After writing for Now Smell This for a decade, some things about perfume remain the same for me. I still get a thrill cracking open a sample of a promising fragrance. I still buy the occasional unsniffed or unsniffed-enough bottle (but rarely!). I still love tuberose, and it still obliterates me.
However, I’ve learned a few lessons along the way, too, things I bet most perfume enthusiasts will encounter eventually. Here they are. In the comments, I hope you’ll share your own hard-earned truths about fragrance.
Don’t write off a perfume without a giving it a fair chance
I entered my romance with fragrance with some ill-formed biases. “Department stores fragrances are inferior.” “Fruity florals are crass.” “Patchouli is for hippies and perfume naïfs.” “Chanel No. 5 is overplayed and ho hum.” What a dummy I was. Good perfume can be found in drugstores and the mall, not just in pricey designer boutiques and bohemian labs in Berlin. Sometimes only a fruity floral can scratch the itch for a delicious, juicy fragrance (hello, Byredo Pulp). Aged, woody patchouli is as complex as cognac. And Chanel No. 5? I’ve written about my 180 on that one.
Don’t write off a perfume right away
I can’t tell you how many fragrances I tested once and dismissed, then rediscovered and adored later. Sometimes the fragrance was too subtle for my developing ability to make out its charm. (Hey, I didn’t get Mozart on my first listen at grade school, either.) Sometimes my taste hadn’t broadened yet to encompass it. Sometimes I just wasn’t in the mood. I love it when I resample something I’d rejected and discover that I’ve grown my ability to appreciate enough to uncover its beauty.
Use it or lose it
Use samples and decants in plastic quickly. Also, vintage perfume in bottles with atomizers spoils more quickly: All perfume isn’t packaged equally. If it’s in plastic or has an atomizer, it has a higher chance of going “off.” Use it up.
Use perfume with abandon (corollary: don’t save that special perfume)
Why are you saving that sample vial of vintage Dioressence Parfum for a special day? Won’t your day be a lot more special if you wear it? Sad as it is, some things get used up and pass into memory. That’s all right, as long as you enjoy it while you wear it. When you wear perfume that you might be tempted to hoard, you’re converting scented alcohol into joy. Putting more joy into the world is always good.
Some people are going to think you’re nuts
Many people won’t understand our love of perfume. Maybe they even think perfume stinks. If a few drops of glamour run through their souls, they may show some interest and ask to smell a few samples. But chances are that most people will think having more than two or three bottles of perfume is, at best, eccentric and, at worst, stupid. It's a shame that they've shut themselves off from a whole dimension of art. Just remember, these may be the same people who fetishize California cult cabernet, travel internationally to golf, breed Scottish Fold cats, or have other hobbies I’ll never understand.1
Perfume people are the best
Perfume people are kind. In ten years of weekly posts, I can count on one hand the number of nasty comments I’ve encountered. Perfume people are fascinating. Among our readers are medieval historians, artists, auto mechanics, garden designers, cable technicians, and oncologists. Honestly, NST’s readers must have more PhDs per capita than any other blog outside academia. Perfume people are generous. Thanks to the perfume crowd, I’ve visited Paris, received solid advice on stain removal, discovered some of my favorite authors, and, of course, tried fragrances I’d never have been able to otherwise.
Thank you, everyone! What have you learned as you’ve embraced fragrance?
1. Not to knock cats. I have one in my lap right now.
Note: top image is SIX [cropped] by Richard Gray at flickr; some rights reserved.
Sample widely. Only buy things you love. Don’t blind buy.
Excellent advice–all of it!
“Only buy things you love”. Rule number one, and pretty much the best and most essential rule.
This truly is an excellent rule!
Normally I would agree with the no-blind-buy rule. But darn it, I discovered one of my Top 5 favorites this way (Cuir de Lancome). So never say never. Now, I blind buy with caution!
I bought that one blind, too! Probably one of my best blind buys.
I buy blind regularly – the only negative thing I can say about that is “perhaps I don’t need all these beautiful fragrances”.
You must have a knack for figuring out ahead of time that your blind buys will be hits. I envy you! (and your beautiful fragrances!)
If “knack” means counting on you, Robin, Victoria at Bois de Jasmin, Gaia at The Non-Blonde, Patty and March at Posse, Kafka and Perfumeshrine to beguile me enough in all your different ways!
Thank you!
