My Skin but Nothing - 'Clean' smelling perfumes and the allure of conformity

 Nowadays it seems like everyone is afraid to take up space. From loudly defending the right to be like everyone else to videos of influencers in the same white-beige uniform, it's like there's a war on individuality. And this isn't about people who share common ground, no this is about those who flood someone's comments asking where they got their straight leg jeans from so they can have their exact pair. Proclaiming to be just like other girls has shifted from a sense of camaraderie amongst young women, pushing back against misogynistic mocking to a rallying cry for conformity. If you don't like the same music, same clothes, same perfume and same colors as this narrow definition of a "girl" well now you'll be cast aside and looked down upon.

I'm not the first to say that this is a symbol of a rise of fascism. Tiktok's like this give an insight to something everyone is noticing, the masses are becoming more homogenous than ever, which makes them easier to control.

You may be wondering what that has to do with perfume?

Well, quite a bit actually!

Once upon a time "skin scents" were just perfumes without large projection. They were intimate, sat close to skin, but they weren't necessarily soft. A spicy or*ental (outdated term, but more accurately describes what I'm thinking of more than 'amber') could settle into a skin scent before long. But now, skin scents are used to describe ambroxan heavy, barely there perfumes.

If you have no idea what an ambroxan heavy perfume is, look no further than Glossier 'You', the shining star of this scent category. Glossier 'You' rose in popularity during the 2020 pandemic (although the pandemic is very much still happening), alongside the rise of "clean girl" and it makes sense. During a time filled with sickness, people were looking to be almost sterilized, their visual appearance a marker of clean health as anxieties rose. So it's no wonder a perfume that smells like nothing took the girls by storm. There was nothing messy about it, it was reminiscent of clean, washed skin. Not soapy however, that's a different category that holds perfumes such as Replica's 'Bubble Bath'.

The popularity of 'my skin but nothing' perfumes have only increased. Molecule 01, JHAG Not a Perfume, the Glossier 'You' flankers. All marketing themselves as smelling different on every body and "enhancing pheromones" but there's a problem.

They all smell the same.

And not in the traditional designer perfumes all being a vague fruity-floral-amber mess but in that the marketing is only telling half the story. Sure they smell different to an extent as everyone's skin brings out different aspects but for the most part they smell of the same musky-ambery nothingness. Theres a falsity to its promises. 'Buy this perfume that smells like nothing and you'll be a unique individual with little effort.' It's blandness is a comfort in a way, as people can pretend to be unique as they only make a whisper in a crowd. 

It calls back to this image.

Each person here thinks they're a unique individual, only to be met with the startling reality of their own conformity. When you wear 'You' or 'Not a Perfume', you can buy into its claims of smelling unique on each person. Until you smell it on someone else and you realize 'huh, that's kind of familiar'. There's no risk involved, no trial and error of finding a perfume that embodies your personality and style. No risk of not liking something or even coming across unlikable yourself.

There's no thick jasmine of Mugler 'Alien', no swampy green of Cacharel 'Eden', and definitely no rich cherry-leather smell of Room 1015 'Cherry Punk'. For many, being an individual is out, there's no reason to interrogate yourself and your interests if you can't be picked out of a crowd.

This isn't the same as office-friendly scents, which are just perfumes you can wear that smell pleasant without choking everyone in your cramped space out. This is the appeal of nothingness. Of fitting in but convincing yourself that you're really different while also not making any efforts to make a real impression.

There's a contradiction involved, as with anything. People are no longer proud to step outside the box and if they do? Well they just copy. There's an insecurity involved in not wanting to be the first person to stand out so instead you copy someone else and hope the momentum that propelled them works for them as well.

Maybe that's why 'clean' smelling perfumes have evolved from being a symbol of health to a symbol of sameness. As you hop from clean girl to coastal grandma to tomato girl every few months there's no need to really find something that represents you.

You don't know who you are.

Gaminessance : Sexy Babies will rise!!!

Big doe eyes, round button lips and soft cheeks. A slight pout and a gentle wrinkle of the brows.

