeillet Bengale.
When it comes to storing my bottles, I keep them in decorative boxes like these: http://goo.gl/6XGWDO I keep them in those boxes without their original carton. When a perfume is packaged in a harder and thicker box I keep it in that original box.
I keep samples in test tube holders like those: http://goo.gl/swSY9j, they are rather useful and they fit well in a drawer. The only problem is a diameter as some samples are offered in more “fat” vials.
SotD is Giovanni Sammarco Ariel for the first time
Great idea with the test tube holders!
Happy birthday Lucas. Enjoy your bottle of Oeillet Bengale. How do you say oeillet anyway? Is it ee-yay?
By the way, I just realized that your avatar is a shirt and tie. I always saw it as a little black dress, lol.
I believe it’s like this: Oy-yeh.
Thanks.
Speaking of how to pronunce things, have you seen the Frag Name of the Day Blog? Fun stuff!
http://fragnameoftheday.blogspot.com/
Happy belated birthday!
Happy Birthday Lucas! You will love and enjoy the Oeillet Bengale. It has quickly become one of my favorites.
Happy Birthday, and enjoy the Oeillet Bengale. It is a lovely scent.
Love card catalogs!
Samples: same as foxbins. Clear baggies (those small 3×4 ones) labeled by house (BIG labels so I can read them without my glasses…ha!), filed alphabetically in boxes. No problems finding them. Currently-testing samples go in a little box in a bathroom drawer. Rejects go in a box under the sink til they get re-homed. Actually I have a couple of reject boxes, one for a friend’s daughter who likes fresh/mall scents, and one for perfumistas ;^)
FBs: unboxed, in a bin in a bathroom cabinet. In order to prevent them from clunking into each other when I pull the bin out, each one is clothed in a bit of old sock (whispered apologies to all those lovely bottles…) Empty boxes stored in a covered plastic bin in the basement.
Minis: in a small tray in a bathroom drawer. They have a tendency to fall over, so this is not quite working for me.
Decant storage isn’t working for me either, but I like the idea of test tube foam holders. hmmm
To be totally honest though, the FB storage bin has overflowed and I also have various samples waiting to be baggied.
A spreadsheet with testing notes, purchase notes, lists of things to try, etc keeps them all organized… or I’d never remember what I’ve already tried!
Are you ever tempted to sneak a few perfumista-faves into that mall-friendly collection? You know, just to see if influences can be had? 😉
I snuck a sample from L’Occitane in her last fresh/mall batch. Gateway scent?? hee hee
3 shallow top drawers in my bureau house my perfume stash. Then i have an assortment of boxes in the hall closet (back stock and out of season). I like keeping some separation in my wardrobe so i have an element of surprise when i go through my seasonal swap out.
The drawers are a mix of samples, minis, decants, and full bottles. Organized more by “this is something i might comfortably wear today and next month” than anything else. I have fun rearranging them from time to time.
Oddly enough, I don’t have any samples. I’ve found that I can’t get a real sense of a scent with those miserly things. So, I visit stores (specialty and department) if I’m interested in trying something new and tend to buy 3.4 ounces of the stuff I truly love.
In terms of storage, I’m all about the fridge. It’s currently home to roughly 40 bottles (unopened boxes in the veggie bin, the remainder – typically of open bottles – are kept in the side racks on the door). It’s pretty evenly split between vintage bottles of Guerlain’s Vetiver and Annick Goutal’s Eau d’Hadrien. Two wardrobe staples that smell amazing sprayed on straight from the fridge.
I’m jealous of your sample-restraint!
The fridge is so good. I love that it’s mostly dark in there, as well as cold. Do you have one for perfume? We just have the one fridge, so we have our choice of batteries, film, perfume, and ordinary comestibles.
No, I’m afraid of what would happen if I had a fridge dedicated to perfume storage!
