How expensive a hobby is this? (Addressed to enthusiasts)

[RedCat]

I'm seeing posts from all you connoisseurs who have tried and have developed opinions on pretty much every cologne a given person mentions. My question is, how big is a small collection, a decent collection, and a large collection to those of you who are really into colognes? And how much a year do you typically spend trying/buying bottles? Personally, I think I can appreciate a good smell to a certain extent (given that I'm pretty new to the diversity of scents), but I'm looking at starting off my "collection" with a 200$ish purchase.
I just want to have 4-5 solid, all-purpose frags. While I'm of the belief that the sensation of having an amazing smell is somewhat priceless, my college budget protests. How much money would you recommend spending on them? If I buy a 100ml bottle of 4 different scents, will they have "gone bad" by the time I used even half of them?

Those are a lot of questions... thanks for taking the time to read and hopefully reply!

[fit&frag'd]

Fragrances can last decades if stored properly, so I wouldn't be too concerned about that. As for how big of a collection to build or how much to spend, that's something only you can decide as you go. If you're just looking for a handful of your favorites, then I'd recommend making sure they are definitely your absolute favorites and would spend accordingly (there's always deals to be found on anything). If it's also about "collecting", then I'd see it as any other type of collection. Any hobby or collection can get expensive..it's all about how into it you are and how far you take it. It wouldn't say fragrance collecting is any more expensive than the majority of others.

Personally, I focus much more on adding fragrances that I absolutely love and know I'll wear at least semi-often. If I find there are some that no longer fit that, I'll look to trade them off or sell them. I love testing/sampling new fragrances more than I do actually collecting bottles, so I'll spend more time on that part of it and only purchase full bottles of my absolute favorites. In the long run, I likely see myself narrowing down to maybe a dozen or so, but I don't really have a set number or limit I have to abide by. If I like it and will wear it, I'll eventually find a way to get it and keep it.

Welcome & best of luck man!

[OctaVariuM]

Okay, I'd like to preface the rest of this post by saying that I am relatively new to the hobby as well, so take my advice as only the advice of someone new.

I'd say my collection is definitely small at six fragrances and a bunch of samples. However, for me, it's all about the quality of the fragrances, rather than the quantity. If I may echo the wise noirdrakkar, I'd rather buy one $100 fragrance than 3 $30 fragrances.

If you are looking to have 4-5 frags from a $200 budget, you'd be stretching your options, but it's not undoable. However, I'd suggest you get one cologne via a split that's super flexible (I'm thinking along the lines of GIT, Aventus), then spend the rest of your $130 on a few designer frags or one (or two if you do it via splits) niche fragrance that you really like.

When you first start out a collection, it's all about versatility. I wish I knew that when I started (my first two bottles were Code and 1 million). Now though, I have some really nice fragrances that I love, and I am slowly growing my wardrobe over time.

As for cost, I'd say it's a pretty expensive hobby, but it's not unreasonable. I like to relate it to guys/girls who spend hundreds of dollars on shoes, clothing, hats, etc that they wear a few times and never touch again. At least with expensive fragrances, they can be used for years...and they hold their value pretty well. I budget myself to around $40 a month to put forth into my fragrance hobby, so I'm aiming to buy a new frag every 3 months (or, if you will, 4 times a year). That's not counting gifts though.

Either way, enjoy the hobby and the community, and WELCOME! I'm sure you'll get a lot of better responses from the bigger contributors, like (my personal favorites) cacio, 30 roses, hednic, etc.

[RedCat]

Thanks a lot to both of you. This community is actually pretty great. I would LOVE to do some splits to get my hands on some of the Creed scents, but I read people with fewer than a certain number of posts/rep can initiate them, or something like that? I would also prefer to have a small number of scents that I love using than an actual collection.

[cacio]

As with all hobbies and collections, the sky's the limit with what one can spend and how much one can accumulate. Some brands cost $500+, and then there's the whole world of vintage stuff on ebay. But then many of us here on BN already have enough perfume to last several lifetimes, and we keep buying.

