Another Summer Friday Fess-Up: How Many Bottles in Your Collection?

I belong to a Facebook perfume chatter group, and today I stumbled across this perfume porn. It made me sad. I spent all day trying to decide whether or not I wanted to share that, and I decided, what the hell. Sometimes, keeping it together is like a house of cards; the whole thing comes tumbling down if you touch the wrong one.

So, to distract myself, I decided on another poll: Share your virtual perfume porn to cheer me up. How many bottles do you have? Remember, honesty is always the best policy.

Have a great weekend.

  • Shevette says:

    Hi, this is my second time posting here. I’m way late to the party, but wanted to post anyway. My love for perfume has been around longer than my financial ability to stoke the fires, therefore my collection is fairly small but I’m happy with it. I have 15 FBs, and 10 samples. I have on my wish list: By Kilian, Serge Lutens, Balenciaga Paris, Guerlain and recently added Cartier Baiser Voile. I have to remind myself, my loves will still be there when I can get to them, I just have to take it one bottle at a time … :x

  • Peter says:

    62 (and growing…)

  • Patty says:

    Bottles of 1 oz or more: 31. Bottles (including samplers & decants) of 1/4 oz or less: 22. Those little 1ml sample vials? About half a shoebox full.

  • Rednails says:

    I try to be careful about collecting because my mother has bad OCD and hoards, having managed to fill up her 2 houses with junk. My bottles/minis/decants/samples are stored neatly. Even so, I have about 80 bottles (including backups), 80 minis and decants and about 80 samples. I swap what I don’t love and give bottles away via basenotes and fragrantica with some regularity.

  • Lilybug says:

    Plucking up courage to count. Not sure I’ll reach the treshold! Like many, I acquire most of my bottles on auction sites, garage sales, online discounters and the rest. I’ve paid full retail for 3 (all SL and from a store I feel obligated to reward for their generousity with samples). I’m guessing 40 full bottles and maybe another 40+ minis (half of those pure parfums). Don’t hold your breath for an official count – still building up to fully facing it all! My family and friends think I’m mad (though they don’t complain when they receive thoughtful perfume gifts!).

  • moongrrl says:

    70 FB and a small pile of samples. I love and wear them all. :x

  • mary says:

    Hmmmm–this has been a wake up call! I just counted 48 bottles–now, many of these are far less than full. I didn’t count a few back up bottles, and have a slew of samples, decants and a few travel sizes of some really cool fumes floating around. I have bought from e bay, antique stores, discounters and friends, and various perfumeries. Sometimes, I score old testers and I am not picky about that. I have scored some nice things at Barney’s outlet stores. I keep the current rotation on a riser (I think meant for spice organizing) on my dresser top: Niki parfum. Jardin Sur la Nil. Field Notes from Paris (great on chilly evening recently!). Vintage Vol de Nuit cologne and parfum. L’Heure Bleue-vintage cologne,edt and parfum (wearing them layered is da bomb) Chanel No. 5 Eau Premiere. 06130 Lierre Rose. 06130 Lentisque. Caron Montaigne. Caron Nocturnes. Caron Aimez Moi. Balenciaga Paris (it’s fun to wear AM on one arm and BP on the other) Caron En Avion parfum. Caron Tabac Blond parfum (almost gone:0() Ines de la Fressange (squat bottle). Strange Invisible Trapeze parfum. Somebody hauled out the Insolence EDT and I am thinking it needs a workout. And– my precious bottle of Gipsy Queen from Il Profumo. This one I have to be very careful with, it truly does have an effect on mood and emotions. Some of these need to get put away for later in the season, but it is fun to have them out where I can play with them depending on the mood. Today has been a Lierre Rose day–light, rosy, honeyed tobacco. Just writing this has been a chore, though, because I have been running to play with them all. Now, I have a question for the posse– does anyone know who was the perfumer behind Niki de Ste Phalle? I have loved this stuff forever, and recall reading somewhere that the artist worked with an Italian woman perfumer; but now cannot relocate that reference. If someone out there knows, I would really appreciate hearing about it. Thanks for the perfume porn and food for thought Nava!