I actually have two chests of drawers from an old hardware store that look like the card catalogue drawers in the photo, but I’m using them for jewelry, beads, and other small things rather than perfume
I have hallways between my closets, so I bought these very shallow shelves to put up against the otherwise empty wall space:
http://www.improvementscatalog.com/cabidor-26-23153-3b-behind-door-storage/276409?redirect=y
(Obviously, they are made to fit behind doors, which would be super, but my apartment doors are too close to the walls for that.)
I use cardboard cryo boxes from a lab supply company, Biologix, for my sample and decants. They are plain white cardboard with internal dividers and come in lots of different sizes. They are unobtrusive and inexpensive (note that the prices in the online catalogue are for multiple boxes). These were originally recommended by another commenter a couple of years ago.
FYI, I file alphabetically by brand and within brand alphabetically by name. But I have difficulty being consistent with brands like Tom Ford and Annick Goutal – under F and G, or under T and A?
I would go with T and A as this is how I refer to the perfume house, say, when I’m asking the SA to point out where those perfumes are located on the sales floor. For example, would you say I am looking for Dove, Roja Fetish?
🙂
My Tom Ford is filed under “T” but Parfums de Nicolai is filed under “N” and Teo Cabanel is filed under “C” because I can’t always remember his first name. As long as you can find what you’re looking for I don’t suppose it matters how you arrange them.
I have all of my ‘fumes in the hall linen closet. The FBs are arranged in acrylic trays by size, the rollerballs and those silly tall Bond samples are standing up in a bunch of crystal votive holders I found at a discount store and the samples are in ammo boxes and arranged pretty much alphabetically by house.
For those who use the ammo boxes, a piece of foam crammed in the lid helps to keep them from rattling/jumping out of their slots when being tossed in a suitcase, just thought I would share.
Ohh, I’ve been seriously considering going to ammo cans for sample storage. When I worked in a museum, we used them to keep equipment for field work and they were the best. (We even used one as an impromptu car jack once when we got the truck stuck in a remote area.) Ammo cans–so useful!
My partner bought me a wine fridge that I hold all my fragrant treasures in . It was a Christmas gift a few years ago. It’s in my hairdressing salon where I can spray before I start work and also to share and educate my clients if our conversation wanders to the fragrant . It was cluttered and unorganised until about 3 weeks ago . I have since organised it from Top Shelf vintage and extraits down to niche / department store and on to vintage discontinued .
It’s very indulgent but vital as I have bottles of Chanel’s from the 80s and 90 s that are perfectly chilling at 19• still perfect . I have seen a few less expensive wine fridges coming onto the market at discount retailers so you can pick one up at a good price if u shop around . Have a great weekend all .
Ooh love the idea of a wine fridge – just for you! (and your lucky clients)
My “frequently used” fragrances are on my vanity. The ones that I don’t wear very often are in a huge basket wear all my shower gels, lotions, and body spritz products are in. And, since my “Glossybox” boxes are so sturdy and pretty, I use them for all the samples I have. I have them separated by their notes (i.e. florals, fruity, spicy, etc..).
Gosh, I cannot compete with some of these elaborate storage systems. Key for me, I think, is to get rid of stuff often. Zip lock bags of samples I’ve tried and don’t like, another bag of samples I do like, but don’t love, and will pick from here and there.
And then one of my bureau draws is dedicated to jewelry and perfume. The perfume is laid out by bottles I love and use, a bowl containing new stuff I’m testing and that’s it.
I’m not at the point where I need major space and trying desperately to keep it that way.. living in NYC there’s not much extra room around.
SOTD for me is Bois des Iles perfume strength which is extraordinary! Thank you Ms.Hajusuuri 😉
For as good as the current formulation is (of BdI), I’m still waiting to try a vintage version. I’m glad you’re enjoying the sample.
Wow, you guys have lots of perfume! I have a rotating tray on a dresser in an alcove that has my current rotation of scents on it. I have been rotating 5 scents. Samples I am not using (11) go in a little bowl in the middle of the tray. Bottles I am not using (6) are in a shoe box in the top drawer of the dresser.
This worked well until yesterday when I got a bunch of samples from a generous person here (thank you, Ms. Hajusuuri!) and another 6 I had ordered from Lucky Scent.
