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Hitting On All Sixes

Today is my blog’s sixth anniversary. And since I like anniversaries, classifications and numbers, I prepared six by six groups of the blog-related observations and topics.

Six Lessons I Learned

When blogging and reading other blogs occupies a significant part of your free time, it’s inevitable to spend some time thinking about the dynamics of the blogs’ lives as well. The thoughts, as subjective as they might be from somebody who’s looking from inside the system, are based not only (or necessarily) on the experience with my blog, but on observations I made in the perfume blogosphere over the last six years. I do not think these are topic-specific, but that’s the topic I’m familiar with.

  1. Unless you provide a valuable “public service”-type content (such as a constant stream of in-depth reviews, industry news or reviews of the most recent releases that are “it” at the moment either in the Perfumeland, or in the mass-market); or your blog is an accepted community hangout; or you run frequent giveaways, you have to build personal relationships with other bloggers and perfumistas: that’s almost the only way to “meet people” who might be interested in what you have to say. I do not remember ever becoming a reader of any small blog from finding them on Google. Have you?
  2. Readers who come to the blog just to participate in a giveaway rarely stay as active participants. So unless you’re making money from ads on your blog or help some brand you like with their promotion, there is no reason to widely advertise giveaways.
  3. While in the author’s head some posts, series or topics are inter-connected, for most readers it’s “here and now,” so you have to repeat that your whole life you hated the smell of milk, were afraid of butterflies or loved purple things if it’s important for your current story. You’ll weed it all out later if one day you decide to turn your blog into a book.
  4. Neither loyal readers, nor more recent comers, as a rule, follow links to the previous posts, even when those links are not just formal linking to some back review but a part of the current story (hence lesson #3). Keep linking! Once in a while you get a curious reader.
  5. Very few people read blogs out of friendship or loyalty, most read them out of habit. Once the blog stops posting regularly (whatever the regularity was for the particular blog), readers disappear. Names do not matter, but I saw at least several previously more or less popular (or at least “inhabited” in the past) blogs’ attempts to come back after a hiatus – and there was never a huge cheering crowd welcoming them back. It has always surprised me: I visit blogs, to which I subscribe, whenever I get the notification about a new post (sometimes a week later – it happens if I’m busy, but I get there), so for me it doesn’t matter if I get that notification in a month, in half a year or in a couple of years. Lesson? Make sure you have all the possible subscription options – e-mail, bloglovin, Twitter, Facebook and whatever else you might think of.
  6. People who comment meaningfully on your posts regardless of the topic; who were there when you first published the post, to which you refer today; who remember that you love everything purple even when you come back after the absence, which they’d noticed – these are people who give the true meaning to all the efforts we put into our blogs year after year after year…

Six Friends I Made

Over the years I made many more than six friends but they are my virtual friends. I hope to meet eventually with each one of them (you) though I’m a little worried: out of six people I did meet in RL, half stopped blogging (I hope, it wasn’t something I said) – Birgit of Olfactoria’s Travels, Natalie of Another Perfume Blog and Judith of the Unseen Censer.

On the other hand, the other three are still going: Vanessa of Bonkers About Perfume, Suzanne of Suzanne’s Perfume Journal and Val of Australian Perfume Junkies.

Just in case, not to disturb balance in the blogosphere, I should probably stay away from significant perfumistas gatherings but I can try some targeted strikes. Are you game?

Six Perfumes I Found

If I were to tell you that in six years I found just six perfumes, you wouldn’t believe me – and you’d be right. But my list consists of six perfumes that are not available at any of the regular stores where I live or travel. If it weren’t for my perfume hobby, I probably would have never tried these or fallen in love with them. In posts, to which I link, I tell the stories of these perfumes and people who introduced me to them: Puredistance Antonia (Mals of Muse in Wooden Shoes), Serge Lutens De Profundis (Ines of All I am – a redhead), Mona di Orio Vanille (Suzanne of Suzanne’s Perfume Journal), Krigler Lieber Gustav (Natalie of Another Perfume Blog), Ormonde Jayne Tsarina (Kafka of Kafkaesque) and Shaik Chic Shaik No 30 (Birgit of Olfactoria’s Travels).

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Six Samples for a Giveaway

I want to say “Thank you!” to hajusuuri, Vanessa, Lucas, Asali, Tara, Portia, Steve, Juli, Ines, Renee, Birgit, Natalie and many others who made it easier for me during these years to test perfumes, to which I do not have easy access. Most of the perfumes that you shared with me I would have never tried otherwise.

