My 2009 New Years resolutions...

Rules number one and two, five, and six resonate with me (except I will allow myself 2 bottles per season).

I'm with you all the way!

Ah, don't be such a control freak. It feels so good to just let go...

Rereading my vows for 2008, I have to honestly and gravely conclude: resolution-schmesolution.

Excellent show of willpower and restraint, G-B, with a little pleasure thrown in for good measure!

My fragrance resolution was to support my habit with eBay sales (of fragrance or whatever) or by trading.

So far I THINK I am breaking even.

But I really, really, really want a bottle of Stephanie by Storer and it is just obscure enough that people don't have stockpiles to trade! I keep visiting the site...sniffing the last drops of my sample...

I'm so embarassed that I'm not even into two weeks of 2009 and I think I have broken every resolution I made. And I made a lot. On the positive side, I'm thoroughly enjoying the scents I have purchased already, full bottles AND samples. Oh well. It's certainly less expensive than a heroin or gambling addiction! And despite my threats, I have NOT had to sell my children into indentured servitude (yet)!

Lizzie, I'm about to cave....I'm falling...falling...falling ....

Nostalgie - can I help you in any way?



My resolutions that I posted in the 2008 thread were:

"Try out all my samples.
Wear each scent for at least three days in a row (or how long the sample lasts), then write a review or notes how I feel about it.
Only allow myself one full bottle purchase for each season, and it has to be something I want to start wearing the next day (not "this will be good for winter/summer/parties in the future" etc).
To be absolutely honest in this thread, if I break down I have to confess to you! "

So far, I have not bought any full bottles, hooray! Ok, it has only been 12 days - but you can't imagine how many times I have been tempted - especially with all these sales going on.

I have ordered some samples and decants though, but I will allow myself to do that. I guess I haven't saved a lot of money, but at least I feel that I can finish these in a lifetime.

Today I recieved a discount code from Aus Liebe Zum Duft, and I almost pushed the Confirm Payment button - but I stopped myself when I realized I had to confess a breakdown after only 12 days.

These threads are really good for me!

You give me hope, AnannaSa!
I was caving when a Basenoter saved me with a swap. WHEW.

Word.

I'm not exactly sure what my goals are for 2009. My goal last year was to not buy any fragrances. I wound up buying only 2, and I am happy with that. I would have bought one more, but unfortunately the fragrance was discontinued and unavailable.

One goal for this year could be to purge my collection of fragrances I don't wear. I think this would be difficult for me, as I tend to hold onto things. There are some fragrances that I had given away or swapped in the past that every once in a while, I wish I still had. It can be tricky. I could decant some before purging, but I like the feeling of having the original bottle. That said, I did give a few fragrances away last month to someone at work, but they were generally on the lower end price-wise, and some were just body sprays. Anyway, I'm not sure I can fully commit to purging, but I will seriously think about it.

One thing I realized from last year's experience was that this hobby is definitely much more fun and exciting when I am buying. Complete moratorium made my interest cool a bit. So, I am going to allow myself to purchase this year, but will try to do it very carefully and very rarely. I think it makes each purchase that much more exciting and special. I have to keep in mind to ONLY buy things that I love.

Lizzie J, if you are thoroughly enjoying the fragrances you have purchased, I would consider that a great success! It's only when you don't enjoy what you've purchased (as I have done) that it becomes a problem.

I must share my success with you; I have been soooo good this weekend!
I've been to Rome on holiday and realized this is fragrance heaven for someone who lives in absolutely smell-free Stockholm, Sweden. People on the streets smell so good, there are profumerias in every street and even the ordinary 24H farmacies carry niche lines!
I think it was too much for me - I ended up buying...nothing! Ok, not really...I must admit I bought a set of Roberto Cavalli mini bottles that were on sale in the airport. But I swear, if it wasn't for my resolution, my credit card would have been cut in half by now.

I changed my mind. In another thread, I said no resolutions - I generally think they're useless. What I do feel I need is a little more direction in this hobby. I'm getting at that stage (previously unimaginable) where there's too many samples lying around waiting to be tried, and the wearing and testing of samples keeping me from enjoying the full bottles I have. I don't regret what I bought, so far, but with so many offerings out there I need a strategy.

