inspired by “fragrance is a ghost” by caitlyn richardson.
growing up, there were only two real ice cream flavors: chocolate and vanilla. interesting people chose chocolate and boring people chose vanilla. as a kid, i wanted to be interesting so i always chose chocolate even though i liked the taste of vanilla too. as i’ve gotten older, vanilla still means boring—vanilla sex, vanilla life, vanilla interests. vanilla is seen as simple and traditional, yet i am no longer scared to love vanilla. i am no longer scared of being boring.
i love the taste of vanilla ice cream, especially french vanilla. next to a whole aisle of ben & jerrie’s (which is amazing as well) there’s something beautiful in savoring the taste of high quality vanilla. you’re not distracted by other flavors of caramel or cookie dough; it’s just you admiring simplicity.
i love the scent of vanilla too. it’s in my body wash, my perfumes, my oil diffuser that fills up my room. i savor these small elements that fill up my vanilla life. i love smelling like fresh baked vanilla cookies, and i love my room smelling like a gourmand haven. i think your signature scent says a lot about you and mine is vanilla 28 by kayali. oddly enough, i hate the initial spray. it smells too strong and chemical to me, but the dry down is beautiful. it’s the perfect vanilla scent. when i want something more immediately palatable, i turn to vanilla sky by skylar. it’s a gorgeous scent as well, but it doesn’t have the same richness of vanilla 28.
once at university, i was talking with some other students about our rooms. i mentioned how my room always smells of vanilla and one of them commented about how my room is the vanilla room in more ways than one. out of the three of us, i was the only one not dating around at the time. it took me a moment to understand the joke, but i found i didn’t mind being seen as boring for protecting my peace.
i am a vanilla girl and maybe that makes me boring. maybe that makes me simple or basic in a world of complexity but there’s beauty in that i think. there’s beauty in embracing those quiet moments—especially those that taste like vanilla ice cream.
love,
siena ౨ৎ