  • Heather M B says:

    Currently 16 bottles, 11 minis and more samples to count. I want more! I need more! BTW I drained 4 bottles this late spring and summer in this heat- 2 Demeter Honeysuckle 4oz, J.Lo My Glow 1oz, J.Lo Glow 1oz. Plus I know boyfriend is getting me Ponn Farr for our 6 month aniversary, and a backup of Sira des Indes for my birthday in the coming weeks.

  • I have abot ten bottles. Far too few, but I really love those bottles. I remember once when I was unemployed and broke and only owned one bottle of Samba Ice that my sister gave me because she didn’t like it. And I wore it even though it was disgusting.

    Now I can choose between such lovelies as Chergui, Ambre Sultan, Jicky and Messe de Minuit.

    But I have 100+ aromachemicals and essential oils to play with. It’s fascinating to look at all those ingredients and realize that there’s magic and masterpieces in there somewhere. Just not in my hands, but it’s still an exciting journey.

  • Vasily says:

    I’m very selective about the full bottles I buy; I own only 21 full bottles, plus a bunch of decants and samples. Have gone through a lot of samples over the years; 27 perfumes are on my bottle-worthy list, and 56 on my decant-worthy list; items on these lists tend to move back and forth as my tastes change. 53 perfumes are on my near-miss list … some of these I’ll likely try a decant of again, and some may move up or down in my estimation. There are 138 perfumes on my list of frags I want to try (and only a fraction of the frags I hear/read about spark enough interest to get on my want-to-try list). 91 frags are on my second-string list … which means they’re OK enough, I suppose, but I’m unlikely to try them again because they don’t ring any bells. 69 are rejects which means I got a sample, tried it once or twice, and found the experience awful enough that I threw the sample in the trash.

  • Olfacta says:

    I stopped counting at (around) 85. But, to be fair, many of those are partials I bought on fleabay so they’re not really, er, full bottles. And my big whoop is that I’ve only paid retail price for three of them.

    Let’s not talk about the splits, decants, samples and (lately) essential oils and absolutes, though.

  • Ninara Poll says:

    Um…. I gave up counting fb after 20. If we count body sprays, samples, small bottles, and travel sized bottles, then probably about 75 bottles and 40 samples — and this, with the exception of some sample vials I’ve won here on PP, is all mainstream stuff (from department store to drugstore to stores like B&BW), I can’t afford niche and have yet to actually buy anything niche of any size. *shame* This is also a collection I’ve amassed since I was in the single digits (some of my sample vials are from the 80s — they’re all still wearable — and some fbs were given to me over the years), but I didn’t get into buying bottles until probably 2006 or 2007.

    NP

  • nozknoz says:

    I’ve never counted, but more than 100, for sure. Most of them are very small (how’s that for denial?) :-)

  • helenviolette says:

    I just did a cursory count- 58 full bottles. Yikes! And round 30 decants. Good thing I have slowed down :)

  • Jennifer says:

    I’m not really sure how many bottles…Hmm…Well according to my wardrobe on Basenotes (which I do TRY to keep up as I go)I have 440 scents that are in the directory and around 75 more that aren’t.Somewhere around 100-175+ for samples though I’ve not been as good about keeping up with those.51 listed.I plan on a full inventory soon (maybe in time for the next Swapmania?-When will the next one be BTW ? Fall? Spring?
    Bottle sizes may vary from small parfum minis to fullsize bottles and favorites /easy to find stuff may be multi-backed up.
    I shop thrift stores,discounters,ebay,and occaisionally swap or purchase on Basenotes,or purchase at full retail.
    I often buy in batches -$12 today =at least 9 bottles.
    I figure it’s a good thing the tornados that came through down here in Alabama missed my house(an f5 missed us by about 3 streets)Anyone with breathing problems in at least a couple of counties would have been a goner.

    • nozknoz says:

      Oh, my gosh, Jennifer! That must have been so terrifying – very glad you, your home and your perfume collection were spared. The descriptions of an F5 are just unbelievable.

  • Todd T says:

    130 bottles. I don’t have plans on stopping anytime soon. I should have a couple of new bottles next week after my trip to Vegas.