In my first forays into the perfume community, something seemed eerily familiar. Perfume people had a quality I’d experienced before, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. Then I realized that I was reminded of my younger years going to raves when everyone was out of their minds on ecstasy and just wanted to hug you and grin at you and talk about things that they loved.
So, perfume people: like goofy, lovey, blissed-out ravers, but without the drugs.
But perfume IS our drug????
Sometimes a little Chanel No. 5 is all you need–no valium necessary.
Maybe that should be NST’s new motto!
I also buy blind regularly, if the perfume is not too expensive, and most of my blind buys were successful
You have better luck than I’ve had! I used to blind buy a lot more often, but I’ve really cut down on it since I’ve struck out. (Usually I can find a home for a fragrance that didn’t work for me, though.)
I seriously need to reduce my collection so I can wear the fragrances I enjoy more often. There simply isn’t enough time (or skin) to use up all that juice.
I hear you. I recently bought a new perfume cabinet (a retired shelf that used to hold hymnals in a church–appropriate!), and in transferring my bottles, I rediscovered favorite fragrances that had become buried. I’m definitely planning to trim my inventory.
I agree with most of your points, with one exception: Chanel nr 5, but I guess having major misgivings towards one specific chanel nr 5 wearer in my working entourage, doesn’t help..
I also wish to thank you, it was one of your posts which caused my de-lurking, ages ago!
It took me a while to come around to No. 5, just saying….
And I’m glad you de-lurked! It’s great to hear from you.
I’m new here, despite having been reading the blog since forever – it took me a Chanel Boy emergency to sign up, haha.
I swear I am not nasty… and I am a bit of an academic in a non-academic blog haha.
All great points, Robin. I agree with all of them, even though I tend to save samples for a long time and not use them immediately at all (to my defense, those I do this with are not in plastic vials). I’d say the only thing I would add is actually a sum up of several of your points: remain as much open-minded as possible. I’ve changed my mind about so many notes I didn’t think I would like or had never liked before. Discovery is one of the first joys coming with perfume explorations. And yes, most people think I am mad, tho to me, being passionate about perfume is a lot like being passionate and analytical about wines, except the sense and organ used are different. Somehow, making this easy-to-grasp comparison to people who don’t understand such driving passion allows them to understand it a little bit more, in my experience… tho they will still think you are a mad sniffing dog, hahah. Proud to be and see the world through different lenses through that, I am
I love your quote “discovery is one of the first joys”–so true.
Thank you!
I agree with all of yours and I will add two more:
Invest in some light blocking non reactive containers for your decants/storage.
The most important (to me). Don’t horde. If you don’t love it/use it regularly keep a sample for reference and set it free. Especially if you can give it to someone who loves it or donate it to someone who needs a little glamour in their life. Don’t let those regrettable blind buys become another link in your perfumista Jacob Marley chain that you are dragging around. Instead of looking at that bottle with regret or guilt look back on improving someone’s day/week/month.
Yes yes yes to “don’t horde”! Yes, perfumes disappear from the market, but beautiful scents take their place.
Per usual, your post gladdened my heart!
So, the one piece of advice I would add is not to beat yourself up if you do buy something you later discover is not love… it happens. It can happen even after you’ve sample-tested something up the wazoo as well as with a blind buy. Or, you might take the plunge on a full bottle and discover after a month or two that the love fades… It happens with so many things–clothes, curtains, cup cakes… we are not fickle, we just evolve.
As for people thinking we’re nuts: I am struck by the fact that I am frequently the recipient of condescension about my love of perfumes–and from people who share with great passion their firm belief in the superiority of BMWs over Jaguars over and over again, or snort with disdain at drinking Pinot Noir instead of Burgundy. Perfume people are great because, as you say, we find our treasures in garage sales, organic essential oil shops, department stores, discount online retail outlets, and fancy little boutiques… and everywhere in between.
I try to keep my habit/hobby quiet b/c of the same – that people will think I am ridiculous or frivolous. I rarely drink. I only have basic cable. I do not buy books (I work in a library – why would I?). I rarely buy shoes or bags. Aside from the occasional scarf or costume jewelry, fragrance is my big lifestyle and fashion expenditure. Thankfully my husband is very cool about it. He only teases me when I’m doing a “swap”, just because it sounds funny and suggestive. I will say that even though I don’t really discuss it in detail, my parents think that being in contact from people all over the world and occasionally making a profitable sale on ebay is really cool.
Hey, I never thought about the lascivious angle on “swap.” Hmm….
