In my part of the pond...

Perfume blogging is usually a very peaceful occupation. That Swedish teen blogger like Kissy and Sissy get headlines and also making a lot of money on their blogs is totally un-beliveable for me.

My blog posting don´t attract any headlines and I don´t make any money on the blog either (OK, OK I actually have earned about 20 € this far this year, that´s the reason I cleaned away the commercials or stuffed it way down, If they´re not generating any money they don´t deserve to be in people´s faces).

Perfume lovers -and bloggers usually also are very peaceful, friendly and helpful people. Of course a person that has as his bigest interest to sit down peacefully and smell on different fragrances must be quite serene, nice and even a little withdrawn.

Perfume blogging isn´t that big, and in Sweden there are few other perfume blogs and non as I know of that update often and regularly. From a global point of view it´s of course bigger, but still only a small part in the total of all different blogs. Surely, there are room for new perfume blogs? Apperantly not, one of the old and established perfume bloggers feels that all the new blogs drains fokus in discussions which are supposed to be on that blog!

Some of the established perfume bloggers are hanging out with people in the perfume industry, that seem not to be a good thing either. I think it must be impossible to live for instant in Paris, write about perfume for years without learning to know a lot of different people in the perfume industry and among those surely there are a coupple that you happened to like so much that you eventually become friends. This of course make way to an insider look on perfumery that perhaps isn´t always good, but also hard to get pass.

Anyway, if I felt like having lunch or go to parties with Serge Lutens, Pierre Guillaume, Olivia Giacobetti and Kilian Henessy I so live in the wrong place! But on the other hand nothing stops me from having really good connection with some perfume folks, especially within the indiebrands, but also among large and established brands I´ve encountered so much friendly and helpful people when I´ve contacted them. It´s apart of my "job" to contact perfume people and perfumers.

Of course my blog is considered new if I compare with blogs that have been going for about ten years. But at least I´ve had it for more then 2 years and even more important, it´s regularly updated at least every single week for 2 years. If counting all my postings, I´ve got quite a few by now.

The thing is that newcomers has to find their own style. Style of writing is very personal and to review the same fragarnce can be done in so many different ways.

I can´t keep up with perfume bloggers that lives in paris and other big cities when it comes to having sneak pre-views. I don´t automatically get samples from the big brands when they release something new. And with a limited income (hehe, 20€ is a very limited income, right?), i can´t manage to order samples from every new release. So keeping up with news will not be my thing, that I realised a long time ago...

My thing is to find those small unknown indiebrands or perfume houses out for their first round. Maybe my blog will be the only one ever mentioning these scents? OR, they eventually become popular and then this little blog was the first one that you read about that brand on. As I am having a little reporter personality a scoop always feels good.

I also like to hunt down those un-familiar brands, which sometimes isn´t the easiest thing. A lot of mail that I send never get any answers, for instant, the Swedish niche company Byredo NEVER had answer any of my mails, I have no idea why, but I think it´s a bit sad...

I´ve also got so many boring answers, like this: I write a very polite mail presenting myself and my blog and pointing out that I have perfume interested readers all around the world and would like to write about the brand and evaluate their fragrances. "We dont give samples to customers, but we can tell you wear you can buy or perfumes" "Thank you, but I´m sure you don´t have a retailer in Sweden, I respond" "No, we don´t, the closest to you is in Paris" "OK, thank you, then I can´t write about your brand" Oh well, it´s not my problem if they haven´t figure out that to be mentioned on a blog (even though a somewhat small blog) is usually good and -almost- free marketing!

The perfume world (at least western perfumes with some arabic and japanese influences) is a small pond. All perfumistas knows about new releases from Serge Lutens, Frederic Malle and Guerlain in no time. But also smaller actors like Ava Luxe (you know the very moment Serena decide to re-launch Midnight Violet it will be sold out), Andy Tauer and Neil Morris is out on the street in no time, and much thanks to devoted perfumista followers. And when a perfumista has decided to get a certain fragrances nothing will stop her. It could take months to get it but eventually the sought after scent is arriving and the fealing when you opens that envelope... oh yeah!

This is something some in perfume industry knows a lot about, while some don´t.

Anyway, I´ll leaving town tomorrow, so you have to manage without me for a few days, during this time I suggest you read Brians post at I Smell Therefore I Am:

http://ismellthereforeiam.blogspot.com/2010/11/are-you-perfume-blogging-snob-take-this.html