The very beginning of my fragrance journey

Hello to anyone who happens to come across this post. I'm glad you found your way here.

This is my first blog post and I must admit that I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing so forgive me for any possible mistakes I might make. English isn't my first language, so I will be fixing this during the days to come if something ends up bothering me.

I would also like to mention that in this post I will be discussing my personal struggles with mental health problems, although quite lightly, in ways such as that I got into perfumes while being hospitalized and how they have helped me cope and give me joy in daily basis.

I've been thinking about my personal fragrance journey a lot lately. Growing up I was never interested in them or any cosmetics in general, outside of playing with my grandmother's perfumes as a child and later during my teenage rebellion years stealing my father's Calvin Klein deodorant sticks, which at least back in the day were so strong, that my mother had to not only wash all my clothes twice, but leave them outside for overnight. Needless to say I haven't been allowed to bring any Calvin Klein perfumes into her house when I'm visiting ever since.

I had only one perfume on my own, but I didn't pay much attention to it. It was Love Elixir. I struggled with caring for myself in general due to serious mental health problems that had gone undiagnosed for the most part of my life, so such things never even crossed my mind. I can pinpoint the exact moment when something clicked into place. It was a couple of years ago. I had been hospitalized by my own wish and later diagnosed with a dissociative disorder. Of course, it being a hospital environment, keeping everything fragrance free was required, but we had this small box full of different types of candies, trinkets, fidget toys and best of all, essential oils to smell when you need a bit more help with staying grounded. There were options such as lavender and eucalyptus and many more that I'm unfortunately not able to recall. I very soon found out that different fragrances did help keeping me in this time and place mentally, something that I had struggled with my whole life.

I started to gain more interest in soaps as they were quite inexpensive and allowed me to experiment with different types of fragrances without it causing trouble during my stay in the hospital and after I was discharged came scented candles and incense. But I craved for something I wouldn't necessarily need to always carry with me in physical form, something that would last longer on my skin and be more noticeable than soap. Perfumes felt like the most logical option for me.

I might be a bit of a rookie when it comes to perfumes, but my love for them is real. I don't think there's any that I would truly dislike. Every last one is a new experience for me, some more pleasant than others. I also enjoy the artistry of it, the stories they tell, the bottles and the packaging... What is there to not love? I might still struggle from time to time, but I'm doing way better now, not only because of perfumes of course, but they bring me much needed rhythm, control, grounding, routine and comfort in my everyday life.

I'm glad I've found this community, even when I don't interact with all the lovely people here that much, as I'm still getting used to all this. I've been met with such overwhelming amount of shared love and passion for perfumes that I truly feel like this is where I belong.

- Kopernik