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how did you get your education?

post #1 of 32
2/7/13 at 5:59pm
Thread Starter 
As someone who just started out, I feel often envious on all the people who get to smell such a wide array of awesome perfumes and obviously tried a lot more because they can compare it so I wonder how does one gets to that level?

Did they have money to buy samples after after sample? Did they own/worked in a perfume shop? something else?

and more important how did you do it?

Looking forward to your answers!
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post #2 of 32
2/7/13 at 6:15pm
Well, a lot of my knowledge came from Basenotes off the start. I just read up about a lot of stuff, spent hours a day on the forums, and slowly started buying bottles and samples. I am still pretty new, but I know which notes I like generally, and I have a decent range of fragrances that I have gotten my nose on. I suggest you join other sites and some facebook groups and buy up cheap samples and decant and do it that way. Some places like the perfume shoppe offer 5 samples for $15, which is a good way to get to know even high end, expensive stuff.
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post #3 of 32
2/7/13 at 6:37pm
I am lucky that I have a couple of places that carry niche perfumes in my city. I started by lurking on basenotes and fragrantica, writing down what I'd like to try. When you're super new, all you can go by is the appeal of the bottle and trying to guess which fragrance might be to your liking. I find that all preconceived notions of whether you'd like a fragrance or not is completely shattered once you actually sample it :P
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post #4 of 32
2/7/13 at 6:54pm
Mine is a combination of many years traveling and living in France in the past and less so in the present. Of course, Basenotes has also been a great source of enlightenment for me.
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post #5 of 32
2/7/13 at 6:58pm
When a much younger man, learned about frags by testing at counters and blind buying at other times. Later on, learned a lot more and saved a considerable amount of $$$ due to basenotes, Fragrantica and YouTube videos. Oh, lets not forget the FaceBook fragrance community.
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post #6 of 32
2/7/13 at 7:54pm
It's all thanks to the miracle of the internet. LOL

It helps a lot if you are a little obsessive compulsive and have the "collector" gene.
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post #7 of 32
2/7/13 at 8:01pm
Mainly from my beloved basenotes community and a drain on my wallet
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post #8 of 32
2/7/13 at 11:26pm
I feel that I don't have half the knowledge that many of the other Basenoters have, but what I do know and have experienced has come mainly from the Basenotes community and taking the time to sample as often as possible. Luckily I live in an area where there is one or two good niche shops as well as some high-end department stores that carry many niche brands to sample. It just takes time, patience, and passion.
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post #9 of 32
2/7/13 at 11:52pm
I just started collecting barely over a month ago. I got a crash course off youtube by searching up a TON of people's top 10 lists. After watching dozens of these videos, I got a great sense of what was popular by "fragheads". I went to theperfumedcourt and surrendertochance and spent a lot of money just buying 1ml/.5ml samples of all these fragrances. I then started sniffing them all... finding the ones I really liked... trying them on my skin... and then started ordering like crazy. Once you find several you really really enjoy, you can then start to figure out what sort of fragrances you prefer.

I've seem to enjoy most of what people here enjoy... except leather scents such as Tuscan Leather or a lot of the stuff from Bond no 9. Couldn't fall in love with A*Men like many here do, but I did enjoy the flankers Pure Havane and Pure Malt. So... in a word... make sure you sniff them yourself first before buying.
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post #10 of 32
2/8/13 at 12:49am
Partly the circle of friends and further social interaction, partly also my family, partly the exposure to good, reliable fragrance stores.

Few or none of the people to whom I owe my fragrance-related knowledge are fragrance industry (nor fashion, cosmetics etc. industry) professionals, yet almost all of them had a fragrance hobby at some point and most of them still do.
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post #11 of 32
2/8/13 at 12:55am
Sampling sites, fragrance sniff-a-thons, generous Basenoters. And a healthy application of geekdom to manage all the information.
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post #12 of 32
2/8/13 at 5:19am
Lots of sampling! I'm very new, but I now spend my free time visiting boutiques like Les Senteurs and department stores with good fragrance counters like Harrods, Harvey Nichols and Libertys in London. I ask to sample everything, I'm not shy about it. I don't get a lot of carded samples, but I do always get offered a sample for whatever the latest release is eg my recent samples were Guerlain la petite robe noire and Creed aqcua fiorentina. Les senteurs are very generous with their samples, I got some frederic Malle from them (which I then fell in love with so will go back to buy, hey their plan worked!)

But the vast majority of my samples come from sites like the perfumed court and surrender to chance. I sample a huge variety but I'm very sure of my own taste so I'm not swayed into buying what everyone else likes if I don't like it myself. I do keep an open mind, as I know my tastes could change. I struggle with aldehydes but one day I may fall in love with them.

I read a lot of blogs, and base notes of course!
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post #13 of 32
2/8/13 at 5:34am
I wish I had some fragrances stores with samples around where I live I just work with reviews and a spray on a tissue/skin. Just read the reviews and how the perfume smells to different people and their views. Also their fragrance wardrobe, check how their choices match yours (that can help if a person has very similar taste to yours then you can go with his choices too, it would be rare that you would hate what they liked). Last but not least discussion with other fragheads either through threads,posts or chatting.
Try fragrantica too its great, helped me alot and they are still improving it, the people's comments on fragrantica are great and the forum of basenotes is wonderful.
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post #14 of 32
2/8/13 at 9:40am
It all started because I thought it would be fun to buy Perfumes: The A-Z Guide by Turin and Sanchez.

I worked my way through that, smelling a lot of the 5-star rated perfumes (and learning that way that you can't just buy many of them anywhere - that was my introduction to niche). Then smelling and reading more, and visiting here and MUA, Bois de Jasmin, NST, etc.