For the anniversary draw I tried to come up with perfumes that are hard(er) to get for the testing. One winner will get a set of 6 x 1 ml samples of the following perfumes: Amouage Ubar* (vintage), Armani Prive La Femme Bleue (limited edition), Krigler Lieber Gustav*, Ormonde Jayne Tsarina, Shaik Chic Shaik No 30* and Tommi Sooni Eau de Tommi Sooni II* (discontinued).

There’s nothing to do: I will enter into the draw every commenter unless I’m explicitly asked not to.

* I have posts about these perfumes easily accessible from My Perfume Portrait but I won’t link to them here.

Six Pictures of Rusty You Haven’t Seen Before

It wasn’t that hard to find pictures of Rusty I haven’t shared on my blog before. But it was hard to choose, which to show: he’s so photogenic! I went for more unusual poses and photos that have less chances to appear on the perfume blog otherwise.

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Six Things I Plan to Change

Nah… Just kidding. I like this blog “as is.” I’ll keep writing when I have any story to tell, want to share something nice, or feel I haven’t had enough interactions in a while with you, my friends and readers.

Today I’ll wear my all-time favorite Lancôme Climat and drink one of my favorite wines – Paradise Ridge Sparkling Shiraz. Please join me (at least virtually) in this celebration.

Rusty and Red Champagne

Images: my own

88 thoughts on “Hitting On All Sixes”

  1. Happy sixth! (Has it really been that long?) as always, you put down perfectly what blogging is all about. Having just come back from a hiatus, obviously I read with keenness what you had to say about that.
    And there can never be enough Rusty pics :-)
    I would love to be part of the draw as I only know Lieber Gustav, and would love, love to try the rest.
    A very happy blog celebration to you

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    • Thank you, Asali!
      Even though I noticed your absence, it wasn’t a real hiatus – you just sat it out for a while :) And it’s nice to see you back.
      One of the suggested changes one might consider for big anniversaries was to change a blog’s appearance. I looked at my header… and said: “No way!” :)

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  2. Happy 6th Anniversary!!! I love your blog, always have and this post just reinforces all that love because your insights are spot on. I will admit that Rusty does in part keep me coming back because he’s just so darn cute. How can you not love that picture of him peering out of the yellow box. Congratulations again, here’s to 6 more years!

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  3. Dear, Undina,
    Happy sixth anniversary! I wish you joy with all you do here (and anywhere)! Blogging is in its essence meant to be a person’s own way of enjoyment in the virtual space, no matter the topic. I couldn’t have said it better in terms of the first 6 points. I am in a periodic blogging hiatus over the last year or two, but I turned to FB regular posting to keep it alive. Because I still have something to share. I should say I should say I reinvented my love for Climat thanks to you. And I chose Ramon Monegal Impossible Iris thanks to your ”alien Diva” posting. Rusty is a winner every time!
    I wish I write DNEM, but I cannot help my curiosity – I don’t know ANY of the scents you put in the draw! Thanks for the fun, ideas and Rusty!

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    • Dear Lyubov,

      I haven’t seen you in a long while! I’m glad you’re back.

      I’ve never warmed up to FB though I visit it from time to time and post all blog’s updated – just in case it’s more convenient for my friends to receive my updates that way. BTW, let me know if you want help with turning on e-mail subscription widget for your WP theme. I wish I saw your linden post last summer: such beautiful pictures! Seeing them now made me wish for early June in Europe… Love linden!

      There’s absolutely no reason not to participate in the draw if you haven’t tried those perfumes. At least some of them are still possible to get if you end up liking them ;)

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      • Thank you for your kind words, dear Undina! Don’t worry about that email subscription widget. Lindens I rarely find fascinating in perfume, but when I do, I loose my mind :) There is a whole alley with huge old lime trees in my hometown, which is one of the reasons I love it, and cannot really leave it…

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  4. Congrats on your milestone :)
    I was intrigued with Lieber Gustav after I read about it on your Perfume Portrait a while ago…sounds lovely as do the others…and thank you for the draw (says the minimalist who is technically supposed to be downsizing her perfume collection :) !!!!)

    and I will take a glass of that wine!

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    • Thank you, chocolatemarzipan8! (BTW, why 8? I can’t believe that when you tried to register there were 7 previous chocolatemarzipans! ;) )

      Those 1 ml samples are nothing! Just to “take a quick look”! It won’t deter you much in your downsizing pursuit :)

      Oh, and thank you for following the links in the post.

