2024 Year in Review
Sperg out with some juicy stats
Well, we’re at the end of another year. They just keep coming! 2024 was the first year that I put effort into writing for Smell World, and I am (for the most part) proud of what I’ve managed to publish. Though my footprint is small I am so grateful for it and for everyone who takes the time to read my writing. I became much more socially-involved in the “fragrance community” this year as well and it was very rewarding intellectually and spiritually. I am pleased to have made so many new friends, both online and offline.
Let’s have a look back on all the fragrances I’ve encountered over the year. Ahead you will find a thoroughly unhinged, excessively data-rich post full of statistics, reviews, and fun minutia. I’ve included information breaking down:
The number of fragrances I reviewed this year
How I rated those fragrances on a scale of 1 to 5 stars
Number of fragrances by decade, perfumer, and category
Reviews of the fragrances that defined 2024 for me, favorite new releases of the year, and new-to-me favorites of the year
Perfumes I changed my mind about over the course of the year
The amount of money I spent pursuing this hobby, broken down by category
A little recap on the posts I’ve published this year
I’ve been compelled, for some reason, to do this kind of obsessive cataloging privately for years, so I am pleased that I can share some of the output with you all. Enjoy!
Notes on the data and methodology
All of this data was compiled from the fragrance database that I built in Airtable to inventory and describe my personal collection, with the exception of the financial breakdown, which I crunched in a separate spreadsheet. I filtered the whole dataset to limit it to just the fragrances that I reviewed between 1/1/2024 and 12/31/2024. Just because I reviewed a fragrance this year does not mean I had never smelled it before or was unaware of it before I completed the review. In fact, I acquired a lot of the fragrances I reviewed this year in 2023 or earlier and hadn’t gotten around to reviewing them until now. I also smelled A LOT more than what is presented here (I only review a fragrance and add it to my database if I own at least a sample of it and have worn it for 4+ hours on my skin; I generally do not do reviews solely based on how a fragrance smells on paper. There are exceptions to this but they are very few). Some numbers may not add up perfectly because of missing data points or indiscrete categories (e.g. the same perfume may fit into both the “floral” category and the “amber” category and thus would be counted in both). I skipped analyzing fragrances by notes because it was just too much to slog through and this post is already quite long. Most of this analysis was compiled by hand by filtering on various attributes and using simple Excel formulas. I used Google’s Gemini AI to provide additional analysis with a couple Python scripts, but I didn’t have time to check its work so if anything is off, blame the machine.
This was a fun exercise and I think it really proved that the attributes I’ve been capturing are useful and robust enough for some interesting analysis. Though I’ve been compiling all this data for years, this is the first time I really sat down and analyzed a subset of it (at heart I am a wordcel not a mathcel). I don’t think that data alone should be used for decision making or drawing broad conclusions, and I think that technical knowledge is generally overrated, but there are some provoking insights into my tastes and behavior, and insights into the fragrance market that can be gleaned from this little set of data.
If you have any questions about these numbers I am happy to answer them or provide additional analysis (e.g. “What perfumes released in 2023 or 2024 that contain vanilla did you rate 4 stars?” “What was your favorite woody fragrance you smelled this year?” etc.)
Substack Stats and A Look Back
14x Growth
I started the year with 15 subscribers (thank you to the pioneers who believed in me when I had but one post on my blog) and over the course of the year I’ve added 200 201 new subscribers. I am so pleased that my work is resonating with people and I hope I continue to deliver for my readers in 2025.
Total essays published: 12
I hope to up this number substantially in 2025.
Posts You Loved
My NYC Fragrance Scene Report from August was my most viewed post and generated the most subscribers.
My long-form essay on How to Get Into Fragrance was my second most viewed article and also generated a sizeable number of new subscribers.
Rounding out the top three is my review of Comme des Garçons EDP, celebrating my 500th fragrance logged in the database.
Personal Favorites
My screed against “office safe” fragrances and a call to wage olfactory warfare in the workplace.
A personal essay celebrating tenement building living.
2024 Fragrance Review Stats
Number of fragrances reviewed: 198
Of which, were new releases: 25
Number of brands: 111
Month with the most reviews: November (30)
I set aside an evening to review a cache of fragrances held over from ScentXplore 2023 so I could add them to the list of fragrances I have available to swap, which really upped the numbers here.
