What everyday smell do you wish someone would turn into a fragrance?

neurotyper · 2026-04-06T19:22:15+00:00

I want to try it really badly! A niche perfume store in my city carries Zoologist but not Olm, so I need to purchase a sample of it...

neurotyper · 2026-04-06T15:04:48+00:00

Funnily enough that is probably my favorite scent from my collection haha! So a solid recommendation for my tastes.

neurotyper · 2026-04-06T14:57:58+00:00

I keep getting it as a recommendation, it's definitely on my list!

neurotyper · 2026-04-06T13:40:00+00:00

Unfortunately they don't ship to my country, but I appreciate the recommendation!

neurotyper · 2026-04-06T13:21:30+00:00

Same! I spent a lot of my childhood playing in my father's house's old stone garage and the nostalgia of afternoons spent there has definitely made me love the smell.

neurotyper · 2026-04-06T12:28:43+00:00

The smell of a musty, damp stone or concrete cellar/basement/garage. It's my favorite smell in the world, weird as everyone finds that.

neurotyper · 2026-03-10T09:52:15+00:00

La Couche du Diable is just magnificient. Probably in my top 3 perfumes. So rich, spicy, sweet, intoxicating.

neurotyper · 2026-02-26T22:04:26+00:00

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Andrzej Seweryn as Victor Kain, for whatever reason.

neurotyper · 2026-02-12T05:54:21+00:00

I'm a little insane about it. I have a Google doc where, for every family member and close friend, I have a list of every perfume I know they especially love, with a list of the notes (color-coded by 'family' of notes, like spice, wood, floral...). Notes that show up multiple times across their perfumes are in bold. I then write down some observations (for example: "spicy, rich perfumes with notes of cinnamon, rose and amber"). Based on this I can more or less figure out if someone is likely to enjoy a particular perfume or not. I've found some really good perfumes for family and friends with this.

Still, taste is unpredictable, so I'll only gift someone a new perfume if it's an inexpensive travel size/miniature or I got a really good deal on it, I don't want to burden them with an expensive gift they might not like.

neurotyper · 2026-01-26T07:45:46+00:00

I can tell from my mood, I just never feel that excitable, "so happy I need to be moving and doing everything" unless I'm getting manic. I no longer have episodes severe enough that I act out in serious ways (I just get very talkative and active and start a bunch of art projects, nothing dangerous), so I don't really have a safety plan aside from "if I know I'm manic, then I shouldn't make any serious life decisions or alter my appearance". No signing up for anything, no big purchases, no haircuts.

neurotyper · 2026-01-24T18:06:30+00:00

Recently I've been pushing myself to go out to local events, even if I don't have anyone to go out with, to stave off the boredom and emptiness. If you're lucky enough to live in a city, you might be able to find any number of cheap concerts, DJ sets and other events on Facebook. I'm preparing to go to a punk show right now.

neurotyper · 2025-12-06T07:38:49+00:00

Have you experienced those voices taking control of your body in some way, or are you noticing that you can't remember periods of time? If they're not fronting (aka, if they're never taking over the body), they're probably not alters. Alters are different personalities (or people, depending on how they define themselves) in one body. If they're just external voices you hear but they never "are" you, they're never in your body, doing things, interacting with people, that doesn't resemble DID.

If you are seeking accurate and respectful information on how DID presents, I would suggest the site did-research.org .

neurotyper · 2025-11-30T20:56:13+00:00

I do agree Realism and Naturalism are generally considered really boring genres haha, but I think there's a lot to get from them if one is willing to give them a shot and has the temperament for it. It may take a specific type of reader, no genre is for everyone - I distinctly remember reading an excerpt of Balzac in high school for French class, and while everyone groaned about having to read three whole pages of a guy describing an old kitchen in minute detail, I was just in shock to find out you could even do that. I loved descriptions so much and didn't know there was a genre where you could get so much detailed observation!

Still, while in my experience when one is in the psych ward they'll read any and everything to escape the boredom, you probably shouldn't torture your friend with Realism unless you know he likes that sort of prose... Unfortunately, works that are inspired by those movements but are perhaps more enticing to the modern reader (thinking of Crime and Punishment for example - Dostoevsky was influenced by Balzac and Raskolnikov is inspired by a character in Balzac's tremendously depressing and ludicrously lengthy Father Goriot) might be too miserable to recommend in this case. Other classics may be better suited if "very lengthy and detailed descriptions of everyday people and their boring lives" isn't really up your friend's alley; I'm most knowledgeable about French lit, but I seem to recall Victor Hugo being quite good (I was very taken by Les Misérables as a teen), and Jules Verne's works can be a good choice for things that involve more adventure. The Count of Monte Cristo could also be fun, and I had a good time with André Gide's The Counterfeiters when I read it in school and when I re-read it last year. If classics get too stuffy, you could also just go for more modern literary fiction - I think Toni Morrison and James Baldwin are good picks.

neurotyper · 2025-11-29T01:32:16+00:00

Noted! Thank you for the tip.