As mentioned in another thread, my suggestion is not to jump into buying right away. As with all hobbies, you first need to learn a little. You may like something, but then realize there are much better things for the same price. A little patience helps. After that, 4 or 5 bottle seems more than enough. If you use the usual rule of 1ml = 10 sprays, and a typical wearing of 4 sprays, a 100ml bottle should last 250 days - so 4 bottles will get you though all your years in college. And on a college budget it makes no sense to go into expensive territory or niche. There are many wonderful frags in mainstream perfumery at reasonable prices.

Meanwhile, you can keep smelling and learning, and accumulating samples, so that when you start earning money, you can decide for yourself what you want to do, whether to jump into more expensive territory and expanding your collection.

As others have said, you shouldn't worry about conservation, as long as you keep your frags away from sunlight. Ideally you should keep frags in their boxes, or in a drawer and not expose them to light or big sources of heat. Sunlight, however, can ruin them in a matter of weeks, so no frag on a windowsill.

cacio

[dollars&scents]

I just want to have 4-5 solid, all-purpose frags....How much money would you recommend spending on them? If I buy a 100ml bottle of 4 different scents, will they have "gone bad" by the time I used even half of them?

Your idea of four or five, solid fragrances is OK. Take your time to select varied scents.

And, you can make do with your $200 reserve.

Your fragrances will last for decades if cared for properly. Keep them out of direct sunlight, and, if possible, extreme temperatures.

[hednic]

As with all hobbies and collections, the sky's the limit with what one can spend and how much one can accumulate. Some brands cost $500+, and then there's the whole world of vintage stuff on ebay. But then many of us here on BN already have enough perfume to last several lifetimes, and we keep buying.

Very true.

[ChickenFreak]

Even though it feels like burning money, I'd suggest buying and using up a modest (5-10ml) decant of every fragrance before you buy the bottle, especially for bottles at the $100 or more range. Yes, four or five decants will generally cost the price of one bottle, but it's my feeling that early in the hobby, your taste can change rapidly. Over half of my early bottle purchases were mistakes - there aren't many that I flat-out dislike, but I have many bottles that I'd happily replace with something different.

[MikeJ]

Even though it feels like burning money, I'd suggest buying and using up a modest (5-10ml) decant of every fragrance before you buy the bottle, especially for bottles at the $100 or more range. Yes, four or five decants will generally cost the price of one bottle, but it's my feeling that early in the hobby, your taste can change rapidly. Over half of my early bottle purchases were mistakes - there aren't many that I flat-out dislike, but I have many bottles that I'd happily replace with something different.

This!
Also, trying actually finishing the sample. If I can't finish a sample in a decent amount of time, I can't justify purchasing an entire bottle.

[Kagey]

Good advice here so far, and I'd only add this: don't let the price be the deciding factor. Yes, it's important to have a ceiling if you're not fabulously wealthy, but don't assume that a $200 perfume is necessarily better than a $50 bottle. What's inside the bottle, and whether or not you like the way it smells, is the most important thing.

[Jack Hunter]

It's only as expensive as you want it to be, you can have a decent collection of frags that don't cost the earth.

[Ken_Russell]

Most of the good scents don't simply go off in a few years, if stored properly, besides, a decent variety, expansion, range of storage and/or presentation facilities etc. of a steady fragrance collection should, even though indeed there is hardly any upper limit of the costs, as with any hobby, not surpass a few hundreds or thousands Euros/dollars/pounds etc. a year and still be OK.

[drseid]

Definitely you can put together a solid collection with only 4-5 scents. I started out that way, and as my disposable income and inquisitiveness as to what else was out there grew, so did my collection.

I will agree with advice previous responders have already given that higher dollar figures for scents do not necessarily indicate better quality or smell. Just go out and sample a ton of things and invest in the scents you like the best from the heap (whether they be $20 "cheapies" or $200 niche "splurges"). I also advise seeking out samples of the "vintage" discontinued scents and "vintage" versions of current scents. Many of these can be had for quite reasonable money and smell just as good or better than the stuff more recently released. The key thing above all else is to enjoy the journey.

