I love it, but I know every “clean girl” aesthetic, every dewy no-makeup makeup routine and every “morning shed” ritual is just another layer of consumerism dressed up as self-care. But knowing doesn’t stop me. If anything, it makes me more fascinated. I don’t just want to use these products — I want to understand why we want them so badly in the first place.

I truly don’t know if I like a person or if I am just drawn to their perfume. I realize it is difficult to tell these two things apart. Depending on how much they use it, perfume can become a strong part of a person’s character — and I wanted it to be a defining hint of mine.