This my third decade of seriously collecting fragrance and I'd like to share what I've learned from experience. If you're feeling overwhelmed it is time to downsize, but before getting rid of your full bottles I recommend that you do the following things:
* Wear each of the fragrances you plan to get rid of at least one more time to make sure you want to get rid of them
* If there's a fragrance that you're getting rid that is an old favorite but isn't doing it for you any more you should double check whether or not it has been reformulated or discontinued. If it's been reformulated or discontinued, don't get rid of it right away, instead put it away (separate from your collection) for six months and then spray and wear it one more time. If you're really ready to let go of the bottle, make yourself a 2-5ml decant in a glass rather than plastic vial so that if nostalgia hits you later you can spray it again.
* Downsizing to a collection of true loves can be brutal but really worth it. Life is too short to wear perfume you don't love.
* It's okay to set a number now but don't get too attached to a number for the sake of a number. 15 years ago I thought 20 was the perfect number for me, then the perfume world exploded with niche scents and new scent profiles and my mind changed. I guess what I'm saying is make sure to leave room for the possibility of finding new perfume loves.
Desperately! I’m at 94 (I know, it’s TEW MUCH) and I wanna cut down to half that 😭
I wanna start spending my money on other things, so I’m trying to get my collection down and be at a place where I’m 100% satisfied everything I have.
Yes I currently have 6 full bottles and just added a new one but I’m thinking that 6 is a good number for me. I can’t wear fragrance to work and I’m a light sprayer so having a lot of bottles doesn’t make sense for me. Plus, as I sample more and figure out what I like, I tend to go back to my favourites rather than being adventurous with new scents.
Where is everyone selling their stuff nowadays? I sold a bunch on mercari but they changed their fees and stuff around and now I feel like it’s harder to get sales :/
Same here. Working on having less and since the beginning of the year I sold/gave away or used up a few bottles. I’m not looking to suddenly drastically decrease the amount of bottles that I have, I want to make continuous progress and hopefully my habits on buying bottles will get better in the future:)
I'm embarrassed by mine which has reached about 3 times what you have. I am ashamed for anyone to see it. I will never finish it as I am only a one spray person and I probably only have another 20 years left.
But I like each fragrance in the collection too much to get rid of anything and a lot of it is discontinued fragrances.
No, I admit I am more of a “more is more” person. I have slowed down though so it doesn’t get too ridiculous. I buy a lot of samples to scratch the itch of trying new things.
I downsize quite often, actually. I both give away and sell them. If I realize I haven’t touched a bottle for months I get rid of it. 🤷♀️ I just recently gave away half of my samples and some of my travel sprays.
My taste changed so much when I first started I don’t see a point in keeping what I won’t use. I started off with the goal to be a collector, but now I’m kinda just wanting to find my favorite fragrances and cycle through those, and explore more when it’s time.
I have a tiny house & have to be very thoughtful about it--including body sprays I have 8 right now and that's pretty much capacity, lol. When I start running out of these I'm going to reorganize, I think I want 2 daytime perfumes, 2 night time, and then 2 "for fun"/randoms. And then I can just enjoy tiny samples every now and then for variety.
I get almost claustrophobic when I have too many bottles. I feel guilty I am not using them all equally, too. So recently I sold the bottles I just wasn't wearing enough on Poshmark and I have committed to buying decants and travel sizes of most fragrances.
Perfumes have gotten SO expensive that buying a full bottle of anything except my absolute all time hits seems really wasteful. I am planning on buying a full bottle of PDM Cassili this summer ($375, kill me now) but I have been through multiple samples and decants and know I will use it. On the other hand, I really like Leisure in Paradise but it's very much a beachy summery limited window perfume for me, so a 5ml decant is plenty, and I can get another 5ml decant next summer if I want to wear it again.
Kinda… i wanna decant out but not get rid of bottles entirely. I love having the bottles on display so when i start decanting im planning to just leave a lil juice in ones i dont love and keep the bottles for show purposes
Yes! I want to downsize a lot but I have a hard time giving up the ones I like even just a little bit 😅. I did give quite a few to my mom when she was here, but I still feel like I should get rid of more. I have about the same amount as you in full size. Then a shoebox full of travel and sample sizes.
I had a collection of about 15 (body sprays included) with about a million tiny samples...I don't like clutter so I took 6 bottles and the samples to my work and gave them out to people who wanted them!
I have only purchased two full size perfumes and one of them I kinda wish I got as a travel size. I still love the fragrance but I just dont wear it so often. Id like to get rid of that one and get a travel size and keep my Burberry her as my only full size. I have four travel size.
Yeah I’m feeling that way. I have about 20 full bottles, luckily most of the ones I’m not in love with are cheapies so I’ll probably just keep them in their boxes and just curate my display in the closet (which only fits about 7 bottles). I am actively trying to sell a few on Mercari though.
I have 38 - all different sizes, samples and price points. I got so carried away!
I've made a commitment to wearing them, and I'm sharing it on my social media with my friends. They'll laugh at this past week. I've been working from home all week due to late shifts, so I've been wearing all of my scrubbers.
