What really makes you BUY a perfume?

For me, there have been many reasons.

A nostalgic memory - a scent from long ago - and try to either find it now, or at least come close to it.

A display of noteworthy scents - here on the Home Page "New And Noteworthy" - but not yet.

A display of scents most liked by the Parfumo Community - here on the Home Page "Top Ratings Of The Community". Yes, once, and that was "L'Instant Magic" by Guerlain. Still one of my faves.

An article in The Perfume Magazine about Carlos Huber, and two years later, I sniffed "Anima Dulcis" by Arquiste in the Osswald Perfumery in New York (SoHo), and voila, that was love. A decant from The Perfumed Court followed, this one is full bottle worthy. Expensive, yes, but what good is an arsenal of so-so scents when there is good stuff around, and one just has to find it.

Finding ... also by recommendations of other Parfumo members, in the way of exchanging samples and decants. "This is good" and "That is good".

Sometimes the hunt takes long ... without invading privacy, I will mention a hunt for the beautiful "Coromandel" by Chanel Exclusifs by another member and she finally got it.

When you want it, you will obtain it. There will be no peace of mind until the perfume is added to the collection, and has a favorite spot.

Please tell me the details.

Usually it's a spray from a counter at a department store. But, since I found this site, it's recommendations from you all, then finding samples on the internet.

A lot of times I am influenced by the ads of new and/or popular fragrances in fashion magazines or flyers from Ulta. I go to a store to test and determine if I like it or not. 50% of the time, I do. Then I wait for a voucher (like $10 off, $20 off, etc) or a % off coupon that is applicable to perfume and may buy it.

There was an internet publication The Perfume Magazine. The website is now disabled. But the archives are still there, on Google. Here is the link to the interview with Carlos Huber from Arquiste, published in The Perfume Magazine, on November 1, 2011, by Mark David Boberick.

www.theperfumemagazine.com/NOV2011/carlos-hube r-arquiste-interview.html

At that time, I was just reading, but hearing mentioned favorably the "Anima Dulcis" time and again, I sniffed it in a brick and mortar store.

I haven't got a physical shop/outlet to shop for perfumes, so most of it happens over the Internet. I hunt for samples from eBay, manufacturers' websites and sometimes I get or swap them from/with other perfumistas. I have gotten so many freebies from swapping/purchasing with other perfumistas that I think that has already had an effect on my tastes. Finland is very much a distant province when it comes to perfume advertising, and the perfumes currently advertised here I have sampled long ago.

But what makes me hunt for samples/decants of specific perfumes is more pertinent to the topic and it's a complex process, involving at least one of the following variables:

~Classic~ status, whether it's a world-famous icon such as "Shalimar" (which I still haven't smelled btw! the horror!) or "N°5", or any other perfume often referenced by other perfumistas, reviewers and aficionados.

Other perfumistas. Call it herd mentality or whatever you want, my tastes have recently been most influenced by all of YOU! And I find this entirely positive since I have found out about perfumes and brands I never would have heard of otherwise. Online interactions with other perfume lovers are a hugely important influence on me.

Brand. I am definitely susceptible to brand influence and have tried most of my Chanels because of this. I sought out "Coromandel" for the former reason rather than this, but the brand was still a factor.

Nostalgy. This doesn't happen often with me since most of my childhood and youth was unfragranced, but YR perfumes definitely hit my nostalgia button.

Availability. I often make the choice not to seek out even a sample of perfumes that I couldn't get a full bottle of for a reasonable price without too much difficulty. I have little interest in rarities and vintages because of this, and I do not want to break my heart by finding a glorious perfume that I can never wear with reckless abandon.

As for making the choice to commit to a full bottle, I will do it if after sampling I love the perfume enough to want to wear it and I have the money to spare. I am still new enough to prefer sampling new things to full bottles, but I'm getting there

Instant love. Haunting. Listed notes.

Sometimes with vintage the packaging.

I don't usually blind buy. I have, however bought only two fragrances blind, due to reviews etc. One of them I really liked, the other..well I tolerated, but ended up gifting it to my DIL. I usually always buy my fragrances based on a sample, or by testing at the shop. When I love something so very much, it stays on my mind, and I can't stop thinking about the particular fragrance...it drives me crazy, and I when I make up my mind that I must have it, I will go to great lengths to get it! Thank Goodness this isn't every single fragrance I sample, or else I would be either bankrupt, or worse! What my main problem is, where I live. Not all fragrances that I love are available here, or they cost an arm and a leg! Our taxes are very high here). I do a lot of research on which online shops stock it, what are the shipping costs..taxes duty etc. It took me months to finally obtain my Coromandel, but in the end, I finally got it. I was lucky, as had friends coming here, to where I live, and they graciously brought it over from England for me. Now, I have finally obtained another fragrance that I have wanted for ages, a Tauer fragrance). I don't purchase tons of perfumes, nor do I want every single new thing that comes out. And, if I can't afford it, or if it's impossible for me to get it, then I just move on. What makes me want the perfume? The way the notes harmonize to my nose..the way it sits on my skin..the way I feel, when I wear it. That is the clincher for me. And, I just know, when it will be, true love!

The emotional connection that the scent produces in me, or the emotion that I expect the scent to produce in me, period.

The notes must be ones I like to begin with, but then, the emotions kick in. I must enjoy the ambiance the perfume will deliver for me. And thirdly, the bottle must meet my aesthetic standards.

