About the author: Arielle Weinberg is a Johns Hopkins University Natural Sciences major and aspiring perfumer. She writes about perfume, Star Trek, and her cat for her perfume blog, Scents of Self.

Hi there, Now Smell This! We’re going to start things off with a little quiz!

1. Do you read blogs about perfume? (We know that you read at least one!)

2. Have you ever had to correct a perfume salesperson?

3. Can you name at least three perfumers?

4. Have you ever attended a meet-up or convention for perfume lovers?

5. Do friends give you concerned looks when they see the size of your perfume collection?

6. Are you prone to using perfumista lingo? Examples of perfumista lingo include “sillage monster”, “IFRA restrictions”, or “evil scent twin”.

7. Do you have a favorite classic Guerlain? (Pssst… Nahéma doesn’t count! It was released in 1979.)

8. Did you know that perfumes are frequently reformulated due to issues with ingredients or costs?

9. Do you have a system for keeping track of your perfume samples, such as a written catalogue or a computer spreadsheet?

10. Do you have strong opinions on the IFRA regulations of perfumery ingredients such as oakmoss and sandalwood?

If you answered “yes” to even a single one of these questions, congratulations! You are a nerd…

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