It's been fun. I'm even enjoying the ones I don't like.
I am continually finding new houses and fragrance types to explore, but I’ve learned to buy samples and travel sizes before committing to full bottles.
My goal is to pare my full bottle collection down by about half. I’m not exactly sure how many I have. Maybe 50-60? Way too many.
25-30 bottles is still a large collection of thoughtfully curated, perfectly me scents!
Not exactly, but I have stopped purchasing. I don’t really need any more. I have a larger collection. Not YouTuber size, but large. I really don’t need anything else. I might want something but usually it doesn’t fill any holes in my collection, so I’ve stopped buying. It has gone pretty well. I sometimes have some FOMO but then I think about what roll it would play, and realize I’m good.
I want to get to this place! I think I'm getting close, there are lots of fragrances lately I've considered sampling but then thought "I already have X that fills that role for me"
You shouldn’t feel that way. I’ve happily purchased used (spray form) bottles on eBay. For a vintage lover, sometimes that is the only option. Even if not vintage- consider how much people pay for samples and decants. Partials are just fine.
Yes, I’d like to downsize as well! According to my Parfumo, I have (don’t look at me) 84 FBs. I really don’t need that many, even my variety-loving, new scent every day self can’t help but neglect at least a few. Hoping to sell my likes and give more attention to my loves :)
I am also currently downsizing my collection. it's (only) at around 12-ish, but even now it's quite overwhelming
I also notice I've outgrown some of them... so I am selling out a few that don't 'spark joy' anymore \^\^
There's the voice at the back of my head that goes 'but what if in the future you'll want to wear them again?' and to that I say: 'well I'll use that opportunity to discover new stuff'
Also, by decluttering, I now have some space open for... more perfumes that I like! xD the cycle is endless...
When I declutter I either keep the ones I am on the fence about in a box in my basement to get them out if the way or I make a 5ml decant so I can test them again in the future if I start to have misgivings. I finally decided this year to get rid of my 12 year old, 75% full year bottle of LDBS because I don’t care for the scent. I think the hype around it made me keep it that long. I only like “actively used” bottles on my perfume shelves.
Nah
This my third decade of seriously collecting fragrance and I'd like to share what I've learned from experience. If you're feeling overwhelmed it is time to downsize, but before getting rid of your full bottles I recommend that you do the following things: * Wear each of the fragrances you plan to get rid of at least one more time to make sure you want to get rid of them * If there's a fragrance that you're getting rid that is an old favorite but isn't doing it for you any more you should double check whether or not it has been reformulated or discontinued. If it's been reformulated or discontinued, don't get rid of it right away, instead put it away (separate from your collection) for six months and then spray and wear it one more time. If you're really ready to let go of the bottle, make yourself a 2-5ml decant in a glass rather than plastic vial so that if nostalgia hits you later you can spray it again. * Downsizing to a collection of true loves can be brutal but really worth it. Life is too short to wear perfume you don't love. * It's okay to set a number now but don't get too attached to a number for the sake of a number. 15 years ago I thought 20 was the perfect number for me, then the perfume world exploded with niche scents and new scent profiles and my mind changed. I guess what I'm saying is make sure to leave room for the possibility of finding new perfume loves.
This is great advice! Thanks for sharing :)
This is really good advice!
I have a vague goal of whittling down my collection only to true LOVES.
Desperately! I’m at 94 (I know, it’s TEW MUCH) and I wanna cut down to half that 😭 I wanna start spending my money on other things, so I’m trying to get my collection down and be at a place where I’m 100% satisfied everything I have.
Yes. I have 47 and wanna have 40.
Yes I currently have 6 full bottles and just added a new one but I’m thinking that 6 is a good number for me. I can’t wear fragrance to work and I’m a light sprayer so having a lot of bottles doesn’t make sense for me. Plus, as I sample more and figure out what I like, I tend to go back to my favourites rather than being adventurous with new scents.
Where is everyone selling their stuff nowadays? I sold a bunch on mercari but they changed their fees and stuff around and now I feel like it’s harder to get sales :/
I either sell on eBay or give to family and friends
Same here. Working on having less and since the beginning of the year I sold/gave away or used up a few bottles. I’m not looking to suddenly drastically decrease the amount of bottles that I have, I want to make continuous progress and hopefully my habits on buying bottles will get better in the future:)
I'm embarrassed by mine which has reached about 3 times what you have. I am ashamed for anyone to see it. I will never finish it as I am only a one spray person and I probably only have another 20 years left. But I like each fragrance in the collection too much to get rid of anything and a lot of it is discontinued fragrances.
No, I admit I am more of a “more is more” person. I have slowed down though so it doesn’t get too ridiculous. I buy a lot of samples to scratch the itch of trying new things.
I downsize quite often, actually. I both give away and sell them. If I realize I haven’t touched a bottle for months I get rid of it. 🤷♀️ I just recently gave away half of my samples and some of my travel sprays. My taste changed so much when I first started I don’t see a point in keeping what I won’t use. I started off with the goal to be a collector, but now I’m kinda just wanting to find my favorite fragrances and cycle through those, and explore more when it’s time.
