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Something occurred to me regarding my collection....

post #1 of 35
1/13/13 at 12:38pm
Thread Starter 
I have 30 in my current collection and whilst I like every single one, I only really love 2 of them. Only 2 fill me with that sense of real pleasure. FYI the 2 are Fahrenheit and Gucci Pour Homme II. I want to love everything I own, so I am going to be far more selective moving forward, when buying full bottles. I think I just got carried away. No regrets though - loving the journey.
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post #2 of 35
1/13/13 at 12:39pm
All part of it. Maybe concentrate on samples before buying in future? Really get to know something before pulling the trigger.
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post #3 of 35
1/13/13 at 12:41pm
Same here. I currently have 22 in my collection (couple of them are 10ml decants) but I only love few of them. Its nice to wear other ones occassionaly, but I feel like I dont need them. IMO decants/samples are way to go if you dont want to waste lot of money but still experience as much fragrances as possible.
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post #4 of 35
1/13/13 at 12:51pm
Thread Starter 
Agreed guys. Only prob I find with small decants is that it's not easy to use an atomiser with them ( at least for me)
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post #5 of 35
1/13/13 at 12:58pm
Great post. I've noticed this with my own collection too. I was so excited about each at some point, and I do enjoy them all, but I only love a few of them. The good news is, the ones I love seem to change through the seasons.

Today, L'Air du Desert Marocain is what I'm excited about since it's the newest in my collection.

If asked, I'd say I love Fahrenheit, Bvlgari Black and Ungaro III. But ask me again next month and my answers will probably be totally different. I'll probably rediscover my love of Aventus in the spring and summer.
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post #6 of 35
1/13/13 at 1:03pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by L'Homme Blanc Individuel View Post

Great post. I've noticed this with my own collection too. I was so excited about each at some point, and I do enjoy them all, but I only love a few of them. The good news is, the ones I love seem to change through the seasons.

Today, L'Air du Desert Marocain is what I'm excited about since it's the newest in my collection.

If asked, I'd say I love Fahrenheit, Bvlgari Black and Ungaro III. But ask me again next month and my answers will probably be totally different. I'll probably rediscover my love of Aventus in the spring and summer.

Contrary to my list in my sig, Bvlgari Black is my number 3 at the moment, so we share 2 of our favourite 3! I will have to try Ungaro III
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post #7 of 35
1/13/13 at 1:09pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by QWERTYOP View Post

All part of it. Maybe concentrate on samples before buying in future? Really get to know something before pulling the trigger.

Agreed. If I bought every fragrance I had liked the first time I smelled it, I'd regret a fair few purchases. There's already a couple in there that I'd happily unload.

EDIT: Incidentally, I'm looking into purchasing Bvlgari Black, but only once I've sorted out my collection...
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post #8 of 35
1/13/13 at 1:16pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ken Cosgrove View Post

Agreed. If I bought every fragrance I had liked the first time I smelled it, I'd regret a fair few purchases. There's already a couple in there that I'd happily unload.

EDIT: Incidentally, I'm looking into purchasing Bvlgari Black, but only once I've sorted out my collection...

Bvlgari Black is a really classy frag IMO. Very cheap in UK too
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post #9 of 35
1/13/13 at 1:21pm
Another good way is to separate your fragrances by season. I recently did this and it forces you to try certain fragrances in certain situations that you might otherwise overlook if you have your entire collection in front of you.
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post #10 of 35
1/13/13 at 1:21pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dailey View Post

Bvlgari Black is a really classy frag IMO. Very cheap in UK too

It is indeed. I burned through a tester vial in about a week and was really addicted to it during that time, but as with everything I'm being cautious with purchases. Like you say though, it's insanely cheap for such a great fragrance, under £30!

