WINTER FLOWERS DRAWING WINNER, REDUNDANT PERFUME

The drawing has been done, and the winner of the winter flowers drawing is: 

LEAH

If you’re the winner, please contact me by e-mail at olympicorchids at gmail dot com or PM on Facebook with your full name and shipping address. 

This past week we’ve had nothing but beautiful blue skies and sunshine during the day, but the down side is that it’s been horribly cold at night, in the 20s F (below 0 C), well below freezing. We still have snow on the ground in shaded areas, and the typical ugly piles of snow and sand on the sides of the roads and in the parking lots. This is completely abnormal for March, and all the plants are about a month behind schedule. We are still cleaning up broken branches and beaten-down bamboo canes from the heavy snow. I hope things will warm up as we get into what should be spring. 

As should be obvious from the giveaways, I always have a huge number of perfume samples on hand. I view sampling other companies’ perfumes as part of my continuing education as a perfumer, partly to learn what is possible, and partly to avoid duplicating what’s already available. I don’t know about you, but the more I sample, the more everything seems the same. These days it is rare that I experience that beautiful flash of discovery when something really new and surprising comes along. It’s all déjà vu (or rather déjà senti) I think part of the problem is that a huge number of new perfumes are released every year in a futile attempt to keep brands in the public eye, and this number seems to increase almost exponentially every year. It’s easier just to recycle the standard scents and try to push them on the public through advertising and gimmicks than it is to be innovative in terms of the perfumes themselves. It’s actually depressing to think of how superficial all of the marketing is and what a glut of products are sloshing around.  

This week there’s another giveaway of 100 g of samples plus whatever goodies I have sitting around that will fit in the box. Just leave a comment about your experiences with perfume sampling. Do they all start to smell the same after you’ve sampled a lot? 

[Pics are mine, all types of flowers that are blooming now, but should have bloomed a month ago.] 

WINNER OF THE SNOWSTORM DRAWING + NEW SPRING FLOWERS THROUGH THE SNOW DRAWING

The winner of the snowstorm drawing is MIM.

Because the last prize was not claimed, you will win double the samples (200 g) plus some extra bonuses that depend on your shipping address. Please contact me with your full name and shipping address. You can e-mail olympicorchids at gmail dot com or leave a message on the Olympic Orchids Facebook page. 

After two weeks the snow is finally melting, and there are now patches of bare ground. They look so pretty after the solid white! I’m continually seeing new surprises from under the snow. Who would have thought that cyclamen flowers could stand having the weight of two feet of snow on top of them, let alone the cold temperatures? Yesterday, for the first time, I saw the cyclamen flowers that had been blooming before the snow started, slowly uncovered, apparently with no ill effects. Similarly, the crocuses, daffodils, and tulips that have been uncovered seem not to have minded the snow too much. The hellebores, which were in full bloom, got beaten down a little, but the bent stems make nice cut flowers for inside the house.

A week before the show we planted a sarcococca bush, seduced by the strong fragrance of the little flowers. It was completely buried in snow, with not a leaf showing, and I was worried about it. However, now that its covering has melted away, it looks perfectly healthy. The jasmine we planted last year didn't fare so well. It was completely covered, too, and now the leaves look brown. However, the leaves near the base are still green, so maybe there’s hope. Spring will reveal what’s left of it, if anything. 

We’ll have a new drawing for 100 g of samples, so leave a comment saying what surprises you have found when snow melted, or when other natural events changed the landscape. The winner of the new drawing will be announced in about a week.

[Photos are mine from this week]

WINNER OF THE FIRST OCTOBER DRAWING

When I don’t post the drawing on Facebook, not many people enter, but that’s OK. 

The winner of the first October drawing is TRINITI. 

Just e-mail me at olympicorchids at gmail dot com with your current correct address to claim your winnings. 

It looks like the majority of people who commented want to hear about how I get inspiration or ideas for perfumes, so I’ll write about that later this week. Other topics were materials, so I’ll continue that series, and the effect of weather (or more broadly, context) on perfume perception. All of those topics are coming up soon! Thanks to those who commented with suggestions that will help keep me from writing about sociology and politics. 

[Photo is our woods, taken a little later in the season last year, but representative of our autumn  foggy mornings and sunny afternoons]

WINNER OF THE LAST GIVEAWAY: BELATED ANNOUNCEMENT

My spring break from the university has officially started. I may not really have more time, but at least it's a prompt to finally do the last random drawing and announce the winner. And with no further fanfare, the winner is:

TARENA

To claim your winnings, just send an e-mail with your full name and shipping address to olympicorchids at gmail dot com or leave a PM on the Olympic Orchids Facebook page.