Now my little bowl is full. I think I will suspend my usual rotation and test one new one a day until I have gone through them all. I am eager to try every one!
Today I put on Apres l’Ondee. My adorable husband said, “That smells good, sort of like Grey Flannel!” It must be the violets, I guess. The man surprises me on a daily basis. Is there any resemblance?
Ugh, storage! I’d really like a nice cabinet to hang on the wall, but I haven’t found the right one yet. For now, I have a wooden box for bottles (which is full) with spillover bottles on a corner of my bookshelf that doesn’t get any sun. Samples are all over the place–I have two colorful cardboard storage boxes that I keep samples in, with smaller boxes labeled for each season. I stick tested samples in the boxes I feel are appropriate for their season. My untesteds are just loose in the boxes (with a small pile on my desk).
For keeping track of what I own, I use Google spreadsheets. I organize them by brand then by collection, then alphabetical by scent name.
I would LOVE one of those old card catalogs though… too bad they’re so trendy thus expensive!
Sad to say I don’t yet have a storage system for my FBs, decants and samples. I have some FBs in my medicine cabinet but the vast majority are in tubs or boxes. The ones in boxes are stored in the basement which is cool year-round, My bell jars along with some of their friends are in a storage cabinet in the basement. My decants and samples are primarily in boxes and smaller plastic tubs and ammo boxes (as suggested by Undina). Although I have not explored the size for fit, I think coin tube storage boxes with dividers will actually make good decant storage. The boxes are very sturdy. My dad was an avid coin collector but I was not aware of this type of storage until I saw them in the discard pile (too late to be rescued for repurposing).
Hey all, I have a question about Kenzo Amour. I may decide I need a replacement of that one–I have no clue how much I have left, but it *feels* like maybe I’m near the end of mine. In any case, I bought it early on, in one of the white 1.7mL bottles. However, I’m having a hard time figuring out if the new, single-colored fuchsia bottles also indicate a reformulation or not. Anyone know for sure?
FWIW, there’s a rather hilariously useless conversation about this on the Sephora questions and answers page. Seems that public opinion is generally evenly split on if the new bottles and old bottles contain the same fragrance. . .
http://answers.sephora.com/answers/8723/product/P165123/questions.htm
That was hilarious! Reminds me of some graduate seminars I audited in college….
Ugh! I hope they were debating something *slightly* more important!
Hiya Marjorie Rose! I don’t have an answer to your Kenzo Amoir question but I wanted to let you know that your spontaneous purchase of Chanel No. 19 EDP created a lemming and I purchased one at the Chanel boutique yesterday. The uncharacteristically generous SA gave me a 4 mL mini of Misia and Sycomore.
Oh, fun! My bottle is scheduled to arrive tomorrow. . . I intend on spritzing madly for work on Tuesday! 😀
And what a wonderful SA! My limited experience with Chanel Boutiques did not give me the generous-with-samples-vibe.
My perfume journey started by a generous Chanel SA who gave me a huge handful of samples of everything they had. I was in high school, and wore Chanel with my gym clothes 🙂
Awesome! I bet your gym clothes were the least stinky in the entire school.
Criminy. But the right answer, I think, is what sabrinaq said…there were originally 3 colors for the same scent:
https://nstperfume.com/2006/08/22/kenzo-amour-fragrance-review/
https://nstperfume.com/2006/05/15/kenzo-amour-yves-rocher-new-fragrances/
That is what is now in the hot pink bottle. My guess is that it’s been reformulated since 2006 in any case, quite possibly more than once, because nearly everything has, bottle change or not.
Thanks for the voice of authority, Robin! 😉
I *am* afraid it’s been reformulated. I guess I’d better wander over to Sephora before I buy a new bottle.
I’m not familiar with what Amour used to smell like, but my recent testing of it at a Sephora did not give me a great impression of the sweet cozy scent people describe. It smelled very artificial and had a strong chemical overtone that I couldn’t get over.
Oh no! Might mean I’d need to surf the ‘bay if I want more of what I love!