I'm currently selling my Dior Homme and possibly getting rid of Oud Wood.
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post #11 of 35
1/13/13 at 1:23pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by QWERTYOP View Post

Another good way is to separate your fragrances by season. I recently did this and it forces you to try certain fragrances in certain situations that you might otherwise overlook if you have your entire collection in front of you.

may give that a try - cheers

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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ken Cosgrove View Post

It is indeed. I burned through a tester vial in about a week and was really addicted to it during that time, but as with everything I'm being cautious with purchases. Like you say though, it's insanely cheap for such a great fragrance, under £30!

I'm currently selling my Dior Homme and possibly getting rid of Oud Wood.

Did a similar think with samples off ebay. Bought my bottle off Amazon (actually Amazon, not a trader) for, I think £26ish last week.
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post #12 of 35
1/13/13 at 1:29pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dailey View Post

Contrary to my list in my sig, Bvlgari Black is my number 3 at the moment, so we share 2 of our favourite 3! I will have to try Ungaro III

AND you list John Varvatos in your top 10. JV original, I assume? It's one of my favorites too. Every time I wear that one, I wonder why I don't wear it more often.

Ungaro III is interesting. I picked it up in a swap here and immediately regretted it. I tried it on my wrist and didn't like it. At. All. YUCK. Months later, I decided to give it a full wearing to confirm that I needed to get rid of it... and... WTF? "This is great!"

Anyway... keep in mind that, over time, you'll probably fall in and out of with different scents.

Also: if you get the chance, you really should check out L'Air du Desert Marocain.
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post #13 of 35
1/13/13 at 1:42pm
There is nothing currently in my collection that I have ever gotten tired of.
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post #14 of 35
1/13/13 at 1:42pm
It's all part of the fun! There will be ones you may never like, and others that you will revisit and wonder how you missed how great they are I guess that logic keeps me from getting rid of bottles......
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post #15 of 35
1/13/13 at 1:51pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by L'Homme Blanc Individuel View Post

AND you list John Varvatos in your top 10. JV original, I assume? It's one of my favorites too. Every time I wear that one, I wonder why I don't wear it more often.

Ungaro III is interesting. I picked it up in a swap here and immediately regretted it. I tried it on my wrist and didn't like it. At. All. YUCK. Months later, I decided to give it a full wearing to confirm that I needed to get rid of it... and... WTF? "This is great!"

Anyway... keep in mind that, over time, you'll probably fall in and out of with different scents.

Also: if you get the chance, you really should check out L'Air du Desert Marocain.

Yep original JV - great scent. I have sample of LDDM and its nice, gonna give it some more time before I buy though, as r is £90.50 delivered for 50ml in UK.

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Quote:
Originally Posted by hednic View Post

There is nothing currently in my collection that I have ever gotten tired of.

With a collection like yours, that's pretty impressive

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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sparky View Post

It's all part of the fun! There will be ones you may never like, and others that you will revisit and wonder how you missed how great they are I guess that logic keeps me from getting rid of bottles......

Same here. I thought about selling some (LIDGE for example) but I think that over time I may change my mind, so I am keeping hold of it.
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post #16 of 35
1/13/13 at 1:58pm
I've come to the conclusion that although I love niche fragrances I'm better suited to designer fragrances. They're just more versatile for my lifestyle. I'm also content with keeping my full bottles in the 20's and really wearing what I have.
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post #17 of 35
1/13/13 at 1:59pm
Loving or not loving something is simply a position of the mind. I have 26 scents in my collection and love them all, some more than others of course. I plan on adding many more and can't imagine limiting my experience to just a few. It's up to you to decide what you close your mind to.
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post #18 of 35
1/13/13 at 3:13pm
I agree 100%. That's exactly where I'm at.



Quote:
Originally Posted by Dailey View Post

I have 30 in my current collection and whilst I like every single one, I only really love 2 of them. Only 2 fill me with that sense of real pleasure. FYI the 2 are Fahrenheit and Gucci Pour Homme II. I want to love everything I own, so I am going to be far more selective moving forward, when buying full bottles. I think I just got carried away. No regrets though - loving the journey.
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post #19 of 35
1/13/13 at 3:15pm
I also agree with Awakening950. I love most of my fragrances and will not limit my collection.
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post #20 of 35
1/13/13 at 3:47pm
That actually makes it easier for you.