[Bigsly]

You're really going to have to get most of those answers yourself. Some say they can get by with a dozen bottles or even less,while others have a warehouse full of frags (ask hednic how many bottles he has, for example). I have around 200 I'd guess, if not more but I try to get rid of ones I don't think I'll wear again, and I also sell samples so it's not terribly expensive (plus I'm a "bargain hunter"). I am especially interested in frags that are decades old so your concerns about how long new frags will last provided me with a little laugh there (especially considering how synthetic today's frags are). They will be plenty fresh when you are dust is my guess, if they are not used of course. My major concern is evaporation, even from sealed bottles, which I've seen a few times.

[socalwoman]

Even though it feels like burning money, I'd suggest buying and using up a modest (5-10ml) decant of every fragrance before you buy the bottle, especially for bottles at the $100 or more range. Yes, four or five decants will generally cost the price of one bottle, but it's my feeling that early in the hobby, your taste can change rapidly. Over half of my early bottle purchases were mistakes - there aren't many that I flat-out dislike, but I have many bottles that I'd happily replace with something different.

This is very good advice IMO.

[RedCat]

I'm following all your advice (thank you very much ) and I've got some samples headed my way. I find it completely true that your taste can change very rapidly once your exposed to something new, so samples are the way to go. 200 frags seems pretty immense to me, but then again, I'm looking into buying 4-5 just this year, and I've got the rest of my life ahead of me...
So, thanks a lot everyone! Looking forward to getting into it!

[hedonist222]

It's only as expensive as you want it to be, you can have a decent collection of frags that don't cost the earth.

This articulates any hobby on earth.
It's as sprawling as you want it to be. Some people enjoy a smaller but quality wardrobe while others enjoy an varietyof scents.

- - - Updated - - -

In my opinion, you can assemble a solid wardrobe but it'll require no less than 10 to 15 bottles. But itd be a solid wardrobe.

[salim96]

This question is very subjective.
This brings me back to America's Foremost business philosopher Jim Rohn:
His mentor asked him, why do not you buy that (he was referring to something). He replied, it is expensive. His mentor said:
No it is not, you just can not afford it

[Tony T]

I think you need a couple of each genre..
Oud-Incense- etc..
And a few favorites..
anywhere from 30-50 would be a great number..

[hednic]

This question is very subjective.
This brings me back to America's Foremost business philosopher Jim Rohn:
His mentor asked him, why do not you buy that (he was referring to something). He replied, it is expensive. His mentor said:
No it is not, you just can not afford it

His mentor was stating the truth.
(1803)

[magnus611]

Very expensive...sky is the limit....

[martinijo]

It's only as expensive as you want it to be, you can have a decent collection of frags that don't cost the earth.

Indeed.

[Wit_Siamese]

It can be expensive if you only but full bottles. Samples are your friends, they help me decide if the scents are FBW or not, most of the time they are not worth the price they are asking for. I am happy for my decants collection (not in my wardrobe).

If I sold my collection, I can buy a car & might able to build a small house in cash.

My collection is almost complete now, just a few more bottles needed.

[Wasatch]

Depends on how far you want to get into it and what you like. Can be very expensive.

[joe mcclaine]

As with most internet communities, OCD and a degree of 'one upmanship' drives a few beyond their means.

This nonsense can be ruinously expensive.

[martinijo]

As with most internet communities, OCD and a degree of 'one upmanship' drives a few beyond their means.

This nonsense can be ruinously expensive.

I never did take a look at the sticky thread for "addicts" with genuine problems...

[Oproust]

Most collections take years to build. Samples will get you there in the most efficient way. One of the great things about this hobby is you never know which way it is going. Anticipation of your next best purchase can be one of the most satisfying parts of what we do (other than wearing those great fragrances).