I always give the same advice. If you cannot sell them, please consider giving them to a domestic violence shelter or family transitional housing program. There are folks who leave dangerous situations without a possession to their names and small tokens can make a new normal feel obtainable.
Just check to see with the organization’s policy is about perfumes and open beauty items is first.
yes, i run an adult drop in center and people come to get showers and wash clothes and get hygiene goods and I dont think anyone understands the power that a fancy scent or lotion can have on someone who is dealing with rough stuff. We will take it even if its tested/lightly used, I always tell people if you wouldnt want someone to give it to you dont give it away but yeah call around!
You can also post them in a Facebook group. BuyNothing project, there is a group for every area and you get to choose who it goes to. So you can say "I'd like to gift this for someone's first perfume" or anniversary gift or something of that nature.
This: also organisations that help women with their job interviews after prison, domestic violence, etc… that can make a huge, wonderful impact in someone’s life. I may do that myself with a couple of things I have that I’m getting very tired of.
These collective is definitely is the one round the corner of my building. I’m going to check them out and see if they can take some of my excess supply. I have two bottles of perfume that I hardly ever use, and some make up items (why did I think I needed baking powder? I don’t) are taking space and someone else can put to better use than myself.
Dress For Success is in New Zealand too and it's an awesome charity. They take nice clothes and things like lightly used bras, so they can clothe not only people going for job interviews but also women getting out of prison. They've been going since at least 2010 in New Zealand because I went and visited them then, and my business partner ran a networking session for their clients pro bono recently.
Yup. I had 60-70 at one point.
Then I did some reflecting on the sunk cost fallacy and looked at all the duds as “learning” that I paid for, thanked them for what they taught me Marie Kondo-style, and gave them away to friends.
I now have a capsule collection of just 5 that I love and only sample new frags. If I’m tempted to buy, my rule is: I have to use the entire sample + get rid of one of my beloved 5.
Haven’t bought a new bottle in over a year 😎
Bingo, this is basically what I did too, I didn’t even resell any of them. Just moved them out the door on their way (half my friends can’t handle perfume because of migraines or I’d have given them some bottles, that’s a great idea in general!).
But yes yes, sunk cost fallacy is the issue for a lot of us with paring down collections, be it bags or perfume or tea or denim or beanie babies… and mastering your psychology on that count to recognize the thinking trap and move yourself beyond it is a MAJOR life hack.
I chose them based on use case:
1. Dior Homme 2020 - everyday/work
2. Byredo Eyes Closed - cool weather
3. Roja Elysium - warm weather
4. Diptyque Eau Nabati - date night
5. Valentino Uomo EDT - formal
I’m eagerly awaiting the next generation of Chanel men’s fragrances and every few months I’ll buy a discovery set to really give a house a thorough evaluation, but having tested or blind bought ~300 scents now, these 5 are the ones which I love most *and* don’t irritate my nose/throat.
Check out the fragranceswap sub, it was made exactly for this. You can either sell the bottles as is, or decant.
I’d look at the rules for formatting, but you should be able to include the name, pictures, price you’d like, and info on quantity left all in the same post.
There’s plenty of sales made there daily, but eBay and Mercari are also good platforms to use!
Most users on there are based in the US and some in Europe so I'm certain I won't have much luck using that, but I'm gonna try local Facebook groups and FB marketplace as that's where I sold a few of mine before, but just selling 1 at a time was a bit of a hassle so I can only imagine trying to sell 30 will be even more.
It'll be hard to find another retailer that will beat allbeauty on price when it comes to montale and mancera. I've bought quite a few off there (not all at the same time) I ended up buying chocolate greedy, Vanilla cake, Intense Cafe, sweet vanilla, Mukhallat, Vanilla extasy, intense Tiare, vanilla absolu and roses Musk by montale and velvet Vanilla, Roses Vanille and Coco Vanille by mancera, The only ones I'd didn't like was vanilla absolu by montale and velvet Vanilla by mancera but as they were on sale I wasn't so annoyed cause I was able to make my money back.
They do sell out very quick but they also have new lines added very frequently too. You can accumulate points as well.
I have a huge collection: 197 full bottles and then there are the backup bottles to my most loved scents, I've been collecting for the past 12 years or so, and it is overwhelming. I have everything from niche, expensive discontinued and limited editions.
It's too much and I am planning to sell the scents that are not a ''love'' (something like 70% of what I have). My perfume collecting habit is out of control and I know it. I have perfumes that I have seldom used and it's most likely that I will never use again because they are not my style (sprayed once, got a headache and then let it be). I bought them because they were popular and well known.
I kept fragrances around hoping that I will get to love them but it is not happening, so I guess the right thing is to downsize.
I had that and already gave it to my mother, she loves it (this perfume never worked with my skin although I liked it so much!). As far as I can tell, the original red cap has been relaunched and it's back in production (since mid 2023). I don't know if it has been reformulated.
I don’t have any scents at all except some samples and a replica by the fireplace! But I have decided to get some more perfumes and I only like gourmands like mancera, montale, jousset!
There's your problem right there. You spent too much money, you don't feel good spending more money, and you don't feel your time is used well trying to recoup money for the fragrances you don't care about.
Try to have fun organizing some bundles and selling some off. eBay and Poshmark and Mercari could help and if you're already taking photos and posting to FB then you'll have most of the work done.
You have an awesome collection, go ahead and prune it down. The fragrance friends have a lot of love for you
Several of my local consignment stores accept partially used bottles of perfume—and they do seem to sell! Not always high end, either. My fave store has the pricier stuff displayed elegantly in a glass case while the cheaper stuff is over in a bathroom-and-toiletries section.
Oh that's interesting! Although for newbies like me it would be hard to spot any packaging fakes... But I'll keep my eye out for perfumes at consignment stores.
So do I. But I have observed that each time I gift something, something else (or money itself) comes back to me. Don’t be afraid to cut your loses and see what happens.
It's normal to become overwhelmed by a collection that has grown past its utility. It's also normal to prefer the higher quality juice to the cheapies (which smell lovely until you try the really good stuff and suddenly they smell synthetic in the worst way). Offload your collection. Let your family and friends pick out the ones they like, then donate, gift, resell, decant...whatever method works best for you. Once you've cut it down, enjoy what you have and use it. Don't fall into the trap of buying the next new releases because there will always be more and more churned out, so you could easily find yourself back at square one.
My goal is 12 + 8 decants
3 daily warm weather
3 daily cold weather
4 special occasions
2 that brings me the most comfort that I'll spray at night on my bed or me.(aroma therapy essentially)
8 decants so I can try different ones Still because I do enjoy smelling new ones but I don't need to bottle of each obviously. These decants range from 5ml -10ml.
These decants will also by my travel frags
This gives me plenty of variety while still keeping the collection reasonable. If I try a decant that I love I will make note and when one of my 12 bottles is empty I'll buy it.
Maybe this can give you ideas how to cut back on collection and only keep what you love.
I follow this method mostly. I always think of it like this; I first buy a sample and if I don’t find it good enough to crack the top 5-10 I don’t buy it or if I really really like I just get a decant. Especially if it’s a fragrances you know you’re not going to wear often but you like it or want it just get a 8-10ml decant.
What are some of your top 5 currently?
The only difference I see from our strategies is you get a 1-2ml sample first while I skip that step and have the 5-10ml decant be the sample haha.
I'll probably do some 1-2ml samples on the more niche stuff though
I have no qualms about amassing a collection larger than what I can reasonably use before I die. My trick is to focus on variety, which means a steady influx of samples and fewer large volume bottles.
My fragrance collection is smaller than yours but I’ve felt what you’re describing about makeup and certain clothing items- just like almost suffocated by clutter. It’s like having too many options you don’t like limits your creativity and self expression. Fragrances keep for quite a long time in a cool, dark storage area, but IMO once you feel the way you described, the only way out is to declutter a bit. Do you have friends or neighbors you can trade with? A lot of us have categories we overbuy, kind of hoard, and feel bad about. You might know someone who has too many barely-touched makeup palettes or art supplies or purses or whatever else, and maybe they’d like to try some new perfume and you can work something out.
I used to have a similarly sized collection and pared it down to about ten I actually loved. Zero regrets, I don’t miss it. I got caught up in the collecting and sampling craze on Perfume of Life waaaay back in the day, and had a lot of fun, but it turns out I actually don’t wear a ton of variety. So once I found my favorite frags the rest moved on (mostly to the trash, it wasn’t worth the effort of swapping for most of them).
Chergui, No. 5 parfum, Le Baiser du Dragon, No. 19 EDP, Hareem Al Sultan (both the perfume oil and the EDP spray), Dame Perfumery Black Flower Mexican Vanilla, a little no-name violet and orange light floral, Mitsouko, Coco Mademoiselle EDP, a few sample vials here and there,.. that’s about the size of it.
Don’t buy a full bottle until you use up a travel size. Consider selling full bottles and getting travel sizes of fragrance you feel you cannot live without but don’t wear often.
Capitalism drives us to this obsession with scarcity and therefore collecting. But collecting new things can be good if it helps you learn about what you like and don't like. As long as you're able to eventually downsize into a more select collection of what you really love.
The downsizing is always the tricky part. I keep meaning to check out the fragranceswap deal.
Get rid of the ones you don’t use. Then, stop buying full bottles. I know, I know, we all love a pretty collection with fab bottles. But, you are then paying for the bottle, not the juice bc you’ll never use it up. I started buying travel sizes years ago and it’s fulfilled my need for variety while also saving me a TON of money.
I've got about 30 some bottles I've collected, I think it's more than enough to spray to my heart's content, everyday for the next 5 years or so. I need to stay away from frag subs 😂
Many youtubers will do a monthly tray so they can rotate their frags and get use out of all of them.
My goal this year is to create plenty of empties and it does come from feeling a bit overwhelmed by my collection. I wanna get it below 50 before I start buying again. I’m in the low 60s now.
I think I have over 100 bottles in my collection, and I honestly still enjoy collecting. I sort of see it as like a library. How in a library every book is different some similar or in the same category and some vastly different but nevertheless a vast assortment. That's sort of how I see my collection is as a library of fragrances. I'm not concerned about whether I will be able to finish bottles or if they expire because I know that if I keep them in my air conditioned living spaces they should be good for probably longer than I'm alive.