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      • I wanted to go with Marzipan but that name was already taken…I went with 8 as it is supposed to be a lucky number :)

        I enjoyed reading the other posts :)

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  5. Congratulations on your SIXTH blogoversary, Undina! That is indeed reason to celebrate. How time flies.
    Enjoyed reading your lessons and I especially chime with number 6.
    Particularly loved the “porthole” pic of Rusty. Such a photogenic puddy cat, it’s true.
    If by “targeted strikes” you mean visiting other bloggers/perfumistas I would be totally up for that!

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    • Thank you, Tara! Time goes fast, I agree – so we have to get the best use of it! (and I hope to take you up on your concession to the “targeted strike” ;) ).

      Speaking of pictures of Rusty: I cannot believe nobody noticed (or, if they did, commented on the two pictures after the one that everybody liked: they both were made from the same position seconds apart: I was taking pictures as Rusty decided to jump up – so I managed to take that second picture and catch him in my arms after that. I should have probably done the captions.

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      • Ah I didn’t realise that was what was happening in the pic after Rusty is on the floor! Others probably didn’t either. Great shot.
        I shall keep my fingers crossed for the targeted strike :)

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    • Thank you, Portia. It’s always great to see you. I’m amazed with your organizational skills: you have quite a team!
      When I started blogging, for a while I was reluctant to use pictures of Rusty on the blog: I used a couple of relevant pictures but then I didn’t want to just use his cuteness unrelated to the topic of the blog. But then, as I was taking pictures for the blog, Rusty started inserting himself into them… And now he’s an inextricable part of my blog.

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  7. Congratulations on your 6th anniversary! Please know that I very much appreciate the time, energy and thought you put into your wonderful blog, even though I don’t comment much.
    By the way, do you have any tips on how I can train my cats to be more like Rusty when it comes to my taking their picture? They never pose for me when (or how) I want them to! Any suggestions are most welcome :)
    Again, congratulations, and all the best for the years to come.

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    • Thank you, Lena. I appreciate your kind words.
      As for pictures of Rusty, you probably didn’t see my post, in which I showed what usually happens when I’m taking his pictures around perfumes (if you’re curious, take a look). But, in general, I just use his natural curiosity (he always comes to check what I brought for my photo shoot) and try to make as many pictures of him as possible in those 30 seconds before he satisfied his curiosity. And sometimes I get lucky, and he decides to play with the packaging or small objects. But he never poses!
      I’m sure you’ll be able to trick your cats with some ribbons or crunchy plastic wrap – and then just keep taking shots :)

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  8. Six years, my oh my, time does fly indeed! Congratulations, dear Undina!
    I’m honored to be mentioned and to assure you, it was nothing you said that stopped me blogging… ;)
    I am hardly in Perfumeland anymore, but when you post, I am always there (even if mostly silently).
    Hug your adorable Rusty for me (That photo in the box!!! Too cute!!!).
    B xxx

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    • Dear B., can I say that I still miss your blog the most? I completely understand you decision to move on, but your blog was the closest to my idea of a perfect blog/community. I hope you can still enjoy perfumes (and it’s you who I’m thinking about every time my allergic cough re-appears).
      I’ll hug Rusty if you promise to tell your little champion that there are strange people on the other side of the World who feel proud of him – even though they’ve never meet him in RL :)

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  9. I really only comment on very few blogs and even that I cant get around to doing just right now, but I definitely suscribe to yours and lurk :) congratulations on your milestone! Glad you are still blogging! Please don’t enter me, I’m far away in Chile and I’m pretty sure it won’t arrive.

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    • Hi Mariann! I’m glad you de-lurked. Thank you.

      How sure are you there will be problems with the package? I know nothing about postal regulations in Chile but I’m prepares to risk it – if you are.

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  10. Big congratulations on your 6th anniversary! That is no mean feat, not least because you have maintained both frequency and quality all those years. Your posts are as insightful, detailed and entertaining as on Day One. Which I may have missed, admittedly. Like Tara, point No 6 especially chimed with me, but Nos 3-5 also rang bells! I chuckled at the comment about people forgetting you love purple things and hate milk etc – it is so true that it is difficult to gauge how long any reader has been reading and what they may or may not have remembered from before.

