By March

The first time we did Swapmania I’d wrung my hands for weeks prior, came up with eleventy-jillion rules, and figured maybe nine people would show up and play.  By the end we had more than 1,200 comments, and when we did it again last summer I think we had something like 900 comments.  So: I think we can call it a success.

Today, I, March the Maleficent, decree the start of our Winter/Spring Swapmania, and this post will stay up and will run through Tuesday.  We moved it to a Friday start date in response to requests.  I’m going to do an abbreviated set of instructions below.  If you are new to this and have no idea what I am talking about, and/or you want to see the “full” list of instructions and how it actually worked in comments, click here for a link to the first Swapmania.

Today you are invited to list, in comments, your swap bottles of perfume, partial bottles, minis, decants and samples.

Please include:

• a brief description of each item you’re offering – such as oz/ml size, concentration (EdT, EdP), and any other info you think might be of interest (vintage/partial/used/boxed…)
• the country you live in (so people can take that into consideration for customs and shipping expense)
• whether you are open to receiving NON-PERFUME ITEMS in exchange, or whether you really would prefer only other perfume items.  FWIW people ended up swapping for all sorts of amazing things, including hand-knit scarves and hats, chocolate, tea, etc.
• You can also say if you are looking for a particular bottle of something(s) to swap for –hope springs eternal!
• Go ahead and list your contact info up front if you want to, that seems to be working.  Don’t just type your normal email address in there, though (see #2 below.)

Clear as mud?  Here’s a sample of what a swap listing might look like:  “Hermes Jardin Sur le Nil, 1.6 oz. EDT, half full, boxed.  I live in the US and am open to swaps abroad.  Willing to swap for perfume or other items. email me — jane doe at gmail dot com”

What can people offer to swap in exchange for your perfumes?  Other bottles/partials/minis/samples etc., or things.  When offering for a swap item, please say what country you’re from so they can take that into consideration.

This will work best if everyone keeps an open mind – let us practice and presume honesty, good intentions, and respect.

Someone posted the helpful detail that you can search comments on a PC by hitting CTRL + F (think “find”.)  This makes it easier if you’re looking through massive comments for a particular fragrance and/or your swap offers.  If you’re on a Mac, try (if you are in a browser like Chrome) hitting Edit, Find to search.

The fine print:

1) Caveat Swapper.  This is not eBay, and I am not your mother.  I will not be mediating disputes. If anything went horribly wrong in the last Swapmania, I never heard about it.  I think most everyone had a blast.  But if something goes wrong with your swap, that’s between you and the other swapper.  Perfume Posse and I are not responsible or liable.

Patty wrote this in a post this week, I’m pasting it here: “The best rule I have, make sure the entire swap is complete and both parties say they are happy before you open and start using. If you swap for a fragrance and for some reason the fragrance you were sending in the swap becomes unavailable because of breakage or something wrong with it, don’t guilt your swappee into taking something they don’t really want so you can keep The Precious. If you want it that bad, and they don’t want something else you have, just offer to pay them the going rate for it or send it back and cry yourself to sleep over the loss.  If you’ve been using it with wild abandon and have to send it back, do offer to compensate them for what you have used if it’s beyond just a couple of sprays.”

2) You and your swapper are responsible for figuring out a way to get in touch with each other to exchange details (mailing address etc.)  Many of you already have gravatar IDs that link to your websites, etc.  You can use MakeupAlley (MUA,) FaceBook, LiveJournal, email, whatever.  PLEASE DO NOT type your email addresses into comments; they are collected by spambots.  If you do so, spell it out:  chris dot smith at hotmail dot com  

3) When you have completed a swap, please go back and mark your item as taken.

4) Please remember to behave yourselves; often, two or more people are making offers for the same bottle of Cuir de Russie, and only one person is going to get it (unless the owner wants to split.)  Last time there was some fairly intense competition on certain bottles, and that’s the way it works.  Let’s treat our fellow swappers with kindness and respect.  Once you’ve agreed to a swap and exchanged mailing info, etc., please don’t back out if you suddenly see something pop up that you’d rather have.  The karma fairies will turn all your Guerlain into vinegar.

5) Send your swap in a timely fashion. Once you’ve agreed to do this, send your side of the swap.  If you’re not going to be able to do so until April, you need to tell your potential co-swapper ahead of time.

6) MUA peeps – you can’t just say “go see my MUA list and see if there’s anything you’d swap for.”  Lots of folks on here aren’t on MUA.  Also I’m not thrilled with people pasting in their entire, lengthy MUA wish/swap lists … because that’s what MUA is for, right?  But I won’t flame you for it.

Okay, kids!  This was a huge blast last time, and people got some amaaaazing things, including extras in their packages.  So go have fun!

Last fall we did Swapmania – our first perfume swap free-for-all on the Posse.  I’d wrung my hands for weeks prior, came up with eleventy-jillion rules, and figured maybe nine people would show up and play.  By the end of that weekend we had more than 1,200 comments, and for awhile people were having trouble getting on the site due to traffic.  So: I think we can call it a success.

