Following great tradition started by two wonderful bloggers, Birgit (Olfactoria’s Travels) and Portia (Australian Perfume Junkies), once a week I or one of the guest writers will keep the lights on in this virtual leaving room, but I hope that you, my friends and readers, will engage in conversation not only with me or the other host, but also with each other.
Last week we had 91 comments, and the winner is: cookie queen cassieflower. Please contact me before the next SQ post with your choice of an indie brand’s site, for which you’d like to get the offered gift certificate.
Saturday Question #5:
Do You Keep Perfume Boxes?
On those rare occasions when I visit Facebook, I come across people posting in different perfume groups pictures of their collections: beautiful bottles displayed on shelves, dressing tables and vanity trays.
Also, in the same groups, people are selling perfumes, oftentimes without box or specifying that they’d send a box with extra postage.
It always makes me wonder: were all of those bottles testers? Or do people throw them away? Or store separately? Aren’t they afraid to expose their precious perfumes to light?
My Answer
In almost five years since I did a post on a similar topic (Thinking outside the Box), nothing has changed: all of my perfumes that have boxes are stored in them in the walk-in closet. Decants and rare “naked” bottles are tucked away into drawers in the same closet. And from time to time I’m adding to or changing a set of decorative bottles on my display tray. Wait… not exactly “nothing has changed”: we’ve added an accordion door to the closet, so now my perfumes are even more protected from a stray sunbeam that theoretically might peek into my bedroom through shades.
So, throwing away a box or keeping perfume that came in a box outside feels completely unnatural to me.
How about you? If we get to 75 comments, I’ll do one more round of a random draw for a $25 (or equivalent in pounds or euro) gift certificate to an indie brand of your choice.
Do You Keep Perfume Boxes?
Undina's Looking Glass 
I keep every single box. Always have done. Every perfume is in its box in a wardrobe. And PLEASE re-roll the dice Undina – I have access to so many things, and give the chance to someone else. I was shocked to see my name and that was great enough!!! Look after yourself. We need you. ❤️💋
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Your wish is my command! I still had that randomizes list on my screen, so it wasn’t hard to announce the second commenter from it.
Do you go every time through the process of getting perfume out of the box, applying and then putting it back again?
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Yep. Of course. Part of my ritual.
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I didn’t used to. I have four cabinets of just bottles. The boxes are in bags in the attic. Now, I store all in boxes since then. It’s easier to stack them!!!!! And keeps the light out. I’m a convert.
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You’re right about the “stackability” of boxes perfumes, which becomes an issue after one accumulates more than a certain number of bottles.
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I can’t imagine throwing a perfume box out. All bottles live in the wardrobe inside their boxes. I take them in and out each time I wear them. Except for my last week at work when only Diorella would do so I kept it out of its box but inside.
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When I read that some people actually threw away boxes, it felt weird: I kind of see getting an unboxed tester or re-homing someone’s old bottle, but to have a perfectly good box and discard it… No :)
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I also keep the boxes. All my perfumes, including testers, decants and samples are all inside my perfume cabinet. When I finish a boxed scent and I see that one of my unboxed testers can fit in that box, I just keep it and relabel it so the tester is more preserved. I am always concerned about evaporation and exposure to air and light even though they are always stored in the cabinet.
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I think I get a little (?) OCD when it comes to perfumes and light: my bedroom is dark most of the time (closed blinds) – and still I’m religiously closing walk-in closet’s doors.
I like your idea of reusing boxes, but I don’t remember when was the last time I finished any bottle :)
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I mostly keep the boxes in case i want to sell a bottle later. But i store the boxes separately. My bottles live in a dark cupboard in my shady bedroom, so they are protected well enough.
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Don’t you miss the whole ritual of opening a box, getting perfume out, etc.?
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All my perfumes which came in boxes I keep in the boxes. The ones without boxes are stored in a fancy storage box.I dont have any on display.
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I like your idea of a fancy storage box. I think I’ll go there next since I’m running out of shelf space.
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I’m in the UK and I buy the fancy boxes from The Works.. Have a loo k on their wesite to see what kind of boxes I mean.They are qquite deep as well. The ones I bought after Christmas in the sale had a lovely Art Deco style lady on the lid.
