I am going out tonight with two female friends (the last of the festive shenanigans before I completely collapse from a mixture of staying up till eyeballs-on-stalks-o'clock, drinking too much and eating elderly leftovers). I fully intended to wear Penhaligon's Amaranthine, but managed forcibly to perfume myself whilst not splitting an infinitive (notwithstanding yesterday's disturbing tale of third party acts of fragrance GBH). All I did was pick up a silver atomizer of Ava Luxe's Gardenia Musk to examine the remaining level, whereupon the juice proceeded to dribble all over the desk and both my hands. So there was nothing more for it but to smear my neck in the stuff too and resign myself either to a novel layering experiment later on or a jolly good scrub in the bath.
Up to now I have stored my small decants and atomisers in a recumbent position in a couple of boxes, and it never occurred to me that they might leak while lying down. After all - at the risk of being indelicate - our menfolk typically take a leak in a vertical position. But perhaps my system is flawed after all. Though I am not sure that the atomizers would all stand up nicely if I tried to make them do so, owing especially to their varying heights, and possibly also to their differently shaped bottoms. Plus I would need a specific quorum for them to be packed so tightly that they stayed wedged upright. And the overall height might no longer fit the drawer/fridge shelf where they currently live. And I wouldn't be able to read the labels as readily, which are on their sides.
I'm making a strong case for the horizontal, aren't I? But be assured that the next atomizer that leaks will prompt a major Logistics & Materials Handling review.
3 comments:
I used to store all my decants and samples upright, first in those little metal cups that restaurants use to serve condiments in, then adding some shot glasses when I ran out of cups, then in itty bitty loaf pans about the size of two shot glasses. But it just didn't work; I kept knocking over loaf pans as I tried to reach the ones behind them, and I could never find anything. And the littlest vials flopped over inside the cup, while the biggest decants knocked the cup over.
I am now Baggie Girl, storing things in labeled baggies sorted into more generally labeled baggies (Parfumerie Generale has a mini zip-top bag that lives inside the P-Z large zip-top bag) , and only my full bottles and a few vintage sillage monster minis stay upright.
I wondered, once, how you had them lying down without leaking as some of my atomizers leak while vertical anyway! I'm so sorry for your Ava Luxe loss.....that house might have been one of 2009's greatest disappointments....of the loss of that house. I hope you enjoyed your last smear with her tonight :-)
I keep all my decants vertically in a cabinet. I sometimes knock them over which always terrifies me, especially if the atomizer is glass. No horror stories yet, though!
I guess I am also partly Baggie Girl, having many dozens of 1ml vials in baggies, some within other baggies in a fairly arbitrary way, mind. I have no labelling system whatsoever, and rely entirely on my photographic memory to locate things (which isn't bad, though a degree of rummaging is invariably involved).
Some of my bottles and decants are upright in the chiller and the drawers, but no more than 50% of my collection. It appears that I am directionally hedging my bets, awaiting further mishap...
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