Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Samples and Other Perfume Quirks


I may be a Perfume Sample Bigot.

Perhaps this is why I keep accumulating samples but rarely use them.  Yes, I will dab them on the back of my hand for the evening, but I don't actually wear them.  

Not for realsies.

About most things, I'm fairly low maintenance.  Potatoes must be fully cooked, avocados completely ripe, and water chestnuts are out of the question.  But aside from food, I can pretty much roll with the punches.  Lately, though, I have discovered some high maintenance traits related to perfume samples.

For example, can someone please explain to me how it is that the perfume you get on your fingers, when opening the plastic top with the wand, lasts all day.  You will be reminded of this each time you scratch your nose, eat an almond or lick your fingers after an ice cream sandwich. 

On the other hand, the juice that you apply to your body from the same sample will be gone in 10 minutes.  

What's up with that?

Plus, perfume smells different if it's dabbed rather than sprayed.  According to my logic (and I will debate for hours defending this hypothesis), dabbing perfume is akin to drinking Champagne that has lost its fizz.  Why would you do it?

Then, there's the whole issue of skin contamination. 

If perfume is not sprayed, some type of applicator (or one's finger) must have direct contact with the perfume, then one's skin and then again with the perfume. Thinking of skin particles floating around and settling in the bottom of a perfume bottle is just nasty.  

Working in a hospital makes you weird.

Finally - and you already know I'm geekishly practical - if I'm going to wear perfume, I'm going to spray it simply for convenience.  It's quick, it creates sillage, and there's no skin flakes at the bottom.   

Certainly, I will miss out on some gems, but it's a trade I'm willing to make, at least for now.

What are your perfume quirks?

4 comments:

  1. I am really bad regarding samples. I have a box full of different samples, most of them, about 98%, niche. So, I do understand your concern. :-))

    Sandy

    ReplyDelete
  2. I hear you - samples that don't come in a spray I rarely wear. If I buy my samples from theperfumedcourt, I do try to buy the smallest spray size, that's for sure.

    "skin particles..." heheee!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yes, I am seeing my neglected sample collection with an even more jaded eye, following your mention of skin flakes! I know my mum said "You eat a peck of dirt before you die, but still..."

    I don't feel as though I am properly "dressed" either after dabbing a sample, though I will occasionally wear them, because their bulging bags make me feel guilty, and because I really fancy wearing that scent despite its less than optimal presentation.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I wear the samples 2-3 times, to review. Then they go into labeled ziplock baggies, filed alphabetically, for reference. I hate the dabbing too. If I like something I'll buy the whole bottle, even if I still have samples, just so I don't have to dab anymore. Spray samples are the best, like Ormonde Jayne's.

    ReplyDelete

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails