Philosykos & Other Symptoms of Frau Summer
As the last gasps of summer prove stubbornly stuck in the south’s sternum, and I pause to reflect on the various aesthetic and olfactory micro-trends of the present moment, nothing sticks out to me more than frau and fig. German for a married woman and English for a deciduous inflorescence (both a sometimes charming Byredo perfume and the complete flower-head of a plant including stems, stalks, bracts, and flowers; figs are technically not fruits!), this bloom has long been associated with myth and Old World romance. Moreover frau in my mind emerged from the internet women of X (nee. Twitter) as a response to the infantile and neurotic aesthetics of e-girldom.
Between Subculture, Sweat, and Sea: Filigree & Shadow’s YOUR LOVE INSIDE ME
James Elliott, the enigmatic self-taught Seattle-based perfumer behind the fragrance house Filigree & Shadow has always considered scent the closest sense to sound. Everything, from the names of his scents to the ethos of his practice is informed by a hazy, ethereal canon of post-punk and dreampop music…
Oakmoss and Bare Skin: The Unknown Woman in Marissa Zappas’ Maggie the Cat is Alive! I’m Alive!
The perfume of Marissa Zappas has always thrived on a sort of collaborative metatextuality. Very much a fixture of the neo-bohemian artistic landscape of New York, her work brings together the likes of astrologers, and hermetic poets. This is not perfume that appeals to everyone, but rather, perfume that appeals to a very specific type of person very well…
The Valentine’s Day Gift Guide
Valentine’s Day, the day of love, is a mixed bag for many of us as we seek to navigate the mine-laden landscape of romance in the digital age.