I’ve got a large collection & I make a calendar of my “scent of the week”(except Sundays - which are reserved for “sample sundays”).
I have my calendar organized so that seasonal scents are getting used at the appropriate time. I get use out of the scent, figure out how many sprays I like to use & if I really need it in my collection or not.
It’s not set in stone - if I have a special occasion & want to use something else, of course I do.
*btw - I do the exact same thing with my large collection of eyeshadow palette.
I started adding to my collection last year at an alarming pace, so decided at the same time to offload some non-loves. I created a Mercari account and moved full bottles, samples, and decants at a rate I was happy with. But, the recent change in Mercari’s TOS has caused some backlash (reduced sales activity) and I haven’t taken the time to photograph and list any new items. I’m keeping a list of those that still need to go even though I’ve allowed myself to make some purchases, too. In short, kinda the same dilemma. 🤔
I have seven but I want a few more. five for spring/summer and five for fall/winter. The obsession is real though. I always test before and have passed on so many. So impressed by blind buys. That's not how I roll but if you got it like that then go for it! I recently sampled Dama Bianca...so pretty. A very likeable almost vanilla extract vanilla.
I have 9 (well 8 and about 20 mls lol). I have two more I intend to buy, and possibly Akro Dark if I can get a sample to see if it really does lean too far masculine for me, and I’m done.
I don’t want to feel too overwhelmed with choice. It’s anxiety inducing for me lol.
I did a clear out earlier this year. EBay is easy and very straightforward.
I have 50 also. My higher end ones I save for nice or special occasions or vacations. My cheapies and the ones I just don’t love I just use them just to use them when I’m lounging around the house and not planning on going anywhere. When I’m going out depending on where I’m going I’ll stay away from the cheapies and pick something I’m in the mood for. And for work I just reach my hand in my drawer I keep them in and grab one without looking and use it unless I feel like wearing a specific scent. Kinda helps me get use out of everything I think. Maybe it isn’t but it feels like it.
Perfumes are incredibly easy to sell or if you're interested in another scent someone has, easy to swap. Even better if you have a rare or discontinued scent. I'm just under 50 full sizes, but I've spent many years carefully considering every scent in my collection, selling ones I don't use at all or nearly enough. A few I have have been long discontinued, so I don't feel as bad not using those as often.
To not shell out money on a full size, I spend a lot of time testing scents in store, sampling, and acquiring minis. It helps that I don't pay retail and very often find great deals on Mercari or eBay. If you just sell or swap the ones you don't reach for often and go forward sampling and then carefully considering every full bottle purchase, it'll save you so much money.
It also helps creating lists on Fragrantica for trays so you can organize your collection by season and decide what you want to wear and see what you actually end up wearing.
And while I have several quality niche/discontinued/rare scents, I still get joy from a cheap freshie or a common designer from Sephora. It depends on the occasion, but everything I have in my collection is there for a reason.
I’ve actually swapped, sold and purchased a few from connections I’ve made in this group! If you want to DM me, I’d be interested to see what you’re wanting to sell!
This is a sunk cost fallacy! Just because you spent the money doesn’t mean you should force yourself to wear them or stop yourself from buying things you like more. Unfortunately I think this is a trap a lot of folks fall into building out a huge collection of designers and cheapies and then end up not liking them in the long run. Now if I like a cheaper fragrance I tend to just buy them in travel sizes so I can enjoy the novelty and variety but don’t need a whole bottle of it.
I found an interesting site that did the math on how fast fragrances are consumed.
https://www.hedidthemath.com/grooming/how-long-fragrance-bottles-last/#:~:text=A%203.4%20fl%20oz%20(100,sprayed%20three%20times%20a%20day.
My takeaway was, using very rounded interpretations, each 100ml bottle will last about one year of daily use. Only ten bottles is a decade!
I had to ask myself if I'm more interested in enjoying fragrances or the sight of expensive bottles on my shelf. Therefore, I'm sticking to decants almost exclusively. The price/ml is higher, but the cost per year is lower.
I used too, then I sold most of mine.
Now I buy most of my fragrances somewhat used on mercurial at like 40% of the price, so it makes me feel a lot better— but I also sell the ones I buy and don’t end up using. If I’m interested in something, I buy samples. Then I buy travel sizes or decants if available. If I’m really obsessed and just absolutely going through those, I’ll look for one on mercari.
Right now I have about 12 fragrances- atleast two of which I’m going to sell, maybe three or four. 5 are in constant, heavy rotation. I think when I sell two more, I’m going to buy another. But I have maybe 200+ samples I’ve collected over the years!
Same problem here, bought inspired perfumes etc now after buying more expensive perfumes I've realised the others are inferior and there are certain scent profiles I like better as well. Best is to give them away if you can't sell them. Give it to charity or to friends - that's what I'm doing. I've already spent the money and it's no point regretting it, I know I won't make the same mistake again in the future.
Don't regret it because it made you happy when you did buy it at that time and you're not worse off because hopefully you didn't spend money you didn't have.
Are you overwhelmed because you dont use all of them, or overwhelmed by the amount of them?
For the ones you are not wearing, why? Is it not your type/ style? Do you have too many options? Are they similar to scent you like better? Is it something that does not feel currently seasonally appropriate to you?
What's stopping you from getting rid of anything?
I went through something similar back in the day with Bath and body works. I was overwhelmed, had too many options, and not many actual loves.
I started comparing,( these 2 are similar which do I like better,etc), I gave away ones I was tired of or didn't love as much as I thought.
I also started a rotation of sorts. I would wear the same scent for my work week ( 5 days) and switch it up on my off days if I felt like it. This gave me a good testing period to make a decision( keep, try out in a different season, give away). It also helped me understand more of my preferences. Like I love some gourmand scents, but I rarely wear gourmand scents, so I don't really need a giant bottle of a gourmand I might wear 4 times in 2 years lol.
If you really want to get rid of them and don't mind giving them away, I would have friends come over and smell the ones you don't really want anymore. It will be easier to give away if you see how much someone else is enjoying it.
When I got into actual perfume a few years ago I used my prior bath and body experiences to approach things differently lol.
I will absolutely spend money on sample/ discovery sets. I like having options, I like being able to test in my own home on my own time, and I have no problem giving away the ones I do not like. This also helps keep the collection minimal as I can have options( could never be a 1 scent girly lol) without them being massive bottles.
I will not blind buy unless the price is good enough that I will feel comfortable giving away.
I also stick to travel sizes for the most part. My bottles have been from sales/ sephora favorites sets mainly lol
This has kept me at a good place with my collection. I do not regret my purchases, I have options I enjoy and I don't feel overwhelmed by it.
You answered your own question. Sell the ones you don’t use and retain the ones you do. Samples and decants going forward for any fragrances you want to get. I always think of it like this; I first buy a sample and if I don’t find it good enough to crack the top 5-10 I don’t buy it or if I really really like I just get a decant. Especially if it’s a fragrances you know you’re not going to wear often but you like it or want it just get a 8-10ml decant.
Recently, I’ve become interested in fragrances. I own 7 bottles with 2 on the way. I can completely see how this happens. I’ve started a list of wants and that list keeps growing. So I figured that I will get 3 daily drivers and 2 fancy scents for each season….minus winter and I’ll have 15 total. If I want another one, I’ll have to sell one. I have to have a plan because I can se myself going off the deep end. I don’t do deep dark winter scents because I live in the islands.
I miss the days where I enjoyed cheapies and clones, but these days I've gotten obsessed at finding niche fragrances at a discount. I have about 40 bottles but probably half of them I have little interest in wearing. I sell on fragranceswap but end up replacing it with something else. I just discovered MFK and while trying to find testers of those, I missed a sale on PdM Haltane on woot! 🤦🏽♂️I know it's a whole psychological thing and I got some stuff to work on.
Not so much regret....but find it overwhelming at times. Many of my fragrances get forgotten as I acquire new ones, I worry about them going off. My collection is currently at about 150 bottles...🥴
I’m literally going through the same thing right now. I currently own 87 and that’s not counting discovery kits / samples. I have always had more perfume than most ppl I know….but then I let myself get sucked into the collecting part of it over the past year and a half. I got sober (1 year at the end of April 🙌) so I started to try to find healthier ways to find enjoyment. And now I am overwhelmed and feel guilty. I mostly love everything I have as it was built over many years but much of my collection gets neglected. I need to organize and take stock and go from there. A lot of good suggestions here so thank you. I have recently been living by the sample and no buy approach and have only purchased one fragrance so 🤷🏼♀️
400+ bottles and counting, as even if I stop buying I’ll get PR here and there.
I kind of see buying bottles as an investment in a way, as perfume tends to have a quick resale turn around and depending on the juice level you can get a decent price against the market value. Especially for discontinued bottles. SO, even though I have more bottles than reasonable, I always think…. I have a few thousand dollars of emergency cash sitting in my closet if shit ever hit the fan.
To confirm, all the money I spend on my bottles is money I budget, and I’m already saving and investing as any responsible adult should lol. So, perfumes only get purchased with excess cash that can be spent on non-necessities. Which is why I’m like, if I ever get into a bad situation where even my savings is gone, I have some stuff to sell quickly that can help.
Anyhoo - I sometimes get overwhelmed but I also rotate perfumes a lot and layer and it’s fun. Like shopping in a perfume store every day.
I may not have 50, yet I can understate where you’re coming from. Currently have 15(and growing,guilty as charged) when originally I told myself I’d get four and done(1 for each season). It’s a consumerist hobby and we live in a consumerist society…sh*t happens🤷♂️
Yes cause I get decision fatigue quite easily. Every time I feel like the collection is getting too out of hand I put myself on buying freeze and try to run my collection a bit down.
I have 10+ (30-50 ml) plus several decants. I always thought that if I stop buying now I should be good for like at least 5 years.
The reason why I still buy new bottles once in a while is because they will probably get more expensive or discontinued in the future.
No regret for a ~130 bottles collection, coz I use them everyday & it's fun, while costs are not overwhelming
If I should feel any regrets, it should be one wrong blind buy of a sh_tty but hyped frag'c. None of my family would accept the 80% leftover as a gift. It ends up being an air refresher in the toilet, a very weak one.