Both great points. Everyone makes mistakes. If your love for a scent fades, find it a good home and you’re a winner.
I’ve been condescended to, too, about perfume! Fortunately, more people are interested than not, but it does irk me.
I only have pity and disdain for people who condescend.
I agree. Let them have a taste of their own medicine.
Same here. I can be quite icy if I put my mind to it and I have no mercy when it comes to people like this.
Well said, hajusuuri.
Fantastic post Angela!
I’ve been learning all those lessons as well since I started Chemist in the Bottle.
I absolutely adore the last point. Perfume people ARE the best. I made so many friends through perfume related blogs, websites. Even if I never met them in person it feels as if we knew each other for ages. And everyone is so generous. I would probably fail many times if I tried to count how many people were willing to send me a sample from abroad or to fetch a tiny vial of a perfume I couldn’t get in Poland. I love them all!
I’m behind you 100% in those feelings!
Great post, and I’m afraid I still occasionally blind buy. Mostly successful buys, I hasten to add.
Few of my friends understand anything about my love for perfume, their loss, not mine. Thankfully I can share here.
The internet has really improved community for perfume lovers, and I’m grateful.
Beautiful post, Angela. This is often one of the highlights of my work day reading the wonderful posts from yourself, Robin, Kevin, etc. on NST. To the non perfume aficionados, variety is what makes the world go round so we can hold onto our love of perfume and they can hold onto whatever it is that brings them joy.
I’m so glad you enjoy our posts! Yes on perfume, and yes on joy–all the way.
Words of wisdom, Angela, words of wisdom! And there’s nothing to add, really, except to say that perfume is another way to enjoy life intensely. Last week, for reasons that are clear now that I have some distance from it, I wore “tough” clothes…and pretty, pretty perfumes. I should have felt confused by the ambiguity, but when I realised what I was doing, I just laughed and added another spritz of 31 Rue Cambon. The mismatch between my clothes and my perfume was a small secret pleasure, and as it turned out (this is a story for a different context, I think) a lifeline attached to optimism. So what I say about perfume is, do what you like and let ’em say what they say. Mind you, I say that about most things!
I love to think about the relationship between clothing and perfume when I choose the day’s scent. As you say, perfume can be a secret pleasure and strength.
All very good points! Thank you.
You’re welcome!
In more than 20 years of perfume selling, I have learned that it’s not the box or the bottle that sells. The bottom line is the juice. Unless, of course, you’re a bottle aficionado. Then the Holy Grail is a combination of juice you love and a fabulous bottle.
That indeed *is* the Holy Grail. Have you found it yet?
Ten years! Congratulations to Angela, the entire NST team and all the wonderful commenters! You make the world a better place. NST provides a means of connexion for people from the entire globe where respect, tolerance, love and friendship are manifest in every interaction. Perfume people really are the most loving, never failing to care about each other’s issues or to celebrate each other’s achievements. And so witty. True class acts. Statesmen should follow your lead.
Well, I tell you for sure that the world would smell a lot better with perfumistas stuffing the United Nations!
Congratulations on a monumental anniversary, Angela! (And Kevin!) My #1 piece of advice to perfume enthusiasts: buy a cat. One of us! One of us!
Me, too!
Hmmmm…I have 3 kitties. And I’m one who blind buys.
Does that = hoarding all around? Hmmmm…
Either hoarding–or an intense love of beauty!
There do seem to be an awful lot of us with four legged friends
I’ve noticed that, too!
This is the answer to all of life’s troubles!
Angela – nice post and pointers. I’ll agree to the never say never approach, as well as using up decants. I will keep testing Chanel No 18 until I can figure it out and make sense of that austere roses and salad dressing that makes no sense to my nose whatsoever. It is my white whale. I’ve also learned to be open minded and changed my mind about fragrances or notes that I assumed I’d hate tuberose, oud (still working on that!), and incense. I’d add: don’t be afraid to like something that is not your normal preference. (Just like with people!) You just never know when something unusual is just what you need. AND, giving away tons of neglected decants and samples is just the way to go. Sharing fragrances is so much fun!
Your comment is packed with great advice. Keep your spear raised at Chanel No. 18. Someday it may shed its salad dressing and rise…
One by one my list of what I thought I didn’t like has been knocked down completely. Chypres, rose, orientalist, patchouli, galbanum – one by one I have succumbed and fallen in love. Every day or month or year I have different loves and they come back around.
Isn’t that amazing and wonderful?
