Josh: So we had a really interesting time in San Francisco where we had brunch with some of our friends and then Christina from the Dry Down Diaries, you and I took an Uber over to Fort Mason, where Scentfest was. And as soon as we got in the car, my introvert alarms went off and I was like, this guy's talking to us too much. But you were Michelle DeLorenzo: And I was sitting in the front seat, so it was extra awkward. Josh: And this guy was like asking us where we were where we were from, what we were here for, you know, the usual Uber driver things. And then he was like, Y'all had breakfast yet? Do you want breakfast? I bet no other Uber driver has ever offered you breakfast. To at which point I assume he's going to murder us. Michelle DeLorenzo: Yeah. Josh: And you and Christina, I think because you have to interact with weird men normally, were like, sure, whatever. And he was like, open the glove box to you. And I fully just again was like, there's gonna like a hooker's head in the glove box. Like this is where we're going. but he gave you guys Teddy Grams Oreos, and I was like, no, I'm good. Michelle DeLorenzo: Yes. Yeah. And Oreos which I did not eat. I was purely taking it out of like that was that that pure like feminine instinct like be as nice as possible and get through this and then throw out the Oreos as soon she can. Josh: I'm sorry to that man. I am sure he is lovely. It was weird. It was so weird that we downloaded the Waymo app and used Waymo's from then on in San Francisco. Michelle DeLorenzo: It was. Josh: And you know, thankfully no sex workers were harmed. no no no injuries were involved, no strangeness. but it it was quite strange, and that was a lovely tone setter for just the bizarre and wonderful and weird weekend we had at Sunfest. Michelle DeLorenzo: Okay. Yeah. E yes. yes, it was a great time. I really loved San Francisco so much. There is this delightful, quirky weirdness about it that really reminds me of like how cool New York City used to be and how cool I still wish it was. so it was it felt very it felt very much like being at home. Like I felt like we fit in very, very well there. Josh: It also helped that it was during San Francisco Pride, so like the gay mecha was at its peak queerness. So like Michelle DeLorenzo: Yes. yeah. Yes. And we got to have the best dumplings ever while watching cute boys walk around without shirts. Josh: Right. Yeah, it my first time in San Francisco as well, and it was a very cool city. It is not as walkable as people are gonna tell you it is if you haven't been. And if you live there and you're like, This city's walkable, you're wrong. Michelle DeLorenzo: No, not unless you like walking uphill everywhere, but you know. I would just I would just perish and just tumble all the way down. So it was Waymo for me. Fucking Waymo's man. Josh: At like sixty degree angles. What are we doing? Yeah, I don't I don't know that I would trust Waymo in any other city. but after our weird Uber interaction, I was like, yeah, sure. Come on, robot. Michelle DeLorenzo: Yeah, yeah. I was totally against taking OEMO at all. And then I think we saw the prices of Ubers one day and we were like, ooh, and it it kind of became a necessity, unfortunately. But very interesting experience. I could not ever see it working in New York City. I think people would purposely hit them, but Josh: Yeah. I also wonder if you would get someone like trying to get squatters rights in a Waymo. Michelle DeLorenzo: interesting. If anybody could figure it out, it would be a New Yorker. Josh: Yeah. Like they convinced it to take a wrong turn onto private property and then they were like, This is my robot car. It's a studio apartment. Michelle DeLorenzo: God. It would go for like five thousand dollars a month in New York City. Yes. Josh: Exactly. So this is the Scentfest episode. we announced that we were going to Scentfest like two weeks before it happened. And that's because Liz really is the VP in this whole situation. Michelle DeLorenzo: Yeah. Fucking Liz is so incredible, so amazing, and we cannot thank her enough because we were we were kind of having a little bit of FOMO about it and we're like, Yeah, we wish we can come, but you know, and then Liz just made it happen. Josh: Mm-hmm. Liz was like, I'm I'm helping out. Let me talk to them and see if we have any other media passes. Got it. And then we were like, that's great. But like housing and hotels. And she was like, My neighbor has an Airbnb. I got you. If you can do the airfare, I've got you. So Liz is the MVP. Loved her before, love her even more now. We owe you some immense favor, some ancient cursed artifact, some assassination, whatever you need. Michelle DeLorenzo: Yeah. We do. Yeah. Josh: We owe you. Michelle DeLorenzo: Whatever perfume you want, Liz, just tell me. Josh: yeah, it was crazy how quickly that came together. I was like, I guess we're going. Yeah, flights are booked. I get we're doing it. And then I immediately had to go into yeah, immediately had to get into, okay, we're interviewing Sebastian. I need to make sure it goes up in time. Okay, we're packing clothes, let's coordinate some outfits. Which fortunately we wear black, so that was also easy. Michelle DeLorenzo: Yeah. Yeah. Use those points and It worked out fine. I'm proud of us for being able to to do that so quickly and being, you know. it's not