Friday, February 14, 2014

In defense of a perfume habit...

I waxed enthusiastic recently with a fellow perfumista about the glories of a fine fragrance. Someone walked by and made a barely-veiled nasty comment about the silliness and wastefulness of such things. 

Looking at it in absolute terms, yes, I have some expensive perfumes. My major bottles were purchased with bonus money and as a splurge with a small portion of tax refund, so I haven't racked up debt because of my habit. 

There is some variance in different atomizers, but on average, it's about 1/3 mL/spray. If the bottle is 100 mL and cost $100, that's about .33 per wearing. My fragrances are strong, so I only spray one time. My perfumes are beautiful to me, make me happy and harm no one. In honesty, though, I have some perfume that comes out to about $1 per spray. It makes me VERY happy. :) I also read extensively on the subject and I'm very cautious about buying a bottle- my collection is small, but nice. 

I don't watch TV, so I don't bother with cable, which I imagine would be about $2 a day for basic.  I've pared down to 1 or less visits to Starbucks a week, so I'm not sporting a huge expensive coffee habit-- I drink cheap at home. 

I do buy expensive shoes a couple times a year, but I'm not a woman who buys a $20/$30/$40 pair every week or month, so that balances out. 

My point is that I'm thrifty in most ways and feel quite happy with my level of comfort, and that the spartan measures offset the indulgence of the perfume habit. 

In contrast, the person who made the comment is a heavy smoker. I celebrate their right to their smoking, but I'll bet they spend more than $1/day on their habit. Just saying there's more than one perspective on it. It is wrong-headed to think that perfume is a self-indulgent waste in comparison to many other things people don't bat an eye about spending money on. 

10 comments:

Farm.Dad said...

The other thing is that you presumably are not spending their money. So what they really need to do is STFU because its really not their concern how you spend yours .

Jennifer said...

We all need our personal luxuries. It keeps us sane.

Jennifer said...

Or, some semblance of sane anyway. Maybe a passable facsimile sometimes.

Unknown said...

As once said by Robert A. Heinlein, search your motives for altruism, the only real sin. If none is found, REVEL IN IT! Freedom begins the day you tell Mrs. Grundy to go fly a kite.

BGMiller said...

Do what you do and be damned with the rest. And if what you do brings a bit of beauty into the world then so much the better.

BGM



Evyl Robot Michael said...

People can be just nasty sometimes. Just because it's not their thing doesn't mean they should rob your joy. We each have our own 'thing.' You do wear your perfume lightly, which is a very good thing. Some people grow desensitized to their preferred scent and wind up marinating in it. I say rock on with your perfume and shoes!

On a Wing and a Whim said...

I believe utterly in your right to enjoy your luxuries and vices, and think that your thriftiness with 'em is awesome, too. Also, it's really cool information in the abstract. And your descriptions are really pretty in word-pictures!

In person - well, I know you wear such a low dose that it doesn't affect me when I hug you, so I'm all for you enjoying it in person, too! I'm afraid I have such a high ratio of sneeze-and-wheeze at merely cracking the samplers that I'll never try hard enough to build any sort of knowledge or variety myself. But listening to you talk about perfumes is like listening to a wine taster or a welder talk about their craft; I enjoy the display of knowledge and passion.

C-90 said...

There is nothing so fine, as a sweet smelling lady.

drjim said...

She's probably jealous because she's too STOOPID to know really good perfume!

charlotte g said...

Hmm. I love good perfumes. Can't often afford them, and always use sparingly. Earlier this week, I was splurging on a fine chicken fried steak at a local eatery when a woman 10 feet away broadcast huge amounts of perfume. I quietly moved to the other side of the table and her perfume no longer flavored my cream gravy. Worked for both of us. But if she thinks she was less offensive than a cigarette, she was wrong.