Steps through this hobby?

I guess, no universal truth or universally valid "recipe" exist. Just bask and indulge in all the joy heading towards you (even if it sound shallow, I know) as you go along the way, and, yes, designer frags may be a treat, since they often offer at affordable prices what niche does not even dare to put on the market, not even for all the money in the world- no disrespect towards niche intended, though. But I could figure and understand while purchasing (almost) exclusively from designer may lead to a degree of customer satisfaction that strong, that one might eventually find so many designer frags, as to have a complete and totally gratifying frag wardrobe.

I went through a sampling addiction, and now have settled on a few favourite fragrances. I'm going through a minimization of my wardrobe, and I find that I enjoy my fragrances much more when I limit my wardrobe to 10 fragrances (part of my new year's resolution heheh). I'm a firm believer in quality over quantity which may clash against your building of a big collection, but take the time to think about it. There's no right or wrong way to move forward, but I would recommend sampling some of the niche offerings as you may just find that HG you were looking for. Good luck!

Your story sounds a bit like mine. I've been really into fragrances for a little over a year too (since discovering Basenotes in Jan '09). I started buying up a good sized (but not large by BN standards) wardrobe also. It seemed if I liked it even just a little, I bought it, and larger bottles too. As the year progressed I got more discerning with my tastes and buying habits, buying only those I REALLY liked or loved. I also did a calculation of how long my wardrobe should last, and was blown away by how many YEARS it would take me to use it all up. I started buying smaller bottles after that (1 and 1.7 oz.).

My New Year's resolution, if you will, was to really slow down/stop buy full bottles. I wanted to buy more decants instead. Well I haven't completely stuck to that, but I have done better. I have gone the decant route for the most part. However, I've also bought 2 full bottles already, but they were both the result of decants that I really liked.

I've began to dabble into niche with some of the decants I've bought, but have yet to catch the niche bug. For me this hobby is about value. I have to like it enough to pay the asking price for it, and with the higher price for most niche I have yet to find one I like enough to pay that much for. Where I am now is settling for my "top 10" rotation of designers (in my signature), with a handful of others that I wear occasionally. I'm also preparing to get rid of some of the early full bottle purchases that I no longer want. That doesn't mean I'm going to stop testing/sampling though. I still love this hobby.

Anyway, that was my long-winded way of answering "yes" to your question.

You're not alone actually. I have also come to a point like that. Sometimes our interest is at an all time high but it also lowers down. You will soon regain it. :-)

Has any other BN done this? LOL. Take a look at my swap list! No, seriously, take a look at my swap list. LOL.

i think this is true for any form of collecting.
you start, get excited, do alot of research, buy buy buy, enjoy the look and physical attraction of collection, lose a little interest, jump back in, lose a little interest, minimize the collection or sale what you dont care for, rinse and repeat.

and alot of times you end up regretting things youve sold or traded for.
its all part of the experience.

I'm glad I started reading this because I was looking for steps as well. I'm always online looking for new scents to try and I blind buy anything popular by BN standards if it's at a reasonable price. luckily I've been dissappointed by one scent so far, and that has stopped the blind purchasing. I like purchasing decants but I feel like I'm losing money because I could be buying bottles instead. I dislike the pressure of a dept store because I always feel pressured to buy. Anyone have good suggestions on where I can get cheap legit decants so I can find fragrances to fall in love with?

Though there doesn't have to be any rhyme, reason, or rationale for acquiring fragrances, because heaven knows I've had my frenzy splurges and my droughts. I've learned not to let the fascination obsess or consume me nor become a slave to the debt of paying exorbitant prices for the juice or too much at once.

I would say sample and find out what you like. Then you'll be like the rest of us searching for the exotic and ultra-rare.

I too started this addiction about a year ago .... before that the most sophisticated scent i had owned in my life (i'm 38!) was Davidoff CW and that was a birthday gift. Anyway, the CW ran out so i thought i'd get a new bottle and choose it myself for once in my life. Thats how it all started, i got so many samples from dept stores, chemists, ebay etc... trying to decide which to get and became hooked.
One year on i have 2 shoeboxes full of samples and about 10 bottles but after the initial daily obsession it did calm down a bit but its back with avengeance the last 2 weeks and last week i finally decided to splash the cash to get a bottle of Creed.
What have i learned in my first year?
- never blind buy or buy spontaneously even if it seems a bargain, give it a week of wearing and read reviews before making a decision (there are a few blind buys i'm selling soon because of this). (Prada)
- niche doesn't always mean better but can be great for a very distinctive scent (Still looking :-))
- shop around, there are great bargains to be had if you are patient and look hard enough (recently got 175ml of TM Cologne for £20).
- will you wear it? I found as much as i loved a smell i could never find the situation to actually wear it or it just wasn't me (Habit Rouge, Givenchy Gentlemen, No.88).

I'm sure other people may do things differently but i've found this approach works for me.

RJR I profess...every time, please sample,sample,sample,sample! It doesn't matter whether you go to your nearest Fragrance Parlour and ask for there free samples...they'll most definitely hand you some 1.5Ml Vials of goodness..all for free..also, Try this website --> "www.theperfumecourt.com" Are perfect and are known for their wide range!! so you'll have continuous arrays of choice! Sampling will pay dividend!

Good Luck!

- Balava -