Perfume Addiction: 10 Tips to Break Free and Rediscover Your Love for Fragrances

Perfume Nation, let's go straight to the heart of the problem. Are we collectors or hoarders? Is this a creative expression or a shopping addiction? Does Fragrance addiction as a medical problem? This video explores the thin line between passion and addiction in fragrance collecting. We'll also think deeply on specific practical tips on how to enjoy fragrances without overspending or feeling overwhelmed.
How do you find balance in your fragrance practice? Do you use any of these tactics to combat consumerism while staying connected to the perfume community? Whether you're a fragrance newbie or a seasoned collector, let's learn together how to cherish scents without overindulgence.
Share your stories and thoughts on how to heal excessive consumerism without quitting the perfume community cold turkey!
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#FragranceReviewer #NichePerfumes

[@SVYATUN]

I love fragrances since late 90s. It has been almost 30 years for me and I accumulated 70 bottles of very special scents for this time. Perfume is a luxury item, buy 2-4 bottles a year and treasure them. Develop special memories with fragrance and anchor them with memories of special places and people.❤

[@marinelab]

In my humble opinion, if the perfume addiction leads to collateral damages that affects life negatively , such as neglecting other vital aspects of life, getting into financial problems, disconnection with siblings and friends, it can be perceived as a mental health pathology. It can the the tip of the iceberg, hiding something deeper such bipolarity and/or borderline personality, just like gambling...On the other hand, if the perfume addiction, is just the result of a lack of other sensorial emotions, or FOMO, if it doesn't affect your lifestyle and only affects your frustration level and wallet moderately, maybe it's time to just take a break and grow. Finally, if perfume addiction, just brings someone joy, excitement, passion, knowledge growth, without affecting your personal life it's all good...just like any hobby! I mean some other hobbies are far more expensive, it all depends on someone's budget and reasonability.

[@MindHoudini]

Well said. Bravo.

[@TODOMATIO]

Thank you for your "diagnosis". Never asked for it! Focus on your own problems

[@marinelab]

@@TODOMATIO The fact that you feel that you are being singled out says a lot about you. For your own sake, don't take things personally especially in a space where people express their "humble opinion"...

[@KasThinks]

Excellent breakdown!

[@beer_bad]

Finally a perfume influencer that doesn’t promote over spraying. Thank you! 🙏❤️

[@ada-sg4xo]

I realised that when I used 2 sprays of perfume, I smelled it all day. But now when I spray 10 times, I fell nothing 😮

[@kara8911]

@@ada-sg4xoI’m finding that to be true too unfortunately.

[@nichegoseberazdvatri]

Just remember that fragrance influencers are sales people. They want you to go and buy it so they will super hype it on purpose. I've been a victim of that more than twice. I cannot believe that some niche fragrance can have such a disgusting scent. Repulsive and obnoxious. I was literally in shock. So please fight the urge to blind buy

[@danbrown527]

I’ve blind bought 80 bottles maybe 3 I would say were a mistake. The rest amazing! Hours of research and understanding of your nose helps!

[@nichegoseberazdvatri]

@@danbrown527 I'm glad most of it worked out for you. I wasn't so lucky. My worst was Iris Malikhan by Maison Crivelli. What were your worst buys?

[@minare2024]

@@nichegoseberazdvatriI just got a tester of iris Malikan yesterday and I’m not sure about it either. Glad I didn’t get a fb blindly. Also, I realized I was falling in love with these perfume influencers, and then they started getting sponsored or earning a commission and it was such a turn off.

[@minare2024]

I started to sell my perfumes to make some of the money back.

[@ems_h.eartnotes]

Having experienced and worked in addiction treatment, I do believe shopping addiction to be a real thing. There might not be the chemical dependence of the substance (dopamine hits aside), but the behaviours and consequences can be the same. Because the chosen substance (perfume in this case) is not the problem - it's the solution to our problem (or so we think). And of course there are levels of addiction. But I agree with you, it only matters that it is a thing in so far as there is a way to recover from it. I went through a shopping problem with makeup after getting into youtube in 2015. I got a handle on it and have been budgeting and monitoring my shopping behaviour for clothing, other beauty, perfume and non essential home goods (candles etc), since about 2019. Have I got it nailed down? For the most part yes, but I have to be honest with myself 😊

[@MariaMeliora]

so true. This is probably the most valuable and hardest thing to do: to continuously check in and be honest with oneself. Life goals lol

[@lindaf4103]

2 days ago. Quest for new smells, feeling rich and part of something. I stopped myself last night from buying something from my wish list. I have promised myself I wont buy any more until I pay down my credit card. I have made too many bad fragrance purchases.Thank you Maria, your tips, advice and analysis was very helpful.