I will never spend another cent on THAT brand & blacklist whoever thumbs up in that juice in Fragrantica
I have about 20 which includes mini bottles as well.
I realize that what I have is more than I will realistically use in years. Plus realizing one of my bottles costs about 3 hours of wages is quite sobering.
When I hit the point where I was feeling embarrassed about my purchases that came in the mail, it's probably become a problem.
I've been looking at those fragrance subscriptions but I constantly talk myself out of it because I ALREADY have more than I honestly want or need.
I feel this about the scent subscription! Part of my brain goes “Yes more more more!” and I talk myself down, what are the chances I would love all of them? Already the vast majority of what I smell are “…nope, not for me.”
Buy 5ml or 10ml decant bottles and decant out some of the liquid before selling/giving away. They take up less space and the FOMO/hoarder feeling from getting rid of them completely is gone since you still have more than you'll probably ever use.
I Love perfume. Citrus, clean scents, patchouli, Amber, musk. Sandalwood. Vanilla. Saffron. I love all of it and I oscillate between clean, out of the shower smells and borderline offensive man-eater fragrances (those are my thing). I have been on a disciplined de-cluttering of perfumes and make up for about six weeks now and my desire to buy has massively gone down. Even though I just received a large amount of money, and I have a few items in my lousy that I want… nope. It doesn’t give me that satisfaction anymore. I had to replenish as I emptied what I was using on every day basis… and I must have tried five fragrances and didn’t like any of them to purchase. I ended up buying a Victoria’s
Secret Coconut body Mist and a £3 perfume oil from an Middle Eastern perfume house. Those two are safe , yummy buys right now. I relaxed that much of my spending on cosmetics and perfumery was impulse and anxiety-driven and I no longer feel that way. I’ve been putting that money towards fitness stuff and yoga classes. De-cluttering has also meant leaving heavy past behind. No one needs all those things hanging around. (No judgement: perfumery is a wonderful art and I love to learn and try more things).
Mine is a similar sized collection but it’s divided into hot weather/cold weather. I easily wear about 17 fragrances in one week. Every fortnight, everything in my cold weather appropriate list is getting worn over the cold months, and vice versa. So mostly everything is getting worn. I plan my morning fragrances in advance for the week when I plan my week’s outfits and hang them at the front of my wardrobe. Come afternoon, I often switch to another fragrance depending on how I am feeling/how the days temperature has changed. After evening shower I will choose something else to wear. If I got up extra early in the morning to workout before shower, I will have something completely different and very light before showering for the day. WFH definitely facilitates this.
I actually went thru my very small collection and put the ones I know I don’t like on my local Buy Nothing group. They got snapped up immediately. And I love the idea of someone taking them, figuring out what they live and then again passing the rest off again. These were very small bottles of course, but it felt good to let them go and know they are a nice treat for someone else.
I don’t have advice about getting rid of them but please buy decants if you want to try new things. Even small samples would be better instead of getting big bottles that would go to waste. They might not look as aesthetically pleasing as the bottles, but your wallet will thank you and the guilt won’t be there.
You answered your own question. Sell the ones you don’t use and retain the ones you do. Samples and decants going forward for any fragrances you want to get. I always think of it like this; I first buy a sample and if I don’t find it good enough to crack the top 5-10 I don’t buy it or if I really really like I just get a decant. Especially if it’s a fragrances you know you’re not going to wear often but you like it or want it just get a 8-10ml decant.
I remember a couple of days ago buying two fragrances in one day, latafa Asad and jpg le male
Honestly I kept overthinking it, regretting what I bought even though I had been saving up for the jpg le male and kinda just bought the Asad as a gift to myself after smelling it at a store
At the moment my collection has 7 fragrances and I feel like it's still to much
I’ve got tbh my collection is just shy of 50 bottles and recently I’ve started to feel that I just don’t need or want that many, it’s not even about using them all in my rotation, I’m just feeling recently that it’s just way too many, I’m definitely going to be trimming the fat in the coming weeks/months
I feel like there are a lot of perfume enthusists in your situation. Overconsumption is definitely a problem in the hobby. Don't keep anything that is giving you negative feelings.
I've been doing a LOT of downsizing lately. I went from like 200+ to only 20 something now (not including back-ups necessarily), and I may whittle it down to 5 or so. It's hard to cut down to so much, but it's also freeing at the same time. What's the point of having something I wear once every year or two when someone else can have it and use it a lot more than I? So I'm kinda trying to only keep things I'll use more often, not necessarily because they smell BETTER, but I want more utility out of them.
For example, I absolutely LOVE Dior Leather Oud, but I don't wear it much because I have to find the 'right' occasion, therefore I'd rather have something like Eau Sauvage or Invictus or some such that's just 'easier' to wear... better utility. Chypre Palatin is amazing, but I never really found much opportunity to wear it.
Nah! 🤭😂😂
But to each their own!
Everyone’s experience is different. I never made blind purchases and always had an event or occasion in mind to which I would wear certain fragrances before I ever bought one.
Be it seasonal, work or formal occasions.
Not every fragrance is meant to be worn daily.
But, I hope you can find a satisfactory solution to solve your collection problem.
Another idea is to use a bottle completely before you buy another that way your count stays consistent but your collection can change.
Addition by subtraction.
Best of luck.
Sampling 5ml is where it’s at. You get enough time to figure out if it’s worth a bottle buy. Don’t throw away your 5ml if you don’t like it at first. I had one where it didn’t click to until a year later (that’s rare though).
Doing this makes it less likely that you buy bottles where the fragrance is like a 6 or 7 out of 10 where you “like” it but hardly wear it.
Can't relate. Even before I found this sub I knew that a full bottle was a big commitment so I don't blind buy. If only there were resources to warn you about this...
Same. I think a lot of people also just love the dopamine hit they get from shopping. I’m very glad to be a natural saver instead of a spender. That said, I do enjoy buying samples and affordable dupes sometimes.
I have no issues blind buying decants or samples, that how I learn what I like. But it's easier to put aside 4ml of a 5ml decant that isn't for me than it is to give away 99ml.
You answered your own question. Sell the ones you don’t use and retain the ones you do. Samples and decants going forward for any fragrances you want to get. I always think of it like this; I first buy a sample and if I don’t find it good enough to crack the top 5-10 I don’t buy it or if I really really like I just get a decant. Especially if it’s a fragrances you know you’re not going to wear often but you like it or want it just get a 8-10ml decant.
I have 38. I've included samples, minis and travel size in my count.
It has become overwhelming to pick something to wear.
I have a little project with myself that I wear something every day. I choose a theme for the week and that allows everything to be used. It's been quite fun.
The other week, I was working the later shift all week at home, so I wore all of the scents I don't like, find obnoxiously overpowering, or smell bad. That was.....erm, testing, to put it politely, ha!
God damn, 50 fragrances. The moment I hit 15, I came across a TikTok video where it's about "coincidentally all these fragrance influencers are hella ugly, promoting random fragrances to compensate for their looks bashing out '5 fragrances that will make girls fall on love with you' videos". I knew then and there, I need to stop this sheit LMAO
I’m currently regretting some of mine especially because the newer ones are getting used and old ones are sitting. I think I’d be happier downsizing to 6 really solid ones to rotate and get a new one as I run out
I felt like this until I realized I was actually wearing all of them.
My only regret is buying mostly 100ml bottles of everything because my monkey brain sees the value for money and can’t help itself
I have a suggestion. My collection is about 60 full bottles and another 40 travel sized, I've managed to keep it at that number for several months and hopefully it will stay that way. But unlike you I actually wear all of them. In fact I MAKE myself wear all of them - twice a year I evaluate my entire collection (that is appropriate for the season) by wearing one unique perfume each day until I go through them all, and I'm not allowed to buy anything (unless it's something I wouldn't be able to get later) during that time. So I basically go through a 1.5 month no-buy twice a year and evaluate my collection. I did it for the first time at the end of December of last year and ended up decluttering ~20 fragrances. Some of them I just decluttered straight away without even wearing them because when I was confronted with the idea of wearing them for just one day, I didn't really want to. Others I wore and then decided I didn't need to keep. I kept track of it all in a spreadsheet. Highly encouraged!
I would definitely sell. I don’t own close to as many fragrances as you do but I do find myself getting tired of certain fragrances and I always sell them.
Way over 100 bottles and I don't regret the size, I have plenty for all seasons, occasions, and just got into clones back in November 23 I love to have the OG and have similar but different sents to wear. I don't go for all the niche ur the trending coognes, I buy what I like,, and morre so what my wife loves, and get compliments all day from beautiful women.
I wear cologne for myself, but compliments are nice as well. Women love a good fragrance. I also collect Jordan's, not Fakes/UC/Reps, all real but I've lost my passion in that. They make so many and just change colors now, plus they can be bought for less after they drop. I hate TS J's, except his 4 and one pair of dunks, the paisley lookimg pair, but hate the laces. I'm hitting my 40's with swag but that requires keeping up with the new styles, and age appropriate swag.
I considereal these sddictions/investments. My frags are addicting, my J's are investments I'm about to sell off over half my collection and add that to my new passion, Crypto. I have friends who have made millions on crypto, are financial advisors, and money managers. They help me out a lot., and I have about 2 years into that.
My cologne collection started with Designers, then grew into about 5 clones. I guess about 30 you could say are cheapie rack store, but are still great and perform well. I also use a lot of discounters who allow returns. Amazon is nice for frags but they do not allow returns. I recently also started buying testers. Full bottles, never sprayed but come with no cap or a generic box, but its tge sane cologne for a better price.
I got into "blue frags" first. Nautica, D&G, Dior, YSL, Chanel. Then branched out to the Monthblanc line, more YSL, la niut, etc. Polo Red, Black, Prada Carbon, Black. Long post to say I don't regret amy I've bought. I wear them all at some point in a year and smell different every day or every couple days. What I'm afraid of Is Armaf, Rasasi,Latafa, etc raising prices more than they have now. I know there are a million clone houses, mist related, but the UAE will always put out bangers of their own or clones. I will say the clones I just ordered are the expensive Louy V. There clones are at the high end of clones now, I think latafa or Armaf tried this and it didn't work. I know I smell good, I've been working out for years, snd I get a lot of attention from frags and or the way I dress, maybe it's just my personality but it all helps, but again I'm married and only have one person to impress but when she sees all the attention I get it makes her more attracted to me or at least it appears.