easy. It's not easy in your adult to just pick up and be like, Yeah, I'm going, I'm going away. See ya. But Josh: Wild. Yeah. Yeah. At work I put in the Tom Off request and I was like, I have a perfume thing and my coworkers were like, What? Don't ask questions. I'll be back Monday. Michelle DeLorenzo: Shout out also shout out to my husband for being amazing and being like, Yeah, sure, I'll get the kids to school, no problem. Like, fuck, like, God, you're amazing. So Josh: yeah, it was really cool getting there. but let's talk about Scentfest as a an entity, as an event. how do you feel about it compared to ScentExplore and fumed and Exons? Since this is you've had much more experience now. Michelle DeLorenzo: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I I really can't compare anything to Assange. Essence Assange is just like its own entity because it is so much more it's a trade show. It's a business. It's not it's not for the fans, right? There's not really I found my community when I went there because I found all of my friends from from overseas that we got to, you know, be in person together for the first time. But it's really not about that. The thing about the thing about Fumed and the thing about Scentfest is that the community really came together for it. So there are definitely some differences. I think if I'm if I'm ordering the US events, I would say, you know, for me, Scentfest falls in between. I'm sorry, Scent Explorer falls dead last. and it's it's dead last by a mile. Like I really enjoyed Scentfest so much. And I I hate to be a hater here, but Scent Explorer is If it wasn't in my own city, I don't know that I would travel to go to it. Just because a lot of the brands that are typically represented there are brands that I have very easy access to in New York City, with the small occasion of like some like smaller brands that are that are featured. Maybe like, you know, Emmanuel had a table that had some really cool, smaller brands that would have never been able to afford a big table on their own. And I think that's my My biggest gripe is I'm probably and it's it's not sent it's not Scent Explorer's issue. It's it's me. I'm probably too indie, too niche for a trade show like Scent Explore. Like this is not an event for somebody like me. And that's cool. It's it's definitely for It's definitely for the fans. I will say that. A lot of people come in, big community. And it's it's again, not to disparage them and what they're doing. It's just not a place where I'm vibing. And that's totally fine. everybody is at different levels of their fragrance journey. Everybody has different brands, interests. So I think it's great that it exists. I think it's great that in New York that it's in New York City. But there are a lot of flaws with their. Josh: Mm-hmm. Michelle DeLorenzo: with their event planning, I think. And I, you I think that was expressed by a lot of people. I think it's trying to be too many things at once. Where fumed and centfest knew exactly who they were, right? These were these were events for the community. Fumed feels like it's for the community and by the community. Scentfest feels like it was a place for the community to gather. Josh: Yeah, I I think that's a good way to describe it. I think, you know, going into fumed, you and I knew eighty-five, ninety percent of the vendors. and it was kind of like seeing friends and loved ones. Like we had a great time. and getting to meet even more people. Scentfest had this different approach where there were people we knew and loved and wanted to make sure we got a chance to see there were a ton of West Coast people. Michelle DeLorenzo: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Josh: People and attendees that we wanted to meet. But then there were also brands that I would never have exposure to otherwise. We all know I'm an indie freak. I I don't know designer fragrances. I don't smell designer fragrances or like mass market fragrances. In what other world am I gonna step into a Kayoli booth and be like, hmm, Silk Wedding Santal is pretty nice. I get why people like this. Michelle DeLorenzo: Yeah. Mm-hmm. It it is. That's the thing. I think they had a really interesting balance. I think Scent Explore and Fumed are completely opposite ends of the spectrum and said fest falls in the middle and kind of gives something for both audiences. Josh: sorry. I also really appreciated that similar to what you mentioned about at Scent Explorer, Emmanuel had a a table with brands that couldn't be present. Scentfest, by nature being in San Francisco, had both Scent Bar and ZGO and La Marie. Marie Marie, thank you. Michelle DeLorenzo: Mm-hmm. Marie Marie. Marie Mar and and my favorite fragrance fault. Josh: Fragrance fault. So there were four physical stores that had brought in their own prospective collection of brands that couldn't be present and got to show off a their personality as a boutique, but also still showcase really cool brands. And I had a great time interacting with each of those as well. Michelle DeLorenzo: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yeah. I it was it was really great to meet Glindy, who is partnered with ZGO and a a website that I've had a partnership with for like a year and a half now. they've they are a distributor for brands from Thailand and you know, it really kind of opened my world