Practical Perfume Procurement Pointers

Earlier this week, blogging buddy Weirsdo, asked me a question about perfume, specifically, how do you clear your nose when you’re trying perfumes. Well, I sent her an answer with some other useful tidbits on purchasing perfume. I don’t usually inflict my perfume passion on the innocent readers who swing by this blog but I thought maybe these pointers will save someone some money. Goodness knows, I’ve spent enough time and money on perfume purchasing. I figure I’m a fully qualified expert!

Weirsdo asked how you clear your nose when you’re trying perfumes.

…..its common to sniff coffee beans. The best way I’ve heard to clear the nose is to sniff through a wool fabric. A lot of ladies will just sniff through their sleeve.  I’ve found that nothing really helps that much.  When my nose is fried, its fried.
Usually my nose gets desensitized after sniffing about 5 different perfumes. I can still tell the overall class and usually some top and base notes but the nose just loses sensitivity. There are receptors in the back of your nose where odour molecules are trapped. When a lot of the receptors are taken up with molecules, your ability to discern the differences goes down. So, for this reason, its best not to go cruising through a perfume department, sniffing like a maniac, then pick something to buy. Its best to check out a few scents then, if you can’t get a sample to take home, come back when you have clean skin and try it on your skin ( and leave the area ) so you can really smell it. Wait long enough for the fragrance to lose its top and mid notes and get down to the base notes. Lots of people will buy a scent based on what they smell in the first five minutes and that’s a mistake. The top notes are often quite different from what remains after half an hour to an hour.

One of the great things about perfume swapping is that you get to try lots and lots of different samples, at your leisure. Since I began swapping a few years ago I’ve tried close to a thousand different scents, many boutique or foreign scents that I’d never be able to get in a store in Edmonton. That has been a lot of fun.

At one point I had a backlog of about 200 samples in my ‘in basket’. To test those scents I used a technique I first heard about from a perfumista on the fragrance board. You cut up a bunch of pieces of paper into strips, label them, dip them in each sample, and lay them out on a cookie sheet. Sniff each one immediately and at different intervals and write down the notes you pick up or impressions you have. If you like a scent after its gone through the dry down, then try it on your clean skin, preferably when your nose its clear (definitely NOT after you’ve been sniffing at 20 or 30 strips for an evening).

If you like a sample you should try it on a couple of different days before you even think of buying a bottle.

If you do buy a bottle of perfume either for yourself or someone else, after just smelling it in the store, insist on having a sample to take home. Before opening the bottle, try the sample on clean skin when your nose is clear. You’d be amazed at how much money this can save you. If you decide you’re not crazy about the sample, then take the bottle back. Not many places will let you return an open bottle but they won’t balk at an unopened one. A lot of perfume cost at least $100-$200 per bottle…you don’t want to throw that kind of money away!

I’ve swapped for a lot of perfume decants after trying a sample of something I like. Often after going through a decant 5-10 mL, I’ve found something I don’t like about the scent. If I still love it, then I’ll buy it. This probably sounds excessively picky but the last thing I need is a bottle of perfume in my closet that I’m not going to wear.

Below is a picture of a mousepad that one of my perfumista pals had made for me last year as a gift at Halloween. It has my name on it and my favorite perfumes that I wear all the time. Yup, I’m a lucky gal

These are the faves I’m wearing these days.

Shipwreck! *updated* and *updated* one more time!

Claude Joseph Vernet, The Shipwreck, 1772, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Patrons’ Permanent Fund and Chester Dale Fund 2000.22.1

Isn’t that a gorgeous painting??

I have this ’stormy sea’ thing going on in my life right now so won’t be posting for a bit. Don’t worry,a good storm is very invigorating.

