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The "I Will Favor What's in my Wardrobe" Bias Syndrome - Are you INFECTED? -- I was..

post #1 of 19
1/17/09 at 12:11am
Thread Starter 
The "I Will Favor What's in my Wardrobe" Syndrome:

I've been noticing that a lot people tend to try to think favorably about some bottles they own that in reality they do not like or are actually indifferent about. (and in the end believing that they actually do -- read: denial) Most of the time they were either bought through semi-blind buy, total blind-buy, impulse buying, "because I read some good reviews on it," or simply "buy it because it's just so darn cheaper than retail I can't refuse it."

Has anyone ever experienced this?

Well, I know I have. I bought Odori Tabacco blind, and I tried to love it, even embarrassingly wrote a positive review on it, and even sadly recommended it -- only to find out that I was sick with this... "IWFWIMW Syndrome". I later realized that if it was not in my wardrobe -- I would instead give it a neutral to negative review and would not even bother to recommend it.

It's embarrassing, but at least I have now taken a psychoactive medication of VOU (a shot of "Vaccine of Unbiasedness" to the head) and am now immune to this nasty syndrome.

So, anyone here need an administration of VOU?
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post #2 of 19
1/17/09 at 12:33am
I think I've experienced something like it. Maybe it's what you're talking about. I'll change my mind about something, but I'll remember when I liked it earlier, and I'll give a recommendation based on that memory, instead of what I feel now. Especially if I think that the person's taste is similar to what mine used to be.
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post #3 of 19
1/17/09 at 3:24am
Yes, and worse when those candidates cost a lot (Creeds), or when you followed a hype (the Terre and L'Air curves are pointing downwards now, Montale probably had it's peak last fall).
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post #4 of 19
1/17/09 at 1:56pm
the only scent i've done this with is Dior Homme....then i sold a 1/2 full bottle eventually....when i realised. i don't think i've done that with anything i currently own though.
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post #5 of 19
1/17/09 at 2:12pm
No. I genuinely like everything I own The only two blind buys I've done were on the spot in a discount perfumery and they were M7 (like a lot!) and Gucci Rush for Men (like a lot!).
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post #6 of 19
1/17/09 at 2:27pm
There's nothing in my wardrobe I don't wear anymore, although there are clearly some that don't get much wearing. One because I don't care much for it anymore (Hugh Parson's Yellow, but used up 75% of the bottle) and the other because it's just so bloody strong (Nasomatto Duro)... I'm afraid the whole world will smell it! These two I won't be buying again... The others will probably see replacement after they're empty!
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post #7 of 19
1/17/09 at 2:49pm
I don't have much, but I can say that I genuinely enjoy everything I have except one thing. Coty's Raw Vanilla. Everything I have except Polo Original has been blind bought so i'm lucky I guess.
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post #8 of 19
1/17/09 at 7:12pm
I am infected with something even worst: It is called the "I will buy and put in my wardrobe the fragrances I like enough to recommend" syndrome. Why is it worst? because at least you guys are making other people spend money while I have no choice but to spend it myself.
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post #9 of 19
1/17/09 at 7:46pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ibarney5 View Post

I don't have much, but I can say that I genuinely enjoy everything I have except one thing. Coty's Raw Vanilla.

Oh amen! What was I thinking!
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post #10 of 19
1/18/09 at 10:48am
I'm pretty tough on my fragrances. If any of them don't float my boat anymore, I'm pretty honest about it. However, it now takes so long before I pull the trigger on a fragrance, that I really need to love it before I go ahead and buy it. So it's not surprising that few of them ever fall from grace.
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post #11 of 19
1/18/09 at 11:00am
I'm with Astaroth - at this point I only buy something after rigorous sampling and I'm not going to spend the money unless I know I like it. However, it wasn't always this way, and I've been pretty good about putting what I don't want on my sale thread.

I definitely used to try to convince myself I liked fragrances I had purchased - usually because I liked them when I bought them. Once I acknowledged that it's ok for my taste to change, I didn't feel bad about getting rid of the bottles. One example is Platinum Egoiste: I liked it when I bought it and I really like Chanel, but I just wasn't wearing it and I came to accept I just didn't like it anymore. (Traded).

I recently bought Delrae Bois de Paradis after spending a day skin-testing fragrances at a niche shop. I loved it in the store, and I even wore it for over an hour before buying it. Once I got it home I just didn't like it anymore and I just didn't see why I had liked it in the store. If this had happened a year ago I may have kept it for a while in hopes I'd get used to it (especially with it being so expensive), but instead I traded it right away (and got great items in return).
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post #12 of 19
1/18/09 at 2:28pm
If I find I'm no longer enjoying a fragrance I own, I don't lionize it. I get rid of it.
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post #13 of 19
1/18/09 at 2:38pm
Good thread moltening, I have always figured guys do have this sort of bias. I know with people I know personally, they certainly do it with music and books and whatever. I do think this could extend to other interests. I cannot read another persons mind and their bias, but you can sort of tell if they do have one