Another Monday giveaway will be coming tomorrow, so check it out.

[Decorative photo shows an orchid species, Dendrobium lawesii. My plant, my photo] 

FINALLY A WINNER!

I've been negligent about keeping up with the random drawings, but finally got around to doing it today. The previous batch of samples was unclaimed, so the winner gets a double portion plus some carded samples.

This Monday's winner is NELLE 25.

To claim your big jackpot, just send me an e-mail at olympicorchids at gmail dot com or PM me on the Olympic Orchids Facebook page.

Look for a new drawing next Monday.

MONDAY MADNESS: CARDED SAMPLES AND WINNER OF LAST WEEK’S DRAWING

The winner of last week’s drawing is: JAMES WEAVER

To claim your winnings, please e-mail olympicorchids at gmail dot com or leave a PM on our Facebook page.

Today is another opportunity to continue the clearing of my stashes of samples. A lot of them are loose, so they don’t take up much room, at least not individually. However, a lot of them are also on cards of various types. Most of the cards are the classic “book”- type, with the sample hooked over holes or inserted between folded cardboard protrusions along the spine of the “book”. Others are just a card with a hole punched in it so that the sample often falls out. That’s OK if the vial is labeled, but not good if it isn’t. A few are in their own little organza bags with the name on a big card tied with a ribbon around the top of the bag. These vials usually aren’t labeled. As a consumer of samples, my plea would be, “please label the vial itself”.

This week’s giveaway will be a mix of 100 g of “normal” samples and a handful of carded samples. To enter the drawing, all you have to do is leave a comment about your opinion of carded samples.

[photo is from a vendor's pic that showed up in a basic Google search]

WINNER OF BAD BIRDS DRAWING, VACATION AND DOUBLE TAXATION

First things first. The winner of the Bad Birds drawing is YUKI.

Please contact me with your complete shipping address at olympicorchids at gmail dot com or by PM on Facebook. 

The announcement of the latest random drawing winner was delayed due to my old car breaking down beyond repair and the scramble to find a replacement before I have to start commuting to the university again. One of these days, in the far distant future, we are supposed to have functional public transportation where we live (assuming all goes well), but for now I have to drive.

The outcome of the process was a nice “new” car, but the search for one and the bureaucratic paperwork associated with the sale took a lot of time. The whole transaction brought up a question that I’ve had for a long time. In addition to the cost of the car, the cost of the title transfer and registration paperwork, there was sales tax. I was not the first owner of the car. In fact, there had been two owners before me, each of whom presumably paid sales tax when they purchased it. This means that the state has collected tax on the same item three times.  Somehow the triple-dipping seems illogical, if not unethical. On a smaller scale, our local thrift store also charges sales tax on used items. Taxing of used clothing and household goods seems like the ultimate regressive tax on people who have minimal resources.

Now that the car problem is solved from a practical point of view, we will be taking off soon for a two-week vacation in Aruba. This will be the third year that we have actually taken a real vacation, going somewhere far away from home and spending an extended time without our laptops and phones. That’s not quite true – if I can get wi-fi, I check e-mail on my phone once a day and deal with anything urgent, but that’s it. I’m putting up notices on my websites saying that orders placed before 13 August will not ship right away, and giving a small discount to compensate for the delay, and have already set up my automatic “out of the office” messages to start at the end of the week. Needless to say, I won’t be posting here while I’m gone. 

Nevertheless, I will start a new contest, with the usual goodies – 100 grams of random perfume samples and a few miscellaneous larger fragrant items. To enter, just say what you think about charging sales tax on used items - justified or not?. The winner will be chosen by random drawing.

[Photos taken as is or adapted from Wikimedia] 

WINNER OF TREE ON FIRE DRAWING

To everyone who celebrates US Independence Day, best wishes for a good holiday, and do whatever you can to make sure your pets aren't frightened by the fireworks.

The winner of last week's drawing is:

TRINITI

Please provide your complete shipping address by e-mail (olympicorchids at gmail dot com) or PM on our Facebook page.

If your prize is not claimed by Tuesday, July 11, it will go back into the jackpot.

[gratuitous cat photo is mine]

SYNCHRONICITY, SAMPLES, AND GIVEAWAY WINNER

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]