I think Sarah Connor would approve.
I feel like Bee Shapiro gets me, man. She’s a appeal writer for the new York Times and the designer of a cruelty-free new York indie appeal line Ellis Brooklyn. They mostly 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 absolutely speaks with me!

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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 amazing circumstances, and Sci Fi is one of those amazing 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 motion picture is nearly 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 motion pictures 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 relaxing 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 relaxing but fresh at the same time. familiar but different. sweet but sharp.

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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

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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 web site and at Credo Beauty.

Your friendly neighborhood appeal addict,

Karen