Saturday Question: How Do You Perfume Budget?

/ 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:

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

Saturday Question: How Do You Perfume Budget?

Something I always tell the newbies to the perfumed rabbit hole is to set a budget. This addiction is expensive and ultimately frivolous. Here Warren Buffett puts many of my Dads lectures into a very simple sentence.

“If you buy things you do not need, soon you will have to sell things you need.” — Warren Buffett

It’s very easy to get carried away with our hobby and especially so with the way the market has become in aspirational pricing.

My Answer:

Short Answer: No

How I wish I was better at money. I’m terrible at it. Not super terrible but sometimes I reflect on dollars squandered on living a full, fun and fabulous life and my stomach drops. While I’m not rich in any sense of the first world hierarchy, compared to billions of the earths other citizens I am extremely comfortable, and grateful for it.

So today I’m looking for inspiration.

Do you budget your perfume consumption? How do you do it? Is there a spend limit weekly or annually? How do you check yourself? Do you write it down? Is it only you who keeps track?

My Saturday Question to you is:

How Do You Perfume Budget?

116 thoughts on “Saturday Question: How Do You Perfume Budget?”

  1. I don’t. If I want something then I buy it. But please note that since 95% of new stuff is absolute shite, and I hate the painting-by-numbers made in my garage over-priced so called niche stuff, I actually purchase very little for a so-called perfumista. And yes, I did buy a bottle of Rose et Cuir yesterday in Vienna, since you ask — and chose the day with 20% off of everything — which is budgeting in my book. Bussi. ❤️

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  2. Hello gorgeous.
    My short answer is also a ‘NO’.
    I am neither rich nor well off but I get by with my steady income.
    My ways of controlling my fragrant habit is to only buy whatever I fancy when they cross my path. It used to be easier when there aren’t that many releases and Sydney didn’t have as many niche brands as it has now. I think my saving grace is that I don’t buy samples or decant even though I enjoy reading reviews and fantasise about them. That said I have blind bought stuff but they are very infrequent and usually via good evil bay scores. I also have been more selective but we both know sale are a weakness of mine…
    This is probably not what you are looking for as budgeting.
    BTW Confessions of a Shopaholic is on TV right now. 😂
    XXX… Tim

    Liked by 1 person

  3. I don’t have a perfume budget. I don’t really buy samples ot decants either. I’m retired on a budget income. I will buy something I fancy. The friend of my friend who was downsizing and selling off some of her Guerlains for a very very good price, I didn’t hesitate buying from her. That’s how I got most of my Guerlain collection.

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  5. Budget. Nice notion. I don’t have a perfume budget. Im one of those idiots whose money seems to slip through their fingers and no amount of thinking or reckoning can account for it. I’m not even well-off, my job is not that well paid but I am comfortable. And very thankful every single day for that fact. I’m what could be called an impulsive shopper. I might not buy anything for ages and then I might see a couple of things on eBay that I just HAVE to buy. I really should turn off all the notifications. I do the same thing with lipstick. And shoes. But in my own defence, I don’t have massively expensive taste. For instance, there are no big bottles of Amouage in this house. Very few big bottles generally. I prefer small bottles. But, decants have become a problem. I really should just stop and enjoy the two lifetimes of perfume that I already own. It’s all the internet’s fault anyway😏

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    • Oh yes Cassieflower,
      It was easy to ignore the world of releases when all we knew about were the stuff we saw in store. Suddenly a world of available perfume is available to us, in every size, cost, quality and packaging we could ever imagine. Then ad decants! They look like a bargain till you get 20 in your cart and suddenly that FB of Amouage looks positively bargain in comparison.
      I turned off my eBay alerts a long time ago. TOO DANGEROUS!
      Portia xx

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  6. I try to stick to a budget of 100€ per month or less, although i could buy more if i wanted. But with this my collection does not explode and i think a bit longer before buying. I buy decants of scents i would like to try, but will not use too oftrn or used bottles from parfumo members or ebay.