Everyone loves a gamine, and it’s no surprise they’re making a comeback. The original Gamine Takeover started in the 60s with Edie Sedgewick and Twiggy but I would be remiss to not mention Thee gamine icon Audrey Hepburn, unfairly viewed as the “anti-Marilyn”, Hepburn was notable for her girls, waifish frame and persona which was a stark contrast to the voluptuous and romantic Marilyn Monroe…I think you can see where I’m going with this. The gamine is impish, alluring and charming in a way that’s reminiscent of the girl next door coming into her own over the summer (see: Audrey Hepburn’s Sabrina). That doesn't mean she isn't sexy per say - I mean look at Janet Jackson - but moreso she's sexy by way of girlish giggles and rolling eyes.

The sensual romantic can feel too unattainable for many, sometimes you’re more “cute” than sexy, and participating in sexier trends can have you feeling like a child praying dress-up There's a reason “siren eyes” never saw me. But more than anything, the revival of more girlish, youthful styles like balletcore or coquette were the biggest indicator. The baddie styles of the late 10s and early 00s have been on the decline and we are seeing the rise of the gamine again. Everyday people post about big brown doe eyes, round lips and basically looking like a little angel baby. I can’t say I’m mad at it. I'm a libra rising I was born to be angel baby princess of the world.

As the leader of the Sexy Baby coalition, this is most pleasing to me. I cannot help my round eyes and doll lips have captivated so many and its about time the world has started catering to my needs! I'm short, petite and soft get those bodycons away from me!

The post modern gamine will likely be influenced by twee; the indie babygirls of the 2010s who were too cute to be the intimidating hipsters. And with the growing backlash against bimbo aesthetics and more embracing the “mean, esoteric, pretentious” brunette with looks such as the sultry office siren. A return to collars like peter pan collars and maybe even the detachable ones made of lace or crochet, mary janes, boat necks, boots and lots and lots of layering. She will be the 2020s neo-coquettes boyish and boisterous sister.

I do see a Bridget Bardot influence with the increased interest in Sabrina Carpenter after her scuffle with the Catholic Church, she's great gamine inspo for those who cant quite let go of their hyperfeminine roots.

I see this leading to be more Anna Karina than Twiggy or Zooey Deschanel. The 2020s gamine will drink black coffee, have blunt bangs and crawl around in tartan skirts and turtlenecks. Lily-Rose Depp's ever growing popularity and the anti-buccal fat removal campaign has caused people to plump their faces with filler and praise the baby face.

There will still be that characteristic playfulness but more sardonic and biting than the empty-headed bimbo persona. There will also likely be more embracing the tomboyish and androgynous aspects as we have reached peak hyper-femininity. Expect a lot of bobs, pixie cuts, and TWAs. She's the sexiest tomboy you know.

60s makeup is always going viral on twitter, more Turkan Soray than Twiggy, as we continue to phase out of the siren eyes into the more minimal office siren look. There was a prediction that maximalist 2010s would be the next big thing but tonal glam has made a surprising appearance, a look brought to attention by MUA Ani James. But I think the gamine will lean more into the 60s vibe and apply the "sexy baby" staples of rounded lips, and flushed cheeks with darker liner. Maybe a little blue shadow if you're nasty. The popularity of Sofia Coppola's Priscilla will likely lead to an increased interest in the era amongst young women.

A major elephant in the room is body types. Gamines are known for their boyish, waifish bodies. There’s been talk of the “BBL-pocalypse” for a few years that pointed towards people being sick of the exaggerated hourglass figure, with multiple stars taking out their implants or getting surgeries reversed, however the biggest indicator is economical: the recession. When the economy gets worse people get skinnier which is why the late 00s were…like that. ED twitter has been terrorizing us for years now, the coquette waif-pocalypse has made pro ana and fatshaming an unfortunate staple of the subculture (just look at how many people think coquette is inherently pro-ana) and the backlash towards the most recent VSFS has brought about longing for a time where we were less diverse and fat people were invisible and mocked. The gamine will inevitably play into that on some level. Let’s hope we as a collective have enough of a backbone to platform and uplift fat bodies and call out fatphobia (but given how spineless some people are…only time will tell). 

Are you ready for the Gaminnessance of 2024?

(Me living my gamine truth over the years.)