Fragrance Trash

Given the state of everything, I would be remiss if I didn’t share fragrances that have been especially calming for me. 

Bath & Body Works’ Stress Relief Candle—The spearmint in this candle has probably singlehandedly saved me from losing it several times. It’s a great scent that will put your racing mind at rest.

LUSH Cosmetics’ Shoot for the Stars Bath Bomb—This bath bomb is only available during the winter holidays so I tend to buy a few and save them for dire situations. If you know me, you’ll know that I’m a big fan of bergamot-scented fragrances, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the reason I love this bath bomb is the citrus and bergamot combo. Also, the bath bomb turns your bath water the most gorgeous blue-purple. Watching the color spread is a great anxiety reliever for me.

Diptyque’s Oyédo Eau de Toilette—I find that when I’m stressing sometimes perfumes can be irritating because they’re too heavy and only end up giving me headaches. Thankfully, Oyédo is not one of those overwhelming perfumes. This citrus-scented eau de toilette is so light and adds a little brightness to my day. Personal fragrance is very grounding too if you suffer from dissociation or find yourself lost. I find that spritzing my wrists with a little light perfume and smelling my wrists throughout the day is a great grounding excercise, reminding you that you are here and you are okay.

Inspired by one of my current favorite fragrances, this Perfume Playlist translates the complex and sultry notes of Commodity Good’s Whiskey into equally dark and mysterious tunes. 

Notes

Top—plum, bergamot, forest fruits

Mid—jasmine sambac, frangipani, celosia

Base—praline, patchouli, cashmeran

(Sweet)

Katy Perry, above all, is committed to her brand. And that brand? Being extra. Perry is a performer after all and putting on a show is a part of her job description. Unsurprisingly, she brings the theatrics to her fragrances.

A lot of my personal research is in celebrity culture, so I wanted to examine the intersection of celebrity and fragrance.

I had a friend that swore by Katy Perry’s Meow! as a signature scent. It was almost unbearably sweet, truth be told, so I was wary of trying/buying Killer Queen. Celebrity Fragrance is overwhelmingly skewed to sweetness; my current theory is that the majority of people buying celebrity fragrance are young buyers more accustomed to sweet perfumes who love said celebrity.

Well, I love Katy Perry. Shouldn’t I love her fragrance as well?

At first spray, I was almost repulsed at how sickly sweet Killer Queen is. One of the base notes is praline, which feels excessive.

After wearing Killer Queen all day, I can confirm that it is very sweet, but it wears well. Sure, I smelled like a praline for most of the day, but it isn’t as overwhelming on the skin (which is a magic trick that only Katy could pull off, honestly).

Killer Queen won’t be in heavy rotation in my daily wears, because it is so different from my usual floral/citrus faves. However, it is a great sweet perfume—nuanced and great on the skin.

I’ve bought Katy Perry’s Killer Queen to review on the pod. I’ll review it here when I test it on my skin. I’ve only done paper and air tests right now. I don’t hate it but, damn, it is almost sickly sweet because one of the base notes is praline.

I don’t know about y’all, but I do wonder why celebrity scents are so sweet. Like, I’ve seen notes of macaron (Beyoncé), marshmellow (Ariana Grande), and cupcake (Godney Spears) in celeb fragrances. Is it because a big buyer of celeb perfumes are young girls who tend to wear sweeter perfumes? Or something else? Follow-up question: Do celebrities wear their own scents?