How many is too many?

So the idea of this thread comes from this video I watched a couple weeks back and it really got me thinking.

At what point to you think a collection has to many fragrances? At what point do you think a collection becomes an addiction?

I know on here this will be a controversial question, I am asking this on a fragrance website haha, but keep in mind I am a user here too and I have my own little collection.

Even some peoples idea on what constitutes a collection is different, I've seen people that consider 5 a collection, that consider 10 a collection, that consider 20 a collection and so on and so fourth.

Personally right now I own 2 niche fragrances, 9 designer and 1 clone for a total of 12, I also have a handful of samples. I would consider my assortment of fragrances a collection, sometimes on here I feel it's a small collection 😅. At the present moment I am not buying fragrances, not as in I don't plan to buy more but rather at the moment there's nothing peaking my interest and I am happy with what I have, I just don't feel the need to buy more right now!

I like having a smaller collection, even at 12 fragrances I sometimes find myself not sure what to wear, with my collection I've gone for scents I love, excluding only 2 scents I own, I'd buy everything again (1 was free, the other one I go through weird phases of loving it and phases of it sitting on my shelf), so most of the time depending on weather I have at least 4-5 colognes I could pick from and loving all of them sometimes has me staring at my shelf for 10 minutes 😆.

I have got basically all events covered, Hot days and nights I have Le Beau Paradise Garden , Club de Nuit Intense Man Eau de Toilette , Paco Rabanne pour Homme Eau de Toilette , "40 Knots | XerJoff" , on cold days and nights I have "400 | XerJoff" , Emporio Armani - Stronger with You Intensely , Wanted by Night , The One for Men Eau de Toilette . For going to sleep (Yeah I wear scents to sleep haha) I have Amber pour Homme Eau de Toilette , Versace pour Homme Eau de Toilette and for special events I have either "40 Knots | XerJoff" or "400 | XerJoff" (One's for cool the other for hot) (2 are excluded from this haha)

Personally I can see myself buying more scents (Maybe 10 - 18 more), I think right now anything more than 30 would be crazy to me, it'd be to hard to decide what to wear especially considering I'd buy the other 18 carefully and probably love all of them. I don't think I even want 100 scents I love 😆, that'd be a headache every morning. I love fragrances as much as the next person, I wear them everyday even to bed but I think carefully buying 100 would be a nightmare, to come up with 88 more fragrances and love each and everyone.

For me I don't want to buy scents and wear them once and never again or wear them rarely, every bottle I have has a dent in it other than my "400 | XerJoff" and that's just because I brought it in summer, whilst it's still currently summer here in Australia so I've worn it on rainy days but that's it. I want everyone of my scents to be used. I want to be able to appreciate every scent I have and for me personally I think if I had too many scents than I wouldn't be able to truly appreciate the ones I really love.

I know there's benefits to a large collection and personally I do believe you can create a large collection without being addicted, this isn't me saying all of you guys with the 100+ bottle collections are addicted 😆, I know you can have such a large collection just for the love of scents and use them and like them over the years. Some people might be genuinely into perfumery and be purchasing them for research, review, comparisons, some people may be creating reviews and videos and all kinds of things! I am not against large collections!

So my questions to you are, 1. At what point do you feel would be to many fragrances for you? 2. Did you once have the same outlook as me and had your mind changed? and if so what changed your mind?. 3. At what point do you think it's an addiction and not just a collection? Personally I see a collection becoming an addiction when someone isn't buying scents because they genuinely like them, but instead to get the rush of a new fragrance and buying more and more to chase that rush or buying scents to impress other people even when they don't like the scents all that much themselves.

I think it would be good to hear the thoughts and opinions of other people on this topic! Especially here where there is a large range of fragrance lovers, some people that only have 2 or 3 fragrances, some people like me with 10-15, others with 30, others with 50, others with 100 and others with more!

I compare it to music. I don't want to listen to the same album every day. I don't even want to listen to the same 10, or 50. If I have 200, or 500, or 1000 albums in my record collection, is that excessive? Not if I'm a music lover and I'm not spending beyond my means. Why is it different with perfumes?

To answer your questions:

1. I don't think there is a limit, though I try to limit my purchases each year (I say in the beginning of the year I'm only going to buy 4 or 5 but it ends up being 9 or 10)
2. My mind hasn't changed about total number of fragrances in my collection, although for purchasing, my motto is now quality over quantity. I used to buy a lot of cheap fragrances without trying them first. I now (almost) always try first, and buy 1 $300 fragrance instead of 6 $50 fragrances. I've ended up selling a lot of my early impulse buy cheapies.
3. At the point where your spending is affecting other things in your life, even minor things.

First of all I’d like to say I really appreciate these kinds of posts. Ever since I got past my first three bottles (which isn’t even that long ago) it’s a thing going through my mind. I even keep a diary for myself…

Looking at someone else’s collection I can get pretty envious. You have a great collection if I may say so. I’m like.. yeah you see? I do need that The One for Men Eau de Parfum too.

