Saturday Question: What Is Your Favourite Part Of This Perfume Hobby?

/ AustralianPerfumeJunkies

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Portia

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Hello Fellow Fumies,

At APJ we have a Saturday Question. Everyone gets to chime in with an answer, chat with other responders and it’s a fun event each week. Taking sides never means taking offence and everyone keeps it respectful and light, even though we can sometimes trawl the depths.

The idea is you’ll see it on the weekend or chime in through the week. Hopefully you will come back regularly and see if anyone has responded to your comment and you can reply to them. The aim is to generate real conversation and connection even though we are scattered around the globe.

 

Over 100 responses I will draw a Secret Scent Sample Pack (from my collection)

Last Weeks Winner: Esperessence

eMail me at (portia underscore turbo at yahoo dot com dot au) with your address please

Saturday Question: What Is Your Favourite Part Of This Perfume Hobby?

So many amazing aspects to this fragrant journey. Which bit is the one that excites you most? Is it bottles, perfumers, travel, friends, the fragrance itself, collecting, the Facebook or other online interactions, the blogs, the books or is it a combination of things that sparks your joy?

My Answer:

All of these things are part of my joy of the fragrance hobby but I have a deep secret that only a very few know. It was Scotty who pointed it out to me a while ago and I’ve been processing it for a while before I could confront it and accept my sickness. He He He.

Acquisition. Yep. that is my ultimate motivator and excitement in the perfume craving. Yes, I love the fragrance, bottles, mystique, the eye rolling excitement of finding something that utterly blows your mind, the travel and the amazing buddies I’ve made all over the world. All those things are amazing. They aren’t the ultimate motivator though.

It’s the trawling the internet, purchasing and ultimately having that excites me most. Nowadays I don’t even have to open the box. I can get as much joy from holding a pristine, brand new in cellophane, box as I do wearing the scent. My memory of finding the scent, finding a bottle (especially from as far away as Oz), getting it to me and into the collection is my joy of joys.

So I’ve fessed up to my reason d’fragrance, now lets hear yours…….

 

My Saturday Question to you is:

What Is Your Favourite Part Of This Perfume Hobby?

71 thoughts on “Saturday Question: What Is Your Favourite Part Of This Perfume Hobby?”

  1. At first I was excited by the acquisition but as my collection grew to “I will never finish a bottle” size, it became less so. I really do enjoy smelling things – whether it be food, nature, whatever, so perfume is a perfect match for that. The other thing I love is that I can be part of this and other wonderful online communities, where people are positive and supportive of each other and enjoy learning together. So much social media is toxic so places like APG are special!

    Liked by 3 people

  2. My favorite is the friendships that I have made over the years. Perfume lovers are a particular kind of special. They are predominately tender-hearted, exceptionally kind, poetic souls. My best friend lives four hours away, and we have met up several times and we talk almost every single day. We met online, chatting about perfume. ❤

    Liked by 3 people

  3. My absolute favourite part of this hobby is the the people.
    For all the batch code and beast mode peeps, there are a hundred lovely people who love smelling things as much as I do. Making decants for others to try something they have been searching for is so much fun; and I cannot count the perfume fairies that have bought/sold, swapped, or just plain given me wonderful scents, often including cookies or a cheerful card in the box. We all know we have far too much perfume for our lifetime, and that seems to convince us to share.

    Liked by 4 people

  4. I need to really think about this. The people. Oh, the people! You (yes, YOU, APJ reader), the perfumers, the Chandler Burrs, the Neil Chapmans and Sam Shrivens… So many people. Like Erica said – I cannot say it better.

    But beyond that, I do need to think.

    Liked by 2 people

  5. All of the things you mentioned makes up the perfect hobby, doesn’t it? Reading blogs, commenting on some, and maybe pointing someone in the right direction. Being a helper (yes, helper sounds better than enabler😉). Making new friends, even if they’re only virtual and not flesh and blood. It’s something that keeps the old ticker quivering with excitement occasionally. The thrill of the chase, and the resultant hit, be it something brand new and ultra hard to come by or a long gone vintage that pops up on a certain unnamed site that gives the olfactory bulb a punch that reverberates all the way into the amygdala. And for me the ultimate is sharing with friends and spreading the love that gives the biggest satisfaction. Who doesn’t love to get little fragrant surprises?

    Liked by 2 people

  7. I truly love all aspects relating to fragrance, from smelling great, to exploring, reading, sharing, and the wonderful fragrance-appreciating and kind people on the blogs I follow. Scent has fascinated me since childhood; I’m extremely sensitive to bad smells, so appreciative of good smells including nature.
    I confess I am very much like Portia with the acquisition being the ultimate in excitement. I love the search, whether it’s finding something new and spectacular, or a bottle of significant history. I love the purchase, looking forward to the arrival, and the ownership.
    And I very much appreciate Portia for hosting these conversations, and the contributors that also take the time to write thoughtful posts.

