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The No. of Bottles you have & want to have

post #1 of 28
6/6/07 at 9:38am
Thread Starter 
My upper and lower drawers are now full. It's the best place to keep fragrance since the weather is quite warm here. I have about 90-95 bottles. There are some scents that do not exist in the directory so I cannot add them to my collection, such as the new scents from John Player Special house, and some Samba scents. When I first found this web site I had only 5-10 scents, and only 18 months later, it grew to 95, still excluding sample vials and mini bottles.

I also find it hard to sell some scents although I don't wear them much at all. For example, Iceberg Twice, Kouros, D & G, Joop! and etc.

How many bottles do you guys really have and how many more you want to fill your collection? Is there a top point where you'd stop buying? Or it seems endless?
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post #2 of 28
6/6/07 at 10:10am
I have 25 now, and it would be nice to get up to 100 before I seriously stop buying. With my current budget, I plan on buying 2 a month, so it might take a while to reach that amount, but who knows when I might have some extra cash around.
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post #3 of 28
6/6/07 at 10:11am
I think I've got 57 in my collection right now. My owned list is pretty extensive too. Well, if I could have about 50 of the bottles that I've owned back, and then maybe another 20 or so that I've been wanting I'd be happy.
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post #4 of 28
6/6/07 at 10:12am
I don't think its really a finite quest. It depends on your:
a) money
b) space
c) if your wife/girlfriend is giving you sh*t about it

I thought I would stop short of 50 bottles. I'm north of 60. I could easily add another 10 and still not feel 'complete'. However, I don't feel compelled to buy all the time. I don't believe I will find a 'signature scent' so I'm not questing for one.
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post #5 of 28
6/6/07 at 10:19am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by radix023 View Post

I don't think its really a finite quest. It depends on your:
a) money
b) space
c) if your wife/girlfriend is giving you sh*t about it

I thought I would stop short of 50 bottles. I'm north of 60. I could easily add another 10 and still not feel 'complete'. However, I don't feel compelled to buy all the time. I don't believe I will find a 'signature scent' so I'm not questing for one.

I have enough money to keep buying and I can sure find more spaces, but what I worry most is the juice going bad.

As per my experience, Fahrenheit and Samba Natural went bad in 5 years, Cool Water in 6 years, but Polo Sport (11ml bottle) is still here and it does not go bad although I bought it in 1998! What a surprise!

It would be unwise to keep buying and wait for them to go bad. Because I am new to collecting fragrance, I'm kind of scared of which bottles would go wrong first. I hope they'll stay the same for at least 5-7 years.

So, another question here...which scents turned bad after a few years and which stay the same after several years (7+)?
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post #6 of 28
6/6/07 at 10:41am
I have a bottle of Derby from 1985 and it smells as fresh as new! But my bottles never ever get a single ray of light besides the seconds where I spray them on.

I have about 25 bottles in my precious collection, and since I have decided to stick to the Guerlain-house, I have a natural (thank god!) limit. The problem with all us "completists" is that we never feel complete, and that the buying just fuels the need for more. This is a very common trait in addictive, perfectionistic personalities, and we should all be quite aware of it, I think.
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post #7 of 28
6/6/07 at 11:01am
I have around 25 bottles but I would really like to have about 15.

I just simply don't have the time to wear all of them! Decants would help too but those are dead and rotting.
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post #8 of 28
6/6/07 at 11:02am
I don't see how you can just stick to one house. It's very unusual imo.
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post #9 of 28
6/6/07 at 11:07am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Borky View Post

I don't see how you can just stick to one house. It's very unusual imo.

That is something I would like to be able to do: stick to one (or, at most 3 houses). Takes a lot of discipline, I think. I have too many bottles, some are hardly ever touched, I keep meaning to purge, yet never fully do. I would like to have 20, on continous rotation. But, I would receive a sample of a new one, end up liking it etc.etc.

There are, of course, worse things to have to worry about, I suppose.

Mr Guerlain, where do you keep your collection, to avoid the light so well?
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post #10 of 28
6/6/07 at 11:16am
I have 50 bottles and that is my limit. I promised myself that I would never have more bottles than one shelf of my chest in my bedroom could hold. 50 is a perfect fit; No more and it keeps me focused on only keeping what I really want to wear on a regular basis. I have bought many more than I own but have either sold them or given them to family and friends.

Now that I have reached my limit, for every bottle I buy...I must sell one to make room. I really have to love a new one to say good bye to one of my 50 current babies, but look at the sell forum sometime to see what has been kicked out.
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post #11 of 28
6/6/07 at 11:18am
When I started, my original aim was to only possess 3-5 frags. Well, that didn't last very long!