    Those ‘clippings on the cutting room floor’ of Rusty are priceless. He is spectacularly photogenic and such a character. Oh, DNEM…and enjoy your Shiraz. In the picture it looks like it’s got a frothy head. ;)

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    • Darn! I hoped so much that I’ve progressed at least a little since I dared to post six years ago my first not work-related text in English ever ;-P

      Now I think that I should have been less poetic with the examples: I’m afraid some readers might get wrong impression that I am afraid of milk and hate butterflies… Oh, well – at least I do like all things purple.

      Jokes aside – thank you, Vanessa. While B. was my inspiration for the “whole blog experience”, you are my Title Hero: I love both the wittiness of your playing on words, and the complete disregard of the CEO :)

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      • Haha, what I meant by my opening comment is that your posts all seem to have the same ‘weight’ and ‘meatiness’ and have never varied in that regard. I know I tend to think of something that is more of a ‘quick win’ if I am pushed for time, whereas even in your super busy phases – which has been most of the time in recent years – your posts seem as detailed and involved as ever. ;) I also meant to thank you for the mention and linkage. Yes, I have no doubt that my titles languish in cyberspace never to be discovered by the Google bots. And my post labels are also sketchy and probably pointless too. And I don’t care, it’s true!

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  11. Congratulations! Thank you for sharing your valuable lessons with us, Undina. I loved reading them especially about the power and need to repeat what you like. Rusty is so photogenic and beautiful I always love to see photographs of him. Xxx Esperanza

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  12. Happy 6th anniversary! Time does fly. ☺
    I really enjoyed your post. It brought back those lovely times when the people you mention in your post wrote more and shared their love of perfumes amongst themselves. Ahh, the great perfume blogging times of our past. 😉 Well, mine at least.

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    • Thank you, Ines.

      I wanted to mention that I miss your not perfume-related posts. It’s not to say that I didn’t like your perfume insights, but that’s something more regular, what I was getting elsewhere as well. But your books, your running and your vacations was something extra, specific just to you – and I miss that… Ok, forget about perfumes (if you’re too busy, I mean), but are you sure you do not want to do a book review or two? I can even promise to read a book that you’ll recommend (and if you’d knew my workload for the next couple of months, you’d know it’s a serious commitment on my part ;) ).

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      • Well hopefully I will write a review or two but the problem is, I haven’t been reading much. 😟 I do have some books I read but haven’t written about – books I really enjoyed. Ok, I’ll try and do it. I’m slowly starting to feel better generally so I’m trying to find the time for the things I enjoy doing (reading and writing being amongst those). A little push in the right direction is never a bad thing. 😉 Thank you!

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  13. Undina, heartiest congratulations on your anniversary. I liked your title because, to my mind, you are one of those rare persons who seem to always be “hitting on all sixes,” both in terms of your writing and your personal interaction with others. Your viewpoints are fascinating, your helpfulness and generosity is exemplary, and the way you share the incredibly handsome Rusty with us is a treasure, for certain.

    Although I wouldn’t count myself as one of the bloggers you have met who is still going, it’s lovely that you think of me that way. I’m just thrilled I kept going long enough to have met you (and to have had the pleasure of doing that in person). Once again, congrats! DNEM in the draw.

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    • You are! You are still blogging! Once every 2-3 month is not that bad, especially taking into the account that you don’t engage in public conversations with your readers (yet? ;) ).

      Suzanne, thank you for all the kind words and support I’m getting from you all these years. You are the best reader I’ve ever met, and I’m talking not only about my blog: sometimes I re-read something on other blogs after reading your comments.

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  14. Hi, what you said is so true, especially the part about readers mainly loving to read about in-depth reviews. However, there are higher chances for small blogs to be read if you post reviews about perfumes that hardly anybody posts, or simply “in-depth” photos of the perfumes because some people want to compare and see whether the perfumes they get are fake or not. I do that sometimes, and there are not many people who post photos of their perfumes at many angles, especially the bottom part of the perfume bottle where the batch code is. Hope this helps and thanks for the draw.

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  15. Happy blog birthday! 6 years is pretty dang impressive in blogland. Even though I write mostly about books rather than perfume, I think your advice applies regardless of blog subject. And thanks for mentioning some other perfume blogs — a couple of these are new to me and I look forward to exploring them.

    Also, those photos of Rusty are just darling. I especially like the one with him on a blanket with all his little toes splayed out.

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    • Thank you, looloolooweez. As a book reader, I’m positive you’ll enjoy Bonkers about Perfume, aperfumeblog by Blacknall Allen and Suzanne’s Perfume Journal (if you haven’t discovered them yet, the links are on the left in My Reading List). I mean, I enjoy reading all the blogs I read but these three go beyond being a source of information/impressions about perfume.
      Rusty has “a thing” for blankets (I left you a link in the comment on your blog: it has another picture of Rusty and a blanket – not the same one).

