I spent a lot of time in Early Quar trying weird fragrances. I figured if one was a failure, no one else would have to smell me. That’s how I discovered Douleur!, which became my favorite scent of the year. At first, I was skeptical — it includes notes of cotton candy, seaweed, and mint, all things I thought wouldn’t work well on me. But once I put it on, all I wanted was someone to bury their face in my neck to confirm just how fantastic, sexy, and punk it smelled.
Created in a collaboration with a U.K.-based tattoo artist and bondage master, Douleur! is an unconventionally sensual scent that lasts a ridiculously long time — I can smell it wafting from my hair when I wake up the day after wearing it. The brand just released another perfume, which I haven’t tried just yet, which has notes of mint candy and oysters (!?). Who knows, it might just become my after-Christmas present.
