Fragrance hobby before the Internet?

Well for me it all started when my ant purchased Curve Crush for me for a present. I thought to myself, "This is alright, but I'm sure theres tons of better smelling fragrances out there." So my sister and mom would usually go to TJ Maxx and Marshalls on the weekends, and I would just browse or whatever. Then I noticed they had cologne there. So the first two I got were Mambo and Cool Water Frozen. I thought to myself, "These are pretty good, but I like the Mambo much better than the Cool Water Frozen." So from that point on I knew I liked heavier scents more than all the mainstream aquas that were sold at every store. Those trips continued and I would usually see things I never heard of, but I bought them anyways. Then I went to the mall and started smelling different fragrances and my favorite one at the mall was Angel Men. It was so different from everyother fragrance on the market I have ever smelt.

Before long however, I started looking up reviews on the internet and then found basenotes. So to be truthful, if I knew about Basenotes before all those purchases, I would have been a lot better off and wouldn't have so many fragrances that I'm now trying to get rid of.

And thats my story of how I found fragrances before using the internet. I'm sixteen but I didn't use the internet for fragrances until smelling A*Men and falling in love with it, and then trying to find other fragrances like it on the internet.

Before the internet, there was Old Spice and Avon. Avon all smelled the same vague citrusy faux lime, just the shape of the bottles differed.

B2L

Hey look at my date joined over there >>

That was before Grey Flannel, Polo or Kouros was borned!

Seriously though, I was into this fragrance hobby since a very young age. I digested every article and reviews in magazines related to perfume - I like doing olfactory-visualization on those perfume notes in those articles and reviews. Visiting perfume shops is like stepping into a candy store, those SA were always giving me funny looks, they always thought that I am looking for a present for my mother. I wish there was internet back in those days... it will make my childhood that much easier.

I remember back in the 70-s I loved good-smelling things, though didn't know that there exists a world full of miracles In our semi-dark, semi-closed air behind the iron-curtain there were lingering the best Old Spices and Bruts, and Creme21 soaps. At my first trip to the capitalism, West-Germany resulted in about 10 samples. Even after about 20 years I know that one of them was Jean-Charles de Castelbajac. Oh, I remember I put them on my bed, smelled one after the other, back and forth - that was THE day.
And all went smoothly without internet of any kind

Good observation there. I think you are right, in that we may get encouraged to buy more fragrances (and ones we wouldn't have thought of previously) thanks to all the reviews and discussions, availability online of "fragrance pyramids" where you can see what notes are in a scent and stuff like that.

You get to hear about things you might not have encountered before.