*Update* Some of you know that my daughter has been ill, off and on, for some time.  The lung doc has never been completely sure its just asthma.  This week she was being tested for Cystic fibrosis because the doc thinks she has far too many incidents of pneumonia in the last two years and she wanted to rule out CF as a possible cause.   Happily, the results came in yesterday and does not have that disease.  On another happy note, since the mycoplasma pneumonia was discovered and treated in June/July, she is much improved and, in fact, has suddenly grown a whole bunch and none of her pants fit her anymore!  You see, the sun really is breaking through the storm clouds

 

September 19th update: I am  a guest blogger at Courting Destiny today.  If you want to read about my perfume shopping trip to NYC last year, by all means, drop in!

Book Meme

 I haven’t been tagged with a Meme for ages but recently my Welsh blogging buddy Tickersoid tagged me with this book meme.

1. One book you have read more than once.

I haven’t read  most of my fiction more than once except for the tales of Narnia.  Some of my self help and dog training books have become a bit dog eared through re-reading and reference.   My copy of Covey’s ‘Seven Habits of Highly Effective People’ is one I refer to when I’m in need of a ‘tune up’. 

2. One book you would want on a desert island.

*whines*  Can’t I have my computer on a desert island?  I have a hard time thinking of just one book.  This is tough.  If you could count the Lord of the Rings trilogy as one book, I’d take that. I’ve been meaning to re-read it.

(Actually, now that I’ve really thought about these questions, I’d probably bring the book I mention in #9).

3. One book that made you laugh.

A lot of books have made me laugh.  I have one vivid memory of reading a book when I was a teenager and I was laughing so much that my brother came to my room to investigate. Maybe he thought I’d gone off the deep end.  The book was  “The Summer of ‘42″ . I should re-read it to see if I still find it so funny!

4. One book that made you cry.

Oh man, lots of books have made me cry. Almost any story that portrays injustice certainly makes me cry.  Just recently the kids were watching ‘Black Beauty’ and I remembered reading that book when I was younger. I cried for days. When they were watching the movie a while ago, I couldn’t sit with them.   The way that humankind treats animalkind is one sensitive area for me.

5.  One book I wish I had written.

I honestly have never had the desire to write a book. I don’t recall ever finishing a book and thinking ‘I wish I had written that’.

6.  One book you wish had never been written.

Again, I can’t think of one.  I haven’t purposely read any hateful literature.  Sometimes I don’t like the content of a book or completey disagree with what is in between the covers, but I don’t think ‘that should never have been written’.  Censorship is another sensitive area for me.  I think people should read widely on any and all topics and make decisions/judgements about the value based on their ethics and morals.  I get really mad when I see the books that some people want banned from schools because they might have a bit of foul language or sexual content, even if the message is outstanding.

7.  One book I am currently reading.

I never seem to have just one book on the go. Now I’m reading The Lincoln Lawyer, by Michael Connolly, and Memories of God, by Roberta Bondi.

8.  One book I have meant to read.

A Million Little Pieces, by James Frey. A girlfriend lent it to me last winter and  I’ve started it a couple of times but not finished.

9.   One book that changed your life.

Another tough question.  A lot of books have touched me. Did one change my life?  Maybe one.

I can think of one book that made me truly understand about choice, and the fact that, no matter what, you have a choice and, ultimately, control over your thoughts and feelings. That book is “Man’s Search for Meaning”, by Victor Frankl.  Its a book I’d recommend to everyone.  Here is a synopsis/review that might tweak your interest.

10. Tagging:

I’m tempted to NOT tag anyone because I won’t have time to check up on blogs for a few days. However, there are a few blogging friends who I’d like to hear the answers for these questions from.  (What a bad sentence that was!! See why I don’t want to write a book?) 

Some of you may have done this but I’m tagging Logo, Mireille, Monika, G, and Puppytoes.  I’d like to tag Doug too but I don’t know if you’ll do a meme! Pretty please? If anyone else who reads this want to answer the questions on their blog…by all means do it. Let me know and I’ll pop by to read it.

 

In other news,  I won’t be around to visit my regular blogs as much as usual but please don’t think I’ve forgotten about you.   Things are really hectic in both my home and work lives.   The next couple of months are going to be very trying. This announcement made last week, will have a huge impact on me, my coworkers,  and even my community. 

 

p.s.  Dog Tales are finally finished!