Do you keep your samples?

"Keep all of your samples!" This was one of the most often read tip for the aspiring perfumista I came across when I started with my fragrance journey.
It seems I am not much of a perfumista, if that is what it takes because I don't keep all of them. Usually I swap samples of fragrances I own a bottle of or perceive as either not FBW or plain dreadful (unless I want to keep them for reference). But the more I sample, the more my taste evolves, and when revisiting a perfume I realise every now and then that my assessment differs. That makes me wonder if I should reconsider and generally keep all of my samples.
Do you keep all of your samples?

Nah... I keep some for trips, they hide well in a pair of socks in the suitcase.

If I dont like it I dont keep it.. I can always find someone to take them off my hands.. I would be afraid they would turn before my tastes did. Iffy ones I keep to give it another chance in a different season.

I keep all of my samples unless I go on to own it as a full bottle. And if I trade away a used FB I generally take a 1ml sample from it to keep and remember it by. That way I have a nice catalogue.

I hate to admit it, but right now I have a couple of hundred samples. I used to swap a lot, but I haven't been doing that lately, and they've just piled up.

When I have time to go through them all, and identify which of them I'm ready to part with (and which of those have enough juice in them to be of value to others), I think I will sell them as a lot on eBay.

I used to keep them all but then I started grouping them, white florals, woods, warm ambers, fresh, fruity etc. then send them on to other members who preferred the particular category I had available.

At this point, I just put a giant lump sum together and offer them as a lot to one winner. Instant loves usually turn into full bottles, I don't need to keep the sample.

I try them all at least once. Then I pass them along to someone else.

I do keep a few that I like, but there are only five of them.

I keep them, unless I have several of the same scent and/or a full bottle - then I swap them, or gift to swap partners. I find it useful to be able to go back to a perfume later because especially with the extreme difference between summer and winter here, it's just not possible to get the whole picture of a perfume in the wrong season (especially so-called summer scents). And also tastes evolve, so something I don't like right now might turn out to be a future favourite

I would agree with others that live in variable climates that it's a good idea to keep them. I keep mine also, unless, I've purchased a full bottle. It's good to re-visit a sample in the different seasons. I've found that I might not have enjoyed a perfume in the summer, but winter-time it worked wonders. And vice-versa. Plus, it's fun for when friends want to sample, etc. It's also good to use them as a point of reference sometimes if you catalogue them.

Uhhmm.....I do not like collecting samples. They pile up, they quickly turn bad, to me testing vials or minisprays are really just for testing.
If I like a scent I try to get my hand on a full size (or used one) soonest possible, if I do not like a scent I am more than happy to give the sample away.

Sounds like I am no parfumista

Thanks everyone for sharing your thoughts!

Me neither!

Not always. If I have the full size, I am giving the samples to my daughter-in-law or to my friends who have never tried that specific scent.

I don't keep mine, either. A sample is really just a way of determining if I like a fragrance, or a way of enjoying a fragrance that's too spendy otherwise (Memoir Man, for instance). If I hate a fragrance, buh bye sample. I can relate to the pack rat desire to keep one of everything, always, but really, I can't live like that anymore, and samples go bad, evaporate, etc. I use Parfumo as my record of scent experiences. If I don't bother reviewing a scent, then it wasn't worth remembering!

Yes I keep my samples. I can never buy all the perfumes I like so samples are a way to wear a perfume a few times and enjoy it. I never went to buy a full size from a sample. I am mostly home so my full sizes are mostly sort of daily wear fragrances. I also like miniatures and travel sizes if I can buy them. I also like to buy samples sets straight from the perfume houses.