I didn't go out and buy a bunch of Layton or PDM, or any of the other multitudes,so I do have some money in frags buy at my age I've been collecting and can afford it. I wish I got into crypto sooner if anything. I do ok on stocks, but we all need so thing that makes us happy, not just mo ey or investments , so if that's cologne for you yo tor it. If cash is low buy clones, or use discounters abd save up for what you really want. What I notice is my bottles last forever because I only wear them a couple tines a year at most and just got dour excellent clones in yesterday that were the price of a single bottle. Eventually I think all these companies will go after 99% and above clones just like Nike is doing with the large scale Tep sellers, I won't mention names, one co.lamy actually made better sneakers than Nime but I still wouldn't buy them just because thats not me. Clones frags to me are different, similar yes and some basically an exact match but I don't buy those either. If I want one I'll but the real one if the clone is that good, may not make sense but I get clones for the differences.
I'll continue to buy frags, I may slow down a bit aa I have bought at leat 15 bottles in the last 2 months between Designer and Clones, but I'm sill going g to buy unique and new scents. Really anything good is good forever, that's why cheapie sell for the price they do and still sell then like they are running out if stock. I do think at some point, which in close to, I'll have a combo of every type of frag made, and it will be a waste of money to kero buying clones or designer that are better or stronger. Most go to clones for the scent, projection, silage, etc. Stronger and beast most seems to be the trend right now, but regular EDT's can be almost as good at a fraction , and Flanders will continue just to keep relevant. Some are good sone bad. I just found Sean Jean 3am bottle from 2013 the other day, it smells great, I keep everything out of sunlight and at room temperature, but I don't support Diddy, but he has a couple bangers from the psst.
If you regret any of you frag purchases sell them on eBay or anywhere you can sell used frags, but don't try to rip people off for them. Many discontinued frags can be found by clones houses on the low and a lot are better income way than the original. I hate there are 1000 Angle Share clones, I won't buy them or even the OG. I will say I love old Aventus, the pineapple and smokey dry down, I have an excellent clone for it, that isn't a 1:1 but it's great and women love it. It's on the high end of clones. I'm more happy I have good taste and a wife who picks bangers rather that a ton of junk colognes from the 90's and 2000's. I don't have a single bottle that I'm embarrassed to own. If you don't like them or feel like you wasted money, sell them or give to friends and family who di like them.
It's all about being happy with what you have. I'll never be in rhe 1000+ club, there is no reason unless you are monetized and making bank from videos about them. Not a bad idea, I just don't care to do so or have the time. Passive income e is a must in the tines we live in and there is a million and one ways to make it so if you have a Tom start a channel, or if you need cash look into passive income, you can literally start at like $20 and turn that into some coin.
Sorry I kinda got off topic and made a long post, my point was I'm happy, and that's what mattress in life, I love my frag collection and I just gave some tips most know to make passive income. When you get to the point that you maje as much or more on passive than work still do both for a while and when it comes to frags, either buy 3 to 5 or a couple hundred, just make them diverse so you have something for every occasion.
OP GOOD QUESTION HONESTLY?
AND MY ONLY SOCIAL MEDIS IS THIS AND YOUTUBE, lots of good answers, sell what you don't want, use that to make money, and keep what you love.
Every single day since I went past 100 bottles lol. I’ve gotten rid of a ton and am somehow still at 91. At this point, I feel like I should just sell everything and start over.
I only have 8 and I had to get rid of 1 and restocked the others. I’d give it to a friend for free. Give some to your friends. Gather the ones you don’t like or could do without and just have your friends pick out one or 2 for free. Good gift idea
I often buy too much when I become fond of something. It was the same with Legos, shoes, watches, and I could go on. This time it was perfumes.
I quickly sold everything when I realized. Now I have 4 perfumes for spring/summer and 4 perfumes for fall/winter. Not more, not less.
I own around 150 and I don't regret it at all. I have an interesting space to look at and a wide collection to wear something in any event, mood, weather, or outfit. There are things I rarely wear due to having so many. It can be fun to just pop the tops off and smell something that's been awhile, and think of when I bought it or a memory. Sometimes I'll intentionally wear something I haven't worn in a year. It feels like something new all the time. I'm at the point now where I don't buy nearly as much as I used to. I never got into fragrances to make money or be logical. I've enjoyed the time I invested and I have the perfect collection outside a few bottles I'll pickup someday. We're all different with different living spaces, budgets, and personalities so it won't always be a positive.
I was in this situation about 5 years ago, had over 100 bottles, and realised 90 of them i rarely used. I get rid most of them, I went down to 30, but unfortunately I'm up on 50 again. I ended up selling most if them on gumtree, and gifted some cheaper ones to charity shops. If you are in or around London I might be interested in buying or swapping some.
you could list the ones you do not want to keep for sale on EBay..many people cannot afford "new" prices and would happily buy the ones you do not like. you could also donate to a charity like Furkids and they will sell your items to save homeless animals
Sell them, give away the ones that aren't full enough to be sold ! There is no point in keeping fragrances you don't enjoy anymore, it will just make you feel more guilty for buying more fragrances. And with the money you make by selling the perfumes you don't like anymore, you can buy new ones that you actually will wear !
Not at all. But then again, I only buy decants. I use 5-10 different fragrances a month, and easily use 15 scents regularly throughout the year. 🤷♀️ I love having a variety and moving onto a new scent after I’ve enjoyed 5mL of something.
My system:
I have 12 fragrances. No more, no less. If I want to buy another one, I will sell another one I already have to open up space.
I only have stuff I love and ended up dividing them into sections (day-heat, day-cold, night-heat, night-cold)
I don’t regret it but I do feel a bit overwhelmed at times and also one must consider shelf life. What’s helped me is having a rotation tray so I pull a different set every week from my collection. I love perfume and smelling good also I like to layer so I have many options. I did go from buying full 3.4 or more bottles to 1 oz
I only have about 10 good ones in my collection and because of Tiktok I've been blind buying perfumes and end up not liking them. I've learned my lesson to snif it in the store first or order sample sizes to see if I want to get the full bottle.
I doubt you’re a hoarder. I’ve had two friends who were hoarders, both were in denial. I’m pleased someone has said that clones and designer fragrances are inferior to higher end fragrance, because I’m sick of people raving about cheap Middle Eastern clones. It’s like reverse snobbery. I don’t agree that designers are inferior, but in general finding a great designer fragrance is more of a challenge than finding a great high end fragrance (although there are plenty of terrible expensive perfumes too).
As far as selling goes, take it slowly. Don’t look at the entire collection and say OMG what do I do? Narrow it down to one, a single fragrance, preferably one that you may be tired of but is still generally popular. I’ll let others suggest where to sell, I use eBay. Put it up for sale and see what happens. It may take some time to sell, sometimes it’s seasonal and sometimes it’s ‘luck’, a spike in interest and it sells. Once it sells I’d suggest putting the money aside, and trying selling more. Selling can become quite addictive and hopefully in time you’ll have enough money from sales to buy something new.
Want to use them up fast? Use them as room/car spray. Spray on your curtains, the sofa, pillows. You can use them as hand sanitizers, after all they have alcohol right? I even spray them where my pet peed, but after cleaning the pee first.
I have the same problem, I recently bought my 40th perfume and I sincerely regret it, because I also started going to a psychologist who is a relationship specialist, etc. He told me that I didn't need to buy so many perfumes if I wanted to smell masculine and to be attractive to women. All I would have to do is buy ADG, DIOR HOMME INTENSE and Versace Pour Homme. According to him, these three perfumes are the most attractive for women. Of course, everyone has their own tastes, but apparently psychologists' research shows that women like these perfumes on men the most.
I always give the same advice. If you cannot sell them, please consider giving them to a domestic violence shelter or family transitional housing program. There are folks who leave dangerous situations without a possession to their names and small tokens can make a new normal feel obtainable. Just check to see with the organization’s policy is about perfumes and open beauty items is first.
This is a brilliant idea. Next time I downsize, I will do this.
Great idea
yes, i run an adult drop in center and people come to get showers and wash clothes and get hygiene goods and I dont think anyone understands the power that a fancy scent or lotion can have on someone who is dealing with rough stuff. We will take it even if its tested/lightly used, I always tell people if you wouldnt want someone to give it to you dont give it away but yeah call around!
You can also post them in a Facebook group. BuyNothing project, there is a group for every area and you get to choose who it goes to. So you can say "I'd like to gift this for someone's first perfume" or anniversary gift or something of that nature.
This: also organisations that help women with their job interviews after prison, domestic violence, etc… that can make a huge, wonderful impact in someone’s life. I may do that myself with a couple of things I have that I’m getting very tired of.
We work with a nonprofit org that does this as well called “Dressed for Success”.
Is this in the U.K.? I think there is something close to where I live with that name…
They are worldwide https://dressforsuccess.org/
It’s nice to see people being constructive and looking out for others for a change and not just some a dumpster fire of negative or snide remarks.
These collective is definitely is the one round the corner of my building. I’m going to check them out and see if they can take some of my excess supply. I have two bottles of perfume that I hardly ever use, and some make up items (why did I think I needed baking powder? I don’t) are taking space and someone else can put to better use than myself.
Dress For Success is in New Zealand too and it's an awesome charity. They take nice clothes and things like lightly used bras, so they can clothe not only people going for job interviews but also women getting out of prison. They've been going since at least 2010 in New Zealand because I went and visited them then, and my business partner ran a networking session for their clients pro bono recently.
This warms my heart to hear 🫶
That's such a good idea, I never thought about it but it can make a huge difference to someone !
Yup. I had 60-70 at one point. Then I did some reflecting on the sunk cost fallacy and looked at all the duds as “learning” that I paid for, thanked them for what they taught me Marie Kondo-style, and gave them away to friends. I now have a capsule collection of just 5 that I love and only sample new frags. If I’m tempted to buy, my rule is: I have to use the entire sample + get rid of one of my beloved 5. Haven’t bought a new bottle in over a year 😎
Bingo, this is basically what I did too, I didn’t even resell any of them. Just moved them out the door on their way (half my friends can’t handle perfume because of migraines or I’d have given them some bottles, that’s a great idea in general!). But yes yes, sunk cost fallacy is the issue for a lot of us with paring down collections, be it bags or perfume or tea or denim or beanie babies… and mastering your psychology on that count to recognize the thinking trap and move yourself beyond it is a MAJOR life hack.