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When I started I didn’t realize I would want to keep the boxes. So a good number of my older perfumes don’t have them: also, a number of my secondhand perfumes don’t have them either. I don’t store in boxes, though – I keep everything on trays on a long shelf in my closet, so they are dark and cool. I learned some time ago that I will “forget” the boxed perfumes. Since not everything is boxed, nothing is boxed!
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You have a long shelf to keep all of your perfumes (even if not to count minis!) :)
But it should be a joyful view.
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I don’t always keep the boxes, but I’m more likely to if there’s something special about them (like design or construction). Maybe that will change as the collection grows, though!
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Where do you keep your bottles?
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Right now I have only 20 bottles – including 1 in a drawer at work (where it’ll stay indefinitely) and 1 still unopened in its original packaging including the box and cellophane wrap – so it’s easy to display them on shelves, a desk, and a dresser. That’s why I’m admitting that the strategy may need to change if I get more bottles…
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I’m curious, which one is banned to the office and why?
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Haha… It’s Red Musk from The Body Shop, which I bought on impulse after trying it at a Duty Free shop years ago. At the time, I was still mostly a one-bottle kind of girl (the main bottle was probably CK Euphoria) so this was “extra” and one day I realized that some office mates who usually left the office earlier than me would leave some bad smells behind and I could surreptitiously spray perfume in the area to mask it. Maybe because of that, or regardless, I don’t care for Red Musk that much anymore, so haven’t brought it home even though I haven’t sprayed it in quite a while. It serves the idea of keeping a bottle of perfume at work, without worrying if anything happens to it.
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Yes, i always keep boxes in case I want to swap or sell a perfume later on. My collection is constantly getting changed, revised, as my tastes may change, become more refined, or sometimes I just sell or swap things I don’t wear enough anymore. And I like the boxes, they’re pretty.
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I agree! Many boxes are pretty on their own. I just wish some of them were smaller (looking at you, L’Atessa).
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I love these Saturday questions. They get me thinking about this perfume hobby/fascination of mine from different angles. I don’t think I’ve had a conscious policy about keeping boxes or not. In thinking about it I realize that it’s changed over the years as the number of bottles have grown. I think in the beginning with very few bottles I kept them in boxes. It was easy. But after awhile as the numbers grew I felt I was losing track of them in a way, especially with several from the same house. It’s as if the box was a kind of separation from the essence somehow that in my mind the bottle isn’t.
I keep many perfumes in 2 dresser drawers, cool and dark and was starting to not just lose track of them but was running out of room. Some of the boxes I enjoyed the most took up a fair amount of space and it just wasn’t practical to keep them all, so out many of them went. Not all, it seemed to be based on how bulky the box was. I noticed most of my Serge Lutens are still in boxes inside my dressers.
As the numbers grew even bigger I started keeping more in boxes again as I began to store more on top of the dressers and wanted to keep the juice protected from light.
I think on the whole, I prefer to see and interact with the bottles. I love seeing the juice and the level of the juice and the differences in the bottle shapes helps me keep track of them.
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I understand your reasoning.
Ideally, if I were to have a perfume closet, I’d put them in a way that would allow me to see each box (still wouldn’t probably keep them out :) ). But with the space I currently have, they are arranged rather in a Tetris-like manner. And in this configuration boxes are essential.
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I keep the boxes. The ones in Switzerland are in their box inside a bigger box in my parents cellar. The ones in Chile are outside but stored together with the boxes inside my bedroom wardrobe (not much choice to store them but its cooler there and no light).
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In a cellar! Sounds romantic :) If I had a cellar, I would have absolutely use it for my perfumes.
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If the perfume came boxed, then that’s how it stays. I wouldn’t dream of dumping the box as it’s an extra level of protection against heat and light. My perfumes are kept in dresser drawers and they’re stored upright (size permitting) . I know where every single one of them are situated within the drawers, and they’re packed in tight. I use in the morning and put it straight back into the drawer. I never leave any out on top of the dresser, wouldn’t risk it😃 My matching body lotions and oils are in a box on a wardrobe shelf, out of the light, of course.