As for your questions:

1 When do I feel it’s enough? That’s hard to tell. I now have like 15 bottles or so? On the one hand I think 10 more would be madness. On the other hand I can name 10 or 20 fragrances I would really love to have! From cheap to expensive.

2 At the year’s end I created a list of rules I won’t bother you with right now, but I can tell you that I’ve already disobeyed my first rule: don’t buy anything in January.

3 You’re spot on with that one: when does it stop being a purchase purely for your own enjoyment? With each purchase I have to really think twice about do I genuinely need it? Do I genuinely like it?

Again, you have a great collection of which many people would be jealous. So enjoy your hobby, keep it real. Thanks for the post.

What @Omnipotato said.  Experiencing better fragrances makes me realize some of the cheapies I bought were a waste and I'll never wear them again. I had set a dollar limit - no blind buy over ~ $30 - $50 but not doing anymore blind buying. One resolution I have for 2025 is to declutter a lot of the lesser quality scents I have and focus on testing and only buying quality that I like.

Also, a larger collection requires some sort of organization and rotation to go through them all. There are people who collect for completeness (that is, buying every fragrance from a specific house). That's OK, but not what I'm trying to do - find the ones I like and wear them.

I have 40 bottles and it is way too much. Many were blind buys from 'Fear Of Missing Out'. Only one blind buy, which is Givenchy III (2007), was a succes. I'm keeping only 12 to 15 bottles of my 'collection' (the ones that are on my 'I love' shelve and some of which I'm not sure) and the rest will go to a second hand shop.

But even with the perfumes I want to keep, it sometimes is hard for me to choose.

Lately I only sample/test before I buy. I've noticed that I only want to wear what I really LOVE and not just what I like.

I fully see your point here! This is where I think my mind could change about this, 30 fragrances for me right now sounds like a lot in comparison to what I have but I could see a point of getting to having 30 fragrances, where I have used them many times and even whilst loving what I have, finding more fragrances I love and would also want to wear and enjoy, especially over time. Personally I don't think there's a number where it becomes excessive at all and it's a more personal thing rather than a set amount that's too much, if you genuinely do love the fragrances you are buying and can afford them then I don't see any problem with it!

I have taken on the same approach with purchasing, I've tried to stay away from clones for this reason, I'd rather buy one expensive fragrance I absolutely love than 5 or 6 cheapies that I think are okay and I have recently been sampling everything I am even considering buying, I almost learnt that lesson the hard way after I was all set to buy Carlisle , at the last moment decided to sample it instead and didn't like it, that would have been a pretty expensive mistake.

Thank you so much! and likewise, you have a great collection yourself! I'm in the same boat as you, there's a part of me that feels 10 more would be a crazy amount more, it would almost double my collection but I could list 10 fragrances right now that I know I like and would wear often and I think even after adding 10 more, there would be a point where I'd get used to having 22 and still want to find more fragrances to add that I'd love, that's what has me going back and fourth on this question. Having a large collection (In my opinion a large collection is around 50+) would be amazing, being able to change it up anytime and having so many different scents that are amazing but there's also that thought of how would I get anything done trying to choose between so many scents each day! I guess in a way when you have a smaller collection adding something like 10 or 20 can double you collection so it's a big change but once you get to having something like 40, 10 more is a lot less crazier.

I do have rules with buying fragrances too but not purchasing anything in January didn't make it this year 😆, I had already wanted "400 | XerJoff" since I tested it last year and sat on it and ended up buying "40 Knots | XerJoff" instead of it, I had wanted both and since it's summer here I figured I'd get more use out of "40 Knots | XerJoff" so I'd just buy 400 when winter came around, well that plan fell through one early January morning when I was "just looking" at some of the fragrances from the JTC collection, I noticed that the store I was looking at had a discount code and the "well I am going to buy it anyways" thought came to mind and 4 days later I put "400 | XerJoff" on my shelf 😆. Most of the time I am pretty good with not just pulling the trigger on something just because, I rarely purchase more than 1 fragrance a month and often go months without buying anything!

I am the same way as you, I think really hard before purchasing anything, a lot of the scents in my collection I thought about for weeks or even months before I got them and I try my hardest to not purchase things just because other people like them or because someone else says something is a must have and to only buy the scents I genuinely want and like.

I hear you on the only wanting to wear what you love not just like! At the moment I have 2 scents that I like, I don't hate them or even dislike them but I only just like them, not love them and every time I am picking out something to wear, they get skipped right over because there's scents there that I really do love not just like and if I am going to smell like something all day, I want it to be something I love not just like.