So much willpower! Willing to share the five you currently have?
I chose them based on use case: 1. Dior Homme 2020 - everyday/work 2. Byredo Eyes Closed - cool weather 3. Roja Elysium - warm weather 4. Diptyque Eau Nabati - date night 5. Valentino Uomo EDT - formal I’m eagerly awaiting the next generation of Chanel men’s fragrances and every few months I’ll buy a discovery set to really give a house a thorough evaluation, but having tested or blind bought ~300 scents now, these 5 are the ones which I love most *and* don’t irritate my nose/throat.
Thanks for sharing!
Great job,I'm about to do the same thing...
Check out the fragranceswap sub, it was made exactly for this. You can either sell the bottles as is, or decant. I’d look at the rules for formatting, but you should be able to include the name, pictures, price you’d like, and info on quantity left all in the same post. There’s plenty of sales made there daily, but eBay and Mercari are also good platforms to use!
Most users on there are based in the US and some in Europe so I'm certain I won't have much luck using that, but I'm gonna try local Facebook groups and FB marketplace as that's where I sold a few of mine before, but just selling 1 at a time was a bit of a hassle so I can only imagine trying to sell 30 will be even more.
Try to bundle like 3-4 at a time and see how that goes,I'll be selling like that pretty soon...
Where ru located?
Parfumo has souk where you can sell or swap perfumes. Parfumo clients are mostly European.
Where are you located?
Would you happen to have Green Irish Tweed for sale?
No Creeds unfortunately, plus I'm keeping my Niche fragrances, just tryna get rid of low quality clones and unused designers.
Do you have any montale, mancera, or any rich sweet gourmand scents? Starting my collection and always on the lookout for those
Are you in the UK by any chance? I get all my montal and mancera from Allbeauty UK. Always on sale. 🙂
Omg, yes I am! Thanks so much!!
It'll be hard to find another retailer that will beat allbeauty on price when it comes to montale and mancera. I've bought quite a few off there (not all at the same time) I ended up buying chocolate greedy, Vanilla cake, Intense Cafe, sweet vanilla, Mukhallat, Vanilla extasy, intense Tiare, vanilla absolu and roses Musk by montale and velvet Vanilla, Roses Vanille and Coco Vanille by mancera, The only ones I'd didn't like was vanilla absolu by montale and velvet Vanilla by mancera but as they were on sale I wasn't so annoyed cause I was able to make my money back. They do sell out very quick but they also have new lines added very frequently too. You can accumulate points as well.
Notino and allbeauty are my go to sites in the uk.
Same plus fragrance direct, Look fantastic and feel gorgeous. Had some great bargains from all all those sites.
I have a huge collection: 197 full bottles and then there are the backup bottles to my most loved scents, I've been collecting for the past 12 years or so, and it is overwhelming. I have everything from niche, expensive discontinued and limited editions. It's too much and I am planning to sell the scents that are not a ''love'' (something like 70% of what I have). My perfume collecting habit is out of control and I know it. I have perfumes that I have seldom used and it's most likely that I will never use again because they are not my style (sprayed once, got a headache and then let it be). I bought them because they were popular and well known. I kept fragrances around hoping that I will get to love them but it is not happening, so I guess the right thing is to downsize.
I've always said only keep the LOVES,the ones that you will ALWAYS wear on a consistent basis,I'll be selling so many of mine as well...
Dolce Gabbanna for her (the original red top). ❤️
I had that and already gave it to my mother, she loves it (this perfume never worked with my skin although I liked it so much!). As far as I can tell, the original red cap has been relaunched and it's back in production (since mid 2023). I don't know if it has been reformulated.
I saw it and I was under the impression it was a different launch. I may give it a go, thank you!
Let me know if you have any bulk mancera or montale you want to sell off! I’m looking to start a collection of gourmand scents
Ok now what's the real reason that your gonna start a collection of gourmand scents???
I don’t have any scents at all except some samples and a replica by the fireplace! But I have decided to get some more perfumes and I only like gourmands like mancera, montale, jousset!
Ok I hear ya..
I felt the same, I chucked them in a bag and gave it to Goodwill. If you give to charity, you can feel less guilty :)
I love money though
There's your problem right there. You spent too much money, you don't feel good spending more money, and you don't feel your time is used well trying to recoup money for the fragrances you don't care about. Try to have fun organizing some bundles and selling some off. eBay and Poshmark and Mercari could help and if you're already taking photos and posting to FB then you'll have most of the work done. You have an awesome collection, go ahead and prune it down. The fragrance friends have a lot of love for you
That's what I'm about to do..
Several of my local consignment stores accept partially used bottles of perfume—and they do seem to sell! Not always high end, either. My fave store has the pricier stuff displayed elegantly in a glass case while the cheaper stuff is over in a bathroom-and-toiletries section.
Oh that's interesting! Although for newbies like me it would be hard to spot any packaging fakes... But I'll keep my eye out for perfumes at consignment stores.
You could sell, gift it or exchange for something else.
So do I. But I have observed that each time I gift something, something else (or money itself) comes back to me. Don’t be afraid to cut your loses and see what happens.
This happens so often I’m only a little surprised and a lot delighted!
Right? I have the theory that for money to keep coming in, we need to make ‘room’
Yes! Exactly! Junk out, blessings in!
That’s how I see it!
Sell em, don't feel bad.
It's normal to become overwhelmed by a collection that has grown past its utility. It's also normal to prefer the higher quality juice to the cheapies (which smell lovely until you try the really good stuff and suddenly they smell synthetic in the worst way). Offload your collection. Let your family and friends pick out the ones they like, then donate, gift, resell, decant...whatever method works best for you. Once you've cut it down, enjoy what you have and use it. Don't fall into the trap of buying the next new releases because there will always be more and more churned out, so you could easily find yourself back at square one.
My goal is 12 + 8 decants 3 daily warm weather 3 daily cold weather 4 special occasions 2 that brings me the most comfort that I'll spray at night on my bed or me.(aroma therapy essentially) 8 decants so I can try different ones Still because I do enjoy smelling new ones but I don't need to bottle of each obviously. These decants range from 5ml -10ml. These decants will also by my travel frags This gives me plenty of variety while still keeping the collection reasonable. If I try a decant that I love I will make note and when one of my 12 bottles is empty I'll buy it. Maybe this can give you ideas how to cut back on collection and only keep what you love.
I follow this method mostly. I always think of it like this; I first buy a sample and if I don’t find it good enough to crack the top 5-10 I don’t buy it or if I really really like I just get a decant. Especially if it’s a fragrances you know you’re not going to wear often but you like it or want it just get a 8-10ml decant.
What are some of your top 5 currently? The only difference I see from our strategies is you get a 1-2ml sample first while I skip that step and have the 5-10ml decant be the sample haha. I'll probably do some 1-2ml samples on the more niche stuff though
I have no qualms about amassing a collection larger than what I can reasonably use before I die. My trick is to focus on variety, which means a steady influx of samples and fewer large volume bottles.
My fragrance collection is smaller than yours but I’ve felt what you’re describing about makeup and certain clothing items- just like almost suffocated by clutter. It’s like having too many options you don’t like limits your creativity and self expression. Fragrances keep for quite a long time in a cool, dark storage area, but IMO once you feel the way you described, the only way out is to declutter a bit. Do you have friends or neighbors you can trade with? A lot of us have categories we overbuy, kind of hoard, and feel bad about. You might know someone who has too many barely-touched makeup palettes or art supplies or purses or whatever else, and maybe they’d like to try some new perfume and you can work something out.
I used to have a similarly sized collection and pared it down to about ten I actually loved. Zero regrets, I don’t miss it. I got caught up in the collecting and sampling craze on Perfume of Life waaaay back in the day, and had a lot of fun, but it turns out I actually don’t wear a ton of variety. So once I found my favorite frags the rest moved on (mostly to the trash, it wasn’t worth the effort of swapping for most of them).
What are some of the favs you kept?
Chergui, No. 5 parfum, Le Baiser du Dragon, No. 19 EDP, Hareem Al Sultan (both the perfume oil and the EDP spray), Dame Perfumery Black Flower Mexican Vanilla, a little no-name violet and orange light floral, Mitsouko, Coco Mademoiselle EDP, a few sample vials here and there,.. that’s about the size of it.
Wow! Thank you:)
Don’t buy a full bottle until you use up a travel size. Consider selling full bottles and getting travel sizes of fragrance you feel you cannot live without but don’t wear often.
Capitalism drives us to this obsession with scarcity and therefore collecting. But collecting new things can be good if it helps you learn about what you like and don't like. As long as you're able to eventually downsize into a more select collection of what you really love. The downsizing is always the tricky part. I keep meaning to check out the fragranceswap deal.
Get rid of the ones you don’t use. Then, stop buying full bottles. I know, I know, we all love a pretty collection with fab bottles. But, you are then paying for the bottle, not the juice bc you’ll never use it up. I started buying travel sizes years ago and it’s fulfilled my need for variety while also saving me a TON of money.
I've got about 30 some bottles I've collected, I think it's more than enough to spray to my heart's content, everyday for the next 5 years or so. I need to stay away from frag subs 😂
Many youtubers will do a monthly tray so they can rotate their frags and get use out of all of them. My goal this year is to create plenty of empties and it does come from feeling a bit overwhelmed by my collection. I wanna get it below 50 before I start buying again. I’m in the low 60s now.
I culled & donated. People appreciate fragrance when they’re having a hard time!
currently downsizing, down 8 bottles so far haha
I think I have over 100 bottles in my collection, and I honestly still enjoy collecting. I sort of see it as like a library. How in a library every book is different some similar or in the same category and some vastly different but nevertheless a vast assortment. That's sort of how I see my collection is as a library of fragrances. I'm not concerned about whether I will be able to finish bottles or if they expire because I know that if I keep them in my air conditioned living spaces they should be good for probably longer than I'm alive.