I didn’t realise that there was any draw for a gift voucher? I obviously skipped over that. But who provides it? I sound awfully stupid, I know.
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Your description of how you store your perfumes is an extra vote for having manageable collection :) I have a good hold on the approximate location of the most of my bottles (and even decants), but it’s getting harder to get to some of them.
Now to a less important topic – the draw. I’m the one who provides them. Portia used to do drawings for sample packs of perfumes from his collection. I plan to do it from time to time also (and my guest writer hajusuuri also plans to “sponsor” those sample pack draws). But in the current situation we’re probably better off not sending packages even inside the country – and I’m not sure it will even work with international shipping. So, instead I’m offering a gift certificate to an indie brand of winner’s choice, hoping to help to support those smaller brands.
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That’s incredibly generous of you😊 I would feel rather greedy taking this as it’s coming out of your own pocket. And on the other hand it would be ungracious to ignore your kindness. I’ll ponder 🤔
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Let’s look at it as a support for your favorite indie brand: either you add your own money and buy perfume for yourself that you were postponing buying – they benefit; or you’ll buy some samples and use them (if you like them; and maybe find your next perfume love) or pass onto someone else who might never try them otherwise, thus helping to promote the brand. If you think about it: making decants from my collection, including all the supplies and postage and time to pack everything and send out, especially if sending overseas, would probably be even costlier.
I hope, I persuaded you :)
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I’m persuaded 👍🏼 I’ve plumped for 4160Tuesdays. I’ve been promising myself a bottle of Over the Chocolate Shop for ages. This will get me motivated to finally place the order. Thank you so much 😊
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I don’t know why it held it in moderation.
Now we need to figure out how to get a gift certificate there. But in any case, I’ll need your e-mail address – send it to my e-mail (see the About page).
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I replied. It’s disappeared again. Gah😡 I hate you, WordPress.
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Oh please let this have posted, I forgot to save it again 🤦🏻♀️
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:)
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Except for second hand bottles that came without a box I definitely keep the boxes but, they are all stored separately from the bottles because otherwise the collection would take up too much room and I’m too lazy to get them out of the box each time I want to wear them. I do keep the perfumes stored away in a closed cabinet away from heat or light. I think the boxes are part of the overall joy of the fragrance and some (especially from Arabic houses) are so ornate! Plus, it certainly helps with moving and/or selling if you have the original box.
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It’s good to see you! How are you doing? (Since you haven’t participated in the last week’s poll).
Your reasoning sounds appealing (and several more commenters above do it this way), but even if I could persuade myself to take bottles from the boxes, I wouldn’t have space to store them separately :).
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Most of my perfumes are on top of a dresser in the bedroom, so they need the box, even if there’s a curtain and blinds to keep most of the light out. Also, I like the design of many of the boxes, so wouldn’t throw away any unless I really had to. Two or three perfumes in heavy rotation may sit outside the box for a week or two at a time, but mostly I put the bottle back in the box. If I’m in a total rush in the morning, I can always find a sample or travel spray in the desk organiser in my office or a sample or two in my handbag. So I find it easy to live with the boxed bottles.
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Top of a dresser… Nah, I do not have a room for a dresser of that size :) (I know, I know, my collection is excessive).
When I take perfume out of the box, I always put it back. If I don’t have time to do that, I’ll use one of the decants. I have decants for many of my FB perfumes – both to take with me if I want to re-apply and not to spend time on fishing a box from the rare row on the shelf.
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I do keep some boxes, but not many. Most of my bottles are in a cabinet. Looking at the boxes I do have they seem to be decorative, which is probably why I kept them. Right now on my desk I have a Tory Burch gift box that has beautiful floral motif on it called “Green Knock On Wood & Signature Eau De Perfume Duo Set Fragrance.”
I also have some Ed Hardy boxes for the artwork, and a few Tom Ford and Mugler, because they’re kind of expensive and I hold the boxes in case I tire of them or dislike a blind buy, and want to sell them.
The Express issued some 80s themed perfume, and I kept the black & white box because the font lettering and colors are very 80s.