  • bellemoon says:

    8-| Too scared to open the hope chest and find out. A rough guesstimate is 65ish in there….and about 10 on the dresser that are in heavy rotation. Not too many samples running about, say about 20. No decants…..as of yet. I pared down big time last year and gave away several to a deserving girlfriend

  • AnnieA says:

    I have 30-odd bottles — I’m *sure* backup bottles don’t count — in addition to some decants and a couple of dozen samples. Fortunately, candles don’t count either…

    • tammy says:

      Oh dear God, please do not bring up candles for counting.

      Y’all have perfume closets, I have a candle pantry.

  • Kym says:

    I have 99 FB and several minis (decants as well, but am not counting those). Oddly, a bottle seems to be missing…I wonder if I stashed it somewhere, never to be seen again!

  • Elisa says:

    I have somewhere between 80 and 100 FBs. The vast majority were obtained at less than full price, and I love my collection, so I don’t feel guilty, though I admit I was shocked when I actually counted. I’d guessed it was more like 50…

  • Kit says:

    As a relative perfume newbie, my modest collection boasts 6 bottles. I am sure that will rise, but likely slowly, since I have modest resources. I also tend to prolong the process of deciding on a perfume to buy. It heightens the anticipation and enjoyment when I’ve been considering a perfume for months, finally decide, and then, at long last, the bottle arrives. :)

    • Meg says:

      I do this as well, slowly arranging and re-arranging the priority of my buy list. It seems to fluctuate so much if you deliberate over a matter of months!

  • pyramus says:

    I have absolutely no idea, which is probably a bad thing, right? Certainly a hundred full bottles, surely more than that; another hundred minis, at least (forty-plus of them being Demeter half-ounces); and a couple hundred samples at the absolute minimum.

    But I really did get a great many of them for less than full retail. Yesterday I bought a bottle of Odori Tabacco at a discounter (Odori being a line from the guy who did Bois 1920), new in box, for $12, currently retailing for $210, so I’m not feeling AT ALL guilty about my insane hoard.

    • Kym says:

      WHERE did you get Odori Tabacco? I love this one and would happily pay $12 for it!!

      • pyramus says:

        A Canadian chain called Winners, which is like T.J. Maxx in the U.S. They originally had it for $60, but it was repeatedly marked down. I sure was lucky to find it!

        • AnnieA says:

          Winners be be AMAZING…

        • Kym says:

          Wow…if you see another one…:):x

          • pyramus says:

            Unfortunately, it was on a day trip to another province, so the chances that I will run into it again are pretty much nil. Sorry. But we all have our stumbleupons, and our little envies: I envy people who live in big cities that have decent second-hand and Goodwill shops where they find things like vintage Mitsouko extrait for like $8. MY HOLY GRAIL.

  • Fernando says:

    About 50 bottles for me, more than that for my wife… Scary.

  • Meg says:

    19 bottles, maybe 30 samples. Many of the FB’s are gifts or leftovers from pre-perfumista times, and I will relish the opportunity to expand my collection in a way more true to my taste when I actually have an income.

  • Alnysie says:

    I’m sorry for the loss of your collection… And wow, so many people have so many bottles! And I’m jealous!

    At the beginning of the month I only had my old Burberry bottle that I haven’t worn in years. Now I have six bottles, plus one on the way! And about ten decants and maybe 80 samples.

    • Meg says:

      you’ve gotten six bottles in the last two weeks?!?!? awesome! What are they? Sounds like you’re in a perfume mania mode!

  • Aparatchick says:

    I just looked – around 80 full bottles, BUT the vast majority of those bottles are 30 ml or less. I always buy the smallest size available since I realize that I will never, ever use up all the perfume I have. Especially since I also have 160 decants/minis and 18 solids.

    I guess the answer is: More Than Enough.

  • Kirsten says:

    Last time I did an inventory it was somewhere around 40 fb’s, 8 or 9 minis, and well over 400 samples. I can’t remember how many fb’s I’ve sold or given away over the last five years. I’ve had a terrible hankering for Eau de Cartier again and I regret giving that away now…

  • mirandajane says:

    So how does a person go about selling full bottles?

  • jmariel says:

    I don’t have any full bottles yet — just 30 samples purchased from the Perfumed Court (chosen based on reviews on various blogs). I’ve tried all but 3 of the 30 samples. I’m considering buying 2 of them (Zagorsk and Parfum de Therese), but am still in analysis mode. I’ve only been exploring perfumes since June — inspired by the article “The Perfume Diet” in O magazine.