So rule one: No more sample buying. Swaps are ok, but no more swaps until I have at least tried all the samples I have now. Aim for swapping away more than I receive.
Rule two: More focusing on my full bottles and honestly reflecting on which I enjoy most and which may need to go. Sample testing will get maybe two days of the week: one for random testing, one for a full wearing of one particular sample.
Rule three: Aim for a well-rounded wardrobe that won't send me flitting to my samples to seek what I'm missing in the wardrobe. I'm thinking one more FB purchase and I'm done; "extra's" (lovely, but won't get much wear) can only be in the form of d*cants and will need to make a real contribution to the variety in my wardrobe. Total FB's will not be higher than 12 - I'm currently at 9.
Rule four: selling off parts of my collection; either full/partial bottles I don't wear and enjoy enough that consequently should have no part of my collection, or d*cants from scents I own too much of.

Whew. With those rules I feel I could enjoy what I have more while keeping it all affordable and manageable. Samples are great, but they distract me.

Good for you for coming up with a plan! I am still deciding where to put the stuff I bought this weekend. After I figure out that, I will come up with a plan of my own.

This year I've already been spending less time in stores (and online) generally, and that includes most perfume counters in our local stores, which I've found rarely have anything I actually want to buy. Even Sephora --for all my sampling there, I have never yet found a perfume I wanted to buy at Sephora. Yep, I'm picky all right.

But I would like to visit Aedes sometime later this year, when the weather warms up.

Also, I'm simply not doing any more blind buys. I don't do well with them, nor with perfumes I haven't worn long enough to have experienced their full development.

Nor will I buy perfumes I merely "like." I have too many of those already! This year, I'm going to have to love it before I will buy it. And if I love it, I'm not going to worry about the price.

Despite my resolution to buy 1 per season I already bought 2 this month. The good thing about these purchases is that I absolutely love those perfumes and it took me months to decide to buy them. For that reason I'm not feeling bad about breaking the rules so early on. Also that now helps me to resist buying all those 'good deals' online and in shops. I realise there will always be good deals out there and that there is no need for me to buy perfumes I like rather than really love. So I feel like I've made a significant breakthrough and that my buying habits are definitely changing. Hooray for the Abuse Clinic and supportive people who post here :-))

I've already spent over $800.00 (including shipping) on perfume this year. I am done for the year. If there are perfumes that have been out for a while and I haven't bothered to get a sample by now, forget it...must not have been that interested. I may sample if a new release strikes me as something that would be HG, if not, even sample purchases are out.

The only thing that will move me to purchase perfume (for my personal use anyway, not gifts) is a favorite being discontinued.

Okay, maybe I'll finally get a bottle of Caleche EDT. Still, I'll try to swap for it first, or buy with money made from selling off some of the collection.

double post

Dear G_B,

I think you have a very balanced set of resolutions there, adding up to a do-able and practical plan. From my experience in all kinds of diets and budgets, I know that severe deprivation inevitably leads to severe over-indulgence. I like the moderation built into your goals, and I hope it all works for you.

J.

I must confess: I wad doing pretty well but now I've ruined it all and ordered 2 bottles from Direct Cosmetics, just because they were so cheap - I couldn't resist. Aaarrggghh. One is a blind buy, the other one I already have a mini of that I haven't finished. Double-aaarrggghh.

Frankly speaking, I resolved NOT to buy this year MORE than 23 of my favorite fragrances. This shall be me promise to be kept!

How is everyone doing with their resolutions or plans?

I didn't make any resolutions per se. I've had a success in only buying 1 bottle in the past year -- and no d*ts or samples! I must admit I had a few earlier purchases trickle up over months from my US address in singles and pairs, which helped.

I also stayed away from basenotes, but found that I enjoyed fragrance less as a solitary hobby.