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  16. Congratulations on 6 years, Undina! That’s a long time in the blogosphere, and I’m grateful that you’ve been here!

    Thanks for sharing the unseen pics of Rusty. He’s so charming, he really is so photogenic! And I’m intrigued by your favorite wine. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a sparkling shiraz like that, it looks very frothy! I’ll have to keep an eye out for sparkling reds like that.

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    • Thank you, Caitlin! I’m glad to see so many “familiar faces”: you get used to fellow-bloggers, and it’s comforting when your world stays stable.
      Some wineries recently started making sparkling red wines, not just Shiraz. We found several very enjoyable wines, and keep looking for more whenever we visit new places in Sonoma.

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  17. Congratulations on the six years! Your post was very interesting and certainly applicable to other blogs. I am new to perfume land, but not new to orange cats. They are the best! Thank you for your blog which educates and entertains.

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  18. Happy sixth! I’m just coming back to reading other blogs (and only desultorily keeping up mine) so I’m very pleased you’re still at it. Please give Rusty an ear scritch from me, and I’m so glad that Antonia suited you. xo

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    • Hi Mals! Thank you. I like you current blog pace: I managed to read most of your recent posts.

      I don’t remember if I ever had a chance to mention it before but it was your Perfume Diary that inspired me many years ago to add a diary functionality to my perfume database – and since then (7 years?) I’ve been collecting records on which perfumes I wore, which I tested, what I thought about them. Thank you. And I’m pleased to see that you still do those posts.

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  19. Happy 6th! I actually found your blog on a search, when I first started to get into perfumes and wanted to read all. the. perfume. things. I continue to read because while few and far between, your posts are interesting and usually involve a cat. :-) While perfume is the focus, it’s nice to hear about the things that make a blogger a real person.

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    • Thank you, Olivia! And I’m amazed that you came to my blog from a search engine. I hope you’ll stay: I can promise you enough of a “real person” and “a cat”… Well, the cat :)

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  20. Hi Undina, I enjoyed your post and observations. I lurked on blogs a long time without commenting, and yours is a grande dame in today’s world. Six years is a long time! I too enjoy the Rusty pics and I think it is one thing that makes you relateable and unique. My daughter came up behind me one day when I was reading and Rusty was on the screen, and now bugs me to include her tuxedo cat in mine. :) I enjoy your posts, how ever often you choose to post. I hope you will long continue!

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    • Thank you, Cynthia. I was reading blogs (especially NST) for years without commenting. Actually, I think back then I wouldn’t even read comments: I didn’t think about it as of a place for communicating with others but mostly as of a source of information – why would anybody want to comment on information?!! (That was what I thought then). Clearly, a lot has changed since then.
      You should definitely use your daughter’s cat! It’s cruel to your readers not to do that when we know now you have an access to tuxedo cat! ;)

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  21. Congratulations, Undina! Here’s to sixty more! Also, thanks for the shout out. I would say a blogger should always make his/her blogger name link to their blog. I don’t exactly recall the exact sequence but I think I was googling Iris Ganache, saw a comment you left in Renee’s blog I found Ari’s blog (don’t recall how) and I think I also saw you commenting there and I ended up clicking through to this blog!

    And Rusty is just soooo adorable!

    Just to shake things up, please enter me in the draw but if my number comes up the winner, pick the 6th person on the list and make THAT person the winner!

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    • Thank you, hajusuuri! I completely agree about the link (and I wish you had commented earlier: there were a couple of earlier commenters who could have benefited from this advice ;)
      Your idea about the draw made me smile: it’s so … fitting (?)… topical (?) Will do!

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        • Sorry, love, it doesn’t work like that ;) The actual probability for each participant will be exactly the same as if you were to drop off the draw altogether. Let me know if you want me to demonstrate it to you (or you can play it out yourself by writing down all possible results assuming that you you were one of three players). But it adds a cute twist.

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  22. Happy sixth! I love reading your blog, and I loved reading about the people and perfumes you’ve gotten to know through blogging. You forgot to add “cute cat pictures” to the list of “public service-type content” though! :)

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  23. Congratulations on your Sixth! Of course, one cannot celebrate without more photos of the handsome boy cat Rusty! I always enjoy reading your blog. Thanks for making things interesting in fragranceland.