    • Lisa D says:

      “There’s a Perfume Diet?” I ask excitedly, thinking that perhaps this is one to which I could truly commit…..

  • pat says:

    31 FB, 10 minis, 16 samples. I think I’m doing it wrong, too many full bottles.

    • Meg says:

      lol @ the notion of “you’re doing it wrong!” I don’t think there’s a wrong or right. And if there is, then jeeze, none of us are consuming perfume “normally.”

  • Janice says:

    I have in the neighborhood of 80 full bottles (after selling or swapping away about two dozen over the last year), about 90 decants and minis, and more samples than I’m willing to count. I tend to hold onto samples even if I they don’t quite work at first… sometimes I’ll keep thinking about one and revisit, and this has inevitably led to several more FBs.

  • Disteza says:

    Ummm, I’m calling it quits after counting the first two shelves of the perfume armoire. There are 86 FBs there, with 3 more shelves uncounted, and two whole more pieces of furniture (albeit smaller) left unacccounted for. Haven’t even considered the samps and decants. If anyone wants to stage an intervention, please call up A&E and make sure they get me into one of those posh detox centers, preferbly in NYC or Paris…. ;)

    • Nava says:

      Oh God…I clean my apartment after every episode of “Hoarders” I watch. Yet, I can’t stop watching that frickin’ show.

      • sunnlitt says:

        I HAD to stop watching that show!!
        It is strangely compelling,
        but made me sick.
        But, you are right–
        it does make me clean the house!!

        • Musette says:

          Me, too! El O always has that 8-|, right after an episode….I pull out the recycle bin, the vacuum, the mop….doesn’t matter if I just did it the day before.

          For a slightly OCD control freak like myself, that show is a Cautionary Tale from Hell! 8-x

          xo >-)

        • Joanna says:

          As a former mental health care worker that show just makes me very sad and very angry. There are reasons people hoard and it almost always stems from being extremely deprived, neglected and/or abused as children.
          I think A&E is just exploiting damaged, mentally ill individuals. Yes, it’s disgusting and unhealthy that they live that way but compassion is free…capitalizing on their illness is depraved.

          Sorry, I’ll jump off my soapbox now. Any mention of that show just gets my hackles up.

          • Lilybug says:

            I’m no health professional, so feel free to discount my opinion: but even if the channel is trying to make money off it, it seems like the hands on people genuinely care. They may not make huge progress with the hoarders themselves but I think the long-suffering family members find some ease in the support. And the house repairs, aftercare funds and counseling have got to be a good thing. We had a hoarder-type show about a decade ago that was literally get in there, throw away near all the stuff, and leave the families to it (to presumably repeat the cycle). It purely centered on the battle to clean the houses. That was sad.

          • Lilybug says:

            My husband’s family has 3 hoarders, by the way, so I have sympathy for the people on the show. It is hard to understand how possessions (mostly rubbish) are more important than relationships and frustrating that there’s nothing you can do to get it right, even when it’s trying to clear your house you need of their crap. Some family members paid storage for the hoarding ones but it doesn’t help. What’s one to do? I’d consider calling on a show like that if it came down to a serious matter of health and safety.

            Also, that show makes me clean and declutter too :)

  • mals86 says:

    Eep.

    Okay, here goes: 46 FB, 53 decants of 10ml or less, uncountable numbers of samples.

    Eep.

  • Dominic says:

    I have more bottles than pairs of shoes, that’s for sure…but really just 19, two of them are doubled – Angel and Insolence EDP, they were half price, believe it or not:~)

    • Meg says:

      this is my number as well :)

      • Dominic says:

        Hey Meg maybe we have some common fragrances, what do you have?

        • Meg says:

          prada edp, l’eau the one, tabu, bas de soie, nuit de turb, prada l’eau ambree, violette in love, armani i’dole, fleur de liane, back to black, bvlgari black, toyko milk eden, dirt, coco mad, viva la juicy, si lolita, l de lolita, fcuk and be delicious! WHEW

  • dleep says:

    All I’m gonna’ do is share this conversation with my sister:

    Sister: What are you doing today?
    Me: Straightening out my perfume closet.
    Sister: You have a PERFUME closet?
    Me: Doesn’t everybody?

