My answer is 'yes' my perfume collection is too large, but 'no' it doesn't matter. Yes, I realize that I have a 1000 years of perfume, if measured by the number of applications each bottle will provide, but that's not really the point of a collection of any kind, is it? There are people who collect teapots, just to look at them, but of course, a person usually only needs one. As collectors, who do get enthusiastic, over zealous at times, and completely irrational. That's just a part of being a human being, not a machine. It's 'human'. Collections are pleasant hobbies. Most collectors rotate out items that lose their luster, for newer or more rare items. This keep thing fresh and exciting. Enjoy!

Oh heck no, it doesn't matter, to me anyway. I have cut down from 200 to about 100 bottles or so. That, I don't think is too large since I wear my fragrance according to my mood or taste at the moment. My mood and tastes change like the wind, but we all know here how that is.................

My thoughts exactly!!

Well, to make things interesting I'll go ahead on the opposing and likely unpopular view. No, my collection isn't too big and yes it definitely does matter to me. We all have different notions of what is excessive or not functional behavior-wise and for me, a huge collection would indicate a problem. Mainly, because I can't really afford 100 bottles of perfume and it would mean that I was going in to debt for my collection. Not ok for me and I couldn't enjoy my collection if it represent debt. Plus, I have this thing about waste...about having or keeping things that I won't use. That's just for me...

No, I don't think it's there yet but I think if increases, it will be. And yes it will matter to me because I can't deal with excess.

Well, considering that I've been accumulating perfume for several decades, and I don't care to wear most of them any more, yes, the collection is too large. It may not be too large for a museum but for my modest quarters, yes, it is. This collection has been and is a journey through the world of scent, not a wish to "collect." Some perfumes in the group I will always want to keep, others could go. When I'm motivated enough, they will move on in appropriate manner.

A passionate hobby is a learning experience and that to me has always been the draw with any hobby. Chanel22, ITA with you that to hobby is human and one of the greatest joys of life!

There are times when I wonder if my collection leans toward the excessive range, then I read the posts of other members who have 10X or more bottles than I do, so I breathe a little happy sigh and press the "submit order" button . . .

Oh yes far too large. I have this vision of when I die, the people clearing my appartment thinking I have some weird hoarding complex.

What did she do with it all?
OMGs look at this will ya?

Close to my take on it, too. I have two trays on my dresser, and they're nearly full. I really don't want more perfumes than what fits on those two trays. (Not counting decants and samples here.) I like to trim down what I own periodically, whether it be books, clothes, stuff, or perfume. I start feeling oppressed when I have too much of something. Every now and then I toy with the idea of a big blowtorch ...

Everyone is different. I only want perfumes that I like around me, so I can admire them and feel good about them. That means that I do swap or sell things every so often. I guess that also means that my perfumes are an extension of my ego (or id ) and not merely a collection of fragrances.

Definitely too large. I have pondered really scaling down and selling more stuff off and giving others away to family members for Xmas and other holidays or just do an outright "Mando is giving stuff FREE" post on here one day. I like to give away stuff. It's best to give out to others than always horde stuff like I have a tendency to do. I do not feel guilty for having so much but it sure does feel crazy seeing a sea of bottles underneath the masterbath sink cabinet at times.

"Begone, bottle #682!"

Mine is fairly modest thus far, but I still feel like I own too much. It's largely a reflection on me, however; I'm such a control freak.

You haven't been here long enough.

Brilliant words, Sharil. According to Sound Money on National Public Radio, a person should only borrow to purchase appreciating assets. There aren't many of those. The list is composed of exactly two: education and a your house (preferably only the first house).

My collection is too large, though it may seem a pittance to many of you. I do get annoyed by it because I don't /love/ everything. Most were acquired out of curiosity and I wear them perfunctorily; only about 20% of my collection I would say I cannot live without.

Yes, my collection is large. Too large? I don't know, sometimes I feel that way, but mostly I don't. All the bottles I have, I keep because I either enjoy looking at them, wearing them, or both. The ones that I get tired of, I sell or swap away. Just did an aggressive weed-out of my overwhelming bin of decants, which felt good, both to clean out and to share the wealth so to speak.

I don't have a lot of hobbies, perfume is my main one and I don't feel bad indulging that. I save 30% of my income, and my car and condo are paid off. Gotta have at least one vice! :-)

"Is your perfume collectin too large? Does it matter?"

Where is Thomas when we need him??? I can't believe I have to say it!!

SIZE DOES MATTER!!!!

LOL Nathan!

