Sorry to keep you waiting for a new sample post, but I myself am waiting and waiting...You see, I ordered several Guerlain decants, and I had hoped to have them so I could have a full week of Guerlain scents that I'm excited to try and, as far as my experience, aren't all ones that are frequently reviewed or discussed (which of course does not mean they aren't loved by many!).My other problem seems still to be how to approach the rest of my samples. The sheer volume is overwhelming. (Listening to me complain about this problem, you might be asking yourself, "Why did she order more samples, if she can't manage what she has?" Because it's a sickness, people! I'm not well!) Do I sample by perfumer? Do I sample from oldest acquisition to newest? Do I divide things seasonally? Do I organize according to all three of those principles and then give it a whirl? What about the stuff I want to try again, now that I have more--don't laugh--experience? I think some do-over reviews could be in order.
Or do I just put everything in a big bag and grab something every day, like a reverse sort of trick-or-treat? What if I'm not in the mood for what I grab? If I put it back and grab again, am I cheating?
And finally, you know, I realize it doesn't matter. Most of the samples I own have been well-reviewed by other, more competent bloggers than myself. It's as though I'm struggling over how to arrange my journal: Do I write daily or weekly? Do I write about actual things or only my impressions of the things? How will I know the difference? Do I try to capture life as it actually happens, like conversations, or do I simply emote onto the page, all the things I can't say to anyone, all the things I think during the day but find it better not to share?
I read a column in the November Vogue about keeping diaries, and why the author prefers them to blogs. If memory serves, he basically objected to most blogging because it seems so self-aggrandizing in one way or another: bloggers either think their lives are so amusing and amazing they must be shared with others, or they think blogging is their ticket to fame, to a book deal, a magazine column, a movie deal.
Granted, I've read some blogs like that, and I know some people like that. Those are the blogs I get bored with rather quickly. But I don't find that to be true with the fragrance and beauty blogs, and I guess that's why I signed up to do this myself. I always learn a little something from every blog I visit daily, and I appreciate knowing that mostly, no beauty editor or public relations person is behind much of what I read. I'm getting some straight-up information at best, or just sharing a person's thoughts at least. And I have few illusions about my own little project. I've mentioned here many times how I actually started this project in a diary, keeping notes for myself. And while that's fun, it's not nearly as much fun as sharing it with you all and getting advice, or hearing what you think about what I'm sampling, whether you've tried it or not. I know I'm not inventing the wheel here, but, overwhelmed as I may be by the sheer volume of thigs I have left to learn and try, I sure am having fun.
*image from WebMuseum