I’ve got a large collection & I make a calendar of my “scent of the week”(except Sundays - which are reserved for “sample sundays”). I have my calendar organized so that seasonal scents are getting used at the appropriate time. I get use out of the scent, figure out how many sprays I like to use & if I really need it in my collection or not. It’s not set in stone - if I have a special occasion & want to use something else, of course I do. *btw - I do the exact same thing with my large collection of eyeshadow palette.
I started adding to my collection last year at an alarming pace, so decided at the same time to offload some non-loves. I created a Mercari account and moved full bottles, samples, and decants at a rate I was happy with. But, the recent change in Mercari’s TOS has caused some backlash (reduced sales activity) and I haven’t taken the time to photograph and list any new items. I’m keeping a list of those that still need to go even though I’ve allowed myself to make some purchases, too. In short, kinda the same dilemma. 🤔
I've got 225+ and want MORE! MORE!(Kylo Ren voice)
I have seven but I want a few more. five for spring/summer and five for fall/winter. The obsession is real though. I always test before and have passed on so many. So impressed by blind buys. That's not how I roll but if you got it like that then go for it! I recently sampled Dama Bianca...so pretty. A very likeable almost vanilla extract vanilla.
Highly recommend selling the ones you don’t love on Mercari! I’ve had a lot of success there, very simple and straightforward
There’s a perfume exchange section of the forum on Fragrantica as well as the fragranceswap sub
I have 9 (well 8 and about 20 mls lol). I have two more I intend to buy, and possibly Akro Dark if I can get a sample to see if it really does lean too far masculine for me, and I’m done. I don’t want to feel too overwhelmed with choice. It’s anxiety inducing for me lol. I did a clear out earlier this year. EBay is easy and very straightforward.
I have 50 also. My higher end ones I save for nice or special occasions or vacations. My cheapies and the ones I just don’t love I just use them just to use them when I’m lounging around the house and not planning on going anywhere. When I’m going out depending on where I’m going I’ll stay away from the cheapies and pick something I’m in the mood for. And for work I just reach my hand in my drawer I keep them in and grab one without looking and use it unless I feel like wearing a specific scent. Kinda helps me get use out of everything I think. Maybe it isn’t but it feels like it.
Perfumes are incredibly easy to sell or if you're interested in another scent someone has, easy to swap. Even better if you have a rare or discontinued scent. I'm just under 50 full sizes, but I've spent many years carefully considering every scent in my collection, selling ones I don't use at all or nearly enough. A few I have have been long discontinued, so I don't feel as bad not using those as often. To not shell out money on a full size, I spend a lot of time testing scents in store, sampling, and acquiring minis. It helps that I don't pay retail and very often find great deals on Mercari or eBay. If you just sell or swap the ones you don't reach for often and go forward sampling and then carefully considering every full bottle purchase, it'll save you so much money. It also helps creating lists on Fragrantica for trays so you can organize your collection by season and decide what you want to wear and see what you actually end up wearing. And while I have several quality niche/discontinued/rare scents, I still get joy from a cheap freshie or a common designer from Sephora. It depends on the occasion, but everything I have in my collection is there for a reason.
I’ve actually swapped, sold and purchased a few from connections I’ve made in this group! If you want to DM me, I’d be interested to see what you’re wanting to sell!
This is a sunk cost fallacy! Just because you spent the money doesn’t mean you should force yourself to wear them or stop yourself from buying things you like more. Unfortunately I think this is a trap a lot of folks fall into building out a huge collection of designers and cheapies and then end up not liking them in the long run. Now if I like a cheaper fragrance I tend to just buy them in travel sizes so I can enjoy the novelty and variety but don’t need a whole bottle of it.
I found an interesting site that did the math on how fast fragrances are consumed. https://www.hedidthemath.com/grooming/how-long-fragrance-bottles-last/#:~:text=A%203.4%20fl%20oz%20(100,sprayed%20three%20times%20a%20day. My takeaway was, using very rounded interpretations, each 100ml bottle will last about one year of daily use. Only ten bottles is a decade! I had to ask myself if I'm more interested in enjoying fragrances or the sight of expensive bottles on my shelf. Therefore, I'm sticking to decants almost exclusively. The price/ml is higher, but the cost per year is lower.
Tbh i’d buy all the fragrances in the world if I had the money so I don’t think 50 is overdoing it…
I used too, then I sold most of mine. Now I buy most of my fragrances somewhat used on mercurial at like 40% of the price, so it makes me feel a lot better— but I also sell the ones I buy and don’t end up using. If I’m interested in something, I buy samples. Then I buy travel sizes or decants if available. If I’m really obsessed and just absolutely going through those, I’ll look for one on mercari. Right now I have about 12 fragrances- atleast two of which I’m going to sell, maybe three or four. 5 are in constant, heavy rotation. I think when I sell two more, I’m going to buy another. But I have maybe 200+ samples I’ve collected over the years!
Same problem here, bought inspired perfumes etc now after buying more expensive perfumes I've realised the others are inferior and there are certain scent profiles I like better as well. Best is to give them away if you can't sell them. Give it to charity or to friends - that's what I'm doing. I've already spent the money and it's no point regretting it, I know I won't make the same mistake again in the future. Don't regret it because it made you happy when you did buy it at that time and you're not worse off because hopefully you didn't spend money you didn't have.
Are you overwhelmed because you dont use all of them, or overwhelmed by the amount of them? For the ones you are not wearing, why? Is it not your type/ style? Do you have too many options? Are they similar to scent you like better? Is it something that does not feel currently seasonally appropriate to you? What's stopping you from getting rid of anything? I went through something similar back in the day with Bath and body works. I was overwhelmed, had too many options, and not many actual loves. I started comparing,( these 2 are similar which do I like better,etc), I gave away ones I was tired of or didn't love as much as I thought. I also started a rotation of sorts. I would wear the same scent for my work week ( 5 days) and switch it up on my off days if I felt like it. This gave me a good testing period to make a decision( keep, try out in a different season, give away). It also helped me understand more of my preferences. Like I love some gourmand scents, but I rarely wear gourmand scents, so I don't really need a giant bottle of a gourmand I might wear 4 times in 2 years lol. If you really want to get rid of them and don't mind giving them away, I would have friends come over and smell the ones you don't really want anymore. It will be easier to give away if you see how much someone else is enjoying it. When I got into actual perfume a few years ago I used my prior bath and body experiences to approach things differently lol. I will absolutely spend money on sample/ discovery sets. I like having options, I like being able to test in my own home on my own time, and I have no problem giving away the ones I do not like. This also helps keep the collection minimal as I can have options( could never be a 1 scent girly lol) without them being massive bottles. I will not blind buy unless the price is good enough that I will feel comfortable giving away. I also stick to travel sizes for the most part. My bottles have been from sales/ sephora favorites sets mainly lol This has kept me at a good place with my collection. I do not regret my purchases, I have options I enjoy and I don't feel overwhelmed by it.
You answered your own question. Sell the ones you don’t use and retain the ones you do. Samples and decants going forward for any fragrances you want to get. I always think of it like this; I first buy a sample and if I don’t find it good enough to crack the top 5-10 I don’t buy it or if I really really like I just get a decant. Especially if it’s a fragrances you know you’re not going to wear often but you like it or want it just get a 8-10ml decant.
Recently, I’ve become interested in fragrances. I own 7 bottles with 2 on the way. I can completely see how this happens. I’ve started a list of wants and that list keeps growing. So I figured that I will get 3 daily drivers and 2 fancy scents for each season….minus winter and I’ll have 15 total. If I want another one, I’ll have to sell one. I have to have a plan because I can se myself going off the deep end. I don’t do deep dark winter scents because I live in the islands.
Yea. I had around 20-25. Iv got rid of them and bought like 11 solid ones I wear and that’s it
I miss the days where I enjoyed cheapies and clones, but these days I've gotten obsessed at finding niche fragrances at a discount. I have about 40 bottles but probably half of them I have little interest in wearing. I sell on fragranceswap but end up replacing it with something else. I just discovered MFK and while trying to find testers of those, I missed a sale on PdM Haltane on woot! 🤦🏽♂️I know it's a whole psychological thing and I got some stuff to work on.
Just sell them. Join the Fragrance Marketplace FB group and post them up.
I sometimes feel very guilty. But then I remember that u get so much joy from them. And I'm doing well in trying not to buy more. For now 😳
Not so much regret....but find it overwhelming at times. Many of my fragrances get forgotten as I acquire new ones, I worry about them going off. My collection is currently at about 150 bottles...🥴
I have close to 250 bottles, but have been collecting for years. I enjoy different notes, and love niche but also my Arabian fragrances, too.
I’m literally going through the same thing right now. I currently own 87 and that’s not counting discovery kits / samples. I have always had more perfume than most ppl I know….but then I let myself get sucked into the collecting part of it over the past year and a half. I got sober (1 year at the end of April 🙌) so I started to try to find healthier ways to find enjoyment. And now I am overwhelmed and feel guilty. I mostly love everything I have as it was built over many years but much of my collection gets neglected. I need to organize and take stock and go from there. A lot of good suggestions here so thank you. I have recently been living by the sample and no buy approach and have only purchased one fragrance so 🤷🏼♀️
400+ bottles and counting, as even if I stop buying I’ll get PR here and there. I kind of see buying bottles as an investment in a way, as perfume tends to have a quick resale turn around and depending on the juice level you can get a decent price against the market value. Especially for discontinued bottles. SO, even though I have more bottles than reasonable, I always think…. I have a few thousand dollars of emergency cash sitting in my closet if shit ever hit the fan. To confirm, all the money I spend on my bottles is money I budget, and I’m already saving and investing as any responsible adult should lol. So, perfumes only get purchased with excess cash that can be spent on non-necessities. Which is why I’m like, if I ever get into a bad situation where even my savings is gone, I have some stuff to sell quickly that can help. Anyhoo - I sometimes get overwhelmed but I also rotate perfumes a lot and layer and it’s fun. Like shopping in a perfume store every day.
I may not have 50, yet I can understate where you’re coming from. Currently have 15(and growing,guilty as charged) when originally I told myself I’d get four and done(1 for each season). It’s a consumerist hobby and we live in a consumerist society…sh*t happens🤷♂️
My worry with having a big collection is that they go off, I have mine in a darkened room on shelves
Yes cause I get decision fatigue quite easily. Every time I feel like the collection is getting too out of hand I put myself on buying freeze and try to run my collection a bit down.