This is not really a storage comment, and may simply reveal how dumb I really am….. But a couple of weeks ago I had the epiphany that could decant Lush shower gels into my bathroom hand soap dispenser. This simple little step has given me so much pleasure! MAny more times a day I get that little high from a whif of Flying Foxes or Rose Jam… And recently Prince Charming, and my husband and kids’s hands all smell great–and they haven’t noticed a thing. 🙂
I love this idea! Wish I had it when my kids were all still at home. They were Lush lovers at a very young age.
Fab idea! Hands washed in those would feel precious
I recently did this as well, and am enjoying my scented shower gels so much more!
Great idea! I may have to try this.
I keep all my full bottles on an etagere inside my closet, but not inside their boxes (too much trouble). Decants live on my dresser, roughly organized by family (rose, summery florals, orientals, etc.) into little ceramic cups, hollowed out candles etc. on a silver tray. My homme’s FB’s are displayed on his dresser; nothing’s gone bad yet. I’ve got samples in a big plastic bin, again roughly organized by family, under the etagere, and in-rotation samples basically scattered everywhere.
SOTD is Boxeuses (mmmmm).
Organized is definitely something I am not! 🙄 😀
Wearing Minotaure Paloma Picasso.
I have a narrow and high closet in my walk in and I keep my bottles there ( I reserved 3 levels) . For my samples and decants , I keep them in my FM perfume box, it opens from the top and keep these on my vanity.
I love to look at my bottles, so all 200 plus are out and proud, on vintage mirrored (and jeweled!) vanity trays, on whatever horizontal surfaces I can find for them.
I figure that since I have so much, a great deal of it will go bad regardless of how I store it, and I may as well indulge in the visual pleasure, too.
They are scattered all around with my costume jewelry thrown into the mix and it is all quite sparkly and girly and opulent, and it brings me much joy.
At the other end of the scale are my samples, which I keep in stacks of plastic .357 caliber ammo boxes. Not quite so sparkly, but it’s got that tomboy vibe to it! 😛
Our bedroom is right off the back deck of our house; we target shoot quite a bit out there and my husband and I have both mistakenly grabbed a box of samples more than once!
Joy is good.
JolieFleurs, I am in your camp – I want to experience the entire thing. Beautiful bottles, whiffs of scent, visual variety, and for me (not attributing this to you or anyone, showing my hoarding tendencies) the excitement of having all these wonderful bits of beauty just sitting there, waiting to be looked at and explored.
My FB are in a dresser, grouped mostly by house, most in their boxes. I’ve declared that I can only have perfume to fit in the dresser, and in my defense, a couple of the drawers are used for office/computer stuff.
My samples were organized in plastic boxes, the size that holds a sandwich. Each box has a theme, florals, citrus/green, woods/incense, musk/oriental, purgatory and unknown. Right now, I have little baggies unsorted, scattered about. Everywhere! Tucked out of sight, but all over the place. That’s why I laughed about Erin’s Mount Sample, there are so many little vials, it really is hard to organize them!
BTW, SOTE (for the date) was Silver Iris, and, Laurels, I took your advice and wore something I enjoy rather than just a sample. Be well.
My perfume bottles are stored in an old IKEA CD storage tower that is bolted to the skinnier Billy bookshelf. Combined, they are wide enough for the opaque glass doors they sell. The great part is that the shelves are adjustable so I have crammed nearly everything by house on those shelves. Of course, they are creeping over into the main bookshelves, which hold all my other girly treasures. (Clear Command hooks for necklaces, etc). When I open the doors, the smell wafts out! Samples are pressed into the green foam squares florists use – it fits any size sample and keeps them from tipping over, etc. I don’t really catalogue what’s have but I keep a journal of all scents tried.
Full bottles and their various coordinating body lotions/creams/butters are arranged in order of height (tallest in back rows and on down) on the right side of my dresser, jewelry box resides on left.
My carded and vial samples live in a shoebox in my closet where it’s nice and cool, and my Sephora samples are in a small Victoria’s Secret bag so that I can keep those plastic bags separate from the cards/vials.