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  7. I have a sampling budget because I don’t live where I can sniff anything interesting, so I do need to buy samples regularly. It’s not much but I found that if I don’t set a limit I will order every discovery set and new perfume that is released, so having a limit helps me be discerning. As to purchases, I mostly allot money when I’m traveling to somewhere that has real perfume shops; I also occasionally buy something special (Colorado from DSH/American Perfumer comes to mind – LE so I bought when I otherwise would not have). I no longer spend very much per year, my collection is too large to be willing to add much to it, and I’m not good at parting with anything to sell off! Like Val I don’t like much of what I sample every month (or at least think it’s special enough to even put on my wants list!)

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  8. Sorry, couldn’t help you as a budget is artificial. I’m as naughty as it gets when it comes to perfume shopping. With that said, I do try to get more for the money, whether it be a discount, or a gift with purchase or sometimes building credibility with a retailer for future benefit. I also try to defray part of the cost by offering splits (for newly opened perfumes) or swap for what I want. And finally, if I really want a bottle but prefer to have a smaller volume, I try to catch splitters with a keep the bottle option.

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      • It’s artificial if one can easily overrule the limit without having to spend less on something else.

        As to the keep the bottle option, some splitters are willing to give up the bottle if you buy 60% or more of the bottle and pay for the higher shipping. It’s always a thrill when more than 50% have been reserved by others and the splitter agrees for you to keep the bottle! I hope this makes sense.

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  9. I really should stop buying samples (and perfume altogether, although we know that’s not happening), but like hajusuuri I am always thinking about how I can get what I want for the lowest price or most perks.

    Fortunately there are so many lackluster releases nowadays, most of what I smell is not compelling enough to buy, and overpriced. When I can get something I love for a great price, I pounce. Also, I try to focus my attention on fewer brands that I know and love, rather than chasing after every new kid on the block. That helps narrow down the scope.

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  10. Even if I made much more money than I do now, I think I’d just stick to the same strategy I have now: I only try to buy perfumes that are irreplaceable – and affordable. I have other concerns now, so getting a full bottle once a month (or maybe not even one) is currently the limit. One of my self-imposed rules is never buying a FB unless I’ve sold one. It’s no fun but being picky doesn’t hurt, you know 🙂

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  11. No budget from my side either. I never buy samples. The ones that I have, which are tons, I have received from other perfumistas. I prefer full bottles and occasionally decants. I have limited my purchases for the past two years, mostly because new releases do not win my heart anymore, like before and also because my collection is huge.

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  12. At the beginning of my career I read “The Wealthy Barber” and followed its suggestion of Pay Yourself First. To that point, I have money automatically put away for retirement and regular savings and then figured I can spend the rest as I like. It’s not very formal, but it seems to work.

    In other words, I don’t have an official perfume budget, although if I’ve bought a bottle, especially at full price, I try to wait at least a month for the next. Like many fellow perfumistas here, there’s not a lot out there I simply must have in the way new releases, and my heart has also been broken getting lots of samples, none of which I liked. That said, I *am* going to a Nicolaï event next month…

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  13. I’m great with money but not with perfume. I buy buy buy. No budget. I just dropped $788 yesterday. Granted, I did get 22 bottles of rare and discontinued fragrances, but that’s a bundle to drop in a day plus the $20-30 here and there and a few samples. It adds up. My budget cannot afford $1500 in perfume in a month.

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      • I ‘m a Barefoot Investor fan, therefore have 10% of my income to spend as I please. I’m new to perfume, so will buy samples and decanted that Id like to try.,If I buy from eBay I will keep yo the same couple of sellers as I’ve been badly stung there. If I want a big bottle, I watch out for sales and offers in store., I thought about teaming up with a couple of friends and perhaps splitting the cost , and the delicious loot, between us. I’ve bought a couple of decanted that I’ve absolutely hated, but as only a few malls hasnt been a massive loss.

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  14. I have a budget for each year but I haven’t reached it in the last couple of years because I didn’t have enough time to go places to try perfumes regularly (and I’m not an impulsive shopper to buy it from the first sniff), I rarely buy samples (too many disappointments), and my collection is big enough to think twice before adding anything. But I will spend more before the end of the year, I think: love holiday shopping. I just need to figure out what I want and find a good deal, if possible.