Currently I'm tempted by a few things, but resisting thus far. I've decided that if I sell some items from my wardrobe, the money can go towards new fragrances. At first I was thinking just to sell, but maybe allowing half of the money to go to things I am coveting is a reasonable goal.

I'm a sucker for a good deal, which makes samples and d*ts seem expensive because they are a less good value per mL. They're not! I spend more money on a bottle than I would on a few decants. Juice sitting there is not money saved. The bottle I did buy was on sale for $20 at the drugstore... and I ended up giving it to my sister because it was a good deal but nothing special. But I'm learning.

Besides saving money, enjoying my collection more is a big goal for me. To that end I've given away some fragrances to friends and family, and they get more enjoyment from those fragrances than I ever would The process of editing my collection in that way is quite satisfying.

Hope you all are feeling good about your year thus far. Or why not speak up if you need encouragement? You can virtually hit me over the head if I start rambling about big bottles being of better value.

I've been bad, really bad the last month or so, and bought a lot of bottles. Most of them were used or really cheap - but still...How do you people manage to stay away from those online discount stores?

Hmmm...well, I've only bought what I've loved (as I resolved) but because the fragrances were mostly pricey, I've already spent more so far in 2009 that in all of 2008!

However, this was money I'd gotten for Christmas and birthday (in lieu of other gifts), not money that ought to have gone for household expenses. In our budget we also allot ourselves a certain amount each month for whatever personal expenditures we want, no questions asked. It's not a lot but it adds up if allowed to accumulate, and that is what I use for buying perfume-- never household money. So it really is guilt-free spending.

In any case I now have some very nice fragrances to enjoy for the rest of the year.

...just for today...I won't spend any 'more' money.

I've decided on an new strategy; "one out - one in": That is, when I finish something I will allow myself to buy a new one - bottle for bottle, decant for decant etc. So far ( I made this decision yesterday while counting my collection of miniature bottles... ) I have finished one sample. Wow. I doubt this is going to work, but I'll give it an honest try.

Time for an update, I think. I have done... reasonably well.
I haven't bought any samples - good. I *have* had SA's making me samples - not so good. I have aimed for giving away more samples than I receive in swaps - good. I have *not* had much succes - blame Basenoter's generosity. I swear the damn things breed when I don't look, and I still have a backlog of untried samps. So rule one: so-so.
Rule two I've done pretty good on, really. I'm much less stressed than before, and I feel I can enjoy what I own much more. I've also been able to let go of a few scents after honest evaluation. Good.
Rule three.. I'm getting there. But, and that's a big but, 12 is starting to seem like a low estimate - and that's a dangerous train of thought. On the other hand, the purchases i have made I'm entirely sure of will be drained. They're thought over, will be loved and aren't dupes of anything I own.
Rule four - I need to get onto that. I have decided which can go, now I just need to take that step and actually put them on the marketplace. Selling d*cants I've been too lazy for, so far. Such a hassle.

Still, I'm sorta satisfied with myself - I've found more direction at the very least.

I'm so glad I never do up any resolution list knowing full well that I would never keep to them. My only resolutions to myself are to keep an open mind when it comes to knowing new perfumes and to try as many as possible.

I just bought 3 new fragrances at the BG gift card event, but this is a good thing. This year I'm allowing myself to buy fragrances that I really feel something for, and know I will wear frequently. I had tested samples of two of these, and the other one I had tried a few times at the store and just knew it was for me. After I couldn't get the beautiful limited edition Lancome fragrance last year, I am just going to pounce when I find a fragrance that I just know is perfect for me. This doesn't happen too often. I'm still kicking myself for not buying it on the spot when I discovered it in San Francisco. I feel that I am getting much better at identifying my style and comfort zone in fragrances, and of course there is that wow feeling on those special fragrances that keeps your nose glued to your wrist, hand, arm.. wherever you sprayed. At least that's what I'm telling myself. We'll see over the course of the spring / summer when I'm wearing these new fragrances if I really did make the right choices. Only time will tell.

I am failing at my other resolution to purge my collection of the mistakes. I just can't get motivated to do it. I think I will just pack away all my fall/winter fragrances and my past mistake purchases for now.