[@gamergirl4091]

🤦🏽‍♀️🤦🏽‍♀️🤦🏽‍♀️… this video was much needed. I kept buying perfumes, and just store them.. and started collecting. Idk what for.. 😢

[@healthynheels3213]

I'm the same..I just want alot of perfume

[@breannacarels6479]

Excellent topic. I worked through recovery for alcohol addiction just over 4 years ago and now help women across a spectrum of addictions including substances, co-dependency and sex addiction. I find that no matter what the addiction is, the work is similar… rooted in the same core wounds. Now in recovery, I have to be very careful not to get pulled into any compulsive behaviour. It can be anything.. even healthy endeavours like workshops or healing books… and absolutely it can and has been fragrances. I love the way you outline all the justifications in the beginning of the video… when really so much of it is connected to dopamine and other aspects of the human condition we try to remedy with any number of outlets. Thanks for the video. Loved hearing your rules.

[@HarrisPilton789]

Using a NAC supplement helps to curb addictive behaviors.

[@ChristaBellla-v5y]

Fabulous „essay“ on the topic 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 Thank you 😻

[@roci7191]

"Enjoying the having, rather than the acquiring" is a great way to put it! I've definitely spent my fair share of hours looking at inventory and "researching" and basically yearning for something. This kind of behaviour can be influenced by a myriad of factors that play out in our individual lives and it takes a lot of self-awareness and honesty to cut through the illusions and stories fuelled by consumerism, marketing, and our own minds/ behavioural patterns. Thought-provoking topic discussed in a sensitive and non-judgmental manner - thanks Maria 💜 Would absolutely love to hear you talk more about mindful hedonism and your approach!

[@MargaritaThePerfumista]

I loved this! I agree it's VERY easy to get swept away with the FOMO of fragrance ownership and having a ton of bottles. As a youtube fragrance reviewer myself, I, too have found myself at a crossroads when determining if I really need a new bottle of something.

[@corinalymburner1121]

Everything you’ve said resonates with my past purchasing experiences, my present goals - the thoughts whirling around in the front & back of my mind about them, and my intent (altho, not well-organized) to get to know & use my collection - which very much makes me appreciate you sharing & elaborating your ‘rules’ here, all of which lead the way in doing just that. Thanks so much, Marie!!

[@irawanjohan]

Thank you for this inspiring content, subbed 👌

[@charlottethompson594]

The level of addiction is equal to the harm caused :)

[@oshifish2]

New sub here! Best wishes from Scotland! On a deep note, I struggled with the type of addiction that can kill. Luckily I am wayyy on the other side now and doing well. Yet I feel FOMO is a lot of what drives people to perfume addiction. I am happy to stick with samples and small decants then treat myself twice or thrice a year on a full bottle. For myself, I could never blind buy a full bottle. That would trigger me to my past self. ( although I never got into debt in the past, I just spent the absolute max). Yet people have different levels. If a blind buy and maybe another buy once a month is within your budget and gives you joy then there is no harm. We all have things we are passionate about! No harm if it is not hurting your life. Hobbies are joyful! If it hurts your wallet or social life ( not seeing friends or family because you overspent) or one constantly beats oneself up ( buyers remorse and guilt) then its a problem. Luckily this kind of addiction will not lead to death, thank god! xx In summary, life is way too short and so much pain in the world not to give yourself a bit of joy in the form of one of our beautiful senses, smell! xx

[@justaddlight]

Having examined the topic in great detail and with great personal interest for over a decade, I will say that, from a therapeutic perspective, there are always deep psychological, and sometimes transpersonal factors at play that simply cannot be reconciled at a superficial level. Neurological and psychophysical imbalances certainly do occur, but they always have more fundamental causes. As do predispositions, fixations, obsessions and a variety of other subtley habituated behaviours. It's the same with smoking, drug use and alchohol consumption. At a superconscious level, how and why did it begin? Reductionistic materialists love to fixate on, and even blame the resultant chemical dependencies (adaptations really), but what about the core motivations? What are we avoiding or getting from engaging in these kind of relationships? It's the very reason that abrupt cessation also leads to a rebound of sorts, either in the same behaviour or in something similar. The cognitive dissonance that results from us knowing the true (deep) cause, and actively avoiding it requires a self-soother, and ultimately results in another external attachment. And once the habit begins, comfort and complacency can easily become superficial motivators or excuses, potentially even leading to viewing the attachments as part of our core identity. It's a complex dynamic to be sure, but it's actually not that difficult to sort out once we establish communication with that fundamental intelligence at the center of our being, made perfectly available to us in deep trance states. Just like having a stint in a 3rd world country for a couple of months, or working in the laboratories at a major oil-house can change our perceptions, PERSPECTIVE is the real key. After that, it's really our choice to make. ❤