The fear of missing out is something I think we all face in one way or another, I have a large collection of Xbox hardware, I used to be involved with some of the people in the hardware modding scene back quite some years ago and back when I was collecting them I'd buy certain things for my collection not because I really wanted them or knew I'd really like them but because the things I was adding to my collection where prototypes and other such things that just never come up for sale but then I'd get them and feel like "why did I even buy this" and sell it not long after. It's something I've tried very hard to control with buying fragrances, not just buying into all the hype or getting something because it's trending and actually getting the things I know I like and want. I narrowly avoided learning the hard way when I was very close to blind buying Carlisle , at the last moment I decided to sample it instead and than didn't like it at all, here in Australia that would have been a $500 mistake, I really took that as my sign to never blind buy anything again! 😄

Recently I've been testing a lot of niche fragrances and I can say they've definitely changed my mind purchasing fragrances going forwards, there was a handful of cheapies and even "mid range" designer fragrances I'd tested in store or from friends collections that before hand I wanted to buy but after trying better fragrances I've realized, 1 quality fragrance I absolutely love is worth spending the money on rather than a bunch of cheapies that while I do like, are probably going to be outshined by better scents and aren't going to be worn all that much. I'm going the quality over quantity route with fragrances for sure!  

If they're bottles that you love and can justify owning and also actually wear them there really is no limit in my mind.

Realistically I think that 40-50 really good quality scents is a good collection. That's kind of like 10+ fragrances per season with some overlap and then you could rotate depending on your mood. And honestly, in some ways that doesn't even sound like enough. 10 for a whole season sounds like it could get repetitive. But as long as they're good and versatile then it could work. Maybe 100 is more like it hahahah

I'm in the same boat. I have a handful of "not bad but not great" bottles. I'm don't blind buy anymore. I'm looking at Gris Charnel Eau de Parfum and knowing that Liam is supposedly a good clone I'm thinking it might be ok for how cheap it is but I know that I won't be satisfied. My nose just notices the quality more easily now.

Yeah, 10 scents per week per season is better.  hahaha

I love this!

Hi @XTA , nice to know I'm not the only one ! My 'Fear Of Missing Out' is actually driven by the thought I may not know what I'd even love more than what I already own and love. I find myself like a spoiled kid sometimes. Why not just being satisfied with the few perfumes I love? And how far will it go? But I'm getting better at it . 

What also triggers the longing for new scents is being able to review them and talk about them, it is so much fun here But sampling will do for that luckily. 

Thanks @KenyettaC

I agree, I don't think there's a limit to what someone should or can own as long as they actually love them and wear them! I think it's a personal decision, some people may think 50 is crazy, the next person may think 50 is to little. 

I guess it's one of those things were, when you have a smaller collection 50 sounds like an insane amount of fragrances because it's double or triple or quadruple your collection but the closer you get to having something like 50 it's not as crazy as it once seemed. I have run across my 4 or 5 per season becoming repetitive at some points, so I hear you on that. 10 per season gives you enough for a new scent everyday of the week with overlap, which sounds amazing, I think in some ways that could help you appreciate the scents you love move so thinking about it, your comment may have upped my idea of a really good amount from 30 to 40 or 50 😆. 

Couldn't agree more!

So yeah, I think it's too much if people just keep buying more and more out of the enjoyment of only buying and getting more but don't really enjoy the ones they already have. My personal collection consists of about 1,000 bottles collected during 30+ years. I rotate my collection a lot and love and wear every single thing I have, I have a personal attachment to the smells and they evoke lots of precious memories. If I would lose my whole collection, I would buy everything again (and yes, I do have an insurance for my collection 😄) because I crave each one of my fragrances every so often. I also need a very large rotation because I get nose blindness quite easily if I'm wearing same fragrances too often, and I really want to smell my perfumes properly. So for me 1,000 is definitely not too much, however I can totally understand that for someone else even 10 bottles could be too overwhelming, and I also absolutely admire people who are able to wear only one fragrance all the time and everybody's recognizing them from the specific smell.

If you're sorta getting overwhelmed when testing, one thing I do is consider what I have against the one I'm testing. The vast majority of fragrances can be classified into specific types. Of course, within a specific type, there can be vast differences. But if you are testing perfume X that's in type aquatic, for example, and you like it, ask yourself, "If I'm in the mood for an aquatic fragrance, will I actually pick X to wear or would I rather pick A, B, C or D which I already have in the category and like better?" 

I've often found that I will like a fragrance I'm testing, but upon additional thought, realize I don't like it that much compared to ones I already own. Let's face it, perfume companies are in the business to make nice smelling liquid that will appeal to many people (except for some obvious stinkers which are unique). So when you test something, there's a very good chance you will like it as well. But do you like it that much, that you would prefer it over some of your really strong likes already in your collection?

I think too many if it feels overwhelming, you’re in debt from buying fragrances, you can’t possibly wear each one at least once in a year (if that bothers you.) 

1. Currently I have around 50 bottles, and I already think that I have too many, since most of them haven't been used at all.

2. Honestly, my view changed after I started earning a bit more and discovered niche brands. My view to the designer brands are not the same anymore xD.

3. When you can't stop yourself checking for new releases, prices and having addiction to buy a perfume at a good price, no matter if you need it or not.