I have to say again that for me, this fragrance hobby is much more interesting and fun when I'm buying. Even though I already had some great fragrances that are ideal for me, I wasn't enjoying them as much anymore because I was so familiar with them and getting a bit bored. I'm hoping these new purchases will give me some time away from the older ones and will make me long for them again. I think buying in spurts, maybe 2 times a year (spring and fall) will be a good pattern for me.

Hey, I nearly fell off the wagon today. I almost made a fragrance purchase, not because I really wanted the fragrance, but just to buy something. This is not good.

In order to combat this, I've come up with an idea. I have enough neglected bottles, decants and samples sitting around. I'm going to see if I can "buy" / rediscover something from my fragrance stash instead, the next time this impulse hits me. Some fragrances I haven't smelled in so long that I'm sure it will almost be like having a new fragrance. I also still have untried samples. I hope this works.

Shopping your own collection is a great way to stay interested and distracted from actual acquisitions.

I sold a big bottle a couple of months ago and still have the money sitting in my paypal account. I've been tempted by various samples, but I have at least 200 unsniffed samples (I'm reasonably certain). So I keep deciding not to buy more samples.

I've wanted Iris Poudrée and Iris Silver Mist for a couple of years now so I will probably end up buying decants of those. I still get caught up in thinking how expensive per mL a little decant is, even if I know that realistically I'll spend far less overall. I think I'm a little afraid that if I buy something after a year or more of not buying anything I'll want to buy even more.

Soon. I'll buy them soon.

It only took 1 week for me to cave. My plan last week did not stop me from making 2 impulse purchases today. But I had fun and fortunately I am happy to own both. There are worse things in life than to have a lot of lovely fragrances.

Some great rules here; let's see how my habits match up.


1. "One full bottle per season, and ONLY after I've gone through at least 5ml or more of decants of the fragrance I'm intending to buy. Buy used or trade wherever possible."

~~It's was 1 bottle (split) for me in June, so that's an improvement from winter/spring... (Plus I sold some of my blind buys, so it's good to have them out of my 'Own' list.) I'm trying to stick to either one bottle or 1 sample set (manufacturer's) per month. Have not bought anything in July yet (apart from samples).

2. "No blind buys on anything other than samples."

~~Working hard on resisting blind bottle buys. The last one was in May (I think) and I already sold that bottle. I hope that would be the last one!!!

3. "Limit my spending to 100$ a month or less, preferably 50$ or less in months with no bottles."

~~That's a toughy. I need to set a budget and see how I stick to it. Those samples do add up.

4. "By virtue of this, no over 200$ ever, at least at this point in life, and try to never to never exceed 100$ where possible."

~~Yeah, who needs these overpriced bottles!! The most expensive bottle I have my eyes set on is $160, but I have no immediate plans to buy it.

5. Try to concentrate on enjoying what I already have rather than constantly lusting after what I don't.

~~Gosh, this one is hard! I try to feed my desire for new scents through sample swaps rather than buying samples, or god forbid, purchasing bottles blind.

6. Be realistic about what I'm going to wear regularly, whether it's samples, decants, or bottles.

~~I have no clue (yet), as I have not even wore most of my samples twice to make this determination. But there are some early favorites.

Huh ! My New Year's resolutions are shot. I sitll continued to buy 2 of each fragrance I loved and even three bottles once. Now I am trying to turn over a new leaf and buy decants ,think twice over buying a new scent and my husband knows when to rush me out of the store when I get that glitter in my eye !

I've been away from basenotes and blogs for awhile now. I have to say it has helped me stop buying perfume. I've bought a few but they were carefully planned purchases and felt like a reward.
I hope I'll be able to keep it up and use stuff that I have, rather than keep looking for new ones all the time. I love being able to actually use up a bottle.
Little steps...

I really think staying away from perfume blogs and also online fragrance shops helps ! I have to take a deep breath and not get in a situation where I am snowed under by bottles of scent I have a casual fling with.

