as the group newbie… well my brothers. it finally happened. my beam of enlightenment. my moment. the vampire tasting blood for the first time. it was gradual, slow, and a buildup, but finally it’s happened. first i started with my basic designers. gucci guilty edt. slowly adding more. valentino spicebomb my first jpg (le beau le parfum) first michael malul. dior sauvage. decants. dupes. my impressions of creeds and lv’s were based on dupes and decants. and one rainy day. one rainy night. locked in traffic, exhausted and pissed. i’m walking through the strip, i find the lv store, and try the fragrances. l’immensite gets the first sniff. and oh my word, it’s nothing like nothing i’ve ever experienced. i try all of the others. my personal favorite is les sables roses. i realized i loved rose and oud combos. and more and more i began to try. no longer basic designers, but high end stuff. private lines from balenciaga and guerlain. boutique exclusives. parfums de marly. xerjoff. creed. i remember smelling and wearing aventus for the first time, and well, i owe it an apology. tom ford private blend, well it’s probably one of my favorite lines now. and now im moving into more unique stuff. today i tried out diptyque for the first time today. absolutely beautiful works of art. i plan to try out le labo next. i’m currently wearing 5 different fragrances on my arms right now for test. santal blush projects like a beast. les sables roses is still my favorite. well brotherhood of scent, officially count me as one of you. i realize the hype now. i’ve officially tasted it, and now, im in love. in love with perfumery as not just a fancy way to smell good, but as a culture, an aesthetic, and a form of art. it’s true, genuine cultural art, with history and value. and as someone who loves art and old world charm and sophistication, this has become a new genuine passion. my favorite scent profiles now are neroli, oud, rose, and tea. i’m definitely dead set on getting gris charnel. and i’m probably gonna start selling my collection to make room for quality, not quantity.

I've been stuck at home for the last 4 days with the winter storm, and I've been using the time to do some much-needed chores and cleaning around the house. One of those chores was to update the shelving for my collection. It's grown beyond the closet shelves, so I got a little bookshelf to move some into my bedroom. The bedroom shelf has now become my display with the perfumes that I actually use and enjoy the most, and the closet is now the archive with fragrances that get less use. Most of these I will eventually give away, sell, or donate in an effort to make space. The goal is to have the bedroom shelf be the limiting factor. If it doesn't go there, then I don't need it. I have yet to purchase anything beyond a decant for 2026, but I am getting a bunch of new stuff from the press agency to photograph and review. So far, it's mostly women's perfumes like Idole Peach 'N Rose, or it's Middle Eastern brands that I've never seen before. Those items have gotten out of control, and I am struggling to figure out what to do with them. Anyway, here's my update shelving, minus the press items, which are in boxes in my guest closet.