First, I want to share something not related to this week’s question. Do you remember a SQ from a couple of months ago? Which Perfumes Would You Take If You Had To Evacuate? Last week, I went through that exercise. We had a tsunami warning and an evacuation… well, not order but advice. We had about 30 minutes to collect things and drive to a higher grounds. Since even in the worst case scenario I didn’t expect that water would come to the second floor where my perfume collection resides, I voted against trying to pack even those 5 perfumes from my list, but took a single bottle from the top of that list – Lancome Climat. Luckily, soon after we got to the grocery store on the hill, the warning was lifted, and we could return home. All-in-all, it wasn’t the most pleasant experience. I do not recommend. But back to this week’s question.
Saturday Question #244:
Where Do You Forage for Perfume Content?
Which blogs do you read? Do you visit any of the forums/sites? Do you belong to any Facebook perfume groups? Do you use Instagram? X? Do you subscribe to any newsletters? Watch YouTube channels? Something else I didn’t think of?
My Answer
My perfume world has shrunk significantly in the last several years. I still read all blogs from the “My Reading List” section (see the list on the right (desktop)/further down (mobile)). I am still subscribed to several more blogs that are hidden from the list because they stopped publishing, so if a new post appears, I’ll read it.
I regularly visit Instagram, but I’m not actively seeking any new content and mostly watch perfume-related posts from people I follow.
I stopped using Facebook (for no particular reason), and Twitter was abandoned by the most of whom I followed long time before it became X.
I tried watching several perfume channels on YouTube, but as much as I like beauty content, seeing perfume bottles and hearing scents’ descriptions weren’t “my thing.”
So, my main grazing ground is Perfume Blogosphere.
How about you?
Undina's Looking Glass 
I’m glad the evacuation was a nuisance rather than a necessity. My perfume world has also shrunk a bit, and I mostly read the same blogosphere, sometimes Fragrantica, and sometimes the blog section of the Nez magazine website. Occasionally I buy a new book related to perfume, and Nez magazine, which comes out twice a year.
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For some reason, I never took to Nez. I mean, I have absolutely nothing against it, but I never tried to get it while it was less accessible, and now when you can buy it, I don’t either.
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Mainly blogs as I enjoy long form perfume writing.
I do follow many perfumistae on IG though X is beyond the pale & FB is biased towards people I know IRL, though there are a few perfume friends I’ve clicked with on a deeper level.
YouTube isn’t really somewhere I go online unless I want a specific tutorial.
If I want more info on a specific perfume then Basenotes & Fragrantica are my first points of call. Parfumo is another.
I have got the Wikiparfum app but I rarely use it.
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Forgot to say, I’m so sorry you had to evacuate but grateful it was a false alarm
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I should check out Wikiparfum – just out of curiosity, I don’t expect it to be for me.
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I find the landscape is so different from when I started exploring perfume (somewhere around 2010-2011, I think). Blogs were everything, lots of content, something to read every day. There’s so much less available now. I do IG, personally as a diary of what I’m wearing and follow a bunch of people (but the incessant ads make IG less appealing). In the past I have watched YouTube content but grew tired of it. I guess these days I mostly sit back on my decent sized collection and try to wear what I have; consuming less content keeps the FOMO at bay! (And – I’m glad the tsunami warning was brief. How scary!)
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We’re in the same boat, so to speak: my entry to the Perfumeland also started around 2010 (as in “organized” interest in perfume information and community since my interest in perfumes themselves started decades earlier). And I also noticed that I’m less tempted by new perfumes if I don’t read much about them (for whatever reason, seeing IG photos don’t produce the same effect as reading about those perfumes in blogs).
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Great question, Undina. Certainly much has changed in my consumption of perfume content over the years. I feel that the quality of the content has shifted, especially when referring to sources like YouTube. There was a time when you would stumble upon some pretty interesting people and topics there. Today, it seems like simply a blab platform for perfume reviews. I check in there on occasion, but am quickly reminded that it’s not what it use to be. The only reason I visit anymore is for vintage video content for my featured blog post on PER FUMUS called Fragrance Flashback.
I don’t actively use FB or X at all for perfume content. The list of blogs I frequented has diminished over the years, simply because their posting completely stopped.
I am still a member of perfumo.com, and have been for about 15 years. This is yet another example of a shift in the quality of content, not from the website creators, but from the general subscribers themselves. There was a wonderful array of members that left. Parfumo’s forum pages don’t engage me the way they use to, so I barely visit them anymore. Outside of the forum, it’s a great resource for perfume information, and a place for me to take advantage of other benefits.
I have the ability to fully inventory my collection, I can also rate perfumes in my collection, as well as things I’ve simply sampled. I’ve said this on more than one occasion, I truly value these user tools. There is also their “Advisor.” This tool suggests perfumes in your collection to wear based on your selection of the time of day and season. The other benefit is you have the ability to record your scent of the day. This tool keeps track of when the perfume was last worn. In conjunction, the “Advisor” helps you to revisit perfumes that you may have neglected.