Month with the least reviews: January (7)
198 is a lot of smells, especially for someone who isn’t professionally involved in the fragrance industry. I don’t have brands sending me stuff unsolicited and unless I pick something up at a swap, as a gift, or through an event I pay for everything I review myself.
Fragrances received at events (Sniffapalooza, ScentXplore, Pitti Fragranze, Smell Club): 83
Which leaves roughly 115 fragrances that I added to my collection of my own volition. To me this seems like a reasonable number, though maybe still a bit high.
Ratings
Notes about ratings: ratings are mostly based on how much I personally liked the perfume, with “points” given or taken away based on originality, innovation, historical significance, clarity of point of view/communication/storytelling. If I think a perfume is overly-derivative, unbalanced in an unintentional or displeasing way, or chasing a trend rather than having something to say on its own, I give it a low score. Obviously this is all very subjective; I don’t adhere to a rigorous rubric and I change my mind occasionally. Three stars generally means something is recommended. Two stars means I could take it or leave it or vaguely dislike it. One star means it made me angry or disgusted. Four stars means the fragrance is great and I would go out of my way to smell it. Five stars means it’s a masterpiece.
Are stars really the right mechanism for reviewing a work of art? I’m not convinced they are, but for now I use them as a convenient shorthand for evaluating the success or failure of a particular perfume. (Once I was at a talk on the state of art criticism hosted by Dean Kissick and some big deal art critic lady was part of the discussion and at one point, exasperated, she asked, “is this really what we need to do?? Are you saying we should be giving STAR RATINGS to gallery shows!?” and people in the crowd were like, “YES WE LOVE STARS.” So maybe stars are good, idk.)
Also, I realize that this is the only place where I am listing every single perfume I reviewed this year and I could have picked something more neutral, like listing them all by category or alphabetically, but I didn’t because you deserve to see me be a little cunty, as a treat.
5 stars: 12 - of these, the latest is from 2012. I did not give any perfumes released this year five stars, but one came close and I may change my rating in the future.
Youth-Dew, Estee Lauder
Fougere Royale, Houbigant
Shocking, Schiaparelli
Comme des Garcons, Comme des Garcons
Bandit, Robert Piguet
White Diamonds, Elizabeth Taylor
Paloma Picasso, Paloma Picasso
Diorissimo, Dior
Relique d'Amour, Oriza L. Legrand
Apres l'Ondee, Guerlain
Dune, Dior
Comme des Garçons, Comme des Garcons
4 stars: 50
Iris Nazarena, Aedes de Venustas
Matin a Mogador, Botanicae Expressions
Lunar Vetiver, Amouroud
Ormonde Elixir, Ormonde Jayne
Anubis, Papillon
Wedding in Oaxaca, Kismet Olfactive
Dinudisit, January Scent Project
Encre Noire, Lalique
Iris Poudre, Frederic Malle
Synthetic Jungle, Frederic Malle
Arpege, Lanvin
Niki de Saint Phalle, Niki de Saint Phalle
Tilia, Marc-Antoine Barrois
Heaven Can Wait, Frederic Malle
Concrete, Comme des Garcons
Parasite, Moth and Rabbit
Rouge, Comme des Garcons
Private Collection, Estee Lauder
Passion, Elizabeth Taylor
Rabbit Rabbit, Pearfat Parfums
Maggie the Cat is Alive!, I'm Alive!, Marissa Zappas
Tóor Tóor, Regime des Fleurs
Vetiver Ecarlate, L'Artisan Parfumeur
Primal Yell, Amphora Parfum
Acne Studios, Frederic Malle
Tragedy, Marissa Zappas
Dream Sequence, Marissa Zappas
Night Flyer, Olympic Orchids
Chevelier Vert, Olympic Orchids
Tropic of Capricorn, Olympic Orchids
Ballets Rouges, Olympic Orchids
M/Mink, Byredo
Eau de Protection, Etat Libre d'Orange