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  24. Congratulations!! I am actually quite new to your blog (I got here through The Perfume Posse) so please DNEM as your regular readers should be the ones experiencing your generosity.
    Enjoy that lovely looking glass of wine, and Rusty is a real cutie.

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      • My avatar is one of my 2 boys. Ollie is a galgo ( Spanish Greyhound) who was rescued from the streets of Madrid, and now rules over myself and his greyhound brother Beaker.
        My 2017 goal is to live life like Ollie – take naps, eat when you are hungry and stop when full, play often and cuddle every chance you get.

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  26. My comments keep getting eaten by the WordPress goblins and the page-reloading gnomes before I can even get them copied, so here’s the short version.
    1. Happy anniversary.
    2. Rusty is the most handsome ginger boy around.
    3. Sometimes I visit more for Rusty than the perfume (but I always enjoy reading about the perfume).
    4. I don’t mind when bloggers need to slow down or take a break. I get excited when my RSS reader brings up a post from someone I don’t see much from.
    5. I hope you continue to enjoy blogging for many more years!

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    • Thank you, mikasminion, on all 6 counts (I see that there’s just five points but I considered your persistence in getting this comment published as #6 :)). I hope, WP doesn’t always feel as hungry – I would hate to loose your comments to some gluttonous monster ;)
      Your avatar makes me smile every time I see it. Ginger cats, unite! :)

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  27. Happy 6th anniversary, Undina! Wow, 6 years, that’s an amazing achievement! I really enjoyed your observation on readers’ behaviors. It’s so Undina style. ;) Although I’ve been on a hiatus from blogging and not commenting on other blogs as much for a while, I still kept reading my favourite blogs; that, of course, includes yours or should I say, especially yours. How can I stay away from ever so lovely Rusty? Please give Rusty 6 kisses from me. :)

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  28. Even though I don’t always comment, I always read. The fact that we met puts a different angle on things, more intimate. I love that. Are you gonna write a book? Please!!!! I don’t drink wine, but will have a strong coffee, close my eyes and pretend we are together outside the coffee caravan in SF again. Stay exactly as you are, your blog is a treasure. No need to enter me …. Lots of love. Xxxxxxx

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    • Hi CQ! It’s always a pleasure to see you here – be that a comment, a “like” on the post or a cup of coffee in the above-mentioned place. I agree: meeting people in real life does change the prospective (hopefully, to the better ;) ).

      I’ve never thought of writing a book – it was said rather in a humorous manner, to lighten the didactic pathos of the sententia. But if I ever do, knowing myself, be assured: all names and places will be changed beyond recognition, about a 100 copies will be published (if actual books are still published then) and offered to the most trusted friends and close relatives under an oath to never show it to anybody else or divulge the identity of the author :)

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  29. Rusty is the definition of an adorable blog cat, and what would the internet be without cute cats? :) Thank you for welcoming us into your virtual living room and for sharing your perfumed thoughts. I think I first visited here when it was time to “make way for Hajusuuri.” The fragrance community is a wonderful place with very special people. Congratulations on your anniversary, may there be many happy returns of the day.

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    • Thank you, tiffanie. I agree, our community is a wonderful place, and it’s great when friends follow friends to different “counties” of our Perfumeland. As to the cats… Internet runs on cats!!! ;)

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  30. Huge congratulations for another year of successful blogging!
    Love reading your posts, they are so neat and analytical, always well done!
    Glad to have you here in the blogosphere, even if less often these days.

    Lots of love to you and Rusty

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    • Thank you, Lucas. You are my outpost (“outnose”? ;) ) in Europe: if you test something and do not like it, there’s a good chance I won’t like it either, so I can skip it altogether. With the current situation with the number of new releases yearly, it’s an extremely useful disposition :)

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  32. Congratulations on your 6th anniversary! I’ve always enjoyed your posts, especially the ones where you share stories of your life, growing up and how a perfume has some sort of a special association / meaning for you. I know my perfume collection has grown and expanded beyond the mass market offerings because of your generosity with samples and recommendations. You may know already – Nordstom’s has a preview of the new Jo Malone limited editions coming out in March

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    • Thank you, Juli! I miss our casual spontaneous discussions of perfumes: with all the positive things that came with my new job, this is one of the things I really miss.
      I knew that the new collection was coming out but I didn’t know it was already available – I’ll stop by JM counter soon – thank you for the heads-up!

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  34. Pingback: Infinity in Blog Years, or Undina’s Looking Glass is 8 – Undina's Looking Glass

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