Say, you could use that "gun" when SA's want to spritz you with something 'stinky" too. Multi- function

I think it does matter, because perfume is fungible. It's not the same as teapots or other objects, which will go bad if not used up.

Rather than collect more bottles of perfume than I would be able to wear in my lifetime, I like to own only what I use and love and then donate the money I would spend on more perfume I don't need to charities such as food pantries, etc.

Lately, I've finished quite a few of my older bottles so no my collection isn't too large. I don't like the thought of any of my perfume going off so I don't stockpile favourites. If I started to get frustrated every single morning about which scent to wear, I'd consider it too large for me & would start culling. Also, if it became too cluttered...ditto!

I have a relatively big wardrobe and it makes me happy, which is all that matters.

(I share about 1/3 of it with my husband, so maybe it's not all that much, and in any case, I wear everything I own, even if not very often. If I stop loving something, off it goes. But as my taste develops, what I buy are true loves)

Yes, it's too large; no, it doesn't matter. It's mine, I love it, it brings me joy, and that's all that matters.

My perfume is not too large or too small.
It's just right.
Like my handbag collection.

About 8 years ago, as my husband was leaving for overseas he asked me what perfume I would like from the duty free, I remember telling him, "Nothing, I have to many bottles already, I have to finish them first! - at that time I had 6 or 7 bottles, LOL!

This cracked me up!

Yes, I have a lot. No, it's not too many. Most I wear. The rest I wear less frequently, but I still wear them. I hate it when I think of one I'd like to wear, but by the time I get to my 'fumes, I forgot which one it was. My kids interrupt me on the way.

I don't go into debt. If I buy one or two a month, OK. I try to sample several times because what I think I'll love can be a scrubber a day later. Those I don't invest in, if I can help it. I want it to smell good any time I decide to reach for it.

No, I don't think my perfume collection is too large. It's my one excess. I don't spend zillions of dollars on shoes, handbags and designer clothing on top of it so I think I'm allowed *one* excess. (Think about how much it costs to play golf?! I don't golf btw)

One thing I do to make myself feel good is about 1x per year, I take all the perfumes that I really don't use - that are mostly 95% full and sell them on ebay. I then donate the money to my 2 favorite charities. It usually ends up being a few hundred dollars (betw $250-400) and I'm happy about doing a good thing!

Yes, it's too large...and about a year ago I quite calling it a "collection". I quit calling it that because I can't say I really want to keep them all and wear them all.
I don't want to get into swapping, or *trying* to swap or sell them. I have a lot of scents which just don't hold any allure for many here...and I also feel guilty about lying at the PO and I think shipping via UPS or any other ground delivery service is too expensive. Plus, I'm so anal about packing and all that...it causes me too much anxiety.
I have so many which I bought on a lark, unsniffed...and I don't like them or wear them.
It would be wonderful if I knew someone more local who would enjoy them, rather than using them to spray litter boxes and the carpet (yes, that's what one recipient did with the bottles I gave her -- she begged me for 'fumes and them complained about how they smelled and used them in the litter box, etc.).
I'll probably end up giving them to a women's shelter.
I really only wear about ten of the fragrances I own, now...and I don't even much care for many I was ga-ga over two or three years ago.
So, yeah, I have too much perfume. Period.
And, for me, getting them wasn't really about collecting. I hadn't worn fragrance, seriously, for a few years and I think I was was seeking something -- some of my spirit in a bottle -- or maybe trying to fill some void -- always thinking I'd find one better than all the rest -- one which would be...*me*....and it would rock my world.
*LOL*
I think I'm just tired of the searching and maybe more than a little bored, too.
I feel a lot of guilt when I look at all of the bottles I have and I can't help that. :-\

Catie Ribbons, the person you gave a perfume is so ungrateful , I really don't understand such people.

Mine is definately too large. The one concession I've made is that I buy 1oz bottles, never 100mls.

That's so lame.

Arghhh, blowtorch! My collection is not too large. Too large to me is unable to use before it spoils and I have this all calculated as carefully as I can (granted, who knows when I will die and whether or not some things will go off unexpectedly or never go off). I don't handle waste well, and perfumes would probably be harder to bequeath away than a music or book collection. Groom someone to take them? Perhaps; but my actual goal is to get most of my collection over the next years and after that use them up and buy new ones sparingly. I'm on target for that. Also have a friend on-site and you on-line to pass things on to if necessary. I do however have too much Boudoir (believed discontinuation rumours, stocked up at a time when I didn't have many other scents, and now end up wearing it more than I would like; spraying it with weary nonchalance, which is making it less special ... although it will be whittled down to an appropriate amount proportionate to how much I really do rotate it in the grand scheme of things within a year or so).

