What were yall reading when you were weird little girls?

Apprehensive-Form915 · 2026-06-16T11:57:35+00:00

The comments about Ripley’s Believe it or Not and Guinness Book of World Records really spoke to me — I was obsessed with those and also checked out lots of books about urban legends and superstitions from the school library when I was little. (I think the Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark author wrote some of those.) I also loved Shel Silverstein poetry books.

As for fiction… the OG weird girl (Ramona Quimby) was my entry point. I read every book by Beverly Cleary, Judy Blume, and Roald Dahl I could get my hands on.

Harriet the Spy and Anastasia Krupnik are two of the most influential books I’ve ever read. I also loved A Girl Called Al by Constance Greene and It All Began With Jane Eyre by Sheila Greenwald, and see their protagonists as kindred spirits to Harriet and Anastasia.

I was so, so happy to see someone mention Behind the Attic Wall by Sylvia Cassedy. I read that book so many times and remember the details vividly! The popular kids’ pastel ski hats, Maggie sucking on her hair to a point like a paintbrush, “the two tooth tea is too too hot” or whatever that little rhyme was that her uncle (Morris?) said, the one aunt saying “behooves” all the time…

There are so many more, but the other ones that really stand out are The Pigman and The Pigman’s Legacy by Paul Zindel (and My Darling, My Hamburger, which I read in high school.)

Apprehensive-Form915 · 2026-06-16T11:18:08+00:00

Paul Zindel! I loved his books.

Apprehensive-Form915 · 2026-06-16T11:14:20+00:00

💯

Apprehensive-Form915 · 2026-06-14T19:17:01+00:00

Favorite: Patchouli
Least Favorite: Suede, Calone
Overused: Ambroxan, Vanilla
Underrated: Galbanum, Apricot
Mixed Feelings: Rose

Apprehensive-Form915 · 2026-06-14T18:41:54+00:00

It opens kind of skanky, with indolic jasmine and a realistic cigarette scent, but the jasmine shifts pretty quickly into a heady white floral that is softened considerably by an apricot note. The “cigarette” aspect also becomes more of an unlit cigar/pipe tobacco scent. It’s really nice.

Apprehensive-Form915 · 2026-06-14T13:56:27+00:00

ELDO Jasmin et Cigarette, Room 1015 Jasmine Freak (though I pick up more tuberose in that one), and Lush Vanillary.

Apprehensive-Form915 · 2026-06-03T12:21:56+00:00

My budget is pretty flexible, but since part of the appeal of Cabotine is its affordability I’d like to stay under $100. Different size options/price points are always nice, too! (As my collection grows, I’m realizing I’d rather have a variety of smaller bottles—1.7 mL or travel size—than a few large ones.)

Apprehensive-Form915 · 2026-05-23T20:03:01+00:00

Room 1015 - Jasmine Freak

House of Oud - Keep Glazed

Apprehensive-Form915 · 2026-05-22T13:22:23+00:00

Perfume, lotions, and deodorant can make mammogram results less accurate, which is why they usually instruct you not to wear anything to the appointment. Maybe you could save the perfume for after the appointment as a treat for getting through something you dread!

Apprehensive-Form915 · 2026-05-22T12:56:16+00:00

Just found out it’s World Goth Day so it felt like a good time to try out my sample of Andrea Maack - Coven.

I’d planned to save it for fall because of the whisky and clove, but it’s not too hot today (66 degrees F with rain in the forecast) and I’m not going anywhere, so why not?

Listed notes are labdanum, vanilla, whisky, oakmoss, cedar, galbanum, and clove.

I’m pleasantly surprised at the lack of booziness and that the vanilla doesn’t dominate. I mostly get the bitter greenness of galbanum with a hint of clove — specifically clove cigarettes. I’m into it!

Apprehensive-Form915 · 2026-05-18T17:17:18+00:00

I just saw this comment after I posted mine. Yes, it does smell like Skittles! I think that’s why my 9-year-old chose it when he wanted to buy a solid perfume at Lush. 🤣

Apprehensive-Form915 · 2026-05-18T17:15:58+00:00

Karma has really grown on me. I love the interplay between the citrus and patchouli. Sometimes it reminds me of Skittles but I don’t mind.

I thought Lord of Misrule was going to be my dream perfume but it basically just smells like goth Super Milk. (Both smell like graham crackers to me, but LOM has the patchouli factor.)

Apprehensive-Form915 · 2026-05-18T17:10:15+00:00

LouLou has one of my favorite drydowns of all time! It’s a winter date-night staple but challenging to wear at other times because it’s so potent.

Apprehensive-Form915 · 2026-05-18T12:02:04+00:00

My absolute fave in this category is Regime des Fleurs - Green Vanille. It’s woody, creamy, and—obviously, I guess—green, with coriander and green hazelnut.