Tendre Poison, Dior
Miss Dior, Dior
Epona, Papillon
White, Comme des Garcons
Reliqvia, Unum
Attaquer le Soleil Marquis de Sade, Etat Libre d'Orange
Ki'lei, Source Adage
Coney Island Baby, Scout Dixon West
L'Orpheline, Serge Lutens
Rien, Etat Libre d'Orange
Halston, Halston
Incarnate, Scout Dixon West
Baby Boy, Amphora Parfum
Poudrextase, Marlou
Light, Neandertal
Joy, Jean Patou
I'll Never Learn, Pearfat Parfums
3 stars: 68
Myrrhe, Headspace
Eau My Soul, 4160 Tuesdays
A Une Madone, Pierre Guillaume
Mortel, Maison Trudon
Lilacs & Heliotrope, Soivohle
Spice Rose Attar, al Has
Yellow Rose Incense, Bohoboco
Night, Akro
Eau de Couture, Cher
Silences Sublime, Jacomo
Osmanthe Yunan, Hermes
Desir Infini, Navitus Parfums
Vetiver 46, Le Labo
Tanger, Ormonde Jayne
Aphelie, Maison Trudon
For Her, Adam Levine
Rose, Caswell-Massey
Médie, Maison Trudon
Fig Extasy, Mancera
Bruma, Maison Trudon
L'Homme Accompli, Divine
Jubilation 40, Amouage
My Love Has the Colour of the Night, Floraiku
Copper, Comme des Garcons
Black Magenta, DS & Durga
Muget Fleuri, Oriza L. Legrand
Cavatina, Dusita
Lilac, Caswell-Massey
Odile, Gummamina
2030 Park Ave, Pearfat Parfums
High Frequency, Initio
Ummo, Xinù
Parfum Ensoleillé, Frederico Parfums
Vetiverissimo, Bruno Fazzolari
Poems One Through Twelve, Universal Flowering
Incident Diplomatique, Jovoy
Vetifleur, Rogue Perfumery
The Pink Bedroom, Marissa Zappas
Nympheas, Kismet Olfactive
Noisette, Maison D'Etto
Olympic Amber, Olympic Orchids
Golden Cattleya, Olympic Orchids
Bay Rum, Olympic Orchids
Blackbird, Olympic Orchids
Love Delight, Amouage
Bull's Blood, Imaginary Authors
Vacances, Jean Patou
No. 7 Rose Impolie, Binet-Papillion
Garden Song, Racyne
Kajal IV, Kajal
Gujarat, Olympic Orchids
Oscuro, Monom
Marseille, Comme des Garcons
Odeur 71, Comme des Garcons
Odeur 53, Comme des Garcons
Passage d'Enfer, L'Artisan Parfumeur
Selperniku, January Scent Project
The Secret History, Marissa Zappas
Santal Ceremony, Racyne
Rien Intense Incense, Etat Libre d'Orange
Ume Amaretto, Oath J-Scent
Nosferatu, Heretic Parfums
Respiro, Monom
Nardo, Monom
Melograno, Santa Maria Novella
Mantes la Jolie, Astier de Villatte
Lust Oud Delice, Chris Collins
Boswellia Scotia, Jorum Studio
2 stars: 43
Guidance, Amouage
First Sight, The Gate
Bois, Arquiste
L'Iris, Santa Maria Novella
Dreaming With Ghosts, Mark Buxton
Strawberry, Malin + Goetz
Red, Giorgio Beverly Hills
J'adoube, Mind Games
Neroli 36, Le Labo
Tonic Water, Mizensir
Mallow, Sora Dora
Celeste, Giardini Di Toscana
Angels of Florence, Santa Maria Novella
Amour de Cacao, Comptoir Sud Pacifique
Mango Skin, Vilhelm Parfumerie
Morn to Dusk, Eau d'Italie
Soda Snob, Snif Perfumes
Glass Blooms, Regime des Fleurs
Ceramic, Andrea Maack
The Poet, Kismet Olfactive
La Vierge de Fer, Serge Lutens
God Bless Cola, Versatile Paris
Lenore, Immortal Perfumes
Carolina, Olympic Orchids
Khypi, Olympic Orchids
Like This, Etat Libre d'Orange
She Was An Anomaly, Etat Libre d'Orange
Remarkable People, Etat Libre d'Orange
Urban Oud, Habibi New York
Oud Aquilaria, Oman Luxury
Verona, Primera Perfumes
Splendeur Absolu, Navitus Parfums
Mossland 12.09, Neydo
Saturn, NicheEnd
La Tacita de Cafe, Day Three Fragrances
Renaissance, Shauran
Elysium, Roja
Beyond Oblivion, J-Scent
Sacred Animal, J-Scent
Tari, Monom
Don't Get Me Wrong Baby, Yes I Do, Etat Libre d'Orange
Pelagos, Dusita
Eden, Cacharel
1 star: 25 - most of these I received for free while attending various events and I probably wouldn’t have bothered to pick them up on my own. I think January Scent Project is the only brand right now with the distinction of having a one star fragrance and a five star fragrance in my database (for the record I love JSP and think John Biebel does exciting work).