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  16. No real budget, but I try not to spend more than the equivalent of 500 euros per year on perfume, samples come on top of that and with postage samples alone are around 120 to 150 euros. I could easily spend more, but am saving up for future refurbishment and travels, and would love to buy more design objects or art for my flat.

    Comparing what I give to charity (MSF and suchlike) with what I spend on perfume helps me to control the urge to buy very tempting sample sets and to space the sample orders. I want my hobby to be guilt free and the collection to be manageable.

    Two weeks ago when I went perfume sniffing with a friend, I skipped testing those most expensive Bulgari perfumes (Le Gemme?) and a few others well over 2000 NOK per bottle, In my experience it helps to set an upper limit and not buy bottles over a certain price point. But no rules without exceptions, right?

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  17. I don’t have a perfume budget per se. I am responsible with my spending but perfume has been my main indulgence the past several years. Nutrition, exercise and skin care are my other spends, but they are non-negotiable. I stop perfume shopping when I need to spend more on those necessities. It is that simple!
    My fragrance purchases have slowed down a lot, mostly because my collection is quite large now and I have most of what I want and enough to last my lifetime. Like others, I’m not as wowed by the new releases, which actually is a good thing for my spending. Lately I’ve been more interested in retro perfumes, and thankfully the prices have been more reasonable than niche bottles.

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  18. No budget over here. I have the impulse control of a toddler. But, I have energetic conversations with my conscience.
    Me: I think I’ll buy this perfume.
    Conscience: don’t be ridiculous, you have far too much perfume and you know it.
    Me: but I want it 😫. Badly!
    Conscience: you should buy new winter tires instead
    Me: but that’s so boring
    Conscience: 🙄
    Me: my tires will be fine for another year.
    On the up side I have stopped blind buying. No samples either. Decants are a problem however. They come with far less guilt attached.

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  20. I have a certain amount set aside each month for non-essentials, although recently this has included clothes because we’ve been saving for some other big ticket items. Clothes are border territory for me. On the one hand, of course you need them. On the other, you don’t need as many as I have! So clothes, jewelry if I am in the mood, bags, perfume. There were a few years when I spent most of this budget on perfume except for seasonal transitions when I’d need some wardrobe refreshing. Now I am going much more slowly on the perfume and actually might try to pare back a bit, selling some things to get a few others I like much more. My tastes are settling in; although I still find plenty that I like and would love to have, I also have a core fragrance wardrobe that I find myself returning to again and again. (It’s still large by any normal person’s standards.)

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    • Anything that gets regular use is worth keeping, isn’t it? I wish I was better at getting rid of those bottles which seem forgotten.

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    • Hiya Amy,
      As a lucky recipient of a couple of your discards, thank you. XXX
      Fortunately I have not got the clothes collecting but anymore. Actually, all my collecting has been subsumed by perfume. Everything else I am happy with how much I’ve got.
      Portia xx

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      • I am a recovering shoe addict. Although having said that I realized I have bought at least two pairs this fall. I sent a link to a great pair I couldn’t wear to my best friend who responded that she literally had over 200 pairs of shoes and had to stop. I then sent photos of the perfume in my bedroom. Ha!

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        • I hear you. I just donated two large black trash bags filled with beautiful shoes and I still have too many to fit in my closet. I had about 250 pairs at one point. I should count again now just for fun. The perfume far surpasses the shoes however – no need to count.

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          • Hee hee
            I think I own only five pairs of shoes….sneakers, penny loafers, riding boots, snow boots and sandals…..am not counting the grungy shoes I wear for yardwork.

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  21. I weighed in above but after spending some time organizing today, I have decided to embark on a year long no-buy for 2020. Multiple categories including perfume. I’m going to have to live vicariously through everyone else! So starting in January my budget will be officially $0!

