Leaving Things Behind: New Years De-Cluttering

Not long ago, I wrote about my relatively large collection and the desire to downsize, and accepting the realities that come with the act of collecting throughout the years. Ironically, my collection has since grown. But what would be a better follow up to that than a post that actually explores my process of thinning out and making room in my collection?

There are four fragrances that I intend to part with for reasons ranging from general redundancies to shortcomings in quality. But instead of simply just selling them and moving on, I wanted the opportunity to revisit and archive them in this space, as most of them are special to me in some way or another.

Paper (Expressive) by Commodity

When I said "most of them are special to me," I wasn't talking about this one. I still don't really know how to feel about the whole "fragrances that smell like nothing" trend. My gut tells me that it's rather pointless, but there are audiences for this kind of thing. For example, people who work in environments where fragrances are not encouraged such as hospitals. Or people who possess a general sensitivity or are allergic to perfume. Still, it would make a lot more sense to just... not wear anything than to drop over $100 to maybe smell like a sheet of paper (if you're lucky enough to pick up on the scent).

That's what this fragrance is, a sheet of warm paper. I've given it a few wears, and it's fine, but even if I wanted to smell like "something and nothing," there are more interesting ways to do so. For example, Etat Libre d'Orange's Ghost in the Shell takes a futurist approach in crafting a layer of scent that is both translucent and dynamic with a vibe of soapy cleanliness, plastic, and... skin. It's a bit weird, but weird can be good in the expanding world of perfumery.

Overall, it's not a bad scent. I would even argue that it's great for its audience, but in the end, it just isn't for me.

Deep Sense Sport by Prime Collection Perfumes

Here's a story for you: It's early January, 2021, my birthday weekend. A few friends and I meet up for brunch in Jersey City, and we have passioned discussions about wrestling, Power Rangers, and the X-Men. We go our separate ways and two of us decide to go to one of those big malls up in North Jersey—my friend's birthday was also in close proximity, and so we decided to browse around and treat ourselves to something. What caught our eye was one of those perfume boutiques. This was still quite early in my fragrance journey, so there was a lot that I wanted to experience, and plenty I still needed to learn.

A saleswoman offered her assistance not long after we walked in, and the fragrance I was curious about at the time was Lacoste's L.12.12 Blanc (white), a well-known cheapie often lauded for its surprisingly high-quality floral composition. They didn't have it, but offered Sport as an alternative. There was also some kind of promotion going on that had me walking away with this fragrance, and my friend walked away with Deep Sense Black.

Anyway, did Sport actually smell like the Lacoste fragrance I was looking for? To this very day, I still don't know. At some point I stopped looking for the original and so I never got a chance to smell it (even though it's pretty cheap and I could order a bottle at any point). But on its own Sport is a good scent that can be found at prices probably better than what I had initially paid. Citrus and florals brighten a woody base, and it smells, well, sporty. Imagine white Polo shirts, running shoes, the locker room of an expensive country club, or even that scene from Blue Beetle (2023) where Jamie is looking out at the water from a huge terrace and pretending to not be an employee where he's at.

Additionally, it has the benefit of lasting quite a while on skin, something citrus-floral fragrances are not particularly well-known for. The biggest drawback to it is that it's a bit synthetic, which isn't really a drawback at all for me.

So why get rid of it? Truthfully, I just don't wear it that much, and even though it is good, there's nothing about it that makes it unique enough to justify keeping it even in a collecting or curatorial fashion.

The One Eau de Parfum by Dolce & Gabbana

Language warning, but this fucking stings. Easily one of the smoothest blended tobacco scents on the market. It's how I've always imagined what a love potion would smell like. Regarded as the quintessential "date night" fragrance, I have several memories attached to it (Valentine's Day of 2021 primarily). But alas, where this star shines, others shine brighter.

Don't get me wrong, nothing can fully replace such a beautiful blend of spices and tobacco, but there does come a point where even something so special can become redundant. An argument could be made to simply have it just to have it, but I need to make room for new adventures.

Also, I own The One Luminous Night which is better in multiple ways and is of much more personal significance (something I'll likely expand upon in the future).

Still, I love this fragrance, and it will hurt to see it go.

CH Men Privé by Carolina Herrera

The bottle that resembles a flask featuring a scent of whiskey, woods, spices, and leather. I primarily enjoyed this as an alternative to the likes of Maison Margiela's Jazz Club, a popular fragrance that I personally find to be a bit too screechy and unrefined. I mainly likened this scent to more rough-ish personalities like Han Solo or Lucifer Morningstar. Truthfully, I never imagined wanting to part with this, but things can change.

Like The One, this became incredibly redundant. Combine that with its average performance and longevity, and the fact that I just don't wear it as often as I initially anticipated, it making its way out of my collection was inevitable.

This isn't a painless separation, however. It's a scent that I genuinely enjoy, and because it's officially discontinued, the likelihood of me experiencing it again is quite low. But I own alternatives that scratch the same itch, do it better, and get much more wear from me. Moving on is necessary.

For those of you reading, I want to thank you for indulging me and this silly hobby of mine. A big part of growth is knowing when to let things go and move on, and it's my hope to become better at doing that in the new year.

We'll talk again soon.

-The Fragrance Maven