Getting back to this series. My flight is delayed, so I'm taking the opportunity to catch up on some posts and work on a few things. This has been sititng in my drafts for a few weeks, so finally got time to work on it a little more: I picked up this sample on a visit earlier this year to Kuhl Linscomb in Houston. They carry a ton of indie and niche fragrances that I otherwise don’t get much opportunity to try out in Austin. I’ve been looking for some scents to wear for the summer that aren’t all grapefruit citrus freshie bombs, and the store clerk recommended ths and was nice enough to provide me with a free 2mL sample. Just a side note - I don’t think the manager there likes me. A few visits prior to this, I noticed they had moved all of their fragrance testers and put them behind the counter. You have to ask the sales clerk before the will let you spray. I asked him about it and he told me that basically they had too many people (like me) coming in, trying everything, and not buying anything. So to save their clerks from being blasted every day with dozens and dozens of scents, they opted to make people ask for them. I have bought multiple items from them at full retail or on sale pricing for the holidays, but every time I come in, he follows me and scowls at me and rebutts any attempt I make to have a conversation. The other clerks like me and recognize me and have great conversations and seem to have fun trying things. Anyway, Etat Libre d’Orange (ELDO) was created by Etienne de Swardt as a deliberately provocative and boundary-pushing fragrance line. Their motto is literally "Perfume is dead. Long live perfume." I Am Trash (or in French "Les Fleurs du Déchet", literally "Flowers of the Garbage”) was released in 2018 and created by Daniela Andrier. She's known being the nose behind many iconic Prada scents. The concept behind I Am Trash is eco-oriented sustainability: many of the raw materials are upcycled byproducts, including apple oil derived from apple juice production waste, rose absolute extracted from already-distilled rose petals, and cedarwood atlas recovered from sawdust before it gets turned into fuel. I think it’s a really cool idea.

I decided several Months ago that since I didn’t have room “upstairs” where I dress for my collection but still wanted to have options. I would make decants of each and have them in my closet. I had some stands made on Etsy so I can have stadium seating for them all. Mi did some reorganization in my closet today and moved them to this spot and added lights. Before you say it. YES I’m a bit obsessive!! 😬 You should see the rest of the closet 🤣