Coco Moon, Beach Geeza
Ocean Water, Beach Geeza
Vaporocindro, January Scent Project
Fior di Pane, Profumo di Firenze
Bosphorus Pearl, Alghabra
Noces de Nerola, Brecourt
Viandante, Profumo di Firenze
Notte d'Amore, Pantheon Roma
Peregrina, Thameen
Elektra, Olympic Orchids
Slice Society, Snif Perfumes
Atomic Rose, Initio
Delphinus, Creed
Centaurus, Creed
Delice, M. Micallef
No. 1 Alkemist Pepper, Binet-Papillion
La Terre, La Nuit, Racyne
Ajyal, The Spirit of Dubai
III, Kajal
Crush on Me, Unique'e Luxury
Accento Viola, Sospiro
Herbal Aquatica, Montale
Apple Brandy on the Rocks, By Killian
Tres Chere, Mizensir
Almanera, Epico
When we limit the data set to the 115 perfumes I didn’t receive at large events, the ratings break down like so:
5 stars: 12
4 stars: 43
3 stars: 35
2 stars: 19
1 star: 6
100% of the fragrances I rated five stars I sought out on my own. I was very surprised to see that I only picked up 7 fragrances that I rated four stars at an event. The difference at the lower end is most striking though: I was 4 times more likely to rate a fragrance from an event as one star than if it was something I picked up on my own.
By the Decade
I was surprised how overrepresented the past two decades were in the fragrances I reviewed this year. I feel like I spend more time thinking about and advocating for older fragrances, but I suppose this is another consequence of the volume of fragrances I received from events rather than shopping on my own.
2020s: 92
2010s: 69
2000s: 8
1990s: 8
1980s: 4
1970s: 2
1960s: 1
1950s: 2
1940s: 2
1930s: 3
1920s: 1
1900s and older: 2
Oldest perfume reviewed: Fougere Royale by Houbigant (1882)
By Perfumer
Ellen Covey: 11
I picked up a sizable Olympic Orchids sample set this summer so Ellen blew everyone away for first place this year.
Mark Buxton: 5
Marissa Zappas: 5
Quentin Bisch: 5
Yann Vasnier: 5
I was surprised and delighted by this four way tie for second place!
Antoine Lie: 4
Bertrand Duchaufour: 4
Antoine and Bertrand rounding out third place.
I did not have information about the perfumer for 49 of the fragrances I reviewed this year.
By Category
Categories are pretty fungible and I don’t really like the classification system I am using right now. I’m considering other ways to broadly categorize fragrances and hope to explore different options in the future. This topic will likely become a stand alone blog post. Stay tuned.
Each of these are listed as stand alone categories but I often use them in combination with each other (e.g. Amber + Woody or Floral + Gourmand). For ease of use I’ve listed them based on the first category described even if multiples were used.
Amber: 39
Floral: 73 (!)
Fruity: 13
Gourmand: 15
Woody: 23
Aquatic: 4
Spicy: 7
Green: 9
Musk: 2
Leather: 3
Aromatic: 5
Fragrances that defined my year
Note: I didn’t start keeping track of my daily fragrance wears until May, so this data is incomplete. I’m using the numbers from my diary to guide me, but some of this information is based on my intuition about what fragrances felt important to me and defining for 2024 rather than what I wore most often or another quantifiable metric.
Youth-Dew, Estee Lauder
Review: Sparkling aldehydes and warm spices. Like Coca-Cola mixed with face powder and a mid-century bouquet of classic florals over an earthy, musky base. The DNA of this is great, but I wish I could smell the original version as the modern one feels a little thin to my nose, but she might just need to cook for a minute.
My original review was lukewarm, but this became a real go-to for me over the course of the year. When in doubt: Youth-Dew.
Paloma Picasso, Paloma Picasso
Review: Another one I guess I forgot to review? Benchmark 80s chypre. Rosy, dry, big on the base notes—patchouli, oakmoss, a tinge of civet-y funk. Begs to be worn while smoking.
The fragrance I most frequently wore to go out to parties and social gatherings. Feels special and unique enough to stand out, and has a bit of raunch that’s perfect degenerate party girl vibes. I feel like the number of times I wore it was testament to the bounty of friends and fun in my life this year.