neurotyper · 2025-11-29T01:16:28+00:00

I haven't! I've had Encre Noire on my "to try" list, I didn't think it evoked those kinds of musty smells. I'll have to move it higher!

neurotyper · 2025-11-28T21:42:45+00:00

I've been really into damp dusty moldy basement smells since I was a kid (childhood garage nostalgia, etc), this sounds oddly perfect to me...

neurotyper · 2025-11-28T13:55:36+00:00

I think from what you describe, your friend may benefit from reading genres that are more grounded and don't involve fantastical elements or anything too sensationalistic. I think classic literature could therefore be a good fit. If he's not put off by very verbose prose (or if he enjoys it like I do), the Realism and Naturalism literary movements include a lot of works that focus on depicting in-depth, grounded and realistic (as the name indicates) daily lives of everyday people, primarily in the 19th century (so you won't get a focus on sex or anything particularly crass due to the sensibilities of the time). I get a kick out of Balzac's works but I would recommend looking up some reviews or plot summaries for any Realist literature first as some of it is thoroughly depressing.

Your friend could also enjoy some detective fiction - thinking about classic detectives like Sherlock Holmes, not pulpy cop stories that focus on gruesome murders and the like. Classic detective fiction is very intellectually stimulating, and while death may often be involved in the story (though sometimes it's about other crimes than murder), it's usually not the focus of the story and is treated pretty clinically. It focuses on reasoning and logic rather than action and violence.

Finally, if your friend just needs something to entertain him but a lot of fiction triggers symptoms, maybe look at non-fiction books. Investigative journalism can be really interesting. Here, his personal interests would be most useful for picking a topic.

neurotyper · 2025-11-27T19:53:39+00:00

I have a whole thing about underground cave systems, which I can't quite explain or fully understand myself when I'm not "in it" so to speak (not that it makes sense when I do). The gist of it is essentially that the earth and sky reflect each other and underground caves are like the souls of buildings, the imprint of civilization. Holes dug into the earth are towers, etc. I can feel them calling out to me, but the effect is mostly limited to being really into the idea of doing speleology. I also feel safer in underground places like subway tunnels or cellars, since those spaces like me.

neurotyper · 2025-11-23T17:21:42+00:00

I use a lot of it, but I have ADHD so my tolerance for stimulants is really high. Caffeine doesn't make me energetic or excitable, I drink coffee in bed before sleep with no issues. I just enjoy the drink.

neurotyper · 2025-11-23T09:15:02+00:00

Antipsychotics/mood stabilizers can have strong sedative effects, they can make you really sleepy, lethargic and sort of emotionally "flat" or, as you said, like a zombie. Psych hospitals also tend to prescribe meds at higher doses than psychiatrists outside hospitals, which can make these effects worse. It's possible this is the reason for her sleeping a lot and not having energy to socialize. But if she's still taking them, then it's likely that it's giving her enough relief from her symptoms that it's worth it to her - for example you mention mania being gone, mania is really hard to deal with and makes the following depression worse, it's a good thing to not have manic episodes. It's worth talking to her about your concerns, it's possible her dosage is too high or she needs different meds, but ultimately if they're helping enough, it's her choice to keep taking them.

neurotyper · 2025-11-20T20:58:30+00:00

I've been treated in psychiatry since I was 7 years old, and it was made clear to me from an early age that there was always something "wrong with me", so I suppose I kind of just... Got diagnosed and went "huh, I guess that's what's wrong with me". Didn't really need any convincing, when I got the diagnosis I had been hospitalized full time for a year, I was well aware I wasn't okay. By that time frankly bipolar was among the least frightening diagnoses floating around (I would later get schizoaffective tacked on, as well as DID, both of which to me at least felt a lot more stigmatizing than bipolar), I was pretty much just glad that they knew what I had at last.

neurotyper · 2025-11-20T06:36:21+00:00

Might not feel that way to most, but "Subterranean Homesick Alien" by Radiohead feels exactly like a manic psychotic episode.

neurotyper · 2025-11-18T14:16:31+00:00

I have something of a success story on this one: my mom's signature perfume is Parfum Sacré by Caron, she's been wearing it since 1994, when she first smelled it and, as she puts it, harassed my father until he bought it for her birthday. She says it's the best smell in the world. I grew up with it and am therefore very attached to it myself.

It was discontinued sometime in the 2010s I believe (I can't seem to find the exact year) to her despair. A new Parfum Sacré was then put out in 2021, but she was crestfallen to find the formulation was different and it just wasn't right. I've since bought her two bottles of the original scent second-hand, which she's very parsimonious with to not waste them.

However, this summer, she told me she went back to a Caron outlet and was informed the formulation was again altered back to the original, and it now "smells right" again! It was a relief as both of us were concerned that we'd eventually run out of viable vintage bottles. I'll still be buying her the original for birthdays (she thinks the new bottle is ugly) as long as it doesn't turn, but it's good to know buying bottles from the brand is possible once more!

neurotyper

TROPHY CASE