BDM... thank you... I am 100% here for the Getting Really Into Perfume Occasionally posts (& if we could turn the comment section into a group chat, I would be extremely happy).
Your points about having less conflicted feelings about wearing scents vs. other beauty products, AND about not wanting to give people migraines, v. much resonated with me. The Take Was Good. Also I too went through an experience of realizing I actually really love the smell of vanilla fragrances on me. Everyone: stop dissing the cookie
When I was in Cork last year, I found a little niche perfumerie (Cork Niche Fragrances, https://cduparfums.com/) that was (perhaps not to my credit) one of the highlights of the trip for me. I ended up getting Holy Stick from Chapel Factory & I love it, though I'm not sure everyone else does. (Need more honest feedback.) I'm also fascinated by the fragrance creator's background, as she wasn't trained in perfumery. Could I... have a future in creating scents too??? ("Why would you do that, Natalie" Just dreamin')
i think at some point this year i want to do some sort of weekly roundup post of articles, new music etc, and "stupid consumer purchase" could be an occasional feature there. but first i want to make sure i can stay on top of the evangelion rewatch schedule.
the other thing i want to do is a reading group on like… celebrity, probably… but again i think the evangelion rewatch is sort of a test run for that.
I may turn the chat function on in Substack eventually!! But right now I don't really feel able to stay on top of it. Like I want to know if I log off for a few days I won't come back and discover that war has broken out. It's not really a serious concern right now but if the 'stack gets bigger it might be.
I feel like all of us have a niche job that we sort of daydream about that we would do if we like were characters in Midsomer Murders. For me it's dog training.
By any chance is the book you got Perfumes the A-Z Guide, by Turin and Sanchez? I recently learned of it and it sounds fascinating.
I have recently been involved with this topic and for the first time ordered a bunch of samples from Zoologist, because I liked their aesthetic and descriptions, but didn't find anything I liked more than the $30 bottle my wife got me at TJ Maxx a couple months back. I just need something that spiffs up my mind in the background, not "look at me/smell me/run from me".
In re aluminum-free deodorants, FWIW the Old Spice Zero-Aluminums go on right, no baking powder so far as I know, and the scents are not excessively masculine (per my wife who uses mine now). Possibly not quite as all-day effective as regular, but the reduction/elimination of clothes-staining has been fantastic.
I had the same experience getting a sample from the Zoologist actually ("Moth")… I felt like it was (on me) just very dull.
I had a brief flirtation with using old fashioned shaving cream that you had to lather up several years ago (not for me… though using safety razors stuck) and I really loved the smell of this stuff: https://www.westcoastshaving.com/products/speick-shaving-cream
i "get into" sunscreen for this exact reason (shipping on TRR too expensive and spf is "important") by buying so many travel size sunscreens they fill up a drawer and then i throw half of them away at the end of the summer. kind of inspired to waste money on perfume instead now
unfortunately I have my go to brand of sunscreen pretty locked down 😔 it's called BareRepublic and it's one of the only sunscreens that doesn't make me want to claw my face off. i do regret to say the shipping adds up on perfume too bc none of these niche fragrance houses can afford to give you free shipping… that said I am kinda eyeing this https://regimedesfleurs.com/products/eau-de-parfum-sampling-flight
I discovered a few years ago that there's a DIY parfumerie within walking distance of my house, and I've gone a few times. It's a fascinating thing - you schedule a time to come in, they have stations set up with perfumer's organs (as I recall each has a bit over a hundred fragrances in total) and they walk you through blending yourself a scent. It's luxurious and bonkers and... expensive, sure, but not that bad compared to just buying perfume. You take notes on which scents you like together and their ratios, and ultimately you blend up the oils and soforth in larger quantities to make the bottle you ultimately take home. You can take notes about what the fragrances and ratios were so that you can recreate it later.
I had this idea that I would go every few months or years and make myself scents for different times in my life, so that in a decade I could go back and remember what 2019's fragrance was, for example. But then covid happened and the idea of going to an indoor location and smelling things just... didn't feel like the right move.
The one I'm thinking of in Fairfax, VA (not far outside of DC), though BDM's research indicates there's also one (probably not affiliated?) in Ann Arbor.
wow that's really cool!!! and yeah that sounds nice… taste and scent are good ways to root memories for me. apparently there's a DIY parfumerie in Ann Arbor, hm…
I want a perfume that makes peoples day worse
what if it made my day worse
No!
BDM... thank you... I am 100% here for the Getting Really Into Perfume Occasionally posts (& if we could turn the comment section into a group chat, I would be extremely happy).