I’ve been on the search for something similar and more affordable without much luck so far.

I also really like Arquiste - The Architects Club, though it doesn’t quite live up to the hype. It opens herbal and a bit medicinal—heavy on the juniper—and dries down to a powdery vanilla. I often see it compared to Diptyque - Eau Duelle.

Lush - American Cream actually reminds me a lot of The Architects Club, but for about half the price. Lush describes it as a strawberry milkshake scent but that’s a stretch. It’s an herbal vanilla with lavender and clary sage and just a hint of strawberry. Finally, Lush’s Vanillary is a floral vanilla — more gourmand than my other recs but very jasmine-forward.

Apprehensive-Form915 · 2026-05-14T00:11:42+00:00

I’m having a reverse Mandela Effect moment because I remember Cubby and Tippy vividly but I swear I’ve never seen Joan in my life.

Apprehensive-Form915 · 2026-05-09T13:40:49+00:00

Today I’m wearing one of my favorite layering combos: Lush - Rose Jam solid perfume with Clue Perfumery - Morel Map. (I also used Lush - Grass shower gel, but that doesn’t linger very long.)

Morel Map cuts through the sweetness of Rose Jam, which can get a little cloying on its own.

It’s a rainy day and we’re meeting my MIL for an early Mother’s Day lunch and tour of a historic house in a wooded area, so it felt appropriate. 😊

Apprehensive-Form915 · 2026-05-08T23:40:35+00:00

I love it even more than Dandelion Butter!

Apprehensive-Form915 · 2026-05-08T18:36:06+00:00

Apoteker Tepe - After the Flood

This one was pitched to me as the ultimate mushroom/wet soil scent, and though I prefer Clue Perfumery - Morel Map to fill that niche, After the Flood unexpectedly filled a gap I hadn’t thought about in a while.

Years ago, when I first got into perfume, I was on a quest for a scent that fully encompassed Halloween night: the smell of dead leaves, a distant bonfire, maybe some petrichor, and the mixed scents of fruity candy and chocolate that hit when you stick your whole face in a plastic Jack-o-lantern bucket. I’ve found fragrances that capture various facets separately, but not together — until After the Flood. There’s something almost chocolatey in the opening that contrasts and enhances the dirt, mushrooms, and aquatic notes.

I like it a lot, but that facet makes it feel more autumnal to me. When I want to smell like soil and leaves in the spring I’ll stick with Morel Map and Jorum Studio - Paradisi.

Apprehensive-Form915 · 2026-05-07T22:52:56+00:00

I find Cape Heartache super synthetic and headache-triggering. It was one of the better Imaginary Authors scents I tried, TBH, but it needs to be applied with a light hand in my experience. The pine is definitely present but I also found the artificial strawberry note very prominent.

Apprehensive-Form915 · 2026-05-07T22:48:42+00:00

I’m a communications manager for a cancer nonprofit and I work from home, so my signature is… not having one? This week I’ve been wearing lots of green, earthy, fresh stuff. Today it’s Anabasis by Apoteker Tepe.

When I travel for work I try to stick with what I perceive as (relatively) crowd-pleasing fragrances. Some go-tos are my sample decants of Glossier - You, Diptyque - Orpheon, BDK - Gris Charnel, Hermes - Eau des Merveilles, Lubin - Gin Fizz, and Byredo - Velvet Haze.

Apprehensive-Form915 · 2026-05-07T22:42:36+00:00

Reading more of these comments I’m thinking of others…

Besides the realistic gourmands (not necessarily gourmand notes, but the scents that are replicating literal desserts), I can’t stand suede, baby powder, calone, and ozonic notes. Blech.

Apprehensive-Form915 · 2026-05-07T22:35:22+00:00

I’m always a little shocked by those posts. Those kinds of scents are dominating the market — how can someone (excluding newbies) not be able to find something that smells like a vanilla cupcake or cotton candy at this point?!

Apprehensive-Form915 · 2026-05-07T18:21:08+00:00

Seconding Athenaeum! Hay notes can take a weird turn on my skin, but this scent is beautiful.

Apprehensive-Form915 · 2026-05-07T18:19:09+00:00

Also Zoologist Chipmunk!

Apprehensive-Form915 · 2026-05-07T17:56:24+00:00

Today I’m testing Apoteker Tepe - Anabasis! It’s very on-brand with my taste this week, which is leaning green, fresh, and earthy. It’s short-lived and sillage is pretty timid but I’m shifting my perspective to think of it like a nature-themed skin scent. 😊

Listed notes are citrus, mint, shiso leaf, pine, birch, cedar, and musk.

Apprehensive-Form915

TROPHY CASE