1.We Were Once Like You
Most of us start out owning and using only one fragrance, two or three, if we’re fancy. Initially, some of us didn’t even bother with cologne because our Speedstick or Axe/Lynx deodorant smelled amazing enough, to us. Then, something happens; maybe it occurred when we went to a friends’ house for pre-drinks to go clubbing nice and liquored up, and asked if we could try on what’s inside that funky looking bottle sitting on his table or dresser, so we excitedly spritz That same night, ladies complimented us and couldn’t keep themselves off of our fragrant necks. We loved it. Colognes, or “Fragrances” as we soon learned they are called, became our other “liquid courage”.
Every fragrance journey has its own beginning. For some, their first steps into the perfume world could have been initiated when something suddenly clicked in them, after spraying a tester in the perfume department. Something within them yearned. Whatever it was, our collection started with one, and soon grew.
2.Yes We Do Need 20+ Bottles
We may not even use them all, but it’s nice to know they’re there. Think of it like building and owning a collection of CDs (do people still have those?) you cannot have only one album to listen to your whole life. It’s nice to be able to pop in any album that suits your mood of the day. When you have a large collection, you (ideally) visit each and every one of your items, at least once in a while;but sometimes, you are just loving that one album so much that it’s the only thing you want to listen to, all day for the whole week.
Fragrances, are like our mood-rings. Sometimes we want a woody-spicy fragrance, and others we want to spray on some vetiver juice, or whatever specific note we are craving at that moment. In the event that we don’t like that compact disk our fragrance bottle anymore, we can always sell it, or wait to sell it until it becomes a “vintage”.
3.We’re Not As Crazy As You Might Think
Well… maybe a few of us, are.
Entertainment is one of, if not the biggest, industries in the world. A big part of life is seeking out and enjoying positive stimulus. Everyone seeks to fulfill that drive in some way, or another. The visually-oriented buy art & movies to observe and please their eyes. Those that are sound-oriented, satisfy themselves by buying and listening to music through CDs and music accessories (headphones, sound systems). Another niche is taste-orientated, whom attend restaurants to eat lavish meals.
Then you have us, the fragrance heads. We are olfaction-oriented, we follow our nose -just like Toucan Sam told us to. We wish to satisfy our snouts, without resorting to dangerous substances.
Buying and owning an expensive bottle, or two, or twenty, of fragrances may not be so absurd, after all.
4.There’s An Explanataion to Our Fixation
That’s why. And anecdotes.
Scent, is a very powerful sense. Food, mood, memory, and mating. Smell influences.
When in a restaurant, you will feel hungry before you even see your dish, because you already pick up the wafts of your coming meal. Your appetite is whetted. Contrasting to that, the smell of sour milk will not make you want to even look at what’s inside the carton, you already know it wouldn’t taste good, without needing a sip.
In a nutshell: the smell-center in our brains is linked to our memory and emotional center. Fragrances of all types have the ability to solidify a new memory or resurface an old one. Perfumes are a way to voluntarily trigger these events.
For those that want more details:
Aromatic substances enter the nasal cavity, and are sensed by the olfactory neurons, the smell particles react with your olfactory bulb, transmitting into your brain’s limbic system. The limbic system is where emotions, instincts, and memories exist. That is, over-simplifying it, since neurology is extremely complex.
The phenomenon of a positive memory resurfacing after the rush of a nostalgic smell has been discussed the French writer Marcel Proust. At the end of a bad day, he sat down and enjoyed a cup of tea; the smell wafted into his nose and instantly, he was transported out of a negative place and into a pleasant time from his past. Immediately improving his mood. Fragrance-flashback, is the name.
Pheromones play an important role in reproduction for virtually all animals, vertebrate or invertebrate. Humans are not so evolved as to be immune to the influence of others’ bodily essences. Fragrances are but one way that we can harness the power of scent to attract mates.
Additionally, smell may be the first sense to have evolved, maybe we just wanted out of that primordial soup. Evidence from a study conducted at the University of Chicago, lead by Dr. Javant Pinto and Dr. Martha McClintock, suggests that olfaction is the last sense that goes as we near death.
5.You Could Become One of Us, Yet
It all starts with curiosity, you may want to buy a new fragrance for yourself or someone else, but need to make an informed decision, so you ask the internet. You’re then wondering what all these people on Basenotes, Fragrantica, and Youtube are ranting and raving about. You need a sniff. The hypetrain drags you by the nostrils, so you get a sample or bottle to smell for yourself if the hype is real, then you are hooked.
You may be considering going to your retailer or online discounter, right now, even. The infection has begun.
Wrapping Up
Remember, a decent proportion of the things we buy are all luxuries. Dr. Dre Beats, high definition Tvs with built-in Blu-ray, sumptuous banquets, and this scented water that we fragrance enthusiasts splash on ourselves. They are all things that, logically, are not necessary, but needed in the most primitive & instinctual of ways .
For the curious, I have an Ebay shop that sells decants/samples of hyped and popular fragrances. Try it before you buy it, so you don’t regret blowing all that cash on a fragrance/cologne bottle you end up never using. If you like the sample, you can always invest in the full bottle, later. It’s low risk and high reward.
Shop link:Fragrance Shop & ScentSampler
Save more money, get more variety.
Thank you for reading Principles of Style. I hope you enjoy this post and found the blog useful. If you have any questions, feedback, or want to share some of your style and scent tips, tricks, and insights, please leave your input in the comments section below, or send me a PM.
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Principles of Style 