Ah, online fragrance shops! Full of 'good deals'. I used to buy perfume online all the time. I then started buying for my husband because there was nothing left that I liked for myself. I think the habit in this case was shopping, rather than perfume itself.

Good work Frenchie Day!

I peruse the websites, but not so much into it any more and have done a VERY good job of sorting through and getting my favorites into heavy rotation - have added some new ones this year, but they are replacements for things I wasn't wearing, so it's all good.

Now I need to have a big basenotes sale / swap!!

I'm also thinking of a sale. There are perfumes I like but don't really wear often and always wonder if they suit me, etc. I think they should go. So I can get new ones that I love :-))))))

I dont make resolutions anymore....way to hard to keep!

So, soon it's time to summarize this fragrant year...What are your thoughts? Did you do well? Did you break down? Me...you don't want to know. I should erase my first posts in this thread because it is embarrasing to read them.
But let's focus on the positive:
I HAVE only done one blind buy this year (some blind swaps though...)
I HAVE been pretty good at trying out my samples, even though they seem to breed in the box - I don't think I will ever be able to try them all out before they turn bad.
I HAVE started to sell off some bottles that I never use.
I HAVE started taking notes and writing reviews of scents I've tried.
I HAVE tried to swap for decants of newfound loves, instead of rushing out to buy them.

Hopefully I'll do even better next year! Now, let us hear your stories!

Well, my main resolutions were:

• To not buy fragrances unless I love them, but if I do love them, to not worry about the price.
I did follow this rule in 2009-- I have in fact bought some pricey scents I loved this year, and am enjoying them very much! True that I spent a lot more on perfumes this year than in 2008, but no regrets. All in all, this resolution was a success and I plan to keep it up in 2010.

• To avoid blind buys (unless super-cheap)
I did fine until Parisienne came along, whereupon I blew $60 on a perfume that I ended up giving away. I was seduced by the fact that my husband and I were on a rare date and I was feeling celebratory. Well, that's like food shopping when you are hungry-- not a great idea. I may make a new resolution in 2010 not to buy perfume when on a date unless it's a planned purchase.

Oh, the time of reckoning is here!

I made an informal resolution to focus on trying some of the classic and historical fragrances. I'm happy to say that I tried quite a few, and even fell for several!

In the meantime, I decided that, at least for a while, the amounts of cash spent on frags will not surpass 750 $ and 470 Euros- this meaning both amounts, NOT just either/or- and I'm determined to keep this resolution also during 2010.

Well folks, my resolutions in re. to perfume were shot to bits months ago. I won't even pretend to you that I have been good !
I have been bad bad bad but gee whizz ,it's been a load of fun !
Well, my resolution to myself is to not kid myself anymore about my hobby ,my passion for fragrance.
If I can afford it I will buy it , if I can't I will wait.
I will try to stop going nuts over anything with oakmoss in it esp. vintage Guerlains.
I do promise myself to get the 30 ml X perfume by Clive Christian for women . Oh yeah babyyyy !
I do promise ( when I get back home to the US ) to try and send my Basenotes' friends perfume they love ,that I have and I don't love or need ...why ? because I do love you guys. Free love and all that my friends !

Thank goodness I am actually fairly disciplined in other areas of my life ......

I'd like to echo 30 Roses and her resolutions: only blind buy when cheap or if I truly love something.

I was not impressed with Parisienne at all. A nice floral top note and some berries...and then that was it. The bottle is pretty, however, so I will stick to my YSL Paris.

hmmm... my new year's resolution...

still be addicted to Cocoa Mademoiselle but be conscious with the finances this time. LOL!

My 2010 resolution is NOT to buy, but rather to try to use up some of my outrageously large hoard of wonderful fragrances! I overdid it in 2009 to the brink of misery financially. So far I have broken down twice, both for inexpensive scents - but I 'm trying hard.

reine

Well done, bravo!

I think you may be forced to make an exception to the rule due to the extraordinary circumstances...

Keep it up! This is from another thread but:

"Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful." And i know that not all of your fragrances are beautiful (I am not doubting your choice in perfumery)

My 2010 Resolution was to find the holy grail scent, no matter the cost.