First, the winner of
last week's giveaway: NELLE 25
To claim your winnings, please send an e-mail to
olympicorchids at gmail dot com with your full shipping address.
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My laptop died last week, and I've lost at least four days getting a replacement, setting it up, and figuring out how the new versions of everything operate. In the meantime, as spring arrives, I've been thinking about a lot of things, including what to do with all of my perfume samples.
It's funny how often events seem to coincide. I had slowly gotten
to the point where I couldn't file away any more perfume samples in my
"mini-osmotheque" library because the sheer number had become
overwhelming, so many of them had evaporated, leaked, congealed, or otherwise
gone bad, all of my file boxes were full to bursting and, most importantly, 90% of the samples I've collected are
ones that I would not even want to revisit, let along take the time, trouble, and skin space to actually wear. My
dilemma was what to do about the glut of sample vials.
A few months ago I gave up on filing and started dumping samples
in a big box after I had tested them. I had also started keeping out the samples
that I liked, and wearing them. The first one that I used up was DSH Albino, which
performs well in public in that it is pleasant to me, but keeps a low enough profile
so as not to bother other people.
My final strategy is going to be to have
three boxes - the first will be the old set of file boxes, which will be strictly for useful
references (i.e., vintage classics, especially noteworthy perfumes that are
hard to find, etc, all stored in secure vials). The second box will be samples
I want to wear and use up, and the
third will be a box of samples to give away. The giveaway box will be by far
the largest. I will be offering interested readers samples in 100 g lots for as
long as I have samples to give away. The selection will be totally random.
Synchronicity comes into play because today I read a post onAPJ expressing the need to use samples rather than file them away, and recounting the writer's experience of finding that samples had leaked away, evaporated
or were discontinued. That resonated completely with my intention to stop
hoarding samples that I really don't want. For most, my notes are enough. Too
many perfumes, so little time to enjoy them all!
If you would like to receive a pack of random samples measured out by weight,
please leave a comment about how you deal with perfume samples. Do you save
them, use them, pass them on, or do something else with them? Because international shipping is so expensive (not my choice!), this offer is for USA only. I haven't decided yet how I will choose the recipients of the samples, but your chances of getting a portion are very good!
[Cyclamen and jumbled samples photos are mine; library photo is from Wikimedia]
I have a strange habit after a first try to mix two or more samples that i abstractly feel they have something in common. Sometimes also I mix them with a perfume that I appreciate very much to slightly modify it and thus offer to myself a kind of variation on the same theme.
ReplyDeleteOh wow, thank you so much!
ReplyDeleteJust commenting, not entering cause I won last week. But I keep the samples I like and giveaway others to family, friends and co workers! You could also but some in a little sachet and add them to birthday or holiday gifts to people you know that love fragrances.
ReplyDeleteNelle, I included pack of these samples with your other stuff! Please pass on what you don't want.
DeleteI've also mixed samples that I find have a particular affinity for one another. Some of my experiments are successful, others not so much. If I have a particularly strong scent, especially oil based ones, I sometimes dilute with perfumers alcohol and decant into a 10ml spray bottle to make a travel size.
ReplyDeleteI tend to keep anything I don't really dislike neatly filed and catalogued for future reference. Occasionally, I will do a clean-out and gift loads of them to two of my cousins who appreciate them. I've slowed down on the sample purchases lately, but my list of things I want to try but can't get locally keeps growing and I feel a purchase looming.
ReplyDeleteMy workplace encourages volunteerism and co-sponsors a local women's shelter. We contribute by donating gift bags filled with necessities like soap, toothbrush/paste, deodorant etc. A few of us have pooled cosmetic/fragrance samples we've gotten from department stores, Sephora/Ulta orders, subscription boxes, etc to add to the bags as little "luxuries" for the recipients. They are always appreciated.
ReplyDeleteThanks to all of you for your comments. I don't intentionally mix samples because my approach is more evaluation than "wearing" for its own sake. I've always tried to keep the samples neatly filed and catalogued, but the sheer number of them has gotten out of hand, and I find so much redundancy that I wonder what the point is. I love Triniti's approach of giving samples to women's shelters (or why not men's, too?) but given the typical bureaucratic approach, will they accept anything "used"?
ReplyDeleteI keep and use samples- some I hoard for a long time and only break them out for special occasions, because I love them so much but cannot afford a bottle.
ReplyDeleteThe ones I don't really care for (or make me gag)I take to my scent organ and try to turn it into something I like. At first I was terribly unsuccessful, but I learned a lot from it and only ended up with a couple I ended up dumping.
Laurie, If I tried to "rescue" every sample that I don't like, I would do nothing else! Kudos to you for making it work!
DeleteI like to put oil based samples into my wax warmer with old wax that has lost its scent. It's a quick way to use up the samples and still be able to enjoy the fragrance. Everything else gets regularly sorted into one of two boxes: love - which includes samples I want to use up/buy a bigger size of, and destash - samples I just don't care for or know I won't wear. I usually end up sending destash samples to online friends :)
ReplyDeleteTerena, It sounds like your sorting procedure is similar to mine.
DeleteI love sampling new (to me) perfumes! Somehow I manage to use them all up, but at the neglect of my full bottles. If something just doesn't work for me, I will pass it on to a friend or a family member who is interested.
ReplyDeleteCrystesMom, I think I only have two or three samples that I've actually used up. I'm going to try harder to do that with ones I love.
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