Shocking, Schiaparelli
Review: From a 1950s nip. A bright fresh opening filled with effervescent aldehydes and an herbaceous tarragon note, which soon gives way to a dry-sweet spicy honey accord complimented by a bouquet of rose, jasmine, and narcissus. The rose and honey play together beautifully and are followed by powdery musk and velvety civet notes. The whole thing definitely has a dirty panties vibe but it's absolutely gorgeous.
I wanted to try this one for a long time and last year I picked up a collection of vintage perfume nips. I cracked this one open to celebrate my birthday in April and it was a magical experience. Here’s a reel where I describe what nips are:
2024 New Release Favorites
Acne par Frederic Malle
Review: Fizzy, tinny aldehydes floating over fuzzy peach with a creamy, vanilla-tinged sandalwood backbone. At the store, they describe this as "the first aldehydic gourmand" which I don't necessarily agree with (for both "the first" and "gourmand" assertions, ironically), but it is good and very much my kind of shit. Like Arpege for Zoomers. If it gets the Tiktok perfume children into old fashioned soapy aldehydes I'm all for it.
I was very lucky and among the first people to smell this fragrance when it was released earlier this year. The consensus at the time seemed to be that it was pretty mid and evidence that Malle is cooked. I sheepishly disagreed and thought about pre-ordering a full bottle. Months later the sentiment turned and it started to pick up steam and positive reviews. I just need everyone to know that I LIKED IT FIRST.
Epona, Papillon Parfum
Review: Like all of Liz Moore's work, Epona is a vintage-styled fragrance, but unlike her other creations I've tried, this one feels like a completely new beast. Her other fragrances are, of course, gorgeous, but they all have a distinct reference point. Epona manages to smell like a vintage fragrance, but unlike any that I've smelled before. It's a soapy floral that blends into a skin-like animalic accord, that blends into a hearty floral leather. Unlike other vintage leather compositions I've tried, there's no sharpness here, just a smooth well-worn leatheriness. The scene it sets out to capture is perfect—a ride through the English countryside in spring. A remarkable achievement, full of emotion. This feels like the beginning of a new, masterful phase of Moore's career.
Tilia, Marc-Antoine Barrois
Review: Gorgeous metallic solar floral. Like a bouquet of flowers on the moon. Blooms made of sparkling stainless steel. Kind of a funny one—takes a long time to build on skin. For the first 20 minutes or so all I get is a puff of heliotrope, but about half an hour in the core of the scent builds up and it's a gorgeous jasmine along with some pollen-y facets and the aforementioned metallic-woody notes. Feels related to Gannymede without being very close to it. A great floral, summery interpretation of the house's core idea.
I think I like Tilia because it has the heft of a vintage-style white floral but the overdose of ambroxan keeps it from becoming a throwback fragrance and feels very contemporary.
Primal Yell, Amphora Parfum
Review: The olfactory equivalent to the 1978 British folk horror film The Shout. Cherry and metal backed with smoky castoreum, and a balsamic rose. Earthy, bodily, a touch supernatural. Takes some time to really develop. Exemplifies what indie perfumery should be.
I am historically not a fan of sweet fragrances but Noah’s compositions have changed the way I feel about having a bit of sugar thrown in the mix. This is how you can go right up to the edge without going over it. Like Angel, it’s sweet but still smells like perfume rather than dessert.
2024 New-to-Me Favorites
Relique d’Amour, Oriza L. Legrand
Review: Melancholy lilies planted next to a mossy wet stone walkway leading to a church filled with the memory of snuffed-out incense. Watery eyes wiped away with the resolve to go on. 19th century watercolor landscape painted en plein air.
I was already a fan of Oriza Legrand fragrances but somehow hadn’t tried this one until recently. It is gorgeous and I definitely want a full bottle of it.
Dune, Dior
Review: A mysterious beauty. Windswept, foreboding sandalwood. A stunning exercise in using warm materials to create a cooling effect. Winter on the beach, absent any marine notes, but with a slight saltiness. Could probably add this to the hangover fragrance pantheon. Lasts all day but isn't obnoxious about it.
This one came from a vintage coffret that I bought mostly because I wanted to try Tendre Poison.
Diorissimo, Dior
Review: Gorgeous. A transcendent muget blossom—round, heady, a touch soapy. So clear and beautiful. Smells like optimism.
Another one from the vintage Dior coffret.
