I already have enough perfumes to wear to any occasion or that I can make do for any occasion, but I still keep buying new ones. Without a doubt, I have had people asking me, ‘Why buy more?’. But what they don’t understand is that buying perfumes makes me happy.
People like buying perfumes because they are constantly searching for something that will surprise them or give them certain memories that they have or haven’t experienced yet. Scents are powerful – they can make you feel a certain emotion or imagine a story that you haven’t lived.
But there are more reasons as to why we cannot stay away from perfumes, and sometimes it can go long enough to become a perfume addiction.
Why Do People Buy So Many Perfumes?
When I find something that I like, I want to own a bottle of it. Like they say, ‘perfume tells stories’, and as a lifelong story lover, I am always up for new stories. But people like to buy and collect perfumes for various reasons, some even buy them every month because of various reasons some of which are listed below:
- Perfume connoisseur: Some people are such an enthusiast that they like to try out various new releases by their favourite brands. They also like to collect rare perfumes and often have very good knowledge of notes, and the quality of perfumes.
- Perfume influencers: There are many perfume influencers on YouTube, some of whom are also perfume enthusiasts and experts. They bring informational videos and reviews of new releases, or perfumes in general. Based on their reviews, a lot of consumers reach a decision about their next purchase.
- Decant sellers: There are decant sellers in the perfumery world, who often deal locally. They buy high-end perfumes and make smaller quantity decants like 5ml, 10ml, or 30ml of perfumes to sell to someone who wants to test out the perfume before buying.
Decants offer a different experience than testing perfumes in retail stores as with even a 5ml of perfume, you can spray it 4-5 times depending on your usage. And this allows you to test the perfume on different days, and weather, and enough time to decide if it’s a perfume you’re excited about or has grown in you.
What is Perfume Addiction?
Perfume addiction is the compulsive purchase or compulsive need to wear perfumes everywhere, all the time. It’s not much different from shopaholism when it comes to purchasing.
Perfume addiction also means obsession with one particular fragrance, and not going anywhere without it. Also known as olfactory addiction, this type of addiction can be as bad as drug addiction and can be psychological in nature. Perfumes’ evoking emotions and memories which ultimately are pleasurable is one of the reasons why getting addicted to perfumes is so easy.
The addiction associated with perfumes can be financially crippling and unhealthy, at least in the 21st century. Had it been the 18th century, perfume addiction could also be the cause of your death.
Yes!
Several historical accounts suggest that it was the obsession with perfume that got Marie Antoinette, the Queen of France, and her family captured while trying to flee eastern France.
Some claim that the queen’s travelling chest, which was found by her chambermaid, had too many supplies of perfumes indicating she was escaping, while some claim that smelling fragrant among her fellow non-fragrant travellers gave her away.
How to Fight Perfume Addiction?
Fighting perfume addiction requires understanding the reasons behind your perfume addiction. But some of the common reasons are:
- Obsession with one particular perfume: Mary Antoinette was obsessed with her favourite perfume, Le Sillage de la Reine, also known as Queen’s Wake. While this perfume probably smells great, it is probably because of a sense of familiarity which brings comfort that makes her want to keep using the perfume over and over again.
To avoid having the same effect, you can have more than one perfume and not be obsessed with that one particular perfume. Note that it can also become counterproductive because you do not want to end up being obsessed with buying many perfumes.
- Social influence: Watching social media posts of fragrance collections, or watching YouTube videos of fragrances can also lead to getting addicted to buying fragrances.
Understand that you don’t need every fragrance. So, before you get swayed by another fragrance review and compelled to buy it, take a look at your collection and find out how many fragrances lying there that you don’t reach out for. You can also opt not to watch those videos but I don’t think watching is the problem as long as you have control over yourself. In fact, sometimes those videos are entertaining and educational to watch.
- Mental Health issues: Mental health issues like anxiety or depression can be the problem linked to excessive buying of perfumes. Just like buying clothes or eating without limit, spending money on fragrances might be a way of escaping bad phases of your life.
However, it is important to note here that this way of escaping is not healthy at all, and you might want to focus on understanding where your issues are coming from and considering professional help.
How to Manage Your Expenses?
- Buy decants: Buy 10 ml or 15 ml decants, which will give you enough sprays to either fall in love or fall out of a perfume. This will also help you decide if you truly want this perfume or if it’s just the hype. For me, it doesn’t take more than 5ml decants of most fragrances to say if I will be buying that perfume.
- Buy partials: Sometimes buying fragrances doesn’t mean the scent or the liquid itself, but owning a bottle for your collection. In this case, you can buy partials from the local perfume groups, or from a friend. But note that, it’s not always safe online as you have a high chance of getting scammed.
- Sell your unused perfumes: Do you have a perfume collection or a perfume shelf? Look for a perfume that you hardly reach out to, gather them all, and find buyers. It can be your friends, online communities, or second-hand stores that can take them.
Once you have cleaned out all your unused perfumes, you should automatically be more aware of blind buying or limitless buying because now you know selling your unused perfumes is a hassle.
My Final Thoughts
Getting addicted to buying or wearing perfume is a common thing in the fragrance community. Some buy perfumes monthly, and some others every 2-3 months. But if you are losing money, and it is affecting your finances, this is when you should start looking into the problem a little more closely.
