Even if being creative makes you happy, it is largely improbable that all creative opportunities will make you happy all of the time. Instead, you’ll get fatigued—or at least, that’s what behavioral science researchers think. The logic goes like this: if you use up all your creative juices making 20 decisions before you even sit down to work, what’s left to work with? Which is why creative geniuses throughout history, from Steve Jobs to Andy Warhol to Karl Lagerfeld, all stuck to a pragmatic daily uniform. One fewer creative decision to worry about!
Dedcool’s Milk is arguably the fragrance version of a sleep black turtleneck. It’s a warm, white musk that manages to feel both cozy and sexy—something deliciously alluring that's low-key enough to put on just for yourself, too. I’ve been wearing Milk since it launched in January and promptly went out of stock three days later. As founder Carina Chaz explained at the time, “When I was formulating Dedcool’s first two fragrances, I secretly created a blend of bergamot, white musk, and amber that I used as their common base. I was delighted that naked noses were intrigued by the mystery smell.” Like that black turtleneck, Milk was built to be layered but is just as good on its own.
The fact that it tends to be the perfume world’s workhorse also means white musks all smell just a little bit familiar. Not in a bad way, though. In a classic way. (See again: the ol’ reliable turtleneck. Are you catching on yet?) In my experience there’s less discrepancy between white musks as there is between, say, trendy sandalwoods, nerolis, or roses, which can each be sultry or bright or baby-soft and powdery. Musk, on the other hand, gives me trouble when I have to describe it in words (the traditional “earthy,” “woody,” and “skin-like” don’t quite hit the nail on its sweetly addictive head) and I better associate it with my mom’s childhood friend Jessica, a lovely book publicist who would leave a cloud of white musk in my kitchen that lingered long after she’d already driven halfway back home. She wore China Rain, or was it China Musk? Regardless, a black turtleneck is a black turtleneck and a musk is a musk. You get exactly what’s advertised, and what’s advertised is wonderful.
When Dedcool released Milk as a limited edition hand and body wash, I jumped on it immediately. Suddenly, I became addicted to getting clean in a way I hadn’t been since first discovering the Dr. Bronner’s Almond scent, or the first few weeks after Body Hero launched. Milk as soap leaves an oh-so-slight trace of buttery musk as close to my skin as you can get, which layers perfectly with… itself, in eau de parfum form. And today, the brand unveils its latest Milk iteration: a gentle plant-based detergent to delicately fragrance your tees and pillowcases and stolen sweatshirts. There’s no need to worry about scent clashing and really, nothing to worry about at all.
All of that is to say: consider the fragrance uniform. You can use whichever fragrance you like, as long as you really like it—then, scent becomes a no-brainer. I’s easy, it always works, and it frees up a little more space in your brain for other creative endeavors. Like writing a fragrance review. You get the gist.
—Ali Oshinsky
Shop the whole Milk product suite:
Photo via ITG