Today, I, March the Maleficent, decree the start of our Summer Swapmania, and this post will stay up and will run through the weekend.  I’m guessing fewer people will play this time (vacation etc.) but who knows?  I’m going to do an abbreviated set of instructions below.  If you are new to this and have no idea what I am talking about, and/or you want to see the “full” list of instructions from last time and how it actually worked in comments, click here for a link to the last Swapmania.

For further edification, I did a follow up post asking how it went, and if you’d like to read THOSE 215 comments (what people got, etc.) that link is here.

Today you are invited to list, in comments, your swap bottles of perfume, partial bottles, minis, decants and samples.  I think it’s easier to list items in separate comments if you’re offering more than one item (sample sets are one item), otherwise the threads can get confusing, Edited Weds. morning:  go ahead and list all your swaps in one comment unless you’re doing more than, say, five.  Ish.

Please include:

• a brief description of each item you’re offering – such as oz/ml size, concentration (EdT, EdP), and any other info you think might be of interest (vintage/partial/used/boxed…)
• the country you live in (so people can take that into consideration for customs and shipping expense)
• whether you are open to receiving NON-PERFUME ITEMS in exchange, or whether you really would prefer only other perfume items.  FWIW – last time people ended up swapping for all sorts of amazing things, including hand-knit scarves and hats, chocolate, tea, etc.
• You can also say if you are looking for a particular bottle of something(s) to swap for –hope springs eternal!
• WEDS. AM UPDATE – hey, go ahead and list your contact info up front if you want to, that seems to be working.  Don’t just type your normal email address in there, though (see #2 below.)

Clear as mud?  Here’s a sample of what a swap listing might look like:  “Hermes Jardin Sur le Nil, 1.6 oz. EDT, half full, boxed.  I live in the US and am open to swaps abroad.  Willing to swap for perfume or other items. email me — jane doe at gmail dot com”

What can people offer to swap in exchange for your perfumes?  Other bottles/partials/minis/samples etc., or things.  When offering for a swap item, please say what country you’re from so they can take that into consideration.

This will work best if everyone keeps an open mind – let us practice and presume honesty, good intentions, and respect.

Someone posted the helpful detail that you can search comments on a PC by hitting CTRL + F (think “find”.)  This makes it easier if you’re looking through massive comments for a particular fragrance and/or your swap offers.  If you’re on a Mac, try (if you are in a browser like Chrome) hitting Edit, Find to search.

The fine print:

1) Caveat Swapper.  This is not eBay, and I am not your higher power or your mother.  I will not be mediating disputes. If anything went horribly wrong in the last Swapmania, I never heard about it.  I think most everyone had a blast.  But if something goes wrong with your swap, that’s between you and the other swapper.  Perfume Posse and I are not responsible or liable.

2) You and your swapper are responsible for figuring out a way to get in touch with each other to exchange details (mailing address etc.)  Many of you already have gravatar IDs that link to your websites, etc.  You can use MakeupAlley (MUA,) FaceBook, LiveJournal, email, whatever.  PLEASE DO NOT type your email addresses into comments; they are collected by spambots.  If you must do so, spell it out:  chris dot smith at hotmail dot com   When you have completed a swap, please go back and mark your item as taken.

3) Please remember to behave yourselves; often, two or more people are making offers for the same bottle of Cuir de Russie, and only one person is going to get it (unless the owner wants to split.)  Last time there was some fairly intense competition on certain bottles, and that’s the way it works.  Let’s treat our fellow swappers with kindness and respect.  Once you’ve agreed to a swap and exchanged mailing info, etc., please don’t back out if you suddenly see something pop up that you’d rather have.  The karma fairies will turn all your Guerlain into vinegar.

4) Send your swap in a timely fashion. It seems self-evident, but this was a minor issue last time.  Once you’ve agreed to do this, send your side of the swap.  If you’re not going to be able to do so until August, you need to tell your co-swapper ahead of time.

5) MUA peeps – you can’t just say “go see my MUA list and see if there’s anything you’d swap for.”  Lots of folks on here aren’t on MUA.  Also I’m not thrilled with people pasting in their entire, lengthy MUA wish/swap lists … because that’s what MUA is for, right?  But I won’t flame you for it.

Okay, kids!  This was a huge blast last time, and people got some amaaaazing things, including extras in their packages.  So go have fun!

A warm welcome back! to our Guest Poster, Ann!

Thank you, Mrs. K. I guess you did me a favor all those years ago. As odd as it might sound, I can give partial thanks (or blame) to a school-bus driver for my perfume addiction. It was sometime in the late ’60s and I was riding a bus on a field trip to a Native American community in Florida, near Lake Okeechobee. I think I must have been around 9 or 10. After we finished our visit, we were allowed a few minutes in the gift shop before getting back on the bus for the return trip. As I browsed, I happened upon a bin of tiny silver tins, filled with the most gloriously scented orange blossom solid perfume. I was enchanted! They tickled my fancy so that I used my lunch money to buy two of them on the spot, caring not a whit that PB&J sandwiches would be my lot for days. Little did I know that in that moment the stage was being set for a lifelong obsession.