Last year when I imposed a fixed perfume budget on myself I discovered something worthwhile: I enjoy the hunt as much as the acquisition.

In 2013 I spent about 90% of my budget on one big expensive one, and the rest on one inexpensive one and some samples. I had a good year!

In 2014 I'm sticking to the same budget, and I haven't yet decided how to spend it. I will look around for a while and then wait to see which one(s) become the most compelling and memorable, and then I will pounce!

That sounds like a great plan, Dulce.

My 2014 budget is already blown, on 1/10. I will aspire to use this method in 2015.

I usually start with a sample purchase after I've read something you all have posted - lol. Or, I'll read about a new perfume somewhere and the notes might get me interested.

The anticipation for the samples to arrive makes me joyous!

Then, when I smell something that makes me swoon, I keep testing to be sure I'm still swooning before it goes on my want list. It is definitely an emotional connection. It will evoke a memory usually.

I just purchased something I've been wanting for about 9 months. It was an expensive one, which will make me curtail my hunt for awhile. But, that's okay with me. I'm to the point that I want to get what I really, really want instead of a bunch of stuff I end up just feeling okay about.

I know you know what I mean

I started buying by the name brand. Now, I take the reviewers'comments into account and try samples of the ones that stirred my interest.At Parfumo we are the best advertizers of all times. I really have to love the scent to buy a full bottle.

If I'm being honest...when I was younger and I first began to make money, my passion for fragrances was SO innocent. I had about 3-5 bottles of my favorites and I was wholly content. In my 30s and 40s about 90% of my purchases were sadly "influenced" buys. Between YouTube and Fragrantica I wasted SO much money on scents I didn't even test beforehand....many of them I didn't even like. Hindsight truly is 20/20. Now I don't buy nearly as much or as often. Parfumo allows me to share my passion with other likeminded folks, but it doesn't make me feel anxious or feel FOMO when it comes to fragrances...and I really appreciate that. Also, embracing my own personal taste has helped in this former struggle. I've fully accepted that I don't particularly care for many of the newer fragrances out there. Give me my late 1900s and my early 2000s and I'm GUCCI 💜.

I sample fragrances first. Then, I buy a bottle if its a 9 or 10 out if 10 and occasionally 8 out of 10s. 

My current collection isn’t all 8,9,10 though I mistakenly bought a few while sampling at the store instead of getting a 2-5ml sample at home. 

A few years ago, it was impulsive buying. It wasn`t just retail therapy: in Japan, things and trends move on so quickly, that if you like something, especially a fragrance, it`s better to acquire it as soon as you discover it. I`ve been burned in the past by waiting and thinking things through, then when I decided to buy, that brand had already left Japan. Now, however, I feel like I have too many fragrances, and also a lot more brands have started to ship to Japan after the pandemic, so there's less pressure to buy. If I like a fragrance, if I can't stop thinking about it and I have nothing else like it, if I feel that I will be likely to actually wear it, that it has good enough longevity and projection, then I would buy it. Some fragrances I will buy even if the longevity is short-lived. But I have to really, and I mean REALLY love the scent. Le Chèvrefeuille for example, needs to macerate for at least a year to have some longevity, but I love the honeysuckle in it so much that I always have a bottle on hand.

For me it has been That Fear Of Missing Out for a long time. Though my best buys were those I just 'stumbled upon' (you know: you smell a perfume and you're in love - those are the best. It is like shopping for clothes, when shopping with a certain image of what you want, you never succeed, but when you stumble upon something great, it's a succes).

I've often been tempted to blind buy because of reviews giving me that precise image of a scent I felt like that would be what I'd love, but I now know I really have to smell it myself.

I now too am more reluctant to buy perfumes, sample more and I promised myself I have to be able to relate to a perfume. I can't say anything about notes or scentprofiles...I just have to be mesmerized by a scent, be able to relate to it and then I'll buy.

Nice topic here that got pulled from the death

I watch a lot of videos and read a lot of reviews so I’m tempted every time to blind buy stuff…. But I won’t! My new rule is this: blind buy only when it’s below €30 but for the remaining, I have to have a decant first. And when I’m really really sad when it’s done I’m CONSIDERING buying.

I did that with "Naxos | XerJoff" , Terre d'Hermès Eau de Toilette and my newest one Versace pour Homme Dylan Blue Eau de Toilette .

I feel these are coming up next: Straight to Heaven, White Cristal Perfume and Iris Malikhân . Those decants are close to being finished and I’m sad already hee hee.

Sometimes I find a good deal on a perfume from a perfume house that I've been eyeing but haven't sampled yet and so I buy a full bottle. That's what I did with a recent favorite Over the Chocolate Shop but overall I usually sample perfumes and then if I'm really moved by them after multiple days of testing them, I'll go ahead and buy a bottle.

I also like to buy perfumes that are newly released and sound like I'll enjoy them. Usually I'm right. My newest purchase is The Mad Hatter . I have yet to smell it but I love collecting things related to Alice in Wonderland and the notes sound like something I would enjoy.

I might notice one because I see it online, and I might be interested in it because of its name, idea, note pyramid, pretty bottle, or my previous experience with the brand. But those things just make me sample. I don't buy a full bottle unless I love the sample.

I'll say, an extension to our personality. In addition to our combination of characteristics and qualities, smelling pleasant is essential.
 But the emotion that pulls the trigger to buy them, is more a nostalgic feeling.