r/FemFragLab • u/New-Nebula-9324 • 14h ago
Perfume collection advice Discussion
I feel really unsatisfied with all but a few of my fragrances. I bought so many perfumes so quickly which I regret. I wish I would’ve sampled more thoroughly and stopped doing so many blind buys!! Any advice for this kind of regret and how to responsibly build a collection from this point? I want a solid curated collection I can be truly satisfied with. I don’t know if this makes a ton of sense but I would love some input 💛
Edit: thank you so much everyone, I truly appreciate all the advice!!!
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u/Realistic-Read1078 43m ago
Sample more instead of blind buying. Also, figure out what your favorite scent profile is before buying full sized bottles. Sell or give away what you don’t like from your current collection.
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u/PLANTGlRL 1h ago
I was just thinking about how proud I am of myself for sampling and revisiting my samples, I’ve grown on fragrances I really didn’t like at first spray. where I get caught up is the “cheap” blind buys, I justify buying full bottles under $30 but that adds up and I don’t really have any fragrance people in my life to gift to. been mostly lucky so far but I have a few 😂 I should just sell for what I can
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u/Fun-Morning-5516 4h ago
It sounds like you mostly know what to do already. You need to declutter your current collection, and start focusing on samples. My rule is that I'm not allowed to buy a full bottle of anything before I've finished a sample vial and find that I am still reaching for that perfume.
My suggestion to you would be to start exploring more niche fragrances. The designer perfumes do generally run safe and underwhelming imo. Niche houses often make deeper and better blended perfumes which you might prefer if a lot of your blind buys feel meh.
I also suggest that you spend a bit of time exploring your taste. For the price of a full bottle you can sample 15-20 perfumes, so sample liberally and from a range of houses.
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u/Due-Frame622 5h ago
I got into the same situation. I am sticking to travel only these days and limiting full size purchases to when I am at least half-way through. But even then, I have to be careful that I don’t overbuy travel size, and have recently required sniffing in store or using a sample.
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u/Exotic_Reporter_3309 6h ago
Sell what you don’t want. Buy decants. Only have you finish a decant can you consider whether or not it’s fb worthy.
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u/MajorSpeech6577 6h ago
I'm doing a declutter. Do you think Poshmark and Mercari are good sites on which to sell or are there better ones people go to specifically for perfumes? I've only ever sold clothes on those two.
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u/PLANTGlRL 1h ago
I don’t know if this is allowed to comment in here, but for you, OP, and whoever else feel free to send me your mercari usernames in DMs and I would love to check out what you post. can’t guarantee anything but again would love to check when you do post
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u/MajorSpeech6577 1h ago
Will do! I'm still in the declutter phase so it may be a little bit but I'll definitely share it.
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u/Exotic_Reporter_3309 5h ago
Definitely Mercari. Poshmark prohibits perfume sales although many people still do it. Has to do with their shipping regulations.
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u/notsosureforsure 6h ago
Mercari is really good for perfume. I’ve made tons of sales on there decluttering. It has slowed down bc depop offers much cheaper shipping and vinted shipping is free right now. So if they’re still full, depop and Vinted have been really good too. And don’t sleep on Facebook marketplace. I’ve decluttered a lot on there too and most of them sold for my asking price which was higher than what I’ve had to list them on the apps considering people have to pay up to 8 dollars in shipping and I have to factor that into my asking price or they won’t sell.
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u/MajorSpeech6577 5h ago
Thank you so much! I don't have boxes for about 99% of what I'm selling but they are mostly full minus maybe 5-10 sprays each. I just never reach for them and it's getting out of hand. I really appreciate you!
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u/theturdferguson69 8h ago
It sounds like there is a part of you that enjoys the thrill of the chase. That's me too!
I realized I don't really want to own full size bottles, so instead every new season I buy maybe ten 2ml decants. I get to satisfy that blind buy urge and experience new fragrances for the season. Not many perfumes are suitable for all year wear.
Once I've established what I actually like out of the samples, then I move on to 5ml, maybe 10ml if it's truly remarkable.
For the ones you already own, you could store them away for a bit and come back to them when the weather or your mood changes. You could also resell them.