With me, I can't narrow down for the life of me.
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post #21 of 35
1/13/13 at 3:53pm
I can relate to an extent. I own 5 or so fragrances I rarely wear (from the beginning of my fragrance learning days), but outside of those I love most of what I have, especially my more recent purchases (Creeds, Memoir Man,etc.).

I agree with Noir though, I generally have a hard time narrowing down what I want to wear (those it's usually easier at school since I don't want to smoke people out with a strong fragrances).
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post #22 of 35
1/13/13 at 5:40pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by noirdrakkar View Post

That actually makes it easier for you.

With me, I can't narrow down for the life of me.

Agreed. Every week despite a heartfelt promise to myself that I'll never buy another frag until I've at least finished a bottle of something else, I find myself either contemplating buying one or actually buying one. I just can't seem to help myself.

To at least some degree, I have a love for almost every bottle in my collection. The only real exceptions would be a small handfull of purchases I made very early on in my collection that for one reason or another I still haven't gotten rid of (eg Versace Blue Jeans)
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post #23 of 35
1/13/13 at 6:10pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dailey View Post

I have 30 in my current collection and whilst I like every single one, I only really love 2 of them. Only 2 fill me with that sense of real pleasure. FYI the 2 are Fahrenheit and Gucci Pour Homme II. I want to love everything I own, so I am going to be far more selective moving forward, when buying full bottles. I think I just got carried away. No regrets though - loving the journey.

Interesting thoughts, and I know the feeling. With a wardrobe of about the same size, I've been a bit more fortunate - I'd say a good third to a half of mine are ones I'd describe as loving (but then, I've done an awful lot of sampling before buying, with very few blind buys). Regarding the idea of wanting to "love everything", that's not an ambition for me, as there are many times when I just want something that is pleasant without being fantastic, and I just want to be fresh rather than impressively-perfumed.

One that springs to mind is Lagerfelt Classic (I only have a 5ml miniature, but I will get a full bottle). To me that's a nice powdery scent, which helps continue the nice clean feeling after a shower - I'll never "love" it, but that kind of fragrance will always have a place for me.

Another is Body Shop White Musk, which is a comfortable fragrance that again works well when I don't want to smell "perfumed", but I do want to be clean and fresh.

So, there will always be room in my wardrobe for a range of "like but don't love" fragrances, especially when they're cheap ones.
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post #24 of 35
1/13/13 at 6:20pm
I've come to the same conclusion regarding my collection, OP. While I have kept every fragrance I have for a reason, the only ones I regular wear and truly love are fougeres.
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post #25 of 35
1/13/13 at 6:20pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dailey View Post

Bvlgari Black is a really classy frag IMO. Very cheap in UK too

That's an interesting example, because I've tried it a couple of times but have not bought it. One time I had a quick spray in an airport duty-free, and while it was pleasant, it didn't really grab me. But then, the air was already heady with perfume, and I keep my duty-free purchases for more expensive ones, so I washed it off and went back to sample some others.

The other time was in a store, and again it seemed nice enough but it didn't strike me as the kind of thing that people would enthuse over - as they actually do. But I wasn't specifically in a "perfume" mood at the time - I'd just noticed it in passing and thought I should try it.