  • jen says:

    How many grains of sand are there in the Sahara? I have fewer bottles than that.

  • Lisa D says:

    I don’t really want to count them (insert image of ostrich with its head buried in sand here), but let’s just say that there are a few storage boxes holding full bottles, a couple of shoe boxes stuffed with samples, and a cute vintage train case holding the bottles that are currently in rotation.

    • dinazad says:

      Ah, Lisa, my case exactly – storage bins, a large beautician’s case (holding the back-ups) and two drawers full of samples….

      • Lisa D says:

        dinazad, I’m hoping to some day create a nicer home for them – a lovely large cupboard or small closet with mirrored shelves and lights that come on when I open the doors…..

    • nozknoz says:

      I love the idea of the vintage train case!

      • Lisa D says:

        nozknoz, it’s a perfect size and shape for a goodly-sized set of bottles (10-12) and also for decants/samples, since it has elastic pouches lining the front and back. It helps to have all of my go-to scents separate from my long term storage, and it’s a fairly good-looking storage solution, which is more than I can say for some of my plastic bins.

  • Joan says:

    I have about 50 full bottles, 30 decants (from Perfumed Court!) and 100 small samples.

  • Elaine says:

    I have 37 full bottles and one of those hanging jewelry organizers pretty much stuffed with decants and samples.

  • Janet says:

    Maybe about 20? Some from the early 1970s, including a bottle shaped like a unicorn of Toujours Moi LOL!

    • tammy says:

      OMG, Toujours Moi!!! I had forgotten all about that.

      One of my aunts was an Army nurse during the Vietnam War, and brought my mama a bottle from Thailand.

      Mama hated it, but I loved it, and snuck in to her dresser and just doused myself with it….she made me sleep outside that night!!!!

      I suspect it planted the seed for my later love of Opium. I wonder if it’s been reformulated?

      • nozknoz says:

        TM was one of the first perfumes from my youth that I tracked down on ebay – the exact box and bottle I remembered. It’s not that hard to find, but just thinking about regaining it still makes my heart beat faster!

  • tammy says:

    I think I have about 86; I forced myself to include a couple of back-up bottles, as well as perfume I bought simply for the sake of the bottle itself, which technically I shouldn’t have to count, right? But I did count them, since we are being scrupulously honest here.

    I say think because I’m going by memory of what is in Arkansas; I have 57 bottles here in SoCal.

    And of course an entire jewelry armoire full of samples and decants.

    And just in case my husband is reading this, I got the entire lot for less than a hundred bucks on eBay, correct?

    I’ve slowed waaayyyyyy down on sampling; after several years of mania, I have come to realize what notes I really love, and more importantly, what notes are just never going to work for me. My FB wishlist is slowly but surely getting shorter; I think I am down to about 20, and could probably get it down to a dozen or so if I were to admit to myself that I really don’t need any more rose soliflores, or bottles with charms dangling off of them. (Insert eye rolling emoticon here)

  • Joanna says:

    I only have about 12 fbs, (A constantly fluctuating number.) but there are endless little decants and samples floating around my home, my purse, my minivan, etc…

    My cellphone is taped together and I’ve needed to replace it all summer but I keep buying perfume instead. I don’t really need to talk to anyone when I’m not at home that bad…but I truly needed all of those L’Artisan decants from TPC that I ordered last week. They are in my purse right next to my ghetto phone.

    • Ann says:

      Love your thinking, Joanna! Hey, a girl’s gotta have priorities, right?

      • Joanna says:

        LOL Oddly enough when I do use my phone it’s usually to read perfumeposse blog posts or check on perfume I’m bidding on at Ebay.
        Earlier this year I think I had around 30 or so full bottles but I gave a lot away and/or swapped a bunch. I’m like a disapproving mother with those bottles that don’t live up to my expectations. “Why can’t you be more like your cousin Chanel?” :)
        The bottles that don’t get used because I have better options just irritate me.