[@rheaanne1858]

Your voice is so sweet

[@elizabetahrstic5094]

Great video Marija. Analytical, wise, but very beautiful. Warm ❤. I like your approach to perfumes. It is beauty, play, self-discovery and interaction. We should strive for that through this hobby. In the end, researching, analyzing and playing in familiar territory will provide much more than a passing shopping dopamine rush. Especially if it is blind. I told myself this: you can have a wish list, but on way that they remain just that - wishes. Potential. Not a safe purchase. A perfume should be known precisely as an interesting person. It is a long way to complete acquaintance. And love is rare. It's a process. It is important to keep the love, to enjoy the process of research. In anything.

[@elizabetahrstic5094]

And I don't forget. Great music. So cute, cheerful song 😻

[@FraBra88]

I just buy decants and sample, enjoy the fragrance, I review them in detail, and if I love them I save 2/3 ml for special occasions. I buy very few bottles. This is my way of loving fragrances but not ruining my life and my passion for art of fragrances too.

[@tiamurrell963]

❤ Thank you for this video. I have 2 perfumes cupboards filled to the brim. Since I had Covid, my taste or my 'nose' needed a change, so I went on a journey discovering Middle Eastern perfumes. I love wearing perfume and fell in love with the perfumes that I bought, especially since I did not become noseblind to these. However I found I was buying too many and stopped 6 or so weeks ago. I still love wearing them but just feel that I own enough. Having long covid and being chronically ill blind buying perfume was a great distraction, or so I reasoned. I am glad that I made this decision and finding your video re inforced what I know and also believe. Thank you, warm regards from Tasmania ❤😊

[@ciuleiralucamake-up3500]

This was a very interesting video!Sometimes out of curiosity, because you see a review somewhere, it's like you want to buy the perfume thinking you'll like it! That's why lately I prefer to buy decant or sample!So I found that it gets me more excited to test lots of little perfumes and apply one of your rules, only what I like goes into the collection! But sometimes this need to test new things annoys me, because I forget to enjoy what I already own! So yes, it is an addiction after all! Clearly in the next period I will take a break and I will shop in my own collection, to enjoy more of what already exists! ❤❤

[@lizseville1]

Hi - new to your channel. I blame a lot on the focus on the word collection - when did it become necessary to have a ‘collection’ as opposedto the traditional 1-3 perfumes? Great to hear your contribution to this debate!!

[@LJernegan]

The search for the best deals got me at the Sephora Springs Sales Event a few weeks ago.

[@NazgulfromLOTR]

1:29 Wow the way you said "I welcome you to the darkside" is literally movie-villain-esque!

[@MariaMeliora]

*evil chuckle* ;)

[@SVYATUN]

I am sceptical of any fragrances produced after 2010. It is all amber woody, isobutyl quinoline, iso super cheap cocktails done in 1 minute for mindless consumption. Buy local and vintage instead. Pre-IFRA or non IFRA- compliant.

[@notimportant123]

Buying a bottle after finishing a decant isn't a blind buy, by definition? So... no blind buys period. I like your scientific approach!

[@9staylo]

I don't think it's a mental illness. It's fun to collect, but because it's so accessible it can be impulsive. Like, I wouldn't say someone collecting baseball cards or watches necessarily has a mental illness. But like anything else, it ultimately could be, depending on the person's state of mind.

[@petraroos3413]

I also have few perfume lovers in my life. So I appreciate the care you take ❤

[@sallymiller9872]

Rule 7 is a really good way to look at it. I didn’t think about it like that. That it’s not a bad thing to top up. Especially when usually it’s the top notes I enjoy the most. ❤

[@gabrielaquinones1232]

Thank you for this! I recently started to share about perfumes on social media and started asking myself if this is something healthy since perfumes are so expensive and looks like the goal is to have a closet full of perfumes

[@MariaMeliora]

yeah, it becomes a race so quickly!

[@GulsahDudaksizoglu]

Hi Maria, and thank you for this beautiful video!❤

[@MariaMeliora]

Aww you are so welcome! Glad you enjoyed it!

[@magbebamba1995]

My problem is i don't buy clothes i don't buy shoes or makeup. I'm only obsessed with perfume only😢 and i keeps on buying can't stop.