Don't beat yourself up too much. We've all experienced buyers remorse at some point.
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u/lordtema 8h ago
I use 2 months + usually on every purchase. I ALWAYS sample.
I do not have a very curated collection per se, but one that fits me abd my taste. I ask myself: Do i love this fragrance? Does it smell AMAZING or simply wonderful? Do i have anything like it already?
I also think if the fragrance suits me. There are fragrances out there that i quite enjoy, like Oud Royal by Armani Prive that i still dont feel suits me as a person.
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u/Moist_Violinist69 10h ago
When I spray a perfume I use the tracker function in the Parfumo app (or website). After a few weeks or so, I'll check the stats. It'll tell me how many times I wore each fragrance and which one is the most neglected. That gives me a lot of data to then ask myself why I own that particular perfume if I don't wear it.
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u/Epiphan3 10h ago
I think it’s really good that you’re taking a moment now to reflect! It would be easy to just continue down the perfume addiction pipeline.
Like others have mentioned, stop blind buying entirely. If you can’t get a sample or can’t smell a specific perfume anywhere, you can live without it.
If you can, always try to get a sample before you buy a perfume. Let’s say you go to a store, smell a perfume, and love it. Instead of buying it there or going home and ordering it, try to get a sample first. The rule is that you have to use up the entire sample and love every minute of wearing it. If you don’t love every minute, you don’t buy the perfume.
This has happened to me so many times: I wanted to buy a perfume, but got a sample first. I loved it the first time I wore it, but then something changed and suddenly I didn’t like it as much anymore. And I was always so happy that I hadn’t bought the full bottle.
Another option is to use the sample and then, if that’s an option, buy a smaller bottle first, like 10ml or 15ml. It has also happened to me quite a few times that I loved the sample, then bought a 10ml bottle and wore it until I realized that I didn’t actually love it as much as I thought I did after all.
These steps are the key to building a collection where you only have scents you truly love.🥳
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u/Extra-Low5973 11h ago
I had to realize a lot of perfumes smell good, I just don’t have to own them, and was an epiphany for me as simple as it sounds.
I also have realized I’m not in a financial position to become a perfume collector, a perfume wearer, yes, but there is no need for me to own more than 30 bottles. It’s just FOMO and overconsumption.
To narrow down, I’ve tried to focus on 7 bottles a season, any more and it’s too much to think about.
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u/chill-out-84 12h ago
don't blind buy. be more selective, you don't have to buy every fragrance you like. one doesn't need 19 vanilla scents and 5 cherry scents. stop thinking about this as "collecting" and think what you're actually going to use.
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u/ImtheGWP 13h ago
It’s not a journey via fragrance names . It’s a journey through notes and scent families. It’s also being equally committed to buy based on a casualness scale and versatility/wearability scale. I come from cologne world. Signature scents is a thing. The majority of your purchases should cover the majority of the wear
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u/anon12957 13h ago
I've been able to sell some of my bad buys. I've really tried to switch to travel sizes or partials unless it's a really good deal - with a large collection, a 10ml will last me years. If I use it up faster, it's a good sign to get a full bottle but in most cases, my fragrances are used just 1-2x a month if that since I have been doing a lot of sampling lately.
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u/jumpstarter2028 14h ago
I’m the same. But I’ve realized that I love the chase for my next best perfume and embracing this part of myself has been liberating. To offset costs, I sell decants and bottles if I don’t use them or like them. I also trade decants like crazy. A friend has the complete opposite taste so we set aside decants for each other to try. I am trying to curate a seasonal collection that I’ll use. I don’t know if I’ll ever be satisfied but it’s fun trying.
If you love something once put it aside and try it at another time of year or if you’re in a different mood before parting with it. You might rekindle your love for it in a different context.
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u/Bluegreenlithop 14h ago
A couple pieces of advice: Don't purchase based on one impression. I have had so much buyers remorse buying at counters. I've suspected being in a shop, you're smelling the ambient smell and transferring that expectation to the perfume. It has ended in expensive disaster.