to a lot of these these brands that never would have had access to. And so it was really great to meet him in person after, you know, chatting for so long online and really exploring what ZGO had to offer, which were definitely some really cool brands. Like we I wound up walking away with two from them. Josh: Yeah. Yeah. we we did a lot of shopping, which we'll get back to. Michelle DeLorenzo: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Which were your of the of the retailers that were there, which ones do you think had the most interesting curations? Josh: interesting curations. I think ZGO because it had brands that I've never seen anywhere else. That's a distinct advantage that they had. and then Fragrance Vault also showed up with cool stuff that I and I as I say that I'm like the Marie Marie had LT Pavier and Hilde, and like so they all really showed up with their own thing. Michelle DeLorenzo: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Josh: I did gravitate most to the offerings at ZGO though. Michelle DeLorenzo: Yeah. I I really enjoyed I did buy from ZGO, but I really enjoy enjoy the curation from the Marie Marie. I definitely vibe with their whole style and everything that they're doing. but I also and I I didn't buy anything and I I meant to go back, but I loved the curation at the Fragrance Vault. If if y'all have never heard of this, this this is the largest indie store in the country. I mean, she has like thousands of of fragrances and from everything from obscure Romanian ultra niche to you know Azara most wanted and vintage yeah she was one of my one of the most interesting people I've ever met invited us to come stay on her on her wolf sanctuary and have my children ride on her rescue wolves Josh: And vintage. Michelle DeLorenzo: I don't know if that's gonna happen. I wanna go visit, but I don't know if the kids are gonna come to ride on wolves. I don't know if I ever expected anybody to say those words to me. God. Josh: I Yeah, I I definitely want to do a full episode with her and I hope she recounts this story more thoroughly than we did, but we were at dinner with her and she mentioned she got stopped and like strip searched in TSA because she was wearing a vintage nitro mask. Michelle DeLorenzo: I love her. my gosh. Josh: Where you you might not have been at the table at that point. We'll have to write down a note that when we have her on the pod, we'll have her get that full story. But that was a wild wild interaction. Michelle DeLorenzo: I don't know. Did it did it trigger the the dogs? Josh: So nitro musks stopped being used because they're highly explosive. So when she was wearing the perfume and went through TSA, it triggered as explosive residue is on this person. Michelle DeLorenzo: my god. Josh: Yeah. and yeah, she had much more details about like how funny and terrifying the story was, but also about like the history of the nitro musk that she was wearing and it was enthralling. I was enchanted by her. Michelle DeLorenzo: She is she is one of the most brilliant humans and I loved getting to know her. She I I I hope we get to talk to her on the podcast because she is she is amazing. Josh: We made a lot of new friendships. we also got to meet so many of our beloved friends in this ecosystem. So obviously we talked about Liz and Christina, whom we know and love. but also like finally meeting Emily Perfume Disco in person, which if a nuclear reactor of happiness were a person like Michelle DeLorenzo: We did. Mm. Yeah. my god, I love her. Josh: The sheer energy and joy that radiates out of her really like shifted my whole energy level for the weekend. It was such a pleasure. Michelle DeLorenzo: Yeah. Yeah. I I love everything about her. I can't wait to talk to her more too. We've been we've she was one of the first creators that I even before I was making content that I was chatting with and she's always just been just the kindest, most beautiful human. I I can't say enough good things about her. Josh: Yeah, and the work that went into the perfume purses. If you're not familiar, go to Emily Perfume Disco's page and watch the saga of her making DIY perfume bottle purses for the event. It was enchant like just a joy. Michelle DeLorenzo: Yeah, they came out so cute. I'm not gonna lie, I kinda want that, I kinda want the the Taylor Swift WonderStrike one. It was very cute. Josh: All right. Michelle DeLorenzo: Yeah. Josh: I w I mean, getting to hang out obviously with Mitty. I mean, the first day I showed up the day prior to opening and I helped fill up some of the the entry bags very for like an hour. And Nirov gave me a big hug and he was like, I'm sorry, I smell like travel and I like, No, you smell like perfume. Like Michelle DeLorenzo: Mm. God. Ner I mean, I can't also Naravan and Ridma, like they they brighten my day every time I get to talk to them and and see them. And we got to meet Riddhima's mom and dad. And my god, her mom is a joy. Josh: Mm-hmm. being recognized and saying fans is weird, but like having people that are like, I love your podcast, it's so nice to meet you. I did put out the message that anyone who gave me a hug got stickers, and I went through like a lot of stickers. I gave out a lot of hugs. Michelle DeLorenzo: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's you know what? Like it's always even stranger for me. Like I know I know