[@TODOMATIO]

I'm an addict 😢. And im trying to break free. It doesn't help that I have ADHD

[@UltraViolet666]

I really enjoyed this! It was so informative and you talked about so much that others don't ❤

[@MariaMeliora]

Oh this warms my heart, thank you!

[@alejandrinaromero6462]

Delightful video. It would be very interesting to see content about different levels of analysis of perfume😊

[@0oohnegative]

Excellent video and really what I needed to hear

[@AWW2430]

I loved this video!

[@vincefry9225]

This was really great

[@MinhSen11]

First time listening to your video- what great content!

[@MariaMeliora]

aww thank you!

[@YoTratoYTrato]

I NEED HELP!!😮 Im at well over 50 fragrances and must STOP! Its sort of embarrassing tbh.

[@JuliaMiaa]

I‘m new into fragrances and bought so many perfumes to get my preferences 😮 But now I’m much more selective when it comes to fragrances but sometimes it is still overwhelming. So many perfumes on the market which sounds yummy 😂

[@SVYATUN]

"Yummy" like what exactly?

[@MrsSmith88]

I stopped back ups. I love too much. I like having new so I don't back ANYTHING up unless its a signature scent that I have provided proof to myself that I have used regularly. I only back up Ouai Melrose place and Ellis Brooklyn RRose. Despite having a collection of over 300. Year after year I use up a bottle of each of those

[@alexao8463]

I think that perfume is a luxury just like any other art form and people should treat it as such. I don't think perfume addiction is a mental health condition, but rather the same as any type of collecting people do.

[@JadeWestTristan]

My rule is finish 5 perfumes before buying a new one

[@MariaMeliora]

Wow respectable!!

[@user-wj8ge9gn1l]

I feel attacked just by the title. The first three minutes also.. muahahahaha

[@plookie1972]

I had to stop myself from constantly buying more. I have 200 perfumes and i have to fight the urge to keep buying more. I just bought 2 perfumes . Do i need them ? Absolutely not . I wanted them . Not good

[@MariaMeliora]

oh i so understand the feeling. Do you have any questions i want answered or content you wish you could watch to feel supported in this change?

[@SVYATUN]

How do you make purchasing decisions?

[@jeanetteh.9240]

Consider adding up the cost of your collection. Then decide if there is anything you could have done with that money that you would view as more worthwhile.

[@SVYATUN]

@@jeanetteh.9240 I think that would be a negative type of thinking leading to some regrets and frustration. What's done is done. Money is here to spend. If at that point of life all you want is to spend money on perfumes, so be it. Life is short, get what you want for the money you have.

[@danbrown527]

I’ve purchased 80+ over the past 3 months. It’s been wild ride but I’m content now hah.

[@nichegoseberazdvatri]

Молодец. Отличная тема. Сейчас я смотрю на Русском тоже развелось этих influencers. Все хотят заработать комиссионные.

[@SVYATUN]

Согласен. Сейчас столько стало информации про духи, что они уже теряют статус чего-то желанного и эксклюзивного. Особенно если комментарии от блогеров нелепые, сразу даже не хочется пробовать.

[@silviac6929]

After some years following perfume youtubers, I'm one of those who have fallen into the rabbit hole, but luckily I've come to a stop all by myself, when I naturally began to feel nauseous at hearing the same blabber over and over. Most of all, it was the desperate, at time even slutty attitude of those who had sponsors or discount codes to push, they all felt so ... uncapable of selling their "products" without sounding pushy, false or just desperate. Today, on the rare occasions when I still listen to those fragheads, who cannot really hide the sad fact of their OCD, I can't help feeling that these people lack dignity and a healthy sense of reality.

[@kathryncaudwell8790]

I’ve found buying samples of perfume to help. While the price of the samples is a rip-off at least I’m not spending hundreds of pounds.

[@DrBroncanuus]

Hi Maria, would you share with us how much you have personally spent on perfumes ?

[@MariaMeliora]

I have in the past 😄 there are older videos I did trace how it was escalating over one year, if you are into forensics 😄

[@MariaMeliora]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/pmekZIN4l76psJI

[@MariaMeliora]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/pHmtg6iEitd9m7ssi=HLLBIFNu6qOxt334

[@ajilariyike]

Yesterday. I really need to stop.

[@MariaMeliora]

😘😘😘 play with these tactics a bit - not only they help to shift the mind, ease the compulsion, but they also bring joy back 😘😘

[@akuganteng1218]

u look like a strawberry😂