Your points about having less conflicted feelings about wearing scents vs. other beauty products, AND about not wanting to give people migraines, v. much resonated with me. The Take Was Good. Also I too went through an experience of realizing I actually really love the smell of vanilla fragrances on me. Everyone: stop dissing the cookie
When I was in Cork last year, I found a little niche perfumerie (Cork Niche Fragrances, https://cduparfums.com/) that was (perhaps not to my credit) one of the highlights of the trip for me. I ended up getting Holy Stick from Chapel Factory & I love it, though I'm not sure everyone else does. (Need more honest feedback.) I'm also fascinated by the fragrance creator's background, as she wasn't trained in perfumery. Could I... have a future in creating scents too??? ("Why would you do that, Natalie" Just dreamin')
i think at some point this year i want to do some sort of weekly roundup post of articles, new music etc, and "stupid consumer purchase" could be an occasional feature there. but first i want to make sure i can stay on top of the evangelion rewatch schedule.
the other thing i want to do is a reading group on like… celebrity, probably… but again i think the evangelion rewatch is sort of a test run for that.
I may turn the chat function on in Substack eventually!! But right now I don't really feel able to stay on top of it. Like I want to know if I log off for a few days I won't come back and discover that war has broken out. It's not really a serious concern right now but if the 'stack gets bigger it might be.
I feel like all of us have a niche job that we sort of daydream about that we would do if we like were characters in Midsomer Murders. For me it's dog training.
By any chance is the book you got Perfumes the A-Z Guide, by Turin and Sanchez? I recently learned of it and it sounds fascinating.
I have recently been involved with this topic and for the first time ordered a bunch of samples from Zoologist, because I liked their aesthetic and descriptions, but didn't find anything I liked more than the $30 bottle my wife got me at TJ Maxx a couple months back. I just need something that spiffs up my mind in the background, not "look at me/smell me/run from me".
In re aluminum-free deodorants, FWIW the Old Spice Zero-Aluminums go on right, no baking powder so far as I know, and the scents are not excessively masculine (per my wife who uses mine now). Possibly not quite as all-day effective as regular, but the reduction/elimination of clothes-staining has been fantastic.
I had the same experience getting a sample from the Zoologist actually ("Moth")… I felt like it was (on me) just very dull.
I had a brief flirtation with using old fashioned shaving cream that you had to lather up several years ago (not for me… though using safety razors stuck) and I really loved the smell of this stuff: https://www.westcoastshaving.com/products/speick-shaving-cream
They make more perfume-like products but my impression is that they all smell a little bit different: https://www.badgerandblade.com/forum/threads/speick-scents-what-gives.635224/ Anyway if you like "woodsy / spicy" smells it might be worth trying after some research if you haven't ever run across it.
The book I got was called Perfume: A Century of Scents by Lizzie Ostrom, but this book looks interesting too… hmmmmm.
Thanks for the shaving cream tip. Looks like a good one. I’m always on the lookout.
Vanilla based perfumes work well on ppl, I can testify✋🏻
i didn't choose the candyland's queen frostine life… it chose me…
i "get into" sunscreen for this exact reason (shipping on TRR too expensive and spf is "important") by buying so many travel size sunscreens they fill up a drawer and then i throw half of them away at the end of the summer. kind of inspired to waste money on perfume instead now
unfortunately I have my go to brand of sunscreen pretty locked down 😔 it's called BareRepublic and it's one of the only sunscreens that doesn't make me want to claw my face off. i do regret to say the shipping adds up on perfume too bc none of these niche fragrance houses can afford to give you free shipping… that said I am kinda eyeing this https://regimedesfleurs.com/products/eau-de-parfum-sampling-flight
I discovered a few years ago that there's a DIY parfumerie within walking distance of my house, and I've gone a few times. It's a fascinating thing - you schedule a time to come in, they have stations set up with perfumer's organs (as I recall each has a bit over a hundred fragrances in total) and they walk you through blending yourself a scent. It's luxurious and bonkers and... expensive, sure, but not that bad compared to just buying perfume. You take notes on which scents you like together and their ratios, and ultimately you blend up the oils and soforth in larger quantities to make the bottle you ultimately take home. You can take notes about what the fragrances and ratios were so that you can recreate it later.
I had this idea that I would go every few months or years and make myself scents for different times in my life, so that in a decade I could go back and remember what 2019's fragrance was, for example. But then covid happened and the idea of going to an indoor location and smelling things just... didn't feel like the right move.
I really should go back.
Eric H 👀 where is this
The one I'm thinking of in Fairfax, VA (not far outside of DC), though BDM's research indicates there's also one (probably not affiliated?) in Ann Arbor.
wow that's really cool!!! and yeah that sounds nice… taste and scent are good ways to root memories for me. apparently there's a DIY parfumerie in Ann Arbor, hm…