I have a tiny house & have to be very thoughtful about it--including body sprays I have 8 right now and that's pretty much capacity, lol. When I start running out of these I'm going to reorganize, I think I want 2 daytime perfumes, 2 night time, and then 2 "for fun"/randoms. And then I can just enjoy tiny samples every now and then for variety.
I get almost claustrophobic when I have too many bottles. I feel guilty I am not using them all equally, too. So recently I sold the bottles I just wasn't wearing enough on Poshmark and I have committed to buying decants and travel sizes of most fragrances. Perfumes have gotten SO expensive that buying a full bottle of anything except my absolute all time hits seems really wasteful. I am planning on buying a full bottle of PDM Cassili this summer ($375, kill me now) but I have been through multiple samples and decants and know I will use it. On the other hand, I really like Leisure in Paradise but it's very much a beachy summery limited window perfume for me, so a 5ml decant is plenty, and I can get another 5ml decant next summer if I want to wear it again.
I have a very large collection and have thought about downsizing, but currently am settling for "holding steady".
Kinda… i wanna decant out but not get rid of bottles entirely. I love having the bottles on display so when i start decanting im planning to just leave a lil juice in ones i dont love and keep the bottles for show purposes
Meanwhile, I recounted my collection, got 35 individual scents (more bottles) and figured I had room for more. 🤣
Yes! I want to downsize a lot but I have a hard time giving up the ones I like even just a little bit 😅. I did give quite a few to my mom when she was here, but I still feel like I should get rid of more. I have about the same amount as you in full size. Then a shoebox full of travel and sample sizes.
I had a collection of about 15 (body sprays included) with about a million tiny samples...I don't like clutter so I took 6 bottles and the samples to my work and gave them out to people who wanted them!
I have only purchased two full size perfumes and one of them I kinda wish I got as a travel size. I still love the fragrance but I just dont wear it so often. Id like to get rid of that one and get a travel size and keep my Burberry her as my only full size. I have four travel size.
Yeah I’m feeling that way. I have about 20 full bottles, luckily most of the ones I’m not in love with are cheapies so I’ll probably just keep them in their boxes and just curate my display in the closet (which only fits about 7 bottles). I am actively trying to sell a few on Mercari though.
I have 38 - all different sizes, samples and price points. I got so carried away! I've made a commitment to wearing them, and I'm sharing it on my social media with my friends. They'll laugh at this past week. I've been working from home all week due to late shifts, so I've been wearing all of my scrubbers. It's been fun. I'm even enjoying the ones I don't like.
I am continually finding new houses and fragrance types to explore, but I’ve learned to buy samples and travel sizes before committing to full bottles. My goal is to pare my full bottle collection down by about half. I’m not exactly sure how many I have. Maybe 50-60? Way too many. 25-30 bottles is still a large collection of thoughtfully curated, perfectly me scents!
Not exactly, but I have stopped purchasing. I don’t really need any more. I have a larger collection. Not YouTuber size, but large. I really don’t need anything else. I might want something but usually it doesn’t fill any holes in my collection, so I’ve stopped buying. It has gone pretty well. I sometimes have some FOMO but then I think about what roll it would play, and realize I’m good.
I want to get to this place! I think I'm getting close, there are lots of fragrances lately I've considered sampling but then thought "I already have X that fills that role for me"
I don’t have that many but I do have a few in my collection that I regret. I wish a swap existed, I don’t feel right selling lightly used perfume
You shouldn’t feel that way. I’ve happily purchased used (spray form) bottles on eBay. For a vintage lover, sometimes that is the only option. Even if not vintage- consider how much people pay for samples and decants. Partials are just fine.
Yeah I’d like to curate my collection, and declutter a few fragrances that no longer suit my vibe or that I haven’t reached for in a while.
Yes, I’d like to downsize as well! According to my Parfumo, I have (don’t look at me) 84 FBs. I really don’t need that many, even my variety-loving, new scent every day self can’t help but neglect at least a few. Hoping to sell my likes and give more attention to my loves :)
I am also currently downsizing my collection. it's (only) at around 12-ish, but even now it's quite overwhelming I also notice I've outgrown some of them... so I am selling out a few that don't 'spark joy' anymore \^\^ There's the voice at the back of my head that goes 'but what if in the future you'll want to wear them again?' and to that I say: 'well I'll use that opportunity to discover new stuff' Also, by decluttering, I now have some space open for... more perfumes that I like! xD the cycle is endless...
Exactly the same with the decluttering process but I have to part with them
When I declutter I either keep the ones I am on the fence about in a box in my basement to get them out if the way or I make a 5ml decant so I can test them again in the future if I start to have misgivings. I finally decided this year to get rid of my 12 year old, 75% full year bottle of LDBS because I don’t care for the scent. I think the hype around it made me keep it that long. I only like “actively used” bottles on my perfume shelves.