Introducing my new site!

A while ago I wrote a blog post about how perfume gets such a stepmotherly treatment up here in Scandinavia (for the whole post, read here). I had several ideas about the reasons for that, including our tradition of protestantism, social democracy, white and airy Scandinavian design and the horrendous Law of Jante, saying you should never be better than the rest.

But seriously, just think about it, all the people here that right at this moment are pouring their souls into choosing the perfect wine to accompany the perfect meal, wearing the perfect garment in their perfect living room, just because they like it. That does not sound like people are buried under a pile of protestant, et all, beliefs, does it? Concerning perfume, there just HAS to be something else!

And I think the answer is very very simple. Here, there is no tradition making perfumes and most raw materials used in perfumery are not available naturally here here, so all those references are missing. The perfume supply in the shops is extremely limited (if you don't live in one of the biggest cities) and there is no tradition giving out samples for free. Taking all this into account it's not strange that most people just haven't come across a scent they've seriously fallen for. The rabbit holes in Sweden are sparse and far apart.

But now, Sweden is also a country of nerds. It's considered a good thing to be serious about your hobbies, excel at quizzes and just do a good job in general. I believe that with just the tiniest nudge people wouldn't have any problems tumbling all the way to the bottom of the before mentioned rabbit holes - and I believe they are just as deep as anywhere else.

And in order for that to happen I have created a new web site where I introduce some of my favourite fragrances and explain what I find so great about them. Coincidentally, these scents are also offered for sale, at competitive prices, in different, usable, sizes.

But I want more. Perfumeland, with its beautiful inhabitants, is a glorious place. I want to facilitate for everyone to get to know it. Therefore I'll move this blog over to the new site, and I want to feature as many other perfume bloggers as I possibly can on my new blog roll. So, if you want to be on it but aren't, please, tell me!

Also, I'll continue to do this blog in English, even though the rest of the site is in Swedish. And, even though you don't speak Swedish, don't let the language scare you. Seen one web shop, seen them all. The names of the perfumes and companies are the same. And although I'm starting out with only support for payments within Sweden ("I had to start somewhere so I started here", as Jarvis Cocker of Pulp used to sing), I'm all for international business. Just pop me a mail and we'll talk about it.

So, as this will be the last real blog post here in a while, I want to thank EVERYONE who has read this blog from the bottom for my heart! I got very surprised when I first realised anyone was reading it and I still get just as deliriously happy whenever I see one of your lovely comments! I'd love if you'll update your bookmarks and subscriptions to the new site (yes, you can link directly into the blog and never have to see the shopping part!) and stay with me and see what the future brings. Love, thanks and big hugs to you al!

And finally, the url to the new site:
http://riktigparfym.se  (I'll be grateful forever and ever if you share!!!)

And for only the blog:
http://riktigparfym.se/blog

Hope to see you there :)

The state of Sweden....+ my New Years Resolution

 
If you follow me on Twitter or spend a lot of time reading comments on other perfume blogs you might have come across me talking about Sweden. It's a great contry in many ways. If we didn't have such generous benefits for parents, allowing most of us to stay home for 1,5 years after having a baby, this blog would never have come into existence. But, in other aspects when it comes to perfume, it's complete and utter wasteland. Niche perfume is not available outside any of the 3 biggest cities (in Stockholm, the capital, I can only name 2 stores that carry any). Most people are  afraid of smelling of anything but the most common, boring cleanish bleah you can possible imagine. When I started my latest job I had to sign a paper agreeing not to wear strong perfumes in the workplace, and I am a computer programmer working in an office landscape, it's not like I'm around sensitive bilogical compounds or anything like that.

So why is this? There are several theories going around. It might be due to our history of protestantism, saying that any luxuries and pleasures are a sin. It might be due to politics, our society was mostly built by our social democrat party. Traditionally they have been working for that everyone should have equal opportunities (which I think is a very good thing) but they also come with a view that anything bourgoise or "old money" (or, really, any type of money, because if you have it you're probably cheating on taxes) is bad.

Another possible culprit is the Scandinavian design, dictating that rooms should be airy and spacy, preferable with a minimal amount only white furniture bought at IKEA. When imagining those kind of settings there might be a faint pine scent from the wooden floors but nobody thinks much further than that.

There is also the horrible proverb "Law of Jante" that says "You should not think you're better than anyone else". What it does is justifying looking down on anyone who's trying to accomplish anything out of the ordinary, such as smelling better than the rest. It probably sounds utterly stupid to anyone who's able to think for him/herself, but the impact it has on people here should not be underestimated.

When all of these points are taken into account, you'll realise things are not working in favour of the perfume thing here. So I have made a very grand New Years resulotion for 2012. I'm going to put together a very nice, educational site, aimed at Swedes, written in the most inspiering way imaginable, explaining how come I (and so many others) love perfume so much. I will talk about how it transports me to other times and places. How it makes me connect to every aspect of myself (a nice bottle of perfume costs the same amounr of money as an hour of proffessional therapy, just do the maths there...). I'm going to cut the "fanatic" bit, it's not my intention to scare people, but I'm not planning to loose any edge. Yes, that's what I'm going to do. And you may now wish me luck ;)