Bandit, Robert Piguet
Review: FINALLY got a hold of this and it did not disappoint. Bitter, sharp green leather with herbaceous muted florals. Smells almost as evil as Leather Petals. A perfect dark green fragrance.
Comme des Garçons, Comme des Garçons (2011)
I wrote a whole post about this one (linked above). Smells like glue that gets you high and lilacs.
Perfumes I Changed My Mind About
Heaven Can Wait, Frederic Malle
Original Review: Opens with a battery of cool, fresh spiciness dominated by clove and carrot, which has an almost savory affect. Rooty iris brings up the back, but the whole composition seems to fade to a scant skin scent after a couple hours. Wish it had more tenacity.
Update from 4 months later: Re-evaluating my lukewarm initial reaction. This feels a lot richer/stronger than I thought. Maybe she just needed to cook a bit.
Maggie the Cat Is Alive! I’m Alive!, Marissa Zappas
Original Review: Spilled champagne, fuzzy peach lactones, makeup powder, musk musk musk. A bit of a mossy background. Retro but not entirely a throwback perfume. Blind bought a full bottle during a sale and not 100% sold on it yet, but maybe it will grow on me.
Update from 3 months later: I need to figure out what ambrette actually smells like—I think it might be something that I often interpret as "clove" or "carrot seed" something savory-spicy-musky. This one is growing on me a bit.
Then I went on to wear it like 3 more times this year. It may even be my New Years Eve fragrance choice!
Gujarat, Olympic Orchids
Original Review: Expecting something more sweaty/BO/bodily based on reputation. Sour-spicy notes dominate the composition—I mainly get tumeric and the plasticy note of saffron. Sweetens up a bit with some floral edges after 30-60 mins of wear. Cumin starts to peak out around then. Base feels a bit leathery. Overall very dense; I wish there was more room in this. Might grow on me. A few hours in the cumin-woody dry down is quite nice.
Update: This one did in fact grow on me a bit over time.
Money Spent
Most collecting hobbies can get expensive and fragrance is obviously no exception. The numbers I am going to list will probably seem absurd to some people; to others they will seem like pocket change. While I didn’t compile data to compare with previous years, intuitively I think I probably spent more this year than in the past.
I don’t typically keep a budget or track my expenses beyond trying to rein it in a bit when I feel like I’ve been spending too much. Aside from student loans I have no debt and I pay all credit cards off in full every month and never carry a balance. Beyond my full time job, I have a couple odd jobs that generate a few grand per year that I typically use on non-essential purchases; a lot of the money I spent on fragrance came from this pool.
Total: $4798.94
Includes all purchases with a record of transaction (credit card, PayPal, or Venmo), including full bottles, samples, admission to fragrance-related events, books and Substack subscriptions, and a few other random expenses. Tax, shipping, etc. are always included where applicable to reflect the true cost.
Total Expenses Per Month
March: $852.94
April: $824.81
May: $696.21
December: $582.31
September: $461.60
October: $450.85
June: $271.77
July: $238.24
November: $214.17
August: $73.45
January: $47.59
February: $0
My birthday is April 1st so I’m not terribly surprised that March and April were my most expensive months.
By Type
New fragrance purchases: 21
Secondhand purchases (eBay and Mercari): 21
An exactly evenly split! I generally prefer to buy vintage and secondhand when I can so hopefully the percentages will shift in the future.
Full bottles: $2624.79 for 34 bottles total (average cost $77 per bottle)
Most Expensive: Carnal Flower, Frederic Malle ($273, purchased at the FM store with a 15% discount)
Least Expensive: White Diamonds, Elizabeth Taylor ($13.78)
Samples: $272.73 total
Of which, were for Smell Club events: $80.56 (4 sessions x 5 samples per session)
Of which, were gifts for others: $124.56 - I created custom sample packs for two friends this year as birthday gifts
Minus those two categories I spent $67.61 on samples for myself
Coffrets, minis, and discovery sets: $565.43
Most expensive: $227.55 - vintage Dior coffret with 5 mini fragrances
Least expensive: $19.58 - vintage Paloma Picasso mini (smells basically the same as the current formulation—just buy the new one)
Gifts: $214.56 - how generous of me. In addition to the sample packs I also bought a full bottle as a gift.
Events and Workshops: $740.28
Note: This total only includes admission fees, it doesn’t include any related expenses like food, travel, etc.
Most expensive: $402 - Arabelle Sicardi’s Perfumed Pages writing workshop. This was also my single biggest expense overall for the year.
