There have been a handful of occasions where I’ve smelled the now-discontinued shampoo my mom’s late best gay friend Jackie used (who called me his little bitch when I was growing up and taught me everything I know about style, elegance, and attitude) and it made me cry. The smells of lumber, soil, and wood varnish remind me of the countless hours spent in my childhood with my dad in the greenhouse, the back patio workshop and at various supply warehouses.
The smell of creosote in the desert rain—sorely missed and I want to buy a candle or something that replicates this because it’s my favorite scent in the world. L’Eau d’Issey Pour Homme on a shirt-collar takes me back to the warmth and security of first love and reminds me of what it feels like to be home. I’ve posted that I wear Fracas every time I want to remember a happy significant day so that’s probably my most strongly nostalgic scent.
The smell of old books and cigarettes! When I come into my apartment after stepping out for just a moment after making espresso and the lingering smell makes me feel like I’m in a cafe! The smell of a REAL Christmas tree!
Yesterday at the farmer‘s market I smelled a butterfly bush plant for sale and childhood memories came flooding back. Juicy Couture by Juicy Couture was my grandmother's signature scent because she liked the Schnauzers on the bottle so Tuberose always reminds me of her + the smell of face powder. I could go on forever…
May 12, 2024
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Isn’t it amazing how smelling something familiar in your daily life can transport you back in time?
On the positive association side, whenever I smell my grandmother’s perfume I am overcome with happiness.
Less positive, every time I smell lemon verbena I am brought back to my first boyfriend‘s mother’s cleaning products. Bleh.
I guess the rec is, know your scent triggers and seek out the ones that make you feel happy :0)
Mar 28, 2024
* Coty Dark Vanilla—so simple but so good. The heady floral and musky notes keep it from being a cheap saccharine desserty gourmand vanilla it’s just really sexy and mature. It’s discontinued so it’s pretty pricy at about $50 for a 1.7 oz bottle considering that you used to be able to buy it at the drugstore for like 20 bucks
* Fracas by Robert Piguet—classic fragrance for divas only, like Madonna, Courtney Love, and Marlene Dietrich. I still have the same bottle I got in high school after buying a perfume book and painstakingly researching to decide what I really wanted in my perfect perfume and saving money and birthday money for a whole school year. I wear it on happy days I want to remember forever so the association I have with it of pure joy becomes stronger every time. It smells like carefree summer to me!
* I actually love tuberose so much that I’ve been using Alba Botanica’s tuberose body wash it’s soooo good
* I’ve also recently been wearing the bottle of Juicy Couture my grandmother gave me forever ago when she was still alive which was her signature scent simply because it had a schnauzer on the bottle—her favorite dog. It’s also extremely tuberose heavy and that may be why I fell in love with it in the first place. It’s grown on me i weirdly like it a lot
* I wear kuumba made amber and sandalwood perfume oil as a daily scent which matches my sandalwood sandal deodorant (rec coming about this soon…) for a nice crunchy hippie vibe
May 23, 2025
• Bottled Emotions perfume
• Watermelon Lip Smackers
• Bath and Body Works lime and verbena lotion
• Britney Spears Fantasy perfume
• The perfume that came with Tropical Splash Barbie
• Yankee Candle's now-discontinued Berry Bramble candle
• Inside the building where my old dance studio used to be
• Coffee beans that remind me of the coffee store in the mall
• Mall pretzels
• Jelly sandals
May 14, 2024
Top Recs from @taterhole
My dad teases me about how when I was a little kid, my favorite thing to do when I was on the landline phone with somebody—be it a relative or one of my best friends—was to breathlessly describe the things that were in my bedroom so that they could have a mental picture of everything I loved and chose to surround myself with, and where I sat at that moment in time. Perfectly Imperfect reminds me of that so thanks for always listening and for sharing with me too 💌
Feb 23, 2025
May 28, 2025
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I’ve been thinking about how much of social media is centered around curating our self-image. When selfies first became popular, they were dismissed as vain and vapid—a critique often rooted in misogyny—but now, the way we craft our online selves feels more like creating monuments.
We try to signal our individuality, hoping to be seen and understood, but ironically, I think this widens the gap between how others perceive us and who we really are. Instead of fostering connection, it can invite projection and misinterpretation—preconceived notions, prefab labels, and stereotypes. Worse, individuality has become branded and commodified, reducing our identities to products for others to consume.
On most platforms, validation often comes from how well you can curate and present your image—selfies, aesthetic branding, and lifestyle content tend to dominate. High engagement is tied to visibility, not necessarily depth or substance. But I think spaces like PI.FYI show that there’s another way: where connection is built on shared ideas, tastes, and interests rather than surface-level content. It’s refreshing to be part of a community that values thoughts over optics.
By sharing so few images of myself, I’ve found that it gives others room to focus on my ideas and voice. When I do share an image, it feels intentional—something that contributes to the story I want to tell rather than defining it. Sharing less allows me to express who I am beyond appearance.
For women, especially, sharing less can be a radical act in a world where the default is to objectify ourselves. It resists the pressure to center appearance, focusing instead on what truly matters: our thoughts, voices, and authenticity. I’ve posted a handful of pictures of myself in 2,500 posts because I care more about showing who I am than how I look.
In trying to be seen, are we making it harder for others to truly know us? It’s a question worth considering.
Dec 27, 2024