This Instagram Combines Two of Your Favorite Things: Le Labo and Overheards
"If my life is going to be a never-ending existential criss, it might as well smell good."
Which Instagram just *gets* you/makes you tag 72 of your friends croaking "IT ME?" @mytherapistsays? @dumpster? @marieclairemag?? ::goes in for a high-five while actually slipping you a cleverly folded $5 bill::
The beauty of the meme is that, with some jiggering, it can apply to anybody. But the beauty of a highly specific account documenting the highly specific spewings of a highly specific clientele is that you get to crack open a rarefied-ish world that's really freaking weird—and really freaking funny. Enter @overheardlelabo, where the patrons of the custom fragrance empire are either massively under- or over-self-aware and the hand lotion is $65.
Collectively, the quotes tell a story of pathos, privilege, being on the outside looking in on privilege, love, loss, insecurity, and (sometimes literal) dirty laundry—all scented with smoky, leathery Santal 33. (Aside: Which, even though it should just become the official perfume of New York City at this point, still smells so good you want to make out with anyone wearing it.)
Basically, it's the human condition and scary-smart branding rolled into one. Also, it me.
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Chelsea Peng is a writer and editor who was formerly the assistant editor at Marie Claire. She's also worked for The Strategist and Refinery29, and is a graduate of Northwestern University. On her tombstone, she would like a GIF of herself that's better than the one that already exists on the Internet and a free fro-yo machine. Besides frozen dairy products, she's into pirates, carbs, Balzac, and snacking so hard she has to go lie down.