So why blog about perfume? What’s my agenda? Why have I chosen to spend oodles of time writing about fragrance and offering my opinions on specific ones? I’m glad you asked.

Most of the reasons I blog about perfume I’ve already talked about on my site but just to be clear: 

• Perfume is one of my passions and I’ve chosen this niche because it’s near and dear to my heart. I’ve never pretended to be an “expert”, whatever that is. I’ve spent a lot of time smelling perfume, more recently writing about it and even more recently have ventured into actually creating it so I do know something about it. I consider myself a lifelong learner as well as a perfumista.
• If someone had told me that I’d be writing a blog three years ago I would have laughed at them. Sure, I’d come across other perfume blogs by accident doing Google searches but I found many to be either badly written or obscure. I now follow several that I find brilliant, but until October 2015 I’d never built a website or written a single post. My blog has suffered growing pains for sure.
• Becoming a perfume blogger has allowed me to meet some really interesting people who share my passion. I’ve found that the perfume community is an incredibly warm, generous and open-minded group and I’ve met some amazing people through this connection.
• I write about perfumes that interest me. Sometimes they are brand new ones that are just released and sometimes they are ones that are new to me. Other times they are scents that I have a personal relationship with; ones that bring back childhood memories, such as my mother’s favorite perfume, Anais Anais or a more recent exciting discovery like ALTAIA’s Don’t Cry for Me. While it’s fun to chase the newest and hottest, that’s not really my thing.
• I’ve never written a review of a perfume I haven’t personally tried, although there have been times when my initial opinion of the product has changed after reviewing it. Sometimes I find that living with a scent for a while can change my understanding of it. When this has happened, I update my review.
• I am always interested in trying any product that is given to me as a sample but I’ve never written a review because I’ve been given a freebie. I have many vials of perfumes that I’ve not reviewed and probably never will to prove this. If I’m not genuinely interested in something I can’t be bothered.
• When the time comes for me to sit down and write about a perfume I sometimes encounter a large question mark. When this happens, I try to focus on how the scent makes me feel and what memories and images it conjures up for me. 
• I sell ad space through Google Adsense and am an affiliate with several other marketers, including Amazon. I haven’t gotten rich from these affiliations by the way, although every little bit so far has been very welcome?
• I don’t pitch my blog to specific brands or seek out a brand hoping to get free products. I generally receive free products at perfume events that I’ve paid to attend or requested along with a paid order. Getting samples isn’t hard and you don’t need to be a blogger to score them.
• Not all of my reviews have been 100% positive but I don’t seek out products that I suspect will suck before I review them. My reviews are my opinions and therefore completely subjective. You are free to totally disagree and I will not be insulted.
• I haven’t yet used “guest posts” from other bloggers. This is something I’m thinking about doing though and most likely will at some point. Also, constantly posting can be challenging if you like to get out every once in a while heaven forbid actually take an occasional vacation.
• There’s a lot of misinformation out there about perfume (and everything else) so when I do research on the net I rely on reputable sites like Fragrantica for background information as well as some other trusted sources like Basenotes or Michael Edwards’ Fragrances of the World.  I also love reading actual books about perfume and have acquired a small perfume book library ? Reading and researching are two of my other passions.
• Whenever someone takes the time to post a comment on my site I do my best to respond to their comment, even if it’s painfully clear that they just skimmed over the article. I’ll admit to feeling a certain rush when I get a post shared on Facebook or other social media platforms.
• I like having a voice, however small it might be. I know there are a gazillion perfume blogs out there and some bloggers have been at this a lot longer than I have, but when I learn something new about perfume or discover an amazing fragrance, I love to spread the word and share my crushes.

So that’s it. I think this covers most of the important points. Of course you are more than welcome to tell me what you think or offer suggestions on topics you’d like to see covered. I’d love to hear your thoughts? 

Until the next time,