I feel like Bee Shapiro gets me, man. She’s a beauty writer for the New York Times and the creator of a cruelty-free New York indie beauty line Ellis Brooklyn. They primarily do fragrances, body creams and candles for now, and their stuff is also paraben-free and vegan.
Bee recently launched a new fragrance called Sci Fi, which — hello, I named my daughter after Sarah Connor, one of the greatest sci-fi heroines of all time, so of course the name totally speaks to me!
This Sci Fi crosses the event horizon between the familiar and the unknown. The central note is vanilla, which is something your nose KNOWS, but it’s combined with other notes that are rarely paired with it to create a different and, in some ways, futuristic experience.
The whole same-but-different thing is one of the hallmarks of the best sci-fi to me. It doesn’t always have to be about aliens or zombies, man! (Although El Hub would beg to differ.) I think the best sci-fi stories are about everyday people in extraordinary circumstances, and Sci Fi is one of those extraordinary fragrances.
My Top 5 Sci Fi Essentials!
- Ender’s Game, by Orson Scott Card (don’t bother with the movie)
- The Age of Miracles, by Karen Thompson Walker
- The Time Traveler’s Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger (one of those rare instances where the movie is almost as good as the book)
- Black Mirror Season 3’s “San Junipero” episode (all of the Black Mirror eps are brilliant, but this one won a bunch of Emmy’s for a reason)
- Terminator and Terminator 2 (I like to pretend that the other movies in the franchise were never made)
The vanilla in Sci Fi is front and center, but it’s blended with unexpected notes. Typically, vanilla is kept cozy and paired with caramel or brown sugar or other sweet, wintry, snuggly notes, but Sci Fi has a shot of green tea, a hit of freesia and bright squeezes of bergamot and orange, so it’s cozy but fresh at the same time. Familiar but different. Sweet but sharp.
I kind of love that it smells like dudes! It has a masculine edge, and if I caught a whiff of this on a man who walked by me on the street, I’d be like, “OMG, not to be a creeper, but can I give you a hug so I can sniff your neck?” #weirdo
A 50 mL bottle of the long-lasting eau de parfum is $100, and oh! — I can’t stop smelling my wrist. You can find it now on the Sephora website and at Credo Beauty.
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
You had me at “it smells like dudes.” I love wearing men’s fragrances! Definitely going to have to check this one out.
Hi Jaclyn,
Me too! Since you’re a men’s fragrance fan you have to try Clean Velvet Flora. It’s another “smells like dudes” scent that’s a must.
What men’s fragrances do you wear?
Thanks for the tip! I don’t remember the name of it but my husband got a sample of a men’s fragrance I just adored. I wore it when I needed an extra boost or wanted to be extra mysterious for the day. I just remember it started with an A! Hah. Armani? Not sure.
I LOVED Age OF Miracles, so great!
Hi Christine,
It’s such a great book. Quiet but powerful, and it makes you think. I’ve re-read it several times and always enjoy it.
Are you a sci-fi person, too? If you are, what’s your top 5?
Your description reminds me a little of Lavanila. They have some interesting vanilla combos, as I recall (a couple of citrus). Though, I’m not sure they smell like a dude. HAHA!
After Terminator, I wanted to name my future son Reese. 🙂 By the time I read Ender’s Game, my boys were just about his age. I remember having to look out the window on the plane so the strangers next to me wouldn’t realize what a fruit I was for bawling while reading the book.
Hey Kim,
I’ve worn one Lavanila scent and it made me smell like Play Doh. LOL!
Reese is a good name for a son or a daughter, methinks. 🙂
Have you watched the Ender’s Game movie? I watched it because I like the book so much but eh… Not my fave.
Oh, that just made me laugh. Eau de Play Doh. HAHA!
I did watch it, for the same reason (and because I like Harrison Ford and thought Asa Butterfield was adorable in Hugo). Like you, I was disappointed. The movies almost never live up to the books but this wasn’t even close for me. 🙁
Hi Karen, not sure if you know that Bee Shapiro is the daughter of the famous/infamous Anna Wintour.