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Saturday Question: Do You Participate In Perfume Events?

Before COVID, in larger cities perfume enthusiasts used to organize in-person events – Sniffapalooza in New York, Perfume Lovers London and others. When the pandemic started, many events moved online, which made a lot of sense: samples can be delivered via post, and then the discussion might happen virtually. These days, some events returned to brick-and-mortar boutiques, while others maintain their online format. So, the question for you this week:

 

Saturday Question on Undina's Looking Glass

 

Saturday Question #240:

Do You Participate In Perfume Events?

Event in person where a specific brand is presenting their lineup (if it’s a new brand) or the most recent collection. Or a virtual one where samples are delivered in advance of the online meeting? If you do, do you enjoy the format? If you don’t, why?

My Answer

In the last couple of years, I’ve been in a low-buy to no-buy mode. So, from time to time I decide that, being a perfume blog, I have to do some testing of current offerings that I can’t try in my local department stores. So, from time to time, I sign up for online events that include receiving sets of samples. A part of signing up for these events, paying and receiving the sets work for me wonderfully: samples bought this way are much cheaper than you’d pay for the same number/volume of samples if you were to order them separately. But after that… I did connected to a couple of events organized by the Beautyhabit. But, in general, after trying perfumes when they arrive and not liking most of them (a regular thing for me), I don’t feel compelled to spend another hour listening to how the brand had arrived at the creation of perfumes that I didn’t like – so, after getting and testing samples I just skip the meeting itself.

The last brand I tried this way was Frederico Perfumes. It was organized by Sniffapalooza. I got a set of 6 perfume samples, tried them all and realized that since I do not even like, let alone love, any of them, I could care less about the story behind their creation. So, I skipped the meeting altogether.

There are a couple of in-person event in the next month in San Francisco, but since I do not plan to buy any of those perfumes, it doesn’t make much sense to attend them. I’m still eyeing the Beautyhabit‘s Up Close & Personal event with Parfums de Nicolai. They offer 5 new fragrances for $30 (including S&H and a $10 discount for future purchases), so it seems like a good offer – but I am not really into gourmand scents, and there’s just one Nicolai’s perfume that I like – so I’m not sure if I should spend even $30 to try these new perfumes…

So, if I’m being completely honest, I do not care much for these events, but I treat them as an opportunity to test perfumes I wouldn’t have otherwise, not expecting to find the next Holly Grail.

I know that you’re here not for this. But if have a postal address in the US and would like to try Frederico Perfumes, just add to your comment “I’m in the US” or “I’m in,” and I’ll add you to the draw for an almost new set of 5 samples from this brand – maybe they’ll work better for you.

 

How about you?

 

Do You Participate In Perfume Events?

37 thoughts on “Saturday Question: Do You Participate In Perfume Events?”

  1. Yes, I’m not really into these kinds of events, but I have participated in a few. There’s a local perfume store here that organises a few of these trial events per month. It’s usually on a smaller scale with limited numbers, so it’s a bit easier to ask questions etc. I’ve done a couple, but I don’t think I’ve ever discovered a new perfume I love through one of these online events. By the way I sampled all 3 of the new Nicolai gourmands and can’t say I enjoyed any of them.

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      • I’m with you now. The last fragrance I bought was Nicolai’s Rose Bourbon and I do like it very much, but it’s the only new fragrance I’ve liked in a very long time. Rose Bourbon is gourmand in that it centers around a rum alcohol note, but it’s very rose-centric and not too sweet.

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  3. HI Undina,

    Every year I am lucky enough to get invited to a couple of importers new release events for their major brands. More than once I’ve fallen madly in love and ended up buying a bottle, sometimes two. Actually, most of my modern To Buy List has come from these events. I also like seeing the Sydney perfume crew, we aren’t a very big group and most of us at least know each other by sight.

    I’m less enamored with the BIG events. The luncheons and dinners, or launch parties for a single big name release. Though I’m pretty good at small talk and keeping a chat flow going, it all seems so stupid. I’d rather they saved all the money, sent me a travel size bottle and asked me to make some samples from it and do a giveaway on a FB group or blog I write for. Surely it would be less expensive and more effective?

    We do have some online masterclasses that happen regularly with one of our importers. They make an excellent gift, especially for people new to the craving.

    Portia xx

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    • I think I would have attended more in-person events had I lived in San Francisco. But spending 30-40 minutes in traffic (one way) and then either trying to find a non-existent street parking or paying $20-$30 for a garage parking – nah… As well I can buy a set of samples.