Another interesting box I have is DKNY Be Delicious, which has a kind of recycled paper box that feels very good to hold like grocery bag texture, and coordinates with the really interesting apple shaped perfume bottle.
I’m new to your blog, hi! :)
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Hi Picky Perfumer! Welcome to my blog!
Some perfume boxes/packaging looks so nice that it seems wrong not to display them :)
I found that Tory Burch set online: it looks cute!
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I’m in moderation I think?
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Did you try to post something else but the 2 comments above? If yes, then it’s gone: I checked, and it’s neither in pending nor in spam folder. I’m sorry.
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It’s a silly WordPress thing. It flat out refuses to keep me logged in. I have to log in every time I comment. Frustrating. And then my comments or replies just disappear into the aether. Grrrr
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I don’t keep original perfume boxes unless they are more ‘solid’ ones, like coffrets made of wood for example.
I store my perfume in Ikea boxes – they are nice and solid, covered with fabric. They protect the juice in a good way.
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I feel like if they are in boxes I don’t use them as much. Yes I am so lazy opening and shutting the box seems like a pain.
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Lucas, it looks like you’re in minority. I’m wondering, if it’s a “men thing,” since that separation of bottle and box and offering boxes sent for extra money I saw, mostly, in male-dominating FB swap/sell groups :)
I think I need to get a nice box for storing my samples – those that I’m not ready to part with but do not need to reach for too often.
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I don’t display my perfumes in boxes, as I am unwilling to go through the effort to unbox every time I want to spray. In the early days I only kept the box if it was particularly pretty or unique. Now I tend to keep them, and store them separately. Now that I have started selling some of my unworn/unloved perfumes, I regret not keeping all the boxes. People seem to value them.
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It’s not as much a box itself that I value, but usually, if perfume is without a box, I start questioning how exactly it was stored… Because of that I stopped buying used bottles – with or without boxes: I don’t trust people I don’t know. Besides, there are so many places where people do not have or use A/C during summer heat that I have doubts about the condition of used perfumes.
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I throw them all out unless they are solid like the Memo boxes. Those ones I will probably repurpose for mailing bottles to people (but not the Memo bottles heh). I keep all of my bottles in the dark none on display. I have new one I will display because it’s totally opaque but as soon as it warms up a bit it’s off to the closet for it. I will often wear several fragrances a day and taking them in and out of the boxes would drive me batty!
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I have decants for the most of my FBs (unless they are 30 ml or less), so I don’t always fish them out from the shelf. But if it’s easy enough to get out, I’d open a box, spray perfume from the bottle, and then take a decant with me.
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I tend to keep the boxes as they are easier to store. I don’t have a display right now but I am thinking that I may at some point. My frequently worn perfumes are in a rolling 3-drawer plastic cart in my bedroom. I also have some in the spare bedroom and an open front cabinet in the living room. There are two similar cabinets in the basement, one of which has some perfumes inside the closed cabinet and the other one I have to clear the stuff and repurpose as another perfume cabinet. The bookshelf next to it will also house perfumes. In the meantime, I have perfumes in plastic tubs and some cardboard boxes. The decants and samples – ummm, never mind.
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I see… Now I understand what you mean when you say that you need to find something :)
What are those “plastic tubes”? I
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They are plastic tubs or totes with separate lids. I have various sizes and some stack up nicely. My eventual goal is to reorganize them by house so finding things will be much easier. It will be a while yet before I tackle this project.
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The boxes get tossed. I get great joy in viewing my collection, lined up on tiered shelves in my closet–the beautiful bottles, the colorful juices, the physical artistry of it all. Many boxes are interesting and attractive, but none so much to me as what is inside.
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It’s interesting how different we all are. For me perfume is “not complete” if it’s unboxed.
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I always keep boxes if the bottles came in one, unless they got squashed in transit, or I managed to damage them somehow. Saying that, I may have ditched the odd one of Puredistance, as the ‘bottle’ is so small relative to the packaging, and they take up a lot of space. I have most of them, certainly.
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And, as we know now, for some of them you had even two https://undina.com/2017/07/15/almost-newcombs-paradox/ ;)
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