I really don't know if I'll end up liking it enough to buy, but if I do it won't be until I've had a proper wear of it, and I have a clear idea of where it would fit in my "hate-dislike-neutral-like-love" range.
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post #26 of 35
1/13/13 at 7:24pm
Happened to me too when I first started liking perfumes (online forum obsession type of liking) and bought a lot (20?) perfumes on impulse. I've managed to swap them out or give them away now. I'm a happier person. No wafts of resentment from my wardrobe.
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post #27 of 35
1/13/13 at 10:15pm
I think most of us started our fragrance journey wanting to love everything that gets a decent review here on BN and the result is a lot of bottles that just dont fit our style. I was the same way and ended up taking full advantage of the marketplace here on BN and swapped everything I wasnt crazy about for stuff that I was. Now I only have a few bottles that I dont care for and I am saving them until I am fully eligible for the marketplace so I can sell them to fund new purchases. I definitely agree with everybody who will tell you to buy a large amount of samples before buying a large bottle. Live and learn though, I have no regrets in my purchasing history because I learned what I dont care for.
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post #28 of 35
1/14/13 at 12:11am
Been there before. Even sold a few from my wardrobe. But you don't know what you're missing until it's gone. I think I should be fine keeping it under 100 bottles.
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post #29 of 35
1/14/13 at 1:58am
You might grow fond of other fragrances in your collection, just like you might end up not liking your favorites anymore. I end up revisiting some of them and saying to myself.. What was I thinking??
Well made fragrances are well made fragrances. You should always give them one more chance, and you should give yourself the luxury of the freedom to change your mind ;P
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post #30 of 35
1/14/13 at 4:46am
Quote:
Originally Posted by QWERTYOP View Post

Another good way is to separate your fragrances by season. I recently did this and it forces you to try certain fragrances in certain situations that you might otherwise overlook if you have your entire collection in front of you.

Agreed very much. From over 60 fragrances in my collection, I managed to crop a Top40 (about 10/season) with the 4-5 stars ones, which is always subject to 'mood changing' between positions in each category.
All the rest which I only like, always become gifts for my friends who gladly receive them and make my 'cleaning collection' process easier and more enjoyable.
I don't look back, there is a lot of fun in discovering good fragrances that suits ME and usually I don't 'buy' all hyped ones.
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post #31 of 35
1/14/13 at 7:56am
I don't love any scent - because I don't think it's possible. Certainly, one can greatly like a scent, for a while at least.

The notion that you should only focus on buying scents which you "love", seems logical at first. But to my mind it winds up being self limiting, usually with one owning a bunch of scents that one really likes in only a couple of scent categories (mine initially were Fougeres and Orientals).

Far more interesting, in my opinion, is to buy scents across the fragrance categories, including those which you don't like much, and then see what happens. I never much liked leathery chypres or scents like Paco Rabanne and Polo until I forced myself to wear them. Now I like them very much.
Regards,
Renato
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post #32 of 35
1/14/13 at 8:12am
Quote:
Originally Posted by QWERTYOP View Post

All part of it. Maybe concentrate on samples before buying in future? Really get to know something before pulling the trigger.

This!
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post #33 of 35
1/14/13 at 8:18am
I have come to a similar conclusion. I have probably around 30 frags, and I seem to use maybe 5 of them the most. I still enjoy looking for new things to try, but on a hurried work morning I don't want to stare at my bottles trying to decide what to wear! This is why I grab my standbys now. The ones I know that I love and can just spray and go without giving it a second thought.
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post #34 of 35
1/14/13 at 8:58am
I experience this too, but it changes all the time so I know it's good to keep a collection. During the summer, I could not reach for anything but Aventus. Lately Tobacco Vanille and GPHII are all I want to wear but I know my other frags will get some love soon enough
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post #35 of 35
1/14/13 at 12:11pm
Yes, taste do change. You may own or have sampled a fragrance and come to the realization that you "just like" it, no harm if you don't feel the need to have it in your wardrobe. Collectors collect. Some, like myself, prefer to own only what I truly love and don't feel that it is closed minded not to like or "just like" a fragrance. Why would I attempt to force myself to love a fragrance, or anything for that matter. Admittedly, I have made plenty of impulse purchases in the past of things I "just liked", which benefited others in that they were gifted or sold for a fraction of cost. I wouldn't trade the experience gained and still enjoy sampling, not so much to find something else to buy, but rather for the experience.
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