Personally, I cannot stand my wardrobe....well, it has gotten better as of late, but still I am am one to recommend something I dislike. I tend to be very negative towards bottles in my warbrobe that I strongly dislike, but this can get me into trouble ( as it may be something another BN member likes).
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post #14 of 19
1/18/09 at 3:37pm
More towards the opposite. I feel deeply insulted when a fragrance does not conform to my high expectations and I will be in a mood to trash rather than defend it. I'll usually revisit it, as I no longer always trust my first impressions, though, but on 85% my verdict doesn't change anymore in any great way.
I can be pretty merciless about fragrances I own, even while they are posted on my sales thread. Pretty dumb, eh?
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post #15 of 19
1/18/09 at 6:19pm
I purged my wardrobe of 'guilt' purchases this past year. The most recent thing I gave away was the Turin designated ***** Azzaro pour Homme. As much as I appreciate it, I always felt like I was suffocating when I wore it - aromatic fougeres are my least favorite genre of fragrances. I also dumped a lot of white florals which I finally admitted were too insipid and repetitive to hold onto and kept what I feel is the finest example, A la Nuit, which I'll wear in the spring and summer. I also traded up my classic Guerlains to parfum extrait strengths and gave away the EdCs and Ts of them. One has to constantly re-do their closets to avoid the dreaded clutter.
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post #16 of 19
1/18/09 at 6:24pm
With some exceptions, I always buy scents I tried beforehand. Still, I have fragrances I used to like, but that I do not like them anymore - Polo Crest, for example.

Two blind buys took their time: I used to dislike Aramis and Van Cleef Arpels pour Homme, now I really like them. So I clearly see that my tastes change with time.

Of course, there are types of scents I consider not agreeing with me. A month ago I gave Coriolan and Insense a try... no way. Same with Opium pH and L Instant.

Thus, my suggestion would be keeping those fragrances you dislike, give them several trIies and wait. Maybe you will favor them in the long range. And if you do not, well, swap them.
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post #17 of 19
1/18/09 at 6:57pm
I have done that with a few but I put them away for a few months and end up going back to them I am a hoarder cant part with anything.
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post #18 of 19
1/19/09 at 12:51am
Before I knew how to fall in love with a perfume properly, I used to try to convince myself to like JPG Le Male than I actually did simply because I overcommitted (bought a big bottle) after just a scent strip. I can't get rid of it fast enough - reminds me too much of my barber's shop smell especially when he applies the powder. In fact, thanks to JPG Le Male, now I ask my barber not apply the powder at the end of my haircuts. I just tell him, "I don't want the powder smell to clash with my Prada." [Infusion d'Iris]

My world record of stupid purchase was trying to convince myself to love Davidoff Cool Water. Turns out to be a scrubber on me so I threw out the 50ml bottle just 2 days after buying it. 30 bucks down the drain. Never doing that again...
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post #19 of 19
1/20/09 at 12:29am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Vibert View Post

If I find I'm no longer enjoying a fragrance I own, I don't lionize it. I get rid of it.

That's great and is what I'm doing at the moment. I am getting rid of those that no longer "belong."

Quote:
Originally Posted by Astaroth View Post

I'm pretty tough on my fragrances. If any of them don't float my boat anymore, I'm pretty honest about it. However, it now takes so long before I pull the trigger on a fragrance, that I really need to love it before I go ahead and buy it. So it's not surprising that few of them ever fall from grace.

Quote:
Originally Posted by bbBD View Post

I'm with Astaroth - at this point I only buy something after rigorous sampling and I'm not going to spend the money unless I know I like it. However, it wasn't always this way, and I've been pretty good about putting what I don't want on my sale thread.

I definitely used to try to convince myself I liked fragrances I had purchased - usually because I liked them when I bought them.

...

I recently bought Delrae Bois de Paradis after spending a day skin-testing fragrances at a niche shop. I loved it in the store, and I even wore it for over an hour before buying it. Once I got it home I just didn't like it anymore and I just didn't see why I had liked it in the store. If this had happened a year ago I may have kept it for a while in hopes I'd get used to it (especially with it being so expensive), but instead I traded it right away (and got great items in return).

I agree.. It seems the best way to avoid any problems, like countless people have said over and over, is to sample carefully and not to buy on impulse. The problem is -- is a 1ml sample vial enough? In my humble opinion, it almost is, but not quite. (The other problem being self-control )

Quote:
Originally Posted by irish View Post

I am infected with something even worst: It is called the "I will buy and put in my wardrobe the fragrances I like enough to recommend" syndrome. Why is it worst? because at least you guys are making other people spend money while I have no choice but to spend it myself.

Believe me, you're not alone.

Quote:
Originally Posted by narcus View Post

Yes, and worse when those candidates cost a lot (Creeds), or when you followed a hype (the Terre and L'Air curves are pointing downwards now, Montale probably had it's peak last fall).

I have to admit that I kinda did jump on the TdH and L'air bandwagons. At that time, I think the reviews influenced my sampling process. They are very decent fragrances though and I genuinely loved them back then... but yea, it had curved downwards for me from 5 to maybe 3.5 or 4 stars. As for Montale, I never really cared for them since the beginning.

Quote:
Originally Posted by bigdogsleeping View Post

I have done that with a few but I put them away for a few months and end up going back to them I am a hoarder cant part with anything.

Initially, I was going with the "hoarder" route and thought that there was no harm in owning lots that I didn't really like. (or use) The bottles themselves are varied in design and make interesting showpieces.

However, I started to get annoyed every time I walk to my 'drobe in the morning and notice that at least half of my collection are ones that I no longer like (or even hate) and realized that hoarding wasn't what I wanted to do.

Months a go, Tommy Boy, Benetton Cold, Jo Malone 154, and MPG's Maitre Tailleurs was sitting next to my "daily-wear" favorites Gris Clair, Idole, and Rochas Man, and it really bothered me.

Well, whatever makes you happy works -- to each their own.
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