For quite a while, my limit has been 20 (not including back-up bottles) and, for me, it's been the ideal limit. There has been a couple of occasions in the past when I was on the verge of reaching my limit but I, instead, ended up re-assessing what I had. Eventually, something was usually chucked in favour of a new (and superior) addition. Gucci's Envy was such a victim.

Financially, I could purchase at least 2-3 niche fragrances a month, if I wanted to, but I want to keep the development of my wardrobe under control. I want every fragrance that I own to have a special significance to me whenever I wear it. Making up the numbers doesn't interest me, nor scents that are okay-ish.

Whether or not my limit further increases remains to be seen but I can't see that happening for quite a while.
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post #12 of 28
6/6/07 at 11:41am
I have 17 (15 in posession, 2 in the mail), when I started here I had 5. I'd like to stick to the 25-30 scent range (I would buy multiple bottles if some of my favorites become discontinued). I don't think I could use much more than that.
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post #13 of 28
6/6/07 at 11:55am
KiatBkk - is that dresser in an air-conditioned room? You live in a pretty warm part of the world and heat is one of the enemies of fragrance.. The only other thing I can think of with longevity is that a splash gets more exposure to air than a spray.

I haven't had a bottle go bad on me yet, still haven't bought the 'frag fridge'...
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post #14 of 28
6/6/07 at 12:09pm
I'm sitting at just under 30 right now, & I think it's a perfect number for me. It allows me to have a nice rotation.
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post #15 of 28
6/6/07 at 12:09pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Aaron01 View Post

I have 17 (15 in posession, 2 in the mail), when I started here I had 5. I'd like to stick to the 25-30 scent range (I would buy multiple bottles if some of my favorites become discontinued). I don't think I could use much more than that.



<<looks at your join date>>

<<pats you on the head>>

Good luck with that. I thought the same thing when I got dragged into this...


I have around 90 bottles and considering that I've only smelled 3 or 4 things I really detest, I have no idea where it's going to end. Not that I mind...
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post #16 of 28
6/6/07 at 12:09pm
I'm up to 156 bottles. Before joining the site here, I had about 50. Ultimately I would love to one day go down to about 25. The problem is after buying so many bottles, not to mention decants and samples, I would like to give each at least 2 full wearings before giving up on them and trying to unload them. Right as of now, my whole wardrobe with decants and bottles and samples, etc, each day I choose 1 out of 245 to wear. So it looks like it will be a long time before I get to that target 25 bottles. It's both exciting and frustrating at the same time. Luckily, I have a great storage site at a relative's place (very close to my house) where the bottles get no sunlight at all.
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post #17 of 28
6/6/07 at 12:09pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by radix023 View Post

KiatBkk - is that dresser in an air-conditioned room? You live in a pretty warm part of the world and heat is one of the enemies of fragrance.. The only other thing I can think of with longevity is that a splash gets more exposure to air than a spray.

I haven't had a bottle go bad on me yet, still haven't bought the 'frag fridge'...

Hi radix, yes, it's in an air-conditioned room, but mostly at night-time it is turned on. Actually they're in the desk drawers, and some is kept in the wardrobe. I'm not sure if the temperature in the drawer is lower than the room temperature? It's a wooden desk.
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post #18 of 28
6/6/07 at 12:31pm
I have about 95 bottles. Ideally i'd like only 40 and that 40 would consist of all favorites that I've swapped or sold from the 95 bottles.
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post #19 of 28
6/6/07 at 1:42pm
I have 10 full-size bottles, and about 150 samples and minis, which I use as my "reference database". I'm very selective about purchasing full bottles, mostly because I don't wish to disturb the spousal gods but also because it seems a waste of money. Do the math - I'm 50 years old. If I had 100 full bottles, it would take me 30-50 years to go through them all, assuming I put an immediate freeze on new purchases and that each bottle would last about 4-6 months on average. I certainly don't expect to live to 100, and if I do, I doubt that I'll be wanting to spritz myself to attract the gal down the hall in the retirement home (although from what I've smelled in the few I've visited, it might not be that far-fetched after all...) If I need to refresh my memory of a fragrance I don't have in a full-size bottle , I can always go back to the sample or mini.

Unless I underestimate the addictive power of this weird indulgent hobby, I think an ideal number for me will hover around 20-25 bottles, based on my impressions of the samples I've tried to-date. But to each his/her own; I can easily relate to others desiring many more.
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post #20 of 28
6/6/07 at 1:45pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Latch35 View Post

That is something I would like to be able to do: stick to one (or, at most 3 houses). Takes a lot of discipline, I think. I have too many bottles, some are hardly ever touched, I keep meaning to purge, yet never fully do. I would like to have 20, on continous rotation. But, I would receive a sample of a new one, end up liking it etc.etc.