Fast forward several months and we have a new bus driver. This woman is all-business, no-nonsense, and shows it by (horror of horrors!) assigning seats. This is not so bad in the mornings, but on the ride home, in the hot Florida afternoons (with no A/C in my ancient school), it turns disastrous for me. For my assigned seat is behind a boy, who despite being in my grade, is several years older (due to juvenile delinquent tendencies) and — he SMELLS!! Not just a little B.O., mind you, but a potpourri of unknown scents that combine to stink to high heaven. My childish nose has never experienced an assault quite like this. I lower my window as far as it will go and am just about to stick my head out like a dog, when the proverbial light bulb goes off over my head. I dig into my purse, pull out my little tin, apply liberally, and ride the rest of the way home in relative bliss with scented wrists pressed to nose. Saved by the solid perfume! Who knew a good smell could be such a life-saver?

After this fragrant epiphany, my curiosity bubbled over. I sampled my grandmother’s Evening in Paris (not too bad), and later, my mother’s Ma Griffe (whew — too something! I didn’t have the words or experience to describe it then except perhaps “bitter”), and her YSL Rive Gauche (better, but only just). And then came the fun of exploring the crop of “young” scents: Avon’s Sweet Honesty, Coty’s Sweet Earth solid perfume compacts, and Love’s Baby Soft (although I was far more partial to the rain and lemon varieties in that line). I did a lot of baby-sitting and had more than enough experience with that powdery scent on the business end of little ones’ bottoms.

Anyway, from then on, I was hooked. As my horizons broadened through high school, college and the work world, so did my perfume discoveries, which happily continue to this day. And now I’m delighted to be along on this ride with all you wonderful fellow perfumistas (unless any of you insist on wearing Alexander McQueen’s Kingdom, and then I’m finding another seat). So I would love to know, what was your perfume epiphany? When was the moment that the world of scent opened up and pulled you into its fragrant embrace?

Happy Valentine’s Day !!!!

photo: girl on stinky school bus – some rights reserved

candy photo: candyaddict.com – some rights reserved

By Ann

(our guest-poster you previously met for tea!)

“I wouldn’t touch (insert brand name here) fragrances with a 10-foot pole.”  How many of us, as perfume fanatics, have thought that about one line or another? Maybe we think its scents are cheaply made, over-hyped to the heavens, too commercial/mainstream for our highly developed tastes or some other reason. Some less charitable souls might call it a kind of scent snobbery.

But whatever it is, I’m guilty of it, too, in a few instances. But recently I got a little attitude adjustment that sent me reeling.

I was aimlessly wandering around the fragrance area of my local high-end store, chatting with one or two of the SAs that I know, not really looking for anything in particular.

“Well, hello there,” said a familiar voice. It turned out to be a very nice woman I knew from another line, and whom I hadn’t seen in a while.  And as we caught up, I looked over at her hand and saw that she was holding an amber bottle with a fancy gold cap. I remember thinking, “That kind of looks like … oh, it can’t be … nooo, it’s not Clive Christian!”  My first instinct was to mumble a few feeble excuses, back away quickly and make a dash for the door.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not knocking the brand. It’s a classy line, beautifully presented and all, but it is waaay expensive and has a sort of uber-exclusivity surrounding it (“world’s most expensive perfume”) that bugs me a little. Not to mention that one or two of their scents that I tried ages ago were not so great on me, so I wasn’t eager to tangle with it again. But my wish not to offend her overcame my urge to flee and I gamely held out my wrist when she asked to spray me. We chatted a few minutes more and I walked off, hoping I wouldn’t have to make a beeline for the bathroom and wash it off.

I headed over to another store, and promptly forgot all about it.  A while later as I was browsing a clothes rack, something wonderful wafted up to me. Mmmm … that’s nice. What is that luscious, rich scent? Oh my. Oh my! OH MY!! It’s just so yummy GOOD on me! I wracked my brain trying to remember what I had put on before I left the house.  And then, it hit me like a ton of bricks. It was that Clive Christian “C” for women that the lady had spritzed on me. The more I sniffed, the more I loved it, and the more I wanted it. The only thing that kept me from sprinting back and buying a bottle was that whopping $375 price tag.

I’ve since gotten my mitts on a small amount of it and am using it sparingly, but oh, so lovingly.  For me, the moral of this story is: “Never judge a scent by its name (or older siblings).”

So please jump in and share your “wow” moment. I’d love to know what, if any, fragrances have knocked you back like an unexpected left hook. Was it love at first sniff or did it take a few dates before you were hopelessly smitten?