This was so fun to see what everyone else does! It’s almost as if perfume brings out the ritualista in everyone!
Ritualista, I love it!
I’m so glad I’m not the only one who uses shoeboxes.
Sister! 🙂
Wow,great ideas! I used tu have whole wall including a dressing table for my smellies (also candles incense,soaps and such) before the babies,but now i hide them in my closet. I have a smaller collection,so they fill only one shelf, full bottles and minis, nice decants in rows, generic decants in a row of felt pockets pinned on the walls of the cabinet,and samples in a 24- compartment wooden teabag display divided into categories like leather, white floral, amber,etc. I only wish to have storage problems these days, but I had to get rid of many of my stuff (first pregnancy smell-aversion,then financial hard times). I am building the collection back again:).
Mine is organized by time=memory, i.e. when and where I bought them. Most of my special purchases are related to trips abroad (Eurpe and US), as I have lived in South Africa and Kenya, where there is hardly anything to be had —– or so I THOUGHT, until Merlin showed me the joys of Johannesburg perfume shopping! So: not grouped by category or house – but by the memory of the trip. As I have just moved from Kenya back to SA, and things are in an assortment of boxes, suitcases, bin bags, etc, it will take some memory jogging to remember what comes from where. Might be good for the move-foggy brain!
And what a wonderful pleasure to unpack each bottle! (Though I can see how unpacking everything in general is just a huge drag…)
I’m very glad to be able to share my rigorous research on perfume shopping perfume in Joburg! Look forward to future sniffing trips 🙂
Welcome back Ida!Hope Durban is treating you well!We must mail…Sharon looks forward to meeting you sometime.xo
That is brilliant! It makes so much sense to me in terms of how perfume affects me, and it’s so different from my own approach.
Thanks, All. It is an understatement to say the theme-Fridays have been a challenge: here 2 testers in a vintage bag, there a bottle in a shoe, here a decant wrapped in a towel, there a discovery set in a plastic bowl … it’s like an early Easter egg hunt! Looking fwd to South African shopping trips and scented talks!
That is exactly how I pack my perfume when i just go on holiday. I always get worried in case I FORGET I have one in a shoe and try put the shoe on, breaking the bottle… Or that I will shake out a sweater, forgetting a bottle is rolled in it… So far, none of those have happened but I’m so forgetful it feels like its just a matter of time.
Storage.Lol.Always been a headache for me and my “little” collection…The vintage stuff and my most prized ones are all in a sizeable wine fridge.Perfectly set to Osmotheque temps.lol.Then I bought some 25l cooler boxes one would usually use for camping trips for beverages.They help keep the other lovelies at a constant temperature out of the sun.All these are in a built-in cupboard in my bedroom.In front of them is the rest,most are boxed,even the testers I bought.This has worked well for me so far.I only lost one bottle so far(Swarovski Aura…no big loss really)that fell out of the cupboard-it was boxed but still split in half and I lost it all,on a carpet)
In my opinion the death of Aura was a blessing :p
Lol.In hindsight I do concur.
What do you do about the carpet?
Well luckily it did not stain the carpet.But I had to live with the STENCH OF AURA up my nose for a month…Every time I went to the cupboard it would hit me.Merlin talked me out of getting a replacement bottle.Sometimes she can be a good un-enabler.SOMETIMES.
He he…for every bottle I get I’v talked myself out of 3, so lots of practice! Lol!
Am I the only one that now wants to know how big people’s collections are?
Didn’t you just add, ahem, one (or maybe more) lovely to yours 😉
Yes. I just added one and am now in the high 70s in terms of bottle count plus hundreds of samples
Absolutely not – I’m curious too! My own collection is what I like to think of as medium-sized (about 20 full bottles, a dozen or so large-ish decants, and about 100 sample vials either untried or under consideration, and that many more samples in purgatory). Out-of-season bottles get put away in the wine fridge during the summer, and current-rotation bottles and sample vials kept on a shelf in the bedroom closet (which stays pretty chilly in our Oregon winters).