There are, of course, worse things to have to worry about, I suppose.

Mr Guerlain, where do you keep your collection, to avoid the light so well?

Maybe I am a completist, but I am even more a purist. When I was a teenager, I fell in love with a parisian, who gave me a bottle of HR. Then I fell in love with HR, and then with the whole idea of Guerlain and it's mythic history, classic products and passionate intellectualism. Since then I've had the idea that it would be very "un-pure" to put a "stranger" in my collection.

For the light-avoidance subject: I have made a very unusual, but actually simple and pretty solution. See, I want all my beautiful vintage Guerlain-flacons and recharge bottles to be on display on two long glass shelves. To avoid light I have made two equally long, very stiff card "half-boxes" painted in the same colour of the wall to put in front of the whole row of bottles. It keeps light 100% out. To prevent light from below, I have laid a brandy-coloured leather "runner" onto each shelf. That is (I hope this desription is clear): all my bottles stand on a leather runner on glass shelves, covered with hard card board "half boxes". Whenever I invite people to admire my collection, I just lift away the boxes before they ring on the door!

(A dead-cheap solution btw: 5 $ for the card board, 6 $ for the leather, the paint I had already.)
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post #21 of 28
6/6/07 at 2:03pm
I like that idea as it strikes a nice balance between protecting the contents and having the aesthetic qualitites of the bottles on display. I have been looking for a solution to my storage problem, I may have found it. Thank you.

As a Guerlain man myself, I like the history and reasoning behind your chosen house. You may already be aware of this, but in Paris, there is the Porte-de-Clignancourt market. A huge expanse of traders that offer up goods of all types, including some (very) vintage Guerlains. Well worth a visit.
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post #22 of 28
6/6/07 at 2:04pm

I have 510 different fragrances/bottles. I recently off loaded about twenty.

I don't have an upper limit, just a desire and a passion to try everything I can. When I like something, I buy a bottle of it. It's more than a hobby for me.

scentemental


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post #23 of 28
6/6/07 at 2:30pm
I own 8 bottles and I possibly will end up with only 5 when I have discovered my favorites.

For now Cacharel's Amor is likely to be a keeper, a classic timeless scent - maybe a bit boring, but that's synonym to good in my book.

DKNY Men works really good on my skin, the fragrance itself isn't that spectacular, it can even smell too strong and bright on some people, but on my skin it smells like a nice blend of Earl Grey and Ceylon tea, very subtle but noticeable, probably a keeper too.

Minotaure will definitely remain on of my favorites.

On my wishlist is Bvlgari PH of which I own a sample and I like very much.

Four bottles I own, Higher, L'aquatonic, Tam Dao and Live Jazz are nice, but not that nice to buy a 2nd bottle when they're empty.

I own one bottle that I dislike most of the times (though it's not really that awful): Chrome.
A nice looking bottle though.
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post #24 of 28
6/6/07 at 2:54pm
Interesting question. I don't want to place a limit on the number of bottles. As long as this hobby enhances my life and never dictates it, I am happy to let my collection grow and evolve as I test and find new additions.
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post #25 of 28
6/6/07 at 3:21pm
My kids & I have about 150 bottles plus a bunch of samples. I think we are about maxed out. We're now at the point that we are swapping out stuff that is being worn less as our tastes evolve and so on. Our collection is fairly diverse and cologne has become a nice "family hobby" for us.

Best regards,

Mike
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post #26 of 28
6/6/07 at 3:39pm
Prior to this year, I had zero bottles of fragrances and no intent to ever buy any. Then, a few experiences earlier in the year piqued my interest. I thought at first one fragrance would be fine. How often would I use it, right? Well, within a week after buying that first bottle, I bought a second. Then I figured 5 would surely be enough variety.

I'm now at 30 varieties and 2 more on the way - and that doesn't include "refresher" bottles I keep at the office (hey, sometimes a guy goes out for an evening straight from the office ). There are still a few more varieties I want, but I'm reaching the point where each one gets harder and harder to justify.

I foresee myself selling or swapping what I've got to make physical and psychological space for different varieties as my tastes evolve over time.
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post #27 of 28
6/7/07 at 12:18am
Currently, I have 30 plus bottles; wayyyy too many. I'm going to start decanting most of them for myself and then selling off the remaining bottles from my wardrobe, with the exception of perhaps 5 or 6 keepers.

TNMA
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post #28 of 28
6/7/07 at 1:29am
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Generally I want to follow the minimalistic idea "the less, the better" or "less is more", but currently I own over 100 bottles. Most of them I could easily let go, but then again I could never see myself having only ten or so bottles. Most probably a realistic amount of "the must haves" could be somewhere around 40-70. My taste is simply too wide that I could ever limit myself for less than that!

-T-
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