man it sucks so many people on here have absolutely convinced themselves that entire categories of consumer goods like perfume are bougie. you are depriving yourself of little treats by just assuming you cant ever afford anything! this isnt an avocado toast post either im not saying ‘just save up and buy it lol’, i would never say that, what im saying is perfume (that is: scents in liquid, paste, oil or solid form intended to be worn as a personal adornment) as a commodity starts at “free” and gradually increases in price from there. my favorite perfumes are priced everywhere between $0 and $300. one of the most lauded amber scents in the world (regrettably JUST discontinued), “Amber Paste” by Kuumba Made, is one of those little hippie oils you get at Whole Foods and it cost $10.
and im not telling you to wear perfume, obviously people have allergies and shit, or just dont care for it, im talking to the people who WANT to own fragrances. im saying they aren’t all going to cost $150.
you can also get unlimited (unlimited over a long enough timeline, they limit you to a couple or three per visit) free samples at a lot of sephoras and nordstroms if you live somewhere that has those stores (this depends on the location and a lot of other organic factors, you’ll have to check ahead of time or just try it if you’re nearby, it’s sort of random). if you’re actually buying something at sephora (and they have a lot of stuff that isn’t a million dollars as well, despite their branding) ask for every free sample at checkout that they have. they will often load you up, and not just with perfume. secondhand outlets like Value Village and Goodwill also do huge business in perfume because people are ALWAYS donating it.
sephora also does perfume refills. if you actually do buy a full size bottle, they can refill it for much less than buying a whole new bottle of the stuff. i don’t know exactly how much it costs because i havent used this service myself. and idk how careful yiou have to be about reeceipts either, but look into it if you bought a full size and its running out
idk it just bums me out there are all these people who actually want perfume and seem to think it’s out of their price range. the really basement-tier dupes of popular brand scents are so good these days it’s often worth dropping the $10 at Walmart or Rite Aid too.
some of my favorite ever perfumes were some weird crap i got in a crystal wizard store, or a drug store, or a goodwill, or whatever. if you want perfume you can get it
Sorry to hijack this post, but I’ve frequently encountered similar attitudes when it comes to attending the opera or a live classical music performance. Ask any regular opera patron and they’ll tell you that opera companies desperately need young people to come out to performances, that they can’t keep solely relying on the financial support of a rapidly shrinking circle of upper class patrons. I’ll hear “oh but it’s so bougie going to the opera”, no it’s not, there’s a reason why “Va, pensiero” from Verdi’s Nabucco became an anthem for the Italian revolutionaries during the Risorgimento. “Opera only caters to elite tastes, besides I don’t know Italian/French/German/Russian etc.” I guarantee that it doesn’t, and most modern opera houses use some kind of subtitle technology in their performance. “Attending the opera or symphony is too expensive.” If you’re under 30 or a student I guarantee that you can get absurdly cheap tickets. The Canadian Opera Company here in Toronto used to (they still might, I don’t know) offer $25 tickets to under-30s, $35 if you wanted the best available seats the day of, which is how I wound up with seats that would’ve cost me hundreds of dollars otherwise on more than one occasion. Just go, please, it’s always a wonderful experience.
Folks need to read more Emma Goldman:
“I want freedom, the right to self-expression, everybody’s right to beautiful, radiant things.’ Anarchism meant that to me, and I would live it in spite of the whole world — prisons, persecution, everything. Yes, even in spite of the condemnation of my own closest comrades I would live my beautiful ideal.”
Don’t fall into this trap of thinking pleasure and beauty are bourgeois. The whole fucking point of reforming the world is so we can all have pleasure and beauty and leisure time to cultivate them. You’re not a martyr to the cause by denying yourself pleasure. You’re just miserable, and your misery only serves the upper class, not the people you should be fighting alongside.
The Hollywood Bowl offers tickets for as low as a dollar for classical and jazz performances. I used to go with my parents ten times a summer because thursday shows were $5 for the cheap seats, and you can show up early with a picnic packed for dinner. People tend to think that the classical events are expensive and exclusive, but you have no idea how many times I listened to Mozart sitting on a bench with a chicken sandwich in my hand because it was cheaper to go see the LA Phil conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen at the Bowl than it was to go to the movies.
I work for a Reasonably Well Known Regional Theater.
We’re *dying* out here, and there’s usually a way to get tickets around $35 if not lower to most if not all of our shows. Call the box office and tell them you’re on a budget, be kind, but make it known that you very much want to see a show. Usually there’s a way.