So THAT’S what I was smelling. Roses and salad dressing–I think you did figure it out.
There’s always a curse to those descriptions! Robin’s mention of juicy fruit gum in her description of Nuit de Tubereuse changed that fragrance forever for me.
All great comments. I’d add “Try anything once”. There are notes I love that I don’t love in some perfumes, and notes I don’t like that are fine is some perfumes.
I spend quite a bit on small decants from STC and TPC, because I’m psychologically incapable of blind buying anything no matter how cheap, but also because I can try so many things that I’d otherwise never get to try.
Totally agree that perfume people are wonderful
And so many perfume people are pet people, I don’t know what that might signify, other than we’re simply nice folk!
I just don’t have the stomach to blind buy anymore, despite having had success with Cuir de Lancôme, like sayitisnso.
It can be an expensive mistake, that’s for sure.
Try anything once is an especially great piece of advice. You just never know!
My own lessons from wearing & blogging about perfume:
1) Try everything you can. How else will you know?
2) No one can tell you what to wear, how to wear it, or how to feel about it.
3) If you like it, wear it; if you don’t, then don’t– both without apology.
4) Don’t hoard perfume. Know when it’s time to share… and when it’s time to stop acquiring.
5) Don’t feel guilty for having opinions about scent, good or bad or indifferent. It’s probably the most intimate thing you can talk about in public without blushing, so get that conversation on a roll!
Yes to #3!!
Five more excellent points!
Amen to #4.
I love those points! You’re the first person to bring up talking about scent. It’s a great idea.
Excellent post and excellent comments! And I second the notion that you like what you like–wear it without apology. There’s no shame in perfume.
The topic of guilty pleasures makes some of the most fun reading on NST. Thanks for 10 years of enjoyment for your readers.
Something about the combination of “guilty” and “pleasure” is almost irresistible….
Life is short, spray (dab) with joy my friends!
Yes and double yes!
I think you’ve covered many of the important perfumista points. My biggest rule is, sniff everything and don’t apologize too much for your own preferences. Some really “bad” perfumes will make your toes curl in ecstasy and some “masterpieces” will cause retching.
I really need to work on that not hoarding thing. Problem is that I like to have scents to revisit and for reference.
You’re absolutely right in that there’s no need to apologize for liking what you like (she says, clutching her mini of Elizabeth Taylor Black Pearls).
It’s been great meeting fellow perfumistas, especially those in town. That way we can swap up a storm, thus freeing me from spending too much money on samples and also smelling things I might have otherwise tried.
That’s definitely one of the benefits of know other perfume people. We can swap and share. So great.
My new “thing” is to look at which bottles I have which are almost used up. Then I make a point of using the same juice daily till it’s gone. That’s when the empty beautiful bottle enters the perfume bottle vitrine for admiration or goes to the box for non-descript/plain perfume bottles for basement storage. I rarely buy the same perfume twice but could make a short list of the ones that I have rebought.
It’s so rare that I get to the bottom of a bottle these days! I did use up Iris 39, but that took me 6 years.
Excellent, excellent post, Angela. And I agree with almost all – I’m not as patient (or as persevering) as you in not writing things off. If a scent doesn’t grab me pretty much right away, I move on.
Also, I’d add that I’ve learned I really don’t need back-up bottles. It takes forever to get through a bottle if you have a decent collection (which most of us here do), and I’ve found that after years of wearing a favorite scent, I’m just not as enthusiastic about it as I was initially.
There are so many new fragrances to smell that it’s easy to fall out of love with one and into love with another. That said, there are a handful of perfumes I always want to have on hand (mostly Guerlains–I know we share the love for them).
Wonderful post, Angela. Thank you for this and for six years of contributing to NST!
I’ve learned so much from you and everyone here. One of the most important things for me is that I want to be thoughtful and considerate about what I purchase. I went hogwild buying samples and decants for a while and I don’t regret that in the least, but I don’t want to feel like my Sample Sea is a potential tsunami. I’ve become much more patient and attentive to what really suits me, and less like a kid in a candy store.
Another thing I really enjoy is sharing scent memories with my family and others who are interested. I have a collection that represents my parents, and another one that represents me for my son. Thanks to you and a lovely NST perfume fairy, I was able to do workshops with my elderly clients and their families that focused on perfume, scents and memory. We all told stories about beloved scents from the kitchen, the garden, our homes and those we loved and lost or kept near. While doing so bonds were formed and connections made between clients, and memories were recreated with family members that otherwise may have been lost without the spark that scent lends to our lives.
