Do you collect or savor? These are far from identical. In fact, there’s generally an inverse relation between the two. The more fragrances you collect, the more difficult it is to savor. If you’re looking for the next quick fragrance fix, you have little time to spend wearing and savoring a great fragrance, say, an entire week, or even an entire month. You’re collecting or, to switch metaphors, dabbling in a huge buffet rather than enjoying a savory gourmet dinner. This is not to say you can’t enjoy collecting. As the character in the movie Heat once declared, for some people, “The action is the juice.” It’s the collecting itself they enjoy, and not the fragrances as such. If you spend many years collecting fragrances as I have you might discover collecting isn’t always all it’s cracked up to be. A few weeks ago Antonio posted a video declaring he’s reducing his collection from about 1000 to about 15 fragrances. Of the myriad of “decluttering” videos I’ve observed from the “influencers,” his was by far the most impressive. Why? Because he gave thoughtful, principaled, permanent reasons for retaining his 15 fragrances. He has reasons to savor, and not collect. I intentionally keep my collection at about 100 (though I actually own more fragrances that are in what I deem my collection). I suspect in 5 to 10 years that number will reduce to 25–50 and in 15 to 20 years (if I’m still alive) that number will diminish to 4 or 5. As one grows older he generally enjoys fewer things, but he enjoys those fewer things more than he enjoyed the many things when he was younger. This is true of fragrances. It is possible to both collect and savor, but the more aggressively one collects, the less one can enjoy savoring. Collect or savor. Pick one.

Decided to pull something from the back today and grab this masterpiece. If there is any house that I can say does nothing bad it is John Varvatos. They may have an issue with how long their stuff lasts but there is never any issue with how good their stuff smells. This is a spicy woody scent that has an almost intriguing metallic note to it. It gives hints of classic men’s scents from years ago while still being modern. Something green and fresh that works while mowing your lawn or holding a meeting at work. Is it a powerhouse? No, I sprayed the heck out of it and still seems like an intimate scent, but expect people’s hugs to last just a tiny bit longer. I say check it out. Stay smelling great my brothers.