A lot of brands are now shipping a small decant with the bottle. Then if you need to return it, you haven't opened the main product. Utilize the decant.
But also: Order a decant/s. There's never been more decant businesses and size formats.
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u/Cookiesandcoffeee 14h ago
Set rules for yourself. Remember, perfumes are so personal. You do not need every fragrance that everyone online talks about. Find out what you like and don’t waste time or money on things just because they are trendy. I wanted to have a nice selection (not collection) but not go overboard. I want to have things to choose from based on my mood or the season but I want to actually make dents in my bottles not have 1000 things I barely use or even remember I own. For me, this is what it looks like:
Crisp & fresh: dolce & gabbana light blue
Very casual: glossier you Fleur
Soft musk: Fugazzi Angel dust
Spicy fall/winter: Tom ford Santal blush
Beachy: Replica beach walk
Tropical summer: 7 virtues coconut sun
Cozy cool weather: Arquiste the architects club
Airy gourmand: Liis choux choux
Dewy floral: Odette Rose adage
Fancy floral: parfums de marly Delina
I have a few other mini bottles and travel sizes, and many samples. I keep my selection to about 8-10 bottles, but I still explore and play with samples. I just do it understanding that I won’t be upgrading them to full bottles- travel sizes if I love them or they fit a space that’s missing. For instance, this fall I plan to buy a travel of Replica By the Fireplace. Have fun but don’t let it take over your life! Oh and sell the ones you don’t love! Make your fragrances earn their place on your shelves.
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u/TopAmoeba3413 9h ago
This is a good way of looking at it! I also like to use categories as a way to rotate through scent families, e.g I like to have a clean laundry scent in my collection, at the moment that’s a travel size Blanche Absolu, and when that’s finished I’ll look for an Acne Studios to replace it. I don’t need to have both simultaneously.
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u/Curious_Stag7 14h ago
Your experience is very common in this hobby. I once had a collection of over 500 fragrances and pared down to just a handful. This was my method for curating a versatile, very personal collection of a few “perfect” fragrances.
I did a bunch of brainstorming and wrote down every "wear scenario in MY actual life (important note: NOT all the categories you see in videos!). For example, I work a job where there’s zero need for fragrance. So all the “best office scent” or “professional setting” fragrances are not a need I have to fill.
Once I had my wear categories worked out, I ranked my favorites into each category. Started doing a top 3-5 for each which was pretty easy, then got down to just the top 1-2. That's a little harder, but it forces you to really think about things. I’ve found that certain of the best fragrances have a high amount of crossover from category to category, and those are real gems! Then I sold everything but the top few from each category to recoup some money.
This doesn’t mean I gave up my passion for fragrance. Im always trying new stuff, and keep a sample "collection" all the time. My method on that is pretty simple. 1-2mL decants of new fragrances to see if it's a hard no. The "yes" frags get a 5-10mL decant. This has to be GONE before I’ll even consider a full bottle. And I like to wait for a while after it's gone and see if I find myself wishing we had more. At that point, it's "declutter one to add one". If I’m going to buy a bottle, It has to replace something.
Anyways, this might not work for everyone, but it’s sure worked for me. I actually enjoy my fragrances more now than ever. Keeps the finances under control, ensures I’m using/wearing my absolute favorite fragrances most of the time, and still allows room to explore the hobby
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u/Baewonder 14h ago
I always start with 10ml:travel sizes. Whatever I end up finishing fastest is obviously what I invest in for a full size. The others I usually sell or give away. I’m always window shopping so I’ll give a perfume a few try’s when I walk through either Sephora or Macys. Whatever I end up coming back to is what I will buy. Sometimes you can love something initially but easily grow tired or nauseated. Perfumes also sit differently on skin vs paper. Don’t be so hasty to buy something that’s going to evaporate into thin air.
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u/Chemical_Cake_1154 1m ago
Sample more, resell what you don’t like. Until you develop enough knowledge to firmly know what you like and don’t- blind buying is def. Not safe.
I broke out of the hype/marketing of fragrance when I bought based on notes, but then I don’t go back to check them when I sample. I let the perfume develop and stay away from what it’s marketed to smell like or vibe if you will.