How Do You Do Your Brows?

Sadly, it’s one you’ll never forget

“When a flower doesnt bloom, you fix the environment in which it grows, not the flower.”

— Alexander Den Heijer

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Do you have any reading recs about perfumes?

I haven’t read most of these yet— but here’s my current perfume reading list. Enjoy! I might update this with more as I move along. 

ARTICLES

‘Smell, Memory’ by Rachel Syme

‘The Ugly History of Beautiful Things: Perfume’ by Katy Kelleher 

‘In 1902, Audiences Turned Up Their Noses at the First Perfume Concert’ by Allison Meier

‘Kazimir Malevich’s Little-Known Perfume Bottle’ by Jillian Steinhauer

‘Getting a Whiff of Perfume’s Illusions’ by Sonya Vatomsky

‘LAYERS: Pushing Through the Arts to Perfume’ by Dannielle Sergent

‘Scenting Shakespeare’s Tragic Heroines: Cleopatra and Lady Macbeth’ by Lauryn Beer

‘Some Thoughts on Scent Criticism’ by Miguel Matos

‘Scent and Healing: The Transformative Power of Perfume’ by Ida Meister

‘Here’s Why Perfume Description Are Never About Smell’ by Elyse Hauser

‘Heaven Scent’ by Danielle del Sol

‘Ann Haviland, Forgotten Mastermind of the Signature Scent’ by Jessica Murphy 

‘Perfume, Power, and God’ by Arabelle Sicardi

 ‘How to Pick a Perfume When You Can’t Smell’ by Alaina Leary

‘People Are Buying This Perfume Because They Think It’s From Killing Eve’ by Rebecca Jennings

‘Meet Chandler Burr, the World’s Foremost Fragrance Expert’ by Chavie Lieber

‘Making Perfume From the Rain’ by Cynthia Barnett

‘Can Perfume Sabotage a Budding Romance?’ by Jesse Frost

‘The Scent of True Love’ by Cari Romm

‘Perfume: An Ethereal Corset Trapping Everyone in the Same Unnatural Shape’ by Kasia Cieplak-Mayr von Baldegg

The New York Times archives on Perfume

FICTION

The Song of Solomon from The Bible

Das Parfaum by Patrick Süskind

NONFICTION

Essence and Alchemy: A Natural History of Perfume by Mandy Aftel

Fragrant: The Secret Life of Scent by Mandy Aftel

Throughsmoke by Jehanne Dubrow

The Emperor of Scent: A True Story of Perfume and Obsession by Chandler Burr

The Perfect Scent: A Year Inside the Perfume Industry in Paris and New York by Chandler Burr

Dior: The Perfumes by Chandler Burr

Folio Columns 2003-2014 by Luca Turin

Perfumes: The Guide by Luca Turin

The Secret of Scent: Adventures in Perfume and the Science of Smell by Luca Turin

The Perfume Lover: A Personal History of Scent by Denyse Beaulieu

The Diary of a Nose: A Year in the Life of a Parfumeur by Jean-Claude Ellena

A Scented Palace: The Secret History of Marie Antoinette’s Perfumer by Elisabeth de Feydeau

Coming to My Senses: A Story of Perfume, Pleasure, and an Unlikely Bride by Alyssa Harad

Perfume: The Alchemy of Scent by Jean-Claude Ellena

Floating Gold: A Natural (and Unnatural) History of Ambergris by Christopher Kemp

The Foul and the Fragrant: Odor and the French Social Imagination by Alain Corbin

A Natural History of the Senses by Diane Ackerman

Fragrance: The Story of Perfume from Cleopatra to Chanel by Edwin T. Morris

Cult Perfumes: The World’s Most Exclusive Perfumeries by Tessa Williams  

The Ephemeral History of Perfume: Scent and Sense in Early Modern England by Holly Dugan

Perfume: Joy, Scandal, Sin: A Cultural History of Fragrance from 1750 to the Present by Richard Stamelman 

The Aroma of Righteousness: Scent and Seduction in Rabbinic Life and Literature by Deborah Green

Scenting Salvation: Ancient Christianity and the Olfactory Imagination by Susan Ashbrook Harvey

Scent: The Mysterious and Essential Powers of Smell by Annick Le Guérer 

Encyclopedia of the Exquisite: An Anecdotal History of Elegant Delights by Jessica Kerwin Jenkins

Aroma by by Constance Classen

Flowers and Fruit by Colette

You can't mess up anything that is meant for you.

Learning new skills that will make it easier to accomplish your goals >

Please read this

three things on your mind?

We all know that when you start becoming more disciplined and start working on yourself to become a better person, you won't see the results immediately but what people fail to tell you is that sometimes it will take multiple years for you to appreciate the full results of all your hard work. Things won’t fall into place instantly, and expecting your life to change overnight is only setting yourself up for disappointment. Real progress takes lots of time, effort, and patience. At times you might feel as though you're working your fingers to the bone for very little in return or as if things are getting worse instead of better. This is not the case, you will definitely get to where you want to be but you always have to keep working towards your goals and the gains will come to you when you least expect it. Discipline is the foundation of self-improvement; you can’t depend on fleeting bursts of motivation to make lasting changes in your life. You need to build strength and discipline to push past the excuses and take consistent, purposeful action, even when it feels hard. It’s about showing up for yourself day after day. True strength lies in doing what needs to be done, even when you don’t feel like it—which, more often than not, will be the case.

There will be times when you must decide between staying true to yourself and pursuing personal success. Your own preferences, values, beliefs, and identity might conflict with the actions or compromises required for personal success. People’s perceptions, judgments, and decisions are deeply influenced by their personal experiences, emotions, and biases—far more than we often assume. Regardless of their position, whether they are experts, leaders, or authority figures, they remain human, shaped by their own worldviews, insecurities, and subconscious inclinations. Their preconceived notions about you will significantly influence the outcome, even in cases when it should solely depend on your actual competence. As an example - I think that investing into your looks and making sure you look beautiful before stepping out into the world is incredibly important as a woman. Beauty is power but not entirely your own, and the kind of beauty that can be used to your advantage depends on how others see it and that's just a fact. There are many types of beauty and it’s important to think about the kind of beauty that’s most celebrated in your surroundings. For instance, the industry I’m in doesn’t appreciate any intentional attention to personal style—that's just how it is. Complaining about something I can't change or forcing others to accept me as I am is only going to hold me back from valuable opportunities and hurt my future prospects when I could just accept it as it is and profit.

You can't really expect things to be always going smoothly if you want your life to change drastically. Growth happens when you step outside what feels familiar, take risks, and challenge yourself to embrace the discomfort that comes with progress. It's essential to embrace and get really comfortable with the idea of change, because without it, your life won’t evolve. It's not going to feel good to give up old habits, resist temptation of short term pleasures and overcome instant gratification, step out of your comfort zone, spend hours on tedious tasks, severe ties with people you've known all your life, face your biggest insecurities, put your hard-earned money into your personal growth, or unpack your inmost pent up feelings and years of trauma. It's scary, it's difficult and it's uncomfortable. But if you want to build yourself a good life, it's absolutely necessary and there's no doubt you'll need to make certain sacrifices on the way. People often place too much emphasis on the end results, neglecting the journey itself, when in reality, it should be the other way around. The true value lies in the process, in the growth and learning that happen along the way and the results will naturally follow. Brianna West said it best when she said your new life is going to cost you your old one. It’s going to cost you your comfort zone and your sense of direction. It’s going to cost you relationships and friends. If you want your life to transform, you embrace change.