I'm lucky to live near London, so I have access to lots of niche and mainstream fragrances. Mainly it's been legwork. Lots of walking around, stopping in the shops, testing, talking with the SAs. Eventually you realize you know some stuff. I remember when I felt like you describe, but I'll tell you you can catch up quick if you're really interested.
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post #15 of 32
2/8/13 at 11:08am
It was gradual for me. I remember buying designer stuff in the early noughties, getting bored of them and not buying anything for almost 10 years. I had been on basenotes in the early days, but hadn't really used it as an information source to it's fullest.

Now, I read posts, work out what I like and obtain samples, either direct from the producer or via STC / LS / PC / ALzD etc..

I then read reviews and try to smell what other people are writing about. This has been a gradual education, creating references and using that to decide what I might try next. I do enjoy the lists / seasonal type posts as they introduce me to other scents I might not have heard or thought of before.
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post #16 of 32
2/8/13 at 2:00pm
I am grateful to the folks here on Basenotes! They have helped by starting conversations, sample passes to sniff frags that I had never before, offered me free samples just because and just there love of fragrance has fueled their need to help me.
I have also chosen to investigate for myself feminine frags and vinatge frags and they have been there supporting me. Of course the internet is a wealth of information and finding good books on perfumes to read is very helpful as well.
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post #17 of 32
2/8/13 at 4:40pm
I used to compound incense, so became familiar with about forty essential oils. Then I got over my fear of and disgust with fragrance, and started sniffing this and that. It's a gas...literally.
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post #18 of 32
2/8/13 at 5:42pm
For me it was mostly YouTube, watching a lot of reviews and then when I was intrigued in a particular fragrance I would go out and test it.
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post #19 of 32
2/9/13 at 3:44am
It's not something you pick up entirely in a week or a month. A little bit at a time adds up.
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post #20 of 32
2/9/13 at 1:07pm
Time, money, curiosity, enthusiasm, genetics, and a certain level of intelligence. Its all you need.
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post #21 of 32
2/9/13 at 1:43pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Scentologist View Post

Time, money, curiosity, enthusiasm, genetics, and a certain level of intelligence. Its all you need.

Easy game? )
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post #22 of 32
2/9/13 at 1:49pm
I forgot how i got my educamantation, but it werkd for me.
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post #23 of 32
2/9/13 at 2:04pm
Sampling, learning what notes smell like; finding similarities with other fragrances that have similar notes. You can pick up quite a few samples for cheap from places like Aedes, Min...then you also have luckyscent, surrender to chance & perfumed court which will be a little more expensive. But once you build a collection of samples then you can also do sample swaps; or even decant swaps.

It's something that just takes time.
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post #24 of 32
2/9/13 at 7:47pm
To learn how notes and accords smell? Took years with almost daily smelling of new perfumes.

I am from the UAE (Abu Dhabi + Dubai). We have 85% of all niche perfume houses available.
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post #25 of 32
2/9/13 at 11:56pm
Basenotes = Sampling
Sampling = Broke

Basenotes = Broke

All joking aside, I posted Polls here after looking at fragrantica.
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post #26 of 32
2/10/13 at 3:18pm
I have learned more here than anywhere. There really is a vast wealth of knowledge and experience contained within this site. Curiosity begat interest which begat experimentation which begat (semi) obsession. I love that first experience with a fragrance for which you have high expectations, as well as the "wow!" experience from the one for which you had no expectation at all.

Basenotes and a handful of blogs and youtube reviewers make for a pretty good start toward a street education in fragrance. The actual learning and application are up to the student. Sample, sample and sample some more.
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post #27 of 32
2/10/13 at 4:06pm
I got into it throught soap making. I bought some Eo to make theraputic soaps and after blending oils I started to think hey, this smells good, so i started blending more, buying and swapping more EOs then I found basenotes and this has been a blast. I love what all i have learned from reading the post and watching youtube reviews.

I think I am a collector now, I want to aquire a very extensive FO and EO collection. There also are a few niche houses that I want, Tom Fords private blend, Creed and by Kilian just to name a few.
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post #28 of 32
2/10/13 at 4:22pm
I'm new as well. I already have a small collection so I'm working my way back through them, comparing notes with the database on here and at Fragrantica.
I then make my own notes too (I very sadly said up a spreadsheet listing families and notes/accords for each frag.

I've also ordered a load of samples from the US and am hoping that Royal Mail doesn't decide to deprive me of them!

Dom
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post #29 of 32
2/10/13 at 4:39pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by dlegros View Post

I'm new as well. I already have a small collection so I'm working my way back through them, comparing notes with the database on here and at Fragrantica.
I then make my own notes too (I very sadly said up a spreadsheet listing families and notes/accords for each frag.

I've also ordered a load of samples from the US and am hoping that Royal Mail doesn't decide to deprive me of them!

Dom

Nice, would love to see the spreadsheet and what you tried, maybe i can give them a go if i can find them! PM me if you don't want them in public
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post #30 of 32
2/10/13 at 5:49pm
Sheet is in Apple's .numbers format. Would that work or would .xls be better?

I'll happily send it to you when I get up.

Dom
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post #31 of 32
2/10/13 at 6:28pm
Thread Starter 
clearly .xls!
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post #32 of 32
2/10/13 at 6:46pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sicktrick View Post

clearly .xls!

OK

I'll get that out to you later (unless this insomnia won't go away - in which case it will be sooner!)
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Basenotes › Basenotes Forums › Fragrance Discussion › Just Starting Out › how did you get your education?