Would I and Should I Rebuy?
Here lie all the answers to all your replenishing questions.
I have a small fragrance collection that I’m desperately trying to get through in order to make space for things newer, weirder, more beautiful, and more interesting things. Fragrance is not only an expensive hobby, but also one that requires a lot of space, so getting through a full-sized bottle is an achievement. People will say it’s impossible, but if you truly put your mind to it, you too can finish a full bottle of fragrance. Maybe after a few years, but an empty bottle is an empty bottle regardless.
After the Herculean task of finishing a fragrance, there’s always the question of “Do I need this again?” It is a hard question honestly. Over-consumption is not cute and sometimes as a collector I feel like there’s a thin line between over-consuming and enjoying my collection. But also, perfume makes me happy and I do use it everyday, sometimes more! Unfortunately, the distinction between over-consumption and regular consumption is purely mental. Only you can know if you’re overconsuming. For me, reaching the bottom of the bottle is a good sign that I am truly using my collection and I’m not just hoarding for aesthetics or clout or whatever. Also, me, a normal person with not that much money or space cannot really hoard in a meaningful way. I have my one three-tiered rotating shelf, a can of samples, decants, and minis and that’s it. I couldn’t hoard even if I wanted to. Also, me (again, not that much space or money, one person) having a potentially mildly wasteful hobby is not the end of the world. My personal perfume collection is not the reason for climate change.
If you’re wondering yourself if you should rebuy a fragrance, I personally like to factor in a few things:
Price
This one is easy. Money is hard. No one likes spending money and we all try really hard not to. If this is the most important factor to you, don’t rebuy at all and just wait for your birthday. If you’re impatient, depending on how far your birthday is from when you read this, a sugar daddy is also a good option. A sugar daddy might even be more understanding of your love for luxury than your similarly broke friends trying to understand why you need a $300 perfume and how you even came across a $300 perfume in the first place because again, you’re broke.
Longevity
Not only meaning how long it lasts on the skin, but how long has the bottle lasted on my shelf. There are some fragrances that I get through in a year (that’s fast for me) and others that take years. Will I realistically want to finish this in my lifetime? Will I be okay with it gathering dust on my dresser if I don’t?
Accessibility
Is it easy to rebuy? Can I get it at any local or major fragrance retailer? Is it discontinued? If it’s discontinued, how much does it cost secondhand? Are there many of them available secondhand? This one can get tricky. A rare discontinued fragrance might give a more serious collector more incentive to buy, but will definitely turn off casual collectors, leading them to buy a dupe instead. Do you really want to buy a dupe though? (If you do, that’s fine. I’m actually not judging. Life is hard. Money is hard.)
Do I love it?
I don’t feel the need to explain this one. This one is the most important. (Maybe not more important than price because groceries are more important than perfume.) If you truly love a fragrance unconditionally, if it’s your signature, of course rebuy it!
I finished some bottles recently which inspired me to write this piece, all of which are still in production. And if you care to know what they are…
This is a beautiful fragrance at an amazing price point. It is distinctly sharp, fruity, nutty, clean, and every so slightly syrupy. The longevity for me varies from day to day and I had the bottle on my shelf for a solid two years. If you want to smell it on yourself all day, you seldom need to reapply, but if you want others to notice, a few extra spritzes throughout the day are essential. Because I just finished it, the memory of it is recent so I don’t miss it yet. Down the line I can definitely see myself buying another bottle along with the luxurious body oil. (Edit: I just learned the body oil has been discontinued probably because I was the only person buying it.) The price point is hard to beat for something so lovely.
Another Ariana Grande! This one is a crowd pleaser and complement getter. From commonfolk to snobs, prestige collectors to indie enthusiasts, everyone loves Cloud. I like it plenty, but I prefer it on other people than on myself. It sat on my shelf for about two years, and I didn’t reach for it super often, especially because it dissipated on my skin shortly post-application. I can’t see myself buying this again because I yes I love it, but the love is conditional. If I got an Ulta gift card and there was a really cute free gift (I have Ariana Grande coasters and playing cards from buying her perfume), I could see myself buying a flanker, specifically the pink one for a change.
Cosmopolitan Eau de Juice Pure Sugar
This is basically Ariana Grande Cloud but in a stupider bottle. Yes, a stupider bottle. I know the juice box is adorable and seemingly clever, but inside the juice box is a sad glass bottle with an undetermined amount of liquid, unless you demolish the outer layer. It’s so unnecessarily hard to use. Just buy Cloud instead. The solution is always buying Cloud instead. Yes, Pure Sugar cheap, easy to buy, lasted me years (because I never reached for it) but you know what else is too? Cloud.
Honorable Mentions
Juliette Has a Gun Lipstick Fever
This is an honorable mention because this was a travel size and not a full sized bottle. I would definitely rebuy a travel size again, and maybe a mini if one were to come out around the holidays. The travel size lasted me about two years for two reasons: 1. I tried to stretch its longevity and 2. I could not figure out the best occasion to wear this. Is it best for daytime or nighttime? Yes, no, I have no idea. Maybe the ideal situation to wear this fragrance is with friends during the evening when you don’t know where the night is going. It’s appropriate to wear to a bar, but also fine for a chill night in. It smells like lipstick, but other than that has no real identity. Maybe if you were dressing as a tube of lipstick for Halloween or Chappell Roan in that one photoshoot, this would be perfect. Otherwise, I could stick my hands in my can of samples and decants and find something to fulfill the same purpose easily. This sounds like I don’t love it, but I do love the smell, just socially it’s a little weird.
This is an honorable mention because it’s a dupe (of Tom Ford’s Tobacco Vanille) and I would feel weird putting a dupe on my main list, but here we are anyway. It’s cheap and easy to buy. I’m on my second bottle which will probably be my last. For a time, I loved this fragrance, and I’ll definitely get use out of it this fall, but I find myself reaching for it less and less each day. Something more interesting can be taking up the space it takes. Maybe I’ll replace it with a real Tobacco Vanille!
I love Cloud but I find it doesn’t stay too long on me!! My current fave scent is Billie Eilish 2. It’s so musky on me and just masculine enough to be girly and sexy <3