1) Eff the internet. Get to know the (hopefully rural) towns around you and explore everywhere within a 2-hour radius. Discover exotic scenery (mine: dairies, alien land strewn with gigantic wind turbines, mountains), pack all kinds of Cocteau Twins CDs and candy in the car, and make a day of it.
2) It helps to have an extra pair of eyes. I am a shrimpy fillette with rubbish eyesight, but my darling (tall) boy-friend-oh aids me immensely by getting to shelves where I can't, can spot round Guerlain bottles with laser-precision and can separate the wheat from the chaff like a CHAMP. (examples: "I found something that said Guerlain, but it was a factice," etc)
3) SET YOURSELF LIMITS. Bring $20 cash and make that your allowance for the day. For mini-bottles, no more than $5 - large bottles that are half-empty, $10 - and for full bottles, $15. For my purposes, the mini is king - I can try more things, and it always helps to have a reality check (Do you really need 300ml of Eau de Givenchy? Do you really?)
4) Just because some bigwig says a scent is important, doesn't mean you have to have it. Books like Fabulous Fragrances I and II by Jan Moran and Perfumes by Jean-Yves Gaborit have lovely tables in the back that help sort out what kinds you like. According to Countess Moran, I am a chypre-floral-animalic girl! Rowr! I tend to zoom in on those first, because I know that certain fragrances will give me more pleasure than a frenzy of indisriminate greed.
EXAMPLE SITUATION: few weeks ago - saw Shalimar EdT, 1826 by Histoires des Parfums, L'Air du Temps EdP, Miss Dior EdT, Givenchy III parfum, and Chanel No. 19 EdT - I walked out with the latter three, happy and content in my green reverie.
5) Don't cry over empty bottles - take a breath, and let the memories of Inoui, Gardenia by Chanel, and Diorama go. All together now.
6) Don't double-buy. You have one bottle of L'Heure Bleue. Be honest - you will never finish it, let alone another. Save space and money for a rare bird.
BUYING REPORT SEPTEMBER 17, 2011:
Miss Balmain spray mist - $3
Bernard Lalande - Irise parfum (who is this person??), $2.95
Shalimar - $7. Did I break one of my own rules?
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