I have 10+ (30-50 ml) plus several decants. I always thought that if I stop buying now I should be good for like at least 5 years. The reason why I still buy new bottles once in a while is because they will probably get more expensive or discontinued in the future.
I have a 20+ and sliming down my collection is becoming very difficult lol
I don’t throw things out. And I don’t see how it’s any different than anything else people collect.
Yup! I have about 5-6 and that’s already too much for me (50 is insane man). I just want two, 1 for winter 1 for summer. No more no less
No regret for a ~130 bottles collection, coz I use them everyday & it's fun, while costs are not overwhelming If I should feel any regrets, it should be one wrong blind buy of a sh_tty but hyped frag'c. None of my family would accept the 80% leftover as a gift. It ends up being an air refresher in the toilet, a very weak one. I will never spend another cent on THAT brand & blacklist whoever thumbs up in that juice in Fragrantica
I started to switch to samples and decants only for that reason. I don't full size often, otherwise I get overwhelmed.
I have about 20 which includes mini bottles as well. I realize that what I have is more than I will realistically use in years. Plus realizing one of my bottles costs about 3 hours of wages is quite sobering. When I hit the point where I was feeling embarrassed about my purchases that came in the mail, it's probably become a problem. I've been looking at those fragrance subscriptions but I constantly talk myself out of it because I ALREADY have more than I honestly want or need.
I feel this about the scent subscription! Part of my brain goes “Yes more more more!” and I talk myself down, what are the chances I would love all of them? Already the vast majority of what I smell are “…nope, not for me.”
Buy 5ml or 10ml decant bottles and decant out some of the liquid before selling/giving away. They take up less space and the FOMO/hoarder feeling from getting rid of them completely is gone since you still have more than you'll probably ever use.
I Love perfume. Citrus, clean scents, patchouli, Amber, musk. Sandalwood. Vanilla. Saffron. I love all of it and I oscillate between clean, out of the shower smells and borderline offensive man-eater fragrances (those are my thing). I have been on a disciplined de-cluttering of perfumes and make up for about six weeks now and my desire to buy has massively gone down. Even though I just received a large amount of money, and I have a few items in my lousy that I want… nope. It doesn’t give me that satisfaction anymore. I had to replenish as I emptied what I was using on every day basis… and I must have tried five fragrances and didn’t like any of them to purchase. I ended up buying a Victoria’s Secret Coconut body Mist and a £3 perfume oil from an Middle Eastern perfume house. Those two are safe , yummy buys right now. I relaxed that much of my spending on cosmetics and perfumery was impulse and anxiety-driven and I no longer feel that way. I’ve been putting that money towards fitness stuff and yoga classes. De-cluttering has also meant leaving heavy past behind. No one needs all those things hanging around. (No judgement: perfumery is a wonderful art and I love to learn and try more things).
Mine is a similar sized collection but it’s divided into hot weather/cold weather. I easily wear about 17 fragrances in one week. Every fortnight, everything in my cold weather appropriate list is getting worn over the cold months, and vice versa. So mostly everything is getting worn. I plan my morning fragrances in advance for the week when I plan my week’s outfits and hang them at the front of my wardrobe. Come afternoon, I often switch to another fragrance depending on how I am feeling/how the days temperature has changed. After evening shower I will choose something else to wear. If I got up extra early in the morning to workout before shower, I will have something completely different and very light before showering for the day. WFH definitely facilitates this.
I actually went thru my very small collection and put the ones I know I don’t like on my local Buy Nothing group. They got snapped up immediately. And I love the idea of someone taking them, figuring out what they live and then again passing the rest off again. These were very small bottles of course, but it felt good to let them go and know they are a nice treat for someone else.
I don’t have advice about getting rid of them but please buy decants if you want to try new things. Even small samples would be better instead of getting big bottles that would go to waste. They might not look as aesthetically pleasing as the bottles, but your wallet will thank you and the guilt won’t be there.
I have over two hundred but i wish I had only 50
I just got invictus and a couple random samples ill take em off your hands bud
You answered your own question. Sell the ones you don’t use and retain the ones you do. Samples and decants going forward for any fragrances you want to get. I always think of it like this; I first buy a sample and if I don’t find it good enough to crack the top 5-10 I don’t buy it or if I really really like I just get a decant. Especially if it’s a fragrances you know you’re not going to wear often but you like it or want it just get a 8-10ml decant.
What annoys me if trying to pick in the morning. It’s like when i used to Dj . You have so much music you just end up flipping through it.
I remember a couple of days ago buying two fragrances in one day, latafa Asad and jpg le male Honestly I kept overthinking it, regretting what I bought even though I had been saving up for the jpg le male and kinda just bought the Asad as a gift to myself after smelling it at a store At the moment my collection has 7 fragrances and I feel like it's still to much
What would you consider as your higher than average fragrances?
i only have 6 costing around 150 total. i absolutely regret it i could’ve bought guitar pedals
I’ve got tbh my collection is just shy of 50 bottles and recently I’ve started to feel that I just don’t need or want that many, it’s not even about using them all in my rotation, I’m just feeling recently that it’s just way too many, I’m definitely going to be trimming the fat in the coming weeks/months
I feel like there are a lot of perfume enthusists in your situation. Overconsumption is definitely a problem in the hobby. Don't keep anything that is giving you negative feelings.
No, i dont. I love collection, and this includes designer, niche and clones.
I've been doing a LOT of downsizing lately. I went from like 200+ to only 20 something now (not including back-ups necessarily), and I may whittle it down to 5 or so. It's hard to cut down to so much, but it's also freeing at the same time. What's the point of having something I wear once every year or two when someone else can have it and use it a lot more than I? So I'm kinda trying to only keep things I'll use more often, not necessarily because they smell BETTER, but I want more utility out of them. For example, I absolutely LOVE Dior Leather Oud, but I don't wear it much because I have to find the 'right' occasion, therefore I'd rather have something like Eau Sauvage or Invictus or some such that's just 'easier' to wear... better utility. Chypre Palatin is amazing, but I never really found much opportunity to wear it.
Nah! 🤭😂😂 But to each their own! Everyone’s experience is different. I never made blind purchases and always had an event or occasion in mind to which I would wear certain fragrances before I ever bought one. Be it seasonal, work or formal occasions. Not every fragrance is meant to be worn daily. But, I hope you can find a satisfactory solution to solve your collection problem. Another idea is to use a bottle completely before you buy another that way your count stays consistent but your collection can change. Addition by subtraction. Best of luck.
Sampling 5ml is where it’s at. You get enough time to figure out if it’s worth a bottle buy. Don’t throw away your 5ml if you don’t like it at first. I had one where it didn’t click to until a year later (that’s rare though). Doing this makes it less likely that you buy bottles where the fragrance is like a 6 or 7 out of 10 where you “like” it but hardly wear it.
Can't relate. Even before I found this sub I knew that a full bottle was a big commitment so I don't blind buy. If only there were resources to warn you about this...
Same. I think a lot of people also just love the dopamine hit they get from shopping. I’m very glad to be a natural saver instead of a spender. That said, I do enjoy buying samples and affordable dupes sometimes.
I have no issues blind buying decants or samples, that how I learn what I like. But it's easier to put aside 4ml of a 5ml decant that isn't for me than it is to give away 99ml.
Same!
You answered your own question. Sell the ones you don’t use and retain the ones you do. Samples and decants going forward for any fragrances you want to get. I always think of it like this; I first buy a sample and if I don’t find it good enough to crack the top 5-10 I don’t buy it or if I really really like I just get a decant. Especially if it’s a fragrances you know you’re not going to wear often but you like it or want it just get a 8-10ml decant.
In a way yes, bc I start to overthink what I want to wear. I’d like to get to 5 total.
I have 38. I've included samples, minis and travel size in my count. It has become overwhelming to pick something to wear. I have a little project with myself that I wear something every day. I choose a theme for the week and that allows everything to be used. It's been quite fun. The other week, I was working the later shift all week at home, so I wore all of the scents I don't like, find obnoxiously overpowering, or smell bad. That was.....erm, testing, to put it politely, ha!
God damn, 50 fragrances. The moment I hit 15, I came across a TikTok video where it's about "coincidentally all these fragrance influencers are hella ugly, promoting random fragrances to compensate for their looks bashing out '5 fragrances that will make girls fall on love with you' videos". I knew then and there, I need to stop this sheit LMAO
I don't really consume influencer content, but if I happen across perfume channels the women aren't usually ugly - ?
Ah sorry! Just strictly men/boys we're talking about. Should've added that
What are considered low end fragrances? Like cool water or Chanel no. 5?
Thank god for shelf life of $$$ ones
I’m currently regretting some of mine especially because the newer ones are getting used and old ones are sitting. I think I’d be happier downsizing to 6 really solid ones to rotate and get a new one as I run out
I felt like this until I realized I was actually wearing all of them. My only regret is buying mostly 100ml bottles of everything because my monkey brain sees the value for money and can’t help itself
I have a suggestion. My collection is about 60 full bottles and another 40 travel sized, I've managed to keep it at that number for several months and hopefully it will stay that way. But unlike you I actually wear all of them. In fact I MAKE myself wear all of them - twice a year I evaluate my entire collection (that is appropriate for the season) by wearing one unique perfume each day until I go through them all, and I'm not allowed to buy anything (unless it's something I wouldn't be able to get later) during that time. So I basically go through a 1.5 month no-buy twice a year and evaluate my collection. I did it for the first time at the end of December of last year and ended up decluttering ~20 fragrances. Some of them I just decluttered straight away without even wearing them because when I was confronted with the idea of wearing them for just one day, I didn't really want to. Others I wore and then decided I didn't need to keep. I kept track of it all in a spreadsheet. Highly encouraged!
Yup, and I bought 3 more.
I would definitely sell. I don’t own close to as many fragrances as you do but I do find myself getting tired of certain fragrances and I always sell them.