Thank you.
Oops – six things, but ten years!
I remember you writing about doing the workshop! How wonderful. I wish I could have been there to hear people reminisce about fragrances and smells that are meaningful to them. They’re lucky to have you.
For myself it was realizing how many different personalities I could have and express through perfume. Feeling badass? Time to wear some Miss Balmain, A*Men, Halston or Mitsouko. Trudging through Walmart in capris pants and flip flops? Rochas Femme, Shalimar and Tabu made me feel a hell of a lot better stocking up in the cereal aisle. In those perfumes I’m a 1920’s silent film siren and if it’s only myself I’m seducing that’s fine. When I wear Estée Lauder Azuree it’s because leather and herbs perfectly jibes with my inner punk. I’m all over the place some days and so is my perfume. That’s the best part of it – it can be comfort and armor. God I love perfume.
I love how you describe your different moods and matching fragrances! I’m sure you’ve been a walking paradise in Walmart.
I was stopped by a man in a hardware store who told me “you smell terrific” while wearing Mitsouko.
Wow–a man who buys hardware and appreciates Mitsouko. Very nice.
“comfort or armor” that is exactly how I feel about my fragrances.
I relate well to it, too.
Oh, well said! My lifestyle rarely requires more than jeans and t shirts, I spend all my time shopping for groceries and taking people to doctor’s appointments, so my perfume truly is worn for myself. I combine it with the music I listen to in the car and indeed, it’s my comfort and armor.
Someday we should do a post on “perfume for running errands.” I think a lot of people could relate!
That would be so much fun! I think it’s easier to wear perfumes with more presence in anonymous social situations vs. work/family events.
Oh, that’s an interesting slant (and true).
Thanks Angela! The thing I like about perfume is that wearing it, and thinking about it, opened my mind to being more aware of how nature smells…so I can spend time outdoors and try and identify notes, or make connections to my favourite scents. I think the sense of smell is so wonderful and magical …and so easily overlooked.
Absolutely! I’ve found that perfume has tuned me in more closely to food and wine, too.
Thank you for all the fragrance reviews. I smile when a new-to-me-scent has a review at NST. There is so much to learn, and the NST archives are full of gems.
I, too, am amazed by and grateful for the generosity of perfume people. The amount of knowledge, time, samples, and bottles shared is simply staggering. (I wonder if the US Postal Service stays afloat thanks to an underground river of fragrance.)
I am by nature a reserved person, but the NST community has motivated me to reach out, pay it forward, pass on samples and bottles, and share the joy I find in fragrance.
R. W. Emerson said it this way: “Happiness is a perfume you cannot pour on others with out getting a few drops on yourself.”
Can I get an A*Men?
Ha ha! That is so perfect! A*Men all the way!
Amen!
Say it, sister!
Thanks so much Angela and I love all the things you said. I think we’re a fortunate bunch to appreciate something so under or unappreciated by many.
I don’t write things off as quickly anymore, and have found things I suddenly love when trying them out just once more before going in the give-away pile.
I don’t necessarily share my interest with everyone because people will think it’s weird. But there’s a certain satisfaction in enjoying something that people think is weird. Hey, I’m just weird!!
We are a fortunate bunch! Maybe a little weird, too, but definitely fortunate.
Thanks for this post, Angela and congratulations on your 10 years writing for NST. I still find it amazing that you always have something fresh and/or a different angle to perfumes. If you wrote 1 post per week for the past 10 years, it means you’ve written OVER 500! posts!
One piece of advice is to stay within budget, whatever that means to you. If one has to go into debt (and yes, a credit card balance is debt), the next perfume is not worth the deeper hole you are getting yourself into.
With so many perfumes available, I tend to not give most perfumes a second chance and I don’t regret it one bit.
The perfume community has given me the opportunity to practice generosity that I learned from my dad.
I’m amazed, too, at coming up with something every week! Although there are a jillion new releases every year, not all of them tempt me to review.
That’s great advice about avoiding debt. Naturally, no perfume, no matter how astonishing, is worth going in the hole for. Besides, thrift stores and estate sales can yield amazing finds. Sometimes the search is half the thrill.
Thank, Angela!