I like things at eye-level and clearly visible, so FBs are unboxed on an eye-level shelf, and samples, minis and decants are in clear acrylic small divided bins (the kind that are meant for makeup or nail polish bottles) on the same shelf, sorted roughly by note or “family” (e.g., Masculines or Old School Perfumes). Unloved samples are in plastic ziplock bags within a larger organza bag on a different shelf so they don’t remind me of their existence too often. 🙂 My fall/winter rotation is rather larger than spring/summer … but that might be more a function of having indulged in a bit of a buying frenzy lately.
Ahahahahahaha! I’d bet that having a “medium-sized collection” is A LOT like being self-described “middle class!!!” Few will want to admit to being excessive! 😀
Case in point!!– *I* have a medium-sized collection, which contains perhaps 50 FBs in various amounts of use. I have also begun the slow drumbeat of “back-ups” which adds maybe 5 more bottles of some well-loved scents. I don’t have many decants, perhaps 5-10, most from swaps. Oh, there’s some minis in there, too. . . No idea how many samples, a few hundred maybe?
In my own defense, I have slowed WAY down in my purchasing, and much of what I buy now are discontinued cheapies I find at Goodwill or whatever.
Isn’t it interesting that “medium” in this context is optimal? In other contexts, bigger/more is always better, and in other contexts lately, smaller/less is considered more acceptable – think TV time, or house size (especially here in the trendy Pacific Northwest). But it’s all personal perception – my “medium” is probably someone else’s huge, and yet another someone’s restrictively small. I think “medium” spans across my 20 and your 50 with room to spare. 🙂
Yes! I suspect in this case, it is about not wanting to seem excessive/addicted/too-odd, as ALL of us here must feel a bit out of the norm already–to own more than a bottle or two makes us a minority in the general population. Thanks for including me in your “medium!” I could use the positive external reinforcement. 😀
(Similarly, a “small” house shows how conscientious, eco-chic, non-consumer-culture-driven . . . saintly, we are! It’s all about fitting in with the current cultural values. I am, BTW, quite saintly. 😉 )
Marjorie Rose – I have a small house, but I’ll admit to anyone it is because I’m lazy! When our realtor showed us larger houses, I’d whisper to my boyfriend – who is going to clean ALL this? Not me! Also, I fear becoming a hoarder. Instead I consider myself a “collector,” and less space means less “collecting”
I have NO 😉 idea what you could be talking about. I am middle-aged, middle- class, average weight, centrist in my politics, and have a very medium-sized collection of fragrances. I suppose I am above average in my “middlingness.”
🙂
As Steven Wright would say, you’re an “extra medium.”
Unfortunately I’d have to shoot you after I told you…lol.Not boasting,but it has gotten out of control big over here….
Probably good Our Lady of Scented Indulgence Donatella Versace doesn’t do a total perfume collection poll now and again, huh?
Lol.Only Merlin has a rough idea of what’s been happening in my perfumed life..I recently sent her photographic evidence of a portion of it.Lol.
Fragrantica used to have that thread where you could post photos of your collection. And I have some Facebook friends who sometimes post photos of theirs… My jaw drops – sometimes at the expanse of bottles, and sometimes at how beautiful the collection/display is. Sometimes both.
It is so amazing looking at photos of collections. There is the thrill of recognition when one sees a bottle one knows 🙂 I guess that’s the way birders feel in the wild! 😮
Thanks for the pic, J!
I have 30ish full bottles. Lots of minis and roller balls/travel sprays too. I’ve been an official perfumista only about a year or two, so… I see more bottles in my future 😉
I keep all my perfumes, samples and bottles, in an IKEA bookcase that I repurposed as closet shelving. It’s one of the ones with square shelves that can be used horizontally or vertically. On top of the unit are bottles in their boxes, and on the next one down, the rest of the boxed bottles in back, and the bottles with no boxes in front of them on the right side (this is all roughly by height so things are relatively easy to see and reach without knocking other stuff over). And minis and decants are in front on the left side.