Oh hell, I feel the same way Diva, could be a raging drug problem, no? We chose fragrance instead for our fix, right sista?

I've been sort of feeling guilty about mine today. I wish I didn't feel that way, it ruins the fun.

Hmmmm...from a strictly rational standpoint, yes. But who cares about rationality, anyway? If I wanted rationality, I'd wash, lotion, a little spritz of cologne maybe, like most people. But who cares about what most people do?

I hate to spend money, though, so I buy samples and decants, and, IF and ONLY IF, I love it so much that I have to have more, I'll shop around, at Maxx or somewhere, or look for a bottle split or a trade on MUA (not eligible for swapping here yet.) Or, for vintage, on Ebay or flea markets. I have friends who like estate sales scout them while they're shopping at them. So I do have lots of little 5 ml and 8 ml bottles, but that's enough for quite awhile. So far, haven't had to spend department store prices for anything, and that is my rationale for this scent collection -- having the best, spending the least.

I have found that lots of people think owning more than a couple of bottles of perfume is...somehow wasteful, self-indulgent or just nuts. So I generally don't go there with the civilians; thank God for all of you!

I guess my collection is not too large by our perfumista standards. I think I currently have about 25 bottles of perfume? Maybe less? But I actually would like to pare down my collection to about 10 bottles or less. Ideally I would like to rotate between 4 or 5 scents, finishing bottles and keeping the collection at a minimum. I don't have any money to spend on new scents and to be honest as much as I enjoy different scents, I do like wearing a few signature scents.

No, it is not too large although sometimes I fear it is. I have around 12 bottles. The good news is my wish list is quite short... And yes it does matter. I often feel guilty about spending on perfumes. And I can't justify spending too much. I can't afford to have hundreds of bottles anyway, not even 100 ! I'm just lucky I dislike niche scents.

well it is very,very large and I can't and don't wear all of them. Is it too large? No. I enjoy the ebb and flow of the collection and the evolution of my taste. I could have spent the money elsewhere of course, but I have never spent more than I could afford and I love my collection of scents. It doesn't matter at all.

I have bottles & bottles & bottles of perfume treasures and yes, it is large. I have never seen them as a "collection" though. They are my passion and an expression of me. Many people I know who collect things do so out of habit not genuine passion and childlike joy.

I have never felt guilty or sinful for having the opportunity to both enjoy & have so much perfume. Never.

I always thought I was born under a lucky star to have such a wild and wide appreciation of the art of perfume. For me perfume has always been about pleasure and feeling good, fantasy, discovery and beauty. Gives my life an intangible zing!

oh my gosh we are collectors here. There are books everywhere you look, SO has about a dozen guitars ( am counting the banjo and ukelele in the count), too many shoes, crates of wine in the cellar, art supplies, sheet music, even dd has a collection of Betty Boop figurines. Perfume seems to be the least of it. Sometimes I dream of a spare and ascetic life in a perfectly white room but then what would I do with myself all day?

Yes it is too large. I say that having just moved into a new house and carting about 6 boxes of perfumes with me. That didn't count the little plastic tubs full of decants, samples, oils, lotions etc.

Insane I say insane!!!!!!!!

I came home the other day and my husband mentioned with a twinkle in his eye, that he had gone to our large antique wardrobe to get a clean towel, only to find it was now filled with handbags! I think he was mortified, actually. Apparently, one vice is o.k. but two is not. I explained that those handbags had been jammed in my closet for years, I was just giving them breathing room. I don't think he believed me. It did feel a bit like a 'I Love Lucy' episode.

Mine has been too large, so every now and then, I'll part with a bottle to someone I either know wants one in my collection, or simply needs perfume.

I recently parted with Dolce and Gabbana red cap and it would be in my top 5 favourites quite easily, yet the person that received it is getting so much out of it, and so many compliments, it was worth it.

Yet being on pol, I no sooner part with a bottle, than I am being offered another by someone else from here. It's really quite incredible the way it always seems to happen.

Yes, POL has been my salvation many times. I so greatly appreciate all the wonderful swappers here that have allowed access to items beyond my reach either monitarily or geographically (like lutens). Clearing out is a wonderful feeling but once in awhile, I regret it, only to find that another is accessible here. It's like nothing is lost forever. It makes clearing out easier.

My collection is far too small. I need to shape up. I'm a bad perfumista.

I only buy what i really love, and only when I can afford it. I also tend to use up my bottles and not rebuy them if they're not staples. I would like a few more. Say 30 perfect choices. That would be just right for me.