Least expensive: $12.51 - Smell Club perfume swap at Susan Alexandra in July
Most of the events I attended this year were free. I expect this total will be lower in 2025.
Books, Magazines, and Newsletter Subscriptions: $261.59
Most Expensive: American Legends: The Evolution of American Fragrances by Michael Edwards: $120
Least Expensive (not counting recurring monthly subscription fees): Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins $18.45
Other expenses: $344.12
Cabinet from Facebook Marketplace: $85 - I upgraded my perfume storage situation this year with a cute secondhand glass front cabinet.
Vintage Cher Uninhibited factice bottle: $259.12 - ok this was kind of frivolous but the hammer price itself wasn’t too bad. Shipping and auction fees were what really got me here. When will I ever find one of these again though?! Buying art is always worth it.
Best Buys
Eau de Kiki, The Zoo (aka Kiki Smith Plant Sex)
All fragrances from The Zoo are now discontinued. This one was an instant love for me but I hemmed and hawed over buying a full bottle for about a year. At one point you could pick up a bottle for $50 (what was I thinking?!). I set an eBay alert that I never expected to hit, only to get a ping from someone in Brooklyn just a few days before my birthday. That’s called MANIFESTING.
Vintage Dior Coffret
At some point during the summer I became obsessed with a discontinued Dior Poison flanker, Tendre Poison. I needed to smell it or I would die. Secondhand bottles are super expensive, even partially-used ones, so I looked for minis and coffrets. The one I ended up purchasing was one of my pricier acquisitions this year but it included five fragrances instead of the typical four and they’re all classic Dior hits. Two of them ended up on my list of favorite fragrances for the year, as noted above. I might write a standalone post just about vintage Dior so I will hold off on elaborating further.
Leather Petals, Regime des Fleurs
I won a $50 luckyscent gift card back in JANUARY and spent the rest of the year trying to decide what to spend it on. I decided that the best strategy would be to spend it on a full bottle of a perfume that I typically wouldn’t buy at full retail price so I could bring something from prohibitively expensive to realistically expensive. After months of deliberating I decided that Leather Petals was it. Of course, by the time I was ready to check out Luckyscent was no longer selling it. I debated buying it elsewhere without the aid of the gift card. A few days later I got a hit on an eBay alert I had set up and I knew it was meant to be. The total cost for the barely used secondhand bottle was about a hundred dollars less than the retail price. I still haven’t used the gift card.
Samples of Boswellia Scotia, Jorum Studio and Northern Flicker, January Scent Project
Both of these were limited releases and I am glad I got to try them without blind buying a full bottle.
Goals for 2025
Acquire fewer perfume samples
It’s very hard to say no to gift bags and freebies even when it’s a scent I’m not really interested in, but as we can see with the inflated low ratings numbers for fragrances that I received at events, most of the time it isn’t really worth it for me. Justifying grabbing all the samples I can by thinking that I can give the ones I don’t like away to someone who will appreciate them or sell them on Mercari or whatever is fallacious thinking: I brought 50+ samples to a fragrance swap earlier this month and only managed to deaccession 11 of them. I might do a giveaway contest or something or send them out randomly to interested subscribers. In 2025 I might forgo big fragrance conferences, we’ll see.
Be more diligent about responding to comments
Sometimes I forget to reply or I am unsure what to say in response—I’m sorry!
Publish more consistently
I have so many half-finished pieces I want to pick up and finally get out there. In the meantime, I think I probably need to commit to publishing more reviews and recommendations because although they aren’t necessarily the pieces I am most interested in writing, people seem to like them and they require a lot less effort than more rigorous essays so I will incorporate them more intentionally into Smell World next year.
Get published somewhere that isn’t Substack
If someone who isn’t me wanted to publish something I wrote it would be very validating. I don’t really understand how pitching articles works so I need to figure that out first I guess.
Collaborate with other people
As I mentioned at the top of this post, I’ve met a lot of great people who love fragrance this year and I would love to take on some collaborative projects next year. I’ve thought about reaching out to people for interviews, but I am intimidated because I have poor social skills. I resolve to get over this fear in 2024! Additionally, I hope one of the things that comes across through this blog is that fragrance is important and can be tied into so many aspects of our lives (history, culture, art, etc.) so I would love to bring that to other outlets, especially ones that are not directly related to fragrance.
Cheers to a fabulous 2025!
Great rundown!
This was fascinating! Thank you!