    Liked by 2 people

  9. Three things: the hunt for a bargain, smelling something new and finding a treasure, making dear fragrance friends who are like brothers and sisters.

    Liked by 2 people

  10. I love those moments when a perfume smells more than just an accessory, when it alone is enough to slightly change my mood and make me feel happier. I probably don’t explain it well but (a broken record here) that’s how I felt when I tried vintage perfumes, especially Guerlain: it was a thread of revelation, and this is what I’m looking for in every sample I get.

    Esperessence, congrats on your win!

    Liked by 1 person

  11. Since I loved and wore perfumes from early years of my life without even considering it a hobby, the main new and important thing that came with the descent to the rabbit hole, same as to many commenters above, is meeting new friends and becoming a part of the Perfumeland community.

    Yesterday I had a spontaneous day off. My vSO and I went to a wine country and had a relaxing day. So when we came back last night, I had a strong feeling that it was Saturday, so once I got to computer, I immediately went to see what was the Saturday Question on the APJ, and was puzzled for a while when I didn’t find it. And then I realized that it was still Friday, and that I had two full weekend days ahead.

    Liked by 2 people

  13. I’m a compulsive buyer too – love the thrill of the hunt. But I had been wearing perfume for decades before I found the internet and perfume blogs. It’s so nice to be able to share my love of good smells and pretty bottles with people around the world. My peeps! 🙂

    Liked by 3 people

  14. Quite simply my favourite thing is the process of deciding what fragrance I will wear for the day and the feeling I get directly after spraying it.
    I do enjoy the acquisition element of fragrance but I’m trying to manage the financial side of this by largely limiting myself to 10ml and under decants and eliminating blind buying. I will admit though nothing beats the thrill of finding a bargain or a hard to find bottle you’d been searching for for ages. I think that’s why I gravitate towards discontinued fragrances.
    As others have said the people are also a big part of the enjoyment I get out of this hobby. Being relatively new to fragrance community I’ve been blown away by the generosity and selflessness shown by its members.

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  15. Portia ( whom I have had the pleasure of knowing for about seven years) and all my friends on APJ….this magical place is the best part of my perfume obsession… Love you guys 😍😘😻💜💙💚💛

    Liked by 1 person

  16. My favorite part of the perfume hobby is really curiosity and excitement; the hope that you may come across a beautiful smell you did not know was possible.

    Liked by 1 person

  17. This may sound dumb, but it’s the smelling. I love to have a cocoon of scent into which I can hide when the world is bothering me and to share with others who enjoy it. I am a cerebral language person for a living and I love having an experience I *can’t* put into words. Some can, beautifully of course, and I do like reading about perfume, but I also don’t have the skill or the desire to intellectualize it, which for me is a gift in itself oddly.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Hey Amy,
      There are some scents in my collection that are just themselves and parsing them would take a little bit of the sparkle off their enjoyment for me. So I spritz and turn the mechanical portion of my brain onto the indulgence brain and let myself drift.
      Portia xx

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    • I understand you perfectly, Amy. Smelling a good perfume can be compared to seeing a beautiful sunset: no words needed when you’re face to face with something outstanding.

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  18. This is my first ever blog comment…. I inherited my late mothers collection of perfume from the 70’s. There were two bottles, Detchema by Revillon and Infini by Caron. This is the reason I delved in the underworld of fragrance and was dragged willingly to her depths. I am now a girl who huffs others and asks what they are wearing. I adore reading and learning about the cultural influences on perfume and the notes in perfume and how clever others are at describing scent. I love to touch and look and my collection, opening them drinking in their invisible magic; I love wearing different fragrances that reflect the way I feel. Perfume is my other voice…

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  19. I have to say that I just love it when I find myself wondering where the beautiful scent is coming from – and realize it is wafting from the perfume I dabbed on yesterday! Some fragrances, like some left over meals, seem to be even better the next day.😉

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  20. Sorry for causing conniptions by pointing it out! :/
    there are just so many different facets to this hobby I think it is extremely difficult to pick a fave.
    Actually wearing and spritzing would probs be my number one high, as well as the amazing friends I have made and the interesting folk I have also met. The thrill of the chase, acquiring that elusive concentration to complete a set, finding a vintage Rochas you knew nothing about, sampling something I have always wanted to try and absolutely loathing it (love finding things I don’t need to own!).

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