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  22. I am horrible at budget, too. My purchases are mostly determined by monthly earnings and how much is in checking account 🙂 however, I dont have any credit card but dont have savings either..hahahah… however, I do try to buy perfumes at a price (most are blind buys unless I am buying backups) that is easily recoverable in case it turns out a mistake blind buy. Similarly, when I reduce my collection size, I should be able to recover most of the original investment (not taking into account inflation and few other expenses such as storage costs) but overall I am confident I can recoup at least 80-85% of whatever I have spent on my collection if I downsize it. So it’s a waste (perfume is the only addiction I believe I have) but at the same time, I could also view my perfumes as assets though not very liquid since they will sell sooner or later though timeline is hard to predict.

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      • Regarding credit cards, I learned from experience. I used to have lots of them though also out of necessity such as to pay college tuition and such. However, the balance gets quickly out of control over time. So the best defense is not having them in the first place since I do not really have any necessary expenses that cannot be survived without such as college tuition. I can cover rent and other basic expenses as well as perfumes with earnings so I don’t see the need for credit cards anymore.

        However, the downside is not being able to improve your credit score but I think the pros of not having credit card outweighs the cons at this point in my life. Not saying I will never have them again but at least not going to get them unless I believe my life circumstances have changed so much that the pros again significantly outweigh the cons.

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          • Portia, you have a point. I don’t really travel so that may be also why I can afford the luxury to be without credit cards. As you imply, I may need to get credit cards again if my circumstances and/or lifestyle change drastically.

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        • I am considering canceling my cards this spring too, or at least drastically lowering the limit, as I easily get carried away too. I have plenty of credit history by now and if I ever buy another house, it will be with cash, so I’m not overly concerned. Would like to keep just one with a very low limit for convenience and emergencies, but the damn CC companies keep jacking up my limit.

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  23. Simple answer to this one: I don’t. Almost a total impulse buyer these days, as I’m really only looking for vintage stuff in op shops and markets, and that utterly depends on what I find. Then I just ask if it’s worth the money or not.

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  24. The “B” word.. nope. And really I should because I suspect I would have already purchased some higher end wish list items if I did. But no, I gotta go with impulse and that weird trick where you think you haven’t bought anything in weeks !! so you can just go ahead and buy this one. The impulse and the surprise bargain element add excitement.

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  25. I really can’t afford to be buying perfume but that doesn’t stop me. I don’t really spend a lot, but if I see one of my favourites – usually discontinued – I will often go for it. I am, however, a sucker for decants and samples, especially sets. Something whispers to me that I may never get another chance to try it … and off I go. For me, samples and decants are truly a chance to try things I am unlikely to ever have a full bottle of.

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      • Portia, I have ordered the samples from Wik & Co; the new orange blossom sample set from Sylvaine Delacourte; and I am in the process of blind buying a bundle of samples and decants from one of the lovely members of AFN. And planning to order three new samples from Al Manle’s new line. I think I have a problem.

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  26. I limit myself by only purchasing fragrances that I truly love, and hold out until there is a sale and purchase in the smaller volume. These days, I don’t go out much or travel, or have any need for the best clothes with my current job, so I have extra discretionary funds. Also, if I fall out of love with a scent in my collection, I get rid of it asap in order to keep to the established shelf limit. Of course, as creator and arbiter of my rules, they are often broken. 🙂 But I do try!

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  27. Don’t have one but realised a couple of months back that I probably should. I recently broke a self imposed buying ban with a couple of decants I had been chasing forever, and I’m thinking now I might try to not buy anything else until 2020. Sometimes it’s just good to enjoy what you have 🙂

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  28. I don’t have a budget per se, but one way I regulate my perfume spending is that I have a general idea of what I’ve saved each month by savvy shopping for household necessities (groceries, etc.) or by NOT spending on something else, then I try to keep any perfume spending under that range. For instance, I routinely get my hair cut and highlighted at a good salon, but I’ll stretch out visits there by going to a cheap chain for trims in between. Yes, it’s all rationalization, all the time, lol! I also use Amazon reward points to defray the cost of anything I buy there. Like some of Jeffrey Dame’s line!

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