  • Teri says:

    Present total is 82 with 1 more on its way to me thanks to the SpaceNK sale (For less than $40, I could make sense of buying a bottle of HdP’s Bonte’s Bloom, disappearing wonder though it may be).

    I’ve promised myself I’d stop at 100. We’ll see how strong my will power is when I reach that number. :-?

    The good thing is though, that I really do wear them all.

  • Mo says:

    I only have 5 full bottles and 3 minis (1 mini was free). I’ve also owned in the past about 200 samples. My sample collection is now down to just 21. I gave the rest away. I’ll gain an additional full bottle very soon:d

  • Debbie R. says:

    Somewhere between 30 and 40?

  • Maureen says:

    I am fairly new to this, I have 7 FB, 3 fragrance mists, 5 minis and maybe 6 samples. I absolutely drooled over the image of all of those beautiful bottles. I have never even experienced Serge Lutens, but, OH, how I want to!

  • Gvillecreative says:

    Why does it make you sad?

    • Nava says:

      I had a collection of about 35 Serge Lutens (exports and exclusives) and the balance of my bottles stolen from me last winter. By my aunt. Long story.

      • Ann says:

        Hi Nava, I still feel so badly for you. Wish I could win the lottery and replace all your old bottles, and then some!

      • Lisa D says:

        Nava, that’s just – well, I can’t even think of the right word to describe it. To rob you of something that brings such happiness, and enhances your life to the degree that perfume does for all of us, is so very wrong. 35 bottles of Serge. And more. Oh, my heart aches just thinking about it. I echo Ann’s sentiment, above, and I’d throw in a visit to the Salons du Palais Royal to restock in STYLE.

  • Marsi says:

    I think I have about 15 full bottles.

    I decluttered a lot with the two wonderful Swapmanias that March hosted this past year. Honestly, I am far less of a collector than I was 10 years ago and pretty much stick to my all-time favorites (Chanel Coco, Guerlains), with the occasional sentimental fling (Cacharel Loulou, CD Poison) thrown in for fun.

    Basically, I smell now just as I did in the ’80s, when I was coming of age. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

  • rosarita says:

    I just checked, for fun : around 40 bottles, with dozens of decants & hundreds of samples, all stashed in various baskets and boxes in an antique cabinet. Oh, and a couple dozen minis displayed on cheese trays under domed glass lids. Most of my collection has been acquired through swapping, and for a perfume lover on a shoestring, I’m very happy with what I have.

  • Melissa says:

    I’ve been selling some off in the past months. It makes no sense to have huge bottles of scents that I rarely wear. Prior to the purge, I had around 200 and many, many decants. I’m down to approx 100 and I’ve given away many of the decants. I’m sticking with vintage, a few favorite lines (the usual suspects-Guerlain, Serge, Malle, Chanel, Amouage) and a few others here and there.

    • Gvillecreative says:

      Just wondering — where do you sell your bottles?

      • Melissa says:

        Mostly eBay. Sometimes the wiki board. EBay takes a chunk of money, but it gets the job done. I would rather lose some money than have the scents go bad.

  • Francesca says:

    I just counted: 32 fbs. Squeee!

  • Francesca says:

    I think I have about 20 fbs at this point and loads of decants and samples. Two cubbies chock full in a cabinet. Including about 5 10 ml decants of The Party in Manhattan, so if that cabinet ever tips over, the whole Upper West Side will have to be evacuated.

    • Ann says:

      Too funny, Francesca! I have in the neighborhood of 200 decants and samples and around 16 or 17 full bottles; all totaled, enough to fill up four dresser drawers. Not much compared with some folks’ vast collections, but probably more than I can use up in my lifetime.

    • tammy says:

      Snort! I have 2 FBs of TPIM; if both our cabinets should tip at the same time, we will bring on the Apocalypse!

  • lulllull says:

    Love the picture by the way! And I really hate that Mr Lutens changed the labels on the bottles. The old labels looked so classy compared to the new ones.

  • lulllull says:

    I have around 25-30 full bottles. I try to limit myself and often sell bottles that I don’t use as much and buy new ones. I have no idea how many samples or decants I have. But they do fit into a huge linen closet in varous shoe boxes….but there’s no room left for the linen….