Then next shelf down, I have my samples in a plastic modular drawer. This part is just anarchy. They’re just kind of thrown in there and not really organized.
As for tracking.. I sometimes think I should do that, but it doesn’t last long. 😛
FWIW, my collection is about 50 FBs, around 30 minis (including travel sizes and small-size perfume oils), and about 15 decants in various sizes. And then the samples, of which I have an unknown number. I give away samples frequently, so the number stays relatively under control.
I store perfume samples, decants, minis, and decanting supplies in fishing tackle boxes of the type shown at http://www.amazon.com/Plano-23701-00-Stowaway-Adjustable-Dividers/dp/B000E39T5K/ref=pd_sim_sg_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=1T0WCR3SS31YQMQJG1JH. These boxes are cheap ($3-$10), stackable, can accommodate labels, come in a wide assortment of sizes and configurations, are readily available at many “big box” stores, and provide maximum storage flexibility through their system of removable subdividers. They also seem to me safer and less fiddly than baggies.
Yes, size matters when it comes to storage systems. I hope my collection (and my discipline) grows sufficiently for me to start devising sub categories within categories – though on the other hand, the wish to remain modestly “medium-sized” does strike a chord 😉
I wonder if it’s like pants. We add pounds until they fit too tightly. . .
Haha 😆
Then my perfume cupboard must be filed under Morbidly Obese.You guys aren’t very good at un-enabling,and Donatella is way tooooo far away to scare me.Lol.I’m pretty sure there MUST be HUGE collections out there well.I stumbled upon an estate sale in Johannesburg a couple of years ago.One of the people were an avid perfumista.They were selling bags and bags of perfumes and samples for something like $2 a bag.I tried to resist.Did not buy EVERYTHING at least.Lol
I try to stay in the realm of pleasantly plump. 😀 I would have a hard time resisting a buffet like that estate sale, though!!! Pile my plate full of fried chicken. . .
Hehehe!I like that better.Pleasantly plump.Gonna steal that description thanks MR!lol
That estate sale sounds like paradise!
Reminds me of a Rammstein song, ‘Too big, too small / Size does matter / After all…’ I would post a link, but its a little crude 😀
Such an interesting discussion! Due to my allergies, and very limited storage space, when I find something I don’t just love, I tend to want to get rid of it! So I find myself pruning my small collection pretty rigorously. Right now, in addition to 11 bottles, I have about 30 untested samples and decants, and this feels sort of overwhelming to me, like too much! The descriptions of the larger collections amaze me!
I store my perfumes in a long, low antique oak dresser that I got at the thrift store for $75 complete with huge mirror. I store my modest collection of samples and decanting supplies in an archival quality photo box that fits nicely in said dresser. I am addicted to Violet candies, though not a fan of violet notes in perfume, so I repurpose the beautiful little tins into containers for samples to keep them somewhat organized and these fit in the afore mentioned box.
Wow, everyone is very organized with their perfume storage. I am a misfit in comparison. All my perfumes are on the top of my dresser and bureau and nothing else is on either piece of furniture except perfume. There are approximately 250 (or more) of them. The bottles I store are in boxes under the bureau and dresser and also under my bed. I have toyed with the idea of a perfume cabinet but have not found one to my liking. The one good thing about my display is that they are all there to be seen and sprayed (or dabbed) on whim.
Wow, Filomena! I would love to have all my bottles out but the thought of having to dust on and around each one gives me a headache, so all mine are in a cupboard. Do you have a system to keep them all looking pretty?
Foxbins, a feather dust over all of them works fine for a general dusting. However, when I choose a scent, I clean it’s bottle thoroughly at that time.
Off-topic, but I just have to confess. Seems that everyone here is in agreement that Cuir de Lancome is one of the Best Things Ever, so a month or so ago I ordered a sample and tried it. I got Peaty Bandaids and nothing else, so scrubbed it off and swore to take my shameful secret to the grave. Then this morning decided to see if perhaps it just required a healthier application, and lo – I Get It Now. WOW.