Fragrantica I’ve struggled with over the years. They have great information about noses and their perfumes, but as far as the review content, it’s all over the board. Believe me, I’ve tried.
This past year I created an account on Instagram to record my Scent of the Day. I’m a photographer and artist, and was also looking for a way to combine these interests under one umbrella. I find it a good source to keep up to date on brands, perfumers and the industry in general. I find Instagram more of a creative outlet than a content source.
I discovered Wikiparfum this year, and still am evaluating it, but in general, there is some good information available there.
Lastly, I am honored to be on your reading list, Undina. Thank you! While my blog is a springboard for self education, my hope is that my readers learn something new, or help me to learn something new in the process.
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p.s. I’m glad you’re safe and it was only a scare. Asking yourself what perfume would I grab if I had to evacuate is a daunting question when the time came.
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I missed your IG! Followed now.
For many years, I was “into forums” – just not perfume forums. I’m not sure why. I visited them periodically but never participated.
I agree that perfume tracking is useful, but since I’ve been doing it in my home-grown database for more than a decade, it’s too late for me to move anywhere.
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👍🏻 Thank for following on IG, Undina.
I don’t find myself interested in forums at all these days. I use to frequent Basenotes as well, but for some of the same reasons I outlined about Parfumo, held true on Basenotes as well. Now I find myself reading more blogs posts that forum posts.
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I’m so glad there was no tsunami and you’re safe. So scary! I follow a few blogs, yours of course, Old Herbaceous, Bois de Jasmin and Luca Turin’s substack. No youtubers for me. I get so annoyed when they blather on and won’t open a box of perfumes. I also follow brands I like on Instagram, like Guerlain, Chanel and Manos Gerakinis. I still check Fragrantica headlines frequently just to catch up on what’s new in the fragrance world, but I rarely read the articles since so many are for things I don’t care about.
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Manos Gerakinis… I keep coming across this name. Should I look closer?
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I’m happy to hear that it was only a false alarm, Undina. As for perfume content, it used to only be YouTube and the blogosphere (honoured to be on your reading list, by the way, thank you). However, as time has gone on, much less YouTube and more focus on blogs. Other sources include Fragrantica, Parfumo and Basenotes. The reviews on Basenotes are probably the best.
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The next time I’m researching any perfume, I’ll try Basebotes. Usually, I get so frustrated by the first 3-5 completely contradicting reviews on Fragrantica that I give up reading them.
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WHOA! Being asked to evacuate is terrifying. Glad it wasn’t the real deal Undina.
I still read a few blogs but comment far less these days. Many of the blogs I was heavily part of have gone. Not having APJ running anymore means there is not the same need for content anyway. I find plenty of fodder on Insta and FB. Joined BlueSky recently but it’s all a bit quiet there yet.
Moderating a couple of FB perfume pages and belonging to a few others means I get to see quite a lot of new and interesting stuff. It’s also such a nice way to keep connected with perfume peeps around the world.
Fortunately there are still a few annual invites to the launches and seasonal imports events. These keep me sort of in the loop.
Portia xx
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I thought of registering on BlueSky, but I don’t know… I should probably see if my handle is still available. Not that I need any more platforms.
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It’s pretty boring over the currently. In six months it will probably be jumping Undina
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I’m glad you stayed safe! What a shock, to get a tsunami warning! As to perfume content, I mostly prefer blogs, and the comments readers post on my own blog (thank you!), as I’m very interested in others’ experiences with fragrance. I’ve never really liked YouTube or other video reviews. I do follow some Facebook pages like Bois de Jasmin (as well as Victoria’s blog), Facebook Fragrance Friends and Eau My Soul. I enjoy Fragrantica, both the published reviews and the comments; I really like their content on specific notes and ingredients. I occasionally read Luca Turin’s Substack but haven’t taken the plunge to subscribe to it yet.
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I should add that I follow some of the folks here on Instagram, but I don’t check IG very regularly. When I do, I love seeing your posts and photos!
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I am from a similar era in terms of when I got into blogging and this hobby generally, and quite agree that the landscape is vastly different now. So many quirky and interesting blog owners are no longer around – or not blogging anyway. I cannot be doing with video reviews personally, because sometimes it takes 20 minutes to watch them, and you really want to get to the nub of what the perfume is like the way Katie Puckrik pioneered in her excellent bite size videos, and not watch a long drawn out sniffing exercise in real time, which some of them seem to be.
I hardly go anywhere for information these days! Occasionally I check perfume notes on Fragrantica, and read reviews on Victoria’s blog and Basenotes, but only using the search function. I don’t seem to have the time to devote to the hobby that I used to, despite being retired(!). I do see reviews on Instagram, but it seems a strange place to do them because I am old school, and they look to me somehow like overly long comments. Luddite, I know. ;)
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That’s a great grazing ground, dear Undina. Mine comes from everywhere, including store browsing, but mostly my too-busy brain. Ha! Ha!
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