As sort of corollary to not writing off a perfume right away, I’ve come to appreciate the importance of finding the right time of year and weather for each perfume. Some perfumes are relatively seasonless, but for many there is a particular time when they are absolutely right. For example, AG Eau du Sud, with its feeling of sunshine and herbs, is perfect in late August/early September when the weather is still warm but plants are starting to mature and dry up. BK Liaisons Dangereuses, a beautiful deep rose with a touch of tart plum, is perfect in late fall, early winter. And I can only wear Prada Infusion d’Iris in the hottest, most humid depths of DC summer, when its ordinarily boring cloud of chill is the only thing my nerves will tolerate. It’s a trial and error process because it’s not always obvious what a perfume’s right season and weather really is.
Excellent point (and beautifully put)! I’ll even add that it’s great to try perfume that doesn’t seem right in a particular season just to experience it a different way. Try an oriental on a summer night, for example, or a white floral when it snows.
Excellent article as ever, Angela. Completely agree re perfume people being kind – the (relatively compared to some people!) few comments I’ve posted on here since I came across the site some years ago have almost always garnered a response, be it agreement with what I’ve said, new information or suggestions, helpful tips & sympathy if I’ve mentioned a bereavement, difficult time etc – this last is much appreciated & usually generated by a common experience, usually fragrance-related. So thank you to everyone who’s taken the time to respond to what I’ve posted over the years.
It really is a kind and supportive community. I’m glad you’ve found comfort here, as well as practical advice.
I am glad you have stayed with it for so long. I enjoy what you write. Now Smell This is the first blog on any topic I have ever read.
NST was one of the first blogs I ever read, too! I’m glad you enjoy it.
I have been a perfume person long before everyone had a computer.
Once I had a computer, the first thing I looked up was perfume and perfume blogs. I was delighted to find NST and I am still delighted with it every single day. I have only one friend who has interest in perfume…although not to the extent that I am. She was amazed at my extensive collection, and smells me every time I see her and asks what I’m wearing. We have been talking about taking a perfume trip to NYC and Brooklyn but haven’t done it as yet. I have been to Le Labo, but would like to go to Aedes, Osswalds and several other places. I have also been to Scent Bar in LA and that little place is a perfume lover’s heaven. I also was lucky enough in the past to go to Santa Maria Novella in Florence and Carthusia in Capri. I keep thinking about paring down my collection as I am getting older and probably will eventually move, but I keep putting off paring down and instead add another bottle here and there. I am definitely a perfume addict. I really don’t have much extra money to spend as mostly everything I earn goes to mortgage and bills. Thankfully, I have enough clothes and rarely spend money on new things except perhaps a new top now and then. Any extra spending money I have goes on perfume samples and on occasion, a full bottle. I have done many blind buys in my lifetime, but now I try to sample something first.
I love your summary of your perfume life! One of the great things about embracing perfume is that you can apply some in the morning, then continue to enjoy it for hours. It’s a past time that lasts longer than, say, enjoying skiing down a mountain or listening to an opera or drinking a glass of good wine.
Depends on the opera, and the perfume.
I’m thinking of the actual play time of the opera and the duration of the perfume. Of course, either could last longer in your memory!
Some of Wagner’s operas last longer than many current edts do.
Could be a new measuring system. You know, this fragrance lasts one Magic Flute!
Nice post, Angela
I have to say, perfume enthusiasts are among the most generous people I know – I’ve received countless samples, even partial bottles, without the other party expecting anything in return and I always make sure to do the same for other people.
I’ve also learned to part with things and not to cling too much to some special juice and instead use it, rather than letting it go bad – something along the lines ‘it was wonderful while it lasted’
here’s to more years with perfume
I agree with you completely about the generosity of perfume people. I also love your attitude of using wonderful perfume rather than hoarding it. Yes, cheers to perfume!
Lovely post, as always. I have learned many things from loving perfume:
– it has added an almost continuing background note of pleasure and uplift
– it has awakened my sense of smell very much, the other day a big Lebanon cedar tree close by had to be cut unfortunately, but the scent that came off it, and off the planks that were made from it is a marvel, peach, apricot, olive, resin, camphor….I have a jar of cedar saw dust which I smell once in a while
– my taste in perfume has changed, and probably will keep changing
– my blind buys are happening less, and only after much research do I buy a 30-100 ml sample (copyright Hajuusuri), and when I have the urge I will always wait a few days or longer to see if it lasts
– I always pay a compliment when someone is wearing perfume, it is a small gift you can give for free
– as far as decants and samples for others are concerned my motto is pay it forward!
That’s wonderful! You are the perfect example of what I mean when I say that perfume people are terrific. (And now I want to smell some cedar.)