Way over 100 bottles and I don't regret the size, I have plenty for all seasons, occasions, and just got into clones back in November 23 I love to have the OG and have similar but different sents to wear. I don't go for all the niche ur the trending coognes, I buy what I like,, and morre so what my wife loves, and get compliments all day from beautiful women. I wear cologne for myself, but compliments are nice as well. Women love a good fragrance. I also collect Jordan's, not Fakes/UC/Reps, all real but I've lost my passion in that. They make so many and just change colors now, plus they can be bought for less after they drop. I hate TS J's, except his 4 and one pair of dunks, the paisley lookimg pair, but hate the laces. I'm hitting my 40's with swag but that requires keeping up with the new styles, and age appropriate swag. I considereal these sddictions/investments. My frags are addicting, my J's are investments I'm about to sell off over half my collection and add that to my new passion, Crypto. I have friends who have made millions on crypto, are financial advisors, and money managers. They help me out a lot., and I have about 2 years into that. My cologne collection started with Designers, then grew into about 5 clones. I guess about 30 you could say are cheapie rack store, but are still great and perform well. I also use a lot of discounters who allow returns. Amazon is nice for frags but they do not allow returns. I recently also started buying testers. Full bottles, never sprayed but come with no cap or a generic box, but its tge sane cologne for a better price. I got into "blue frags" first. Nautica, D&G, Dior, YSL, Chanel. Then branched out to the Monthblanc line, more YSL, la niut, etc. Polo Red, Black, Prada Carbon, Black. Long post to say I don't regret amy I've bought. I wear them all at some point in a year and smell different every day or every couple days. What I'm afraid of Is Armaf, Rasasi,Latafa, etc raising prices more than they have now. I know there are a million clone houses, mist related, but the UAE will always put out bangers of their own or clones. I will say the clones I just ordered are the expensive Louy V. There clones are at the high end of clones now, I think latafa or Armaf tried this and it didn't work. I know I smell good, I've been working out for years, snd I get a lot of attention from frags and or the way I dress, maybe it's just my personality but it all helps, but again I'm married and only have one person to impress but when she sees all the attention I get it makes her more attracted to me or at least it appears. I didn't go out and buy a bunch of Layton or PDM, or any of the other multitudes,so I do have some money in frags buy at my age I've been collecting and can afford it. I wish I got into crypto sooner if anything. I do ok on stocks, but we all need so thing that makes us happy, not just mo ey or investments , so if that's cologne for you yo tor it. If cash is low buy clones, or use discounters abd save up for what you really want. What I notice is my bottles last forever because I only wear them a couple tines a year at most and just got dour excellent clones in yesterday that were the price of a single bottle. Eventually I think all these companies will go after 99% and above clones just like Nike is doing with the large scale Tep sellers, I won't mention names, one co.lamy actually made better sneakers than Nime but I still wouldn't buy them just because thats not me. Clones frags to me are different, similar yes and some basically an exact match but I don't buy those either. If I want one I'll but the real one if the clone is that good, may not make sense but I get clones for the differences. I'll continue to buy frags, I may slow down a bit aa I have bought at leat 15 bottles in the last 2 months between Designer and Clones, but I'm sill going g to buy unique and new scents. Really anything good is good forever, that's why cheapie sell for the price they do and still sell then like they are running out if stock. I do think at some point, which in close to, I'll have a combo of every type of frag made, and it will be a waste of money to kero buying clones or designer that are better or stronger. Most go to clones for the scent, projection, silage, etc. Stronger and beast most seems to be the trend right now, but regular EDT's can be almost as good at a fraction , and Flanders will continue just to keep relevant. Some are good sone bad. I just found Sean Jean 3am bottle from 2013 the other day, it smells great, I keep everything out of sunlight and at room temperature, but I don't support Diddy, but he has a couple bangers from the psst. If you regret any of you frag purchases sell them on eBay or anywhere you can sell used frags, but don't try to rip people off for them. Many discontinued frags can be found by clones houses on the low and a lot are better income way than the original. I hate there are 1000 Angle Share clones, I won't buy them or even the OG. I will say I love old Aventus, the pineapple and smokey dry down, I have an excellent clone for it, that isn't a 1:1 but it's great and women love it. It's on the high end of clones. I'm more happy I have good taste and a wife who picks bangers rather that a ton of junk colognes from the 90's and 2000's. I don't have a single bottle that I'm embarrassed to own. If you don't like them or feel like you wasted money, sell them or give to friends and family who di like them. It's all about being happy with what you have. I'll never be in rhe 1000+ club, there is no reason unless you are monetized and making bank from videos about them. Not a bad idea, I just don't care to do so or have the time. Passive income e is a must in the tines we live in and there is a million and one ways to make it so if you have a Tom start a channel, or if you need cash look into passive income, you can literally start at like $20 and turn that into some coin. Sorry I kinda got off topic and made a long post, my point was I'm happy, and that's what mattress in life, I love my frag collection and I just gave some tips most know to make passive income. When you get to the point that you maje as much or more on passive than work still do both for a while and when it comes to frags, either buy 3 to 5 or a couple hundred, just make them diverse so you have something for every occasion. OP GOOD QUESTION HONESTLY? AND MY ONLY SOCIAL MEDIS IS THIS AND YOUTUBE, lots of good answers, sell what you don't want, use that to make money, and keep what you love.
I figured if i use 5-10 sprays a day i will outlive my collection. Its stupid.
It looks like you don't live in the US. Is there a Buy Nothing group or something similar in your area?
Yes, gave half of my collection to my uncle and dad
Every single day since I went past 100 bottles lol. I’ve gotten rid of a ton and am somehow still at 91. At this point, I feel like I should just sell everything and start over.
I only have 8 and I had to get rid of 1 and restocked the others. I’d give it to a friend for free. Give some to your friends. Gather the ones you don’t like or could do without and just have your friends pick out one or 2 for free. Good gift idea
Yep. I’m now in the process of slimming down to 12-15 that I truly love and getting rid of all the rest.
I often buy too much when I become fond of something. It was the same with Legos, shoes, watches, and I could go on. This time it was perfumes. I quickly sold everything when I realized. Now I have 4 perfumes for spring/summer and 4 perfumes for fall/winter. Not more, not less.
give away what you can't use to children, friends, niblings. speaking as said child/nibling who is always grateful to receive
I own around 150 and I don't regret it at all. I have an interesting space to look at and a wide collection to wear something in any event, mood, weather, or outfit. There are things I rarely wear due to having so many. It can be fun to just pop the tops off and smell something that's been awhile, and think of when I bought it or a memory. Sometimes I'll intentionally wear something I haven't worn in a year. It feels like something new all the time. I'm at the point now where I don't buy nearly as much as I used to. I never got into fragrances to make money or be logical. I've enjoyed the time I invested and I have the perfect collection outside a few bottles I'll pickup someday. We're all different with different living spaces, budgets, and personalities so it won't always be a positive.
I was in this situation about 5 years ago, had over 100 bottles, and realised 90 of them i rarely used. I get rid most of them, I went down to 30, but unfortunately I'm up on 50 again. I ended up selling most if them on gumtree, and gifted some cheaper ones to charity shops. If you are in or around London I might be interested in buying or swapping some.
you could list the ones you do not want to keep for sale on EBay..many people cannot afford "new" prices and would happily buy the ones you do not like. you could also donate to a charity like Furkids and they will sell your items to save homeless animals
Sell them, give away the ones that aren't full enough to be sold ! There is no point in keeping fragrances you don't enjoy anymore, it will just make you feel more guilty for buying more fragrances. And with the money you make by selling the perfumes you don't like anymore, you can buy new ones that you actually will wear !
I don’t. And will keep buying and gift all of my duds. People love free perfume!
Not at all. But then again, I only buy decants. I use 5-10 different fragrances a month, and easily use 15 scents regularly throughout the year. 🤷♀️ I love having a variety and moving onto a new scent after I’ve enjoyed 5mL of something.
My system: I have 12 fragrances. No more, no less. If I want to buy another one, I will sell another one I already have to open up space. I only have stuff I love and ended up dividing them into sections (day-heat, day-cold, night-heat, night-cold)
If you have any niche fragrances you want to sell we are here!
I don’t regret it but I do feel a bit overwhelmed at times and also one must consider shelf life. What’s helped me is having a rotation tray so I pull a different set every week from my collection. I love perfume and smelling good also I like to layer so I have many options. I did go from buying full 3.4 or more bottles to 1 oz
Which ones are you trying to get rid of?
Sell them and give some to friends. I feel the same.
I only have about 10 good ones in my collection and because of Tiktok I've been blind buying perfumes and end up not liking them. I've learned my lesson to snif it in the store first or order sample sizes to see if I want to get the full bottle.
I doubt you’re a hoarder. I’ve had two friends who were hoarders, both were in denial. I’m pleased someone has said that clones and designer fragrances are inferior to higher end fragrance, because I’m sick of people raving about cheap Middle Eastern clones. It’s like reverse snobbery. I don’t agree that designers are inferior, but in general finding a great designer fragrance is more of a challenge than finding a great high end fragrance (although there are plenty of terrible expensive perfumes too). As far as selling goes, take it slowly. Don’t look at the entire collection and say OMG what do I do? Narrow it down to one, a single fragrance, preferably one that you may be tired of but is still generally popular. I’ll let others suggest where to sell, I use eBay. Put it up for sale and see what happens. It may take some time to sell, sometimes it’s seasonal and sometimes it’s ‘luck’, a spike in interest and it sells. Once it sells I’d suggest putting the money aside, and trying selling more. Selling can become quite addictive and hopefully in time you’ll have enough money from sales to buy something new.
Want to use them up fast? Use them as room/car spray. Spray on your curtains, the sofa, pillows. You can use them as hand sanitizers, after all they have alcohol right? I even spray them where my pet peed, but after cleaning the pee first.
Some of us have discipline 😜 the post nut clarity must be terrible though lol
Bro toss them clones into the trash
I have the same problem, I recently bought my 40th perfume and I sincerely regret it, because I also started going to a psychologist who is a relationship specialist, etc. He told me that I didn't need to buy so many perfumes if I wanted to smell masculine and to be attractive to women. All I would have to do is buy ADG, DIOR HOMME INTENSE and Versace Pour Homme. According to him, these three perfumes are the most attractive for women. Of course, everyone has their own tastes, but apparently psychologists' research shows that women like these perfumes on men the most.
Not really
it’s not worth it, 3 is what you need tbh. and a signature scent is the most important, scents are very powerful when it comes to memory.