I tested it once,maybe I also need a restest.Seeing we are confessing today:Cuir has never been my friend in ANY form(Yes,Azureé,glaring at you…..!lol)
Heh.
You’re allowed to not like something people generally find good, though. I finally “got” Mitsouko, from an early-80s parfum… but I still don’t love it. Oh well.
To each his/her own. We all have individual tastes and perfumes smell differently on each person. Therefore, we can’t expect to love all the supposedly “great” ones. There have been several perfumes that everyone seems to adore, but I find they do not work for me. It doesn’t matter as there are so many wonderful scents out there to choose from.
I would also like to point out that you’re allowed to like peaty bandaids, and indeed some of us do 😉
I’m glad some do, because otherwise CdL would never have been made. I’m not going to say I’ll *never* learn to enjoy peaty bandaids (Laphroig scotch – bleah), but it seems unlikely. 🙂
I like band-aids but not so much with the peat… that said, Cuir de Lancome smells to me like the inside of my mom’s good leather purse, ca. 1973, complete with one Revlon lipstick, face powder, and a hanky lightly scented with Chanel No. 5.
I also thought peaty bandaids at first. The third time I wore it I fell deeply, deeply in love.
What was it that changed? What do you perceive differently?
in my case, it was leaving it on to develop & not scrubbing off. This one gets better the longer it’s on skin–from peaty bandaids to flowery leather.
Yes! Exactly how it was with me. Today, for some reason, the peatiness (yes, autocorrect, that’s really the word I wanted) was less than what I remember from the first try.
Yesterday I had the heat on and wore SL Cuir Mauresque.
Today I have the A/C on and am wearing AG Ninfeo Mio.
Crazy!
Stronger-wise I have a glass floor standing curio cabinet type thing with my FB and decants. It’s in my bedroom which is in the coolest, darkest part of the house. I have to keep things visible because I’m old, and out of sight means out of mind to folks of my advanced age.
Samples are in a cheapie 3 drawer plastic organizer thingy. Tested samples go in top drawer, Houses A-M in second drawer and N-Z in third drawer. But order is just an illusion. In reality, I have samples littering the surface of my work desk, bureau, toilet tank, kitchen table, and there are some even languishing in my car…
Organization and order are overrated in my opinion 😉
Um, that’s supposed to be “storage-wise” …geez!
Totally overrated… *I say as I sink beneath the swamp-mess of my living space.* Notice I’v not said anything about my, um, storage methods – lol!
I must agree! Even though it seems on the surface I am organized, I can never find a darn thing! The unavoidable conclusion I must draw is I have too much perfume!
I have a funny story about card catalogs. My brother worked for the art library of a university here, and they were getting rid of their card catalogs. He took an enormous one home because his girlfriend was an archivist. One evening, they were watching _Ghostbusters 2_, and she said that a card catalog would be a great engagement present for a librarian. My brother said, “Do you want to get married?” She said yes.
Wow, that’s one cool engagement story!
In the bedroom, we have this set of shelves…mostly it’s full of plastic bins of computer related stuff (old cables, etc.) But it also contains my perfume collection.
On the top shelf is a fabric box which holds all full bottles and decants 5mL and larger (we’re talking about 30 bottles or so). That’s been great, but I recently acquired a couple of bottles, and I anticipate some purchases coming up, so I might need to expand. Also on the top shelf is a silver bowl full of untried samples, and samples I want to revisit. The bowl is sitting on a Birchbox box, which is where I keep all samples that I like and want to use and wear. There are about 45 of those, so they all sit in there pretty willy-nilly. The only things that are bagged up are my sandalwood scents, since those are so strong/I am so sensitive to sandalwood that I have to cordon them off. Then about arms length away on the 3rd shelf down, there’s a plastic bin containing carded samples that don’t fit well into the Birchbox box, and a bag of unwanted perfumes (mostly samples) for the swap/freebie meets. I think any new fb’s that can’t fit into the fabric box will go into this bin.
My goal is to someday go through this entire set of shelves and get rid of most of what’s on them. Then I could arrange the perfumes a bit better.