You open up a magazine and flip through the pages.  You run into a fragrance ad with the perfume strip, one that you have seen a million times before; but what’s the first thing that you do?  You open the strip and smell the fragrance!  OK, that used to be me.

Magazines with perfume ads and inserts that fall out with perfume strips are a staple in publications these days, especially around the holidays.  Typically, the fragrances that are marketed aren’t the ones that I  plan on purchasing, but I’m always going to be attracted to pleasant smelling things.  As a good environmentalist and recycler I try not to waste. About 10 years ago, I spilled something in my car.  I thought I cleaned it pretty well, but it started to stink.  I needed something to freshen my car and I hated all of the deodorizer and rearview mirror fresheners that were out there in the marketplace.  I decided to take one of those ads with the perfume strip and place it in my car.  Amazingly in such a small area, it really freshened up the interior!  Ever since then, I have avoided ripping open the strip and wasting a perfectly good scent.  Every week or two, I’ll replace the one that’s sitting in my car’s side door pocket with a fresh ad.  It’s free, smells great and is my car’s answer to aromatherapy (very much-needed in Washington DC traffic).

So what else can you do with these ads?  They also make great sachets for your dresser drawers.  My sock and underwear drawers smell wonderful.  I also found this great “how to” article on how you can use the ads to create scented present bows…ingenious.  To learn how to make a scented bow click here.

Do you have any great ideas on uses for perfume strip ads?