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  5. I usually hear about online events after they occur (just checked Beautyhabit and the Nicolaï event closed yesterday to ensure samples would arrive in time). Then realized that I already have samples (or the travel bottles) of those on offer anyway. Not much happening locally perfume-wise so I haven’t been to any events. I have also been low-buy for ages so I don’t sample extensively the way I used to.

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      • I haven’t given any of the new perfumes a lot of skin time due to my current project. My recollection is that I liked one of the three more than the others, and that they were more “grown up” gourmands but it’s not my favorite genre in any case. I’m guessing that at least one will make it into my out box once I have a chance to really wear them.

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  6. In the past, I signed up for almost everything online. I’m sorry I somehow missed the Parfums de Nicolai one, because I like that brand. However, like you, I got two or three in a row from Sniffapalooza that I didn’t really care about any of them, so I rarely sign up anymore unless I’m already familiar with the brand.

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  7. It wasn’t COVID that put an end to my attending these type in-person perfume events. It was the quality of the events themselves. They were either badly organized, or the brand’s chosen speaker was not fully invested in the presentation of the information they had to offer. Of course the other reason would be when these type events were scheduled. Sometime the one’s I might have attended did not align with my availability. To be perfectly honest, the last event that was most memorable was in 2013. It was hosted by Barneys New York here in Chicago, and the quest speaker was Frédéric Malle. It was a night I will not soon forget, since I had the opportunity to sit down with him and speak at length about perfume in general.

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  8. Seems like it was much easier to attend perfume events when I lived in the Middle East since there was always something going on in the UAE. But since being back in the States, it’s been more difficult since even though I’m relatively close to NYC it is still a big effort to get to the city. I do make the effort for certain longtime favorite brands and coincidentally was already planning to be in the city when Thierry Wasser of Guerlain was doing an event at Saks last year. I’m also looking forward to a perfumista of the NE event coming next month in Providence, RI. Otherwise, the online talks held by perfume stores can be fun but again, I am more interested if it’s a brand I am already familiar with and like. Otherwise, like you say, if I don’t like the fragrances I don’t have much interest in the story behind them. I’d love to attend something bigger like the Pitti or Esxence shows sometime!

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    • I would love to attend one of those European events, but it’s too far from where I live, so it would be hard to organize even if I could get a pass as a blogger (which I’m not even sure I would being a tiny blog). But it would be fun.

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  9. Seems like it was much easier to attend perfume events when I lived in the Middle East since there was always something going on in the UAE. But since being back in the States, it’s been more difficult since even though I’m relatively close to NYC it is still a big effort to get to the city. I do make the effort for certain longtime favorite brands and coincidentally was already planning to be in the city when Thierry Wasser of Guerlain was doing an event at Saks last year. I’m also looking forward to a perfumista of the NE event coming next month in Providence, RI. Otherwise, the online talks held by perfume stores can be fun but again, I am more interested if it’s a brand I am already familiar with and like. Otherwise, like you say, if I don’t like the fragrances I don’t have much interest in the story behind them. I’d love to attend something bigger like the Pitti or Esxence shows sometime!

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  10. Please don’t include me in the draw, but my answer is that I’ve never attended one for a specific brand. During the pandemic, there were several educational perfume talks that I joined online, some including emerging brands. I also attended ScentXplore virtually in 2021 and in person in 2022, and in each case discovered a perfume that I later bought, but the atmosphere was too large and overwhelming for me to want to go again and again. Like you, I seldom like what I sample enough to pursue it, and I’m actually thinking to sample less and enjoy my bottles.

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    • Years ago, when i realized that I was testing new perfumes more than wearing my favorites, I changed my approach. First, I made a rule that I should wear one of perfumes from my collection at least 3 times a week. As my collection grew, I moved to wearing perfumes I owned every day and testing in evenings (week days) and in the morning (weekends).

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  11. These types of events just aren’t available where I live. During Covid there was a skincare brand I liked, who would send generous samples and I did the online live events and really enjoyed them. In terms of perfume I’ve never attended such an event. If I were living in a city, and a perfumery offered something like this I would probably go because I know what’s involved in trying to make an event special, and I would support my local perfumery. I do love reading about these events when other people go :)

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  12. I have participated in some of the Sniffapalooza virtual events during Covid. I’ve participated in some of the more recent Zoom Beautyhabit perfume events, also. But, lately, I just test the fragrances on my own and don’t always tune in to the online events.

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  13. I used to attend in-person perfume events back in the day – organised by Basenotes, Perfume Lovers London, individual brands, or just ad hoc groupings of perfumistas who already knew one another. My interest is at a lower level now as you know, so I would not be bothered about attending sampling events, especially of a brand that was quite obscure. That said, I nearly attended an online sampling exercise, which I may even blog about even though it did not happen… ;)

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