  • chrissyinoz says:

    ummmmmmm…..around the 350 fb mark….100 decants….250 samples…80 minis :”>

  • tania says:

    I have no idea, I’ve never counted. 7 drawers full, plus the overflow on the top of the tallboy & dressing-table, the bathroom, and the hall cupboard. Um, 300?

    Seriously, there needs to be a patch for this. :)

  • Hilary says:

    14, I think? I’m probably forgetting a couple but not more than that. I have a small budget and can only rarely afford a new bottle of something, and anyway I’m happier with a small collection, I think. I give away anything I’m not wearing very often to an appreciative friend. Decants, samples and trips to the counters satisfy my desire for variety!

    • Hilary says:

      Besides, that’s more than enough for people to look at me like I’m crazy…

    • Darryl says:

      After two and a half years of serious perfume obsession, my currennt bottle count is…eight. I’m the same way as you – less is more, otherwise I feel uncomfortable with all the unused bottles (small budget here also), and I feel better giving away or swapping to someone who loves them more than I do. I don’t buy decants (yet), but I’m addicted to the Perfumed Court and LuckyScent for samples, and I do plenty of Sephora sniffing and bargain shopping of the TJMaxx/Wal-Mart/Winners variety. (100ml of Opium pour Homme for $30? Hell, why not?) Very rarely do I pay full retail price these days, whereas I did it routinely in my early perfumista days when I would discover something and just hadtohaveitRIGHTNOW.

  • FragrantWitch says:

    Ooh, perfume porn! I am not too far down the perfumista path yet so my tally is a modest 23 full bottles, about 10 decants and maybe 50 samples. Hmm….I suspect that is only modest compared to fully-fledged perfumistas- thinking of non-fumey friends who have 2 bottles total!

  • Martyna says:

    I have 124 full size bottles after a BIG reduction (I dont want to know how many I had before…) And collection is still growing.
    about samples – i have about two small boxes (so my guess will be about 1000??)

    • Nava says:

      Re: the samples: do we need to ask the question, similar to how many clowns can be stuffed into a Volkswagen? :d

  • Matt says:

    I’m sorry.

    I’m only 20 years old and I only own two bottles of perfume (one being empty).

    Do the samples count?? =)

    • Bradamante says:

      Don’t be sorry! It’s beautiful. But you do read perfume blogs, and even comment – an intriguing combination…

      • Gvillecreative says:

        It’s surprising that Matt has that much discipline, and it really impresses me.

        Matt – what are the two bottles?

    • Nava says:

      NEVER be sorry Matt!

    • Matt says:

      Actually, I seem disciplined because it’s only been 6 months since I became a perfumista (Yeah I think I qualify for being one!!). So up to now, it’s mostly been sample buying, but I always keep a monthly budget and am quite good at sticking to it, occasionnaly spending a few more bucks (but there was a sale at TPC!!).

      The two bottles I have are Adidas Originals (it really isn’t as bad as it sounds, but yeah it’s kinda fresh..) and Diesel Fuel for Life. These are no-brainers, just fun fragrances. Anyway, due to my age, I don’t think I could pull off most niche fragrances… yet! ;)

      Now I’m just wondering which will be my first niche bottle. It’s a HUGE decision to make, ’cause I think it’s very symbolic. I’ll have to make up my mind in time for this fall (which in Quebec seems to be here already…)

      • tammy says:

        Don’t be modest about your discipline, Matt; I was WELL in to double digits 6 months into my perfume journey!!

      • Meg says:

        This is a much better idea than my unsniffed first niche bottle purchase. Oops..

        • Matt says:

          You weren’t happy about it? What was it??

          • Meg says:

            nuit de tubereuse. I bought it unsniffed based on Robin’s review at NST. I still barely wear it, but keep it in hopes that I will “grow into it one day.” Can’t be much longer before I swap it away though…

      • sweetlife says:

        Matt, it took me a year to buy a full bottle when I first got into perfume, and then it was only after I was gifted with several. I was extremely happy with my little cigar box full of samples and didn’t see why I should spend $$ for a single bottle when I could try several dozen for the same amount of money. Enjoy those days as long as they last!

        Have to disagree with you on age and niche, though. I find many niche ‘fumes more appropriate for young people than what’s out there. Something for everyone, anyway.