our friends listen and I know people like other creators listen that you know we've had conversations with. When it's somebody I've never met before, I've never seen their face and they tell us how much they they like the podcast. I'm always like, Holy shit, like you're People are actually listening to us? Like, no, there's no way. How do you know about the podcast? Josh: Yeah, it's it's easy to see the metrics and the numbers online and be like, cool, this little hobby of ours is doing really well. but to meet and hug and chat with everyone was really magical. So thank you all for that. Michelle DeLorenzo: Yeah. Yeah. Seriously amazing. Josh: yeah, that I think that was one of my big takeaways actually from the event was just reinforcing that this ecosystem and this community is just the right people. Michelle DeLorenzo: It is. It is. We're and we're all so so connected in so many ways that we may not even, you know, realize. And it's just so it's always so easy being around everyone. Like there are times where I've been to events or or trade shows where I've been on my own and it's felt very isolating and very much like I am the odd person out. But when we're around And it you know, infumed and in Senfest, it felt like belonging. It felt like we are we are with our people and we all care so deeply about this and each other, which is is really crazy to me. But yeah. Josh: Yeah, I mean there were hundreds, hundreds and hundreds of interactions and conversations, big and small, and there were two kind of negative ones amongst hundreds of of great ones. so it's just really, really amazing. I left kind of reinvigorated on doing this podcast with you and like Michelle DeLorenzo: Mm-hmm. Mm. Yeah. Josh: We have big ideas of what we wanna do and who we wanna talk to and where we wanna go. Michelle DeLorenzo: Yeah. Josh: I loved it. Michelle DeLorenzo: And we got we got to have a pajama party for three nights. We got to share an Airbnb. We got to get real close. Josh: Yeah. So yeah, I was gonna say, let's talk about the Airbnb. So I adore the this is gonna be a core memory in our friendship. Mishi and I have known each other for a few years now, but it's largely been digital. we've got to hang out in person at Fumed in New York a couple of times. We Michelle DeLorenzo: Yeah. Yeah. Josh: shared an Airbnb, we shared a like three or four hundred square foot Airbnb. Michelle DeLorenzo: And I wanna say the fact that we came out of that and still want to make this podcast together is amazing. Josh: i I mean yeah. Yeah, i it we get along very well. It was we learned a lot about each other. it was fantastic. I mean this cute little cottage in the middle of it's Civic Center. No, I don't know the neighborhood name that we were in. Michelle DeLorenzo: The mission? I think it's the mission. Josh: Somewhere in that area. this cute little cottage from the twenties. I hit my head on every single doorway, every fixture. Every people. Yeah. Michelle DeLorenzo: So yeah. It was definitely made when people were smaller and not as well nourished. It's not made for big people. my god. It was beautiful. Like, honestly, what a cute little place too. Like it I could just kept on thinking like, God, this would be like twelve thousand dollars a month in New York City. This is cute. Josh: Yeah. It was not. We had a great time. Yeah, I mean, i there is no way that whomever owns that Airbnb would watch this. But if you are, by chance, you have a beautiful, well curated space. And it was delightful and we enjoyed staying there, even if I nearly got a concussion doing so. Michelle DeLorenzo: Gorgeous. Yes. Thank you very much. goodness. Josh: Yeah. I also think we should talk a little bit about the brands that we saw. Michelle DeLorenzo: Mm-hmm. Josh: And I don't know how it's hard to quantify because there were a lot of brands. There were a lot of brands from the retail partners. But then there were so many small individual brands that were there alone as well. Michelle DeLorenzo: So many. Mm. Yeah. Josh: there were so many Korean and Tibetan and Vietnamese and Chinese brands that I have never seen or heard of, and they were bringing some of the coolest stuff I think I've smelled all year. Michelle DeLorenzo: Mm. yeah. They were we so we did a funny video where we we've made the the guess that we would each walk away with one bottle and two travels. And we both failed miserably and walked away with Josh walked away with five bottles, I walked away with six and lots of and I I would have bought more. I did not budget for six. So I budgeted for at most two. So definitely went over budget and could have gone more. Josh: I Yeah, I mean I walked away with five bottles. That's not true. I walked away with six bottles. one of which was for Chris. He had already kind of told us he wanted us to get that for him. So that one doesn't count. Five bottles for me. And there are three that I still want and couldn't get at the time. Michelle DeLorenzo: Yeah. Yeah. Josh: So that Michelle DeLorenzo: Which were the w all right, so before we get into what we got, which were the ones that you wanted but couldn't get? Josh: Okay. we'll start with some some shade. so we I'm not even gonna say we we went to the Boho Boco booth. I have only smelled a couple of their things before, so I was excited to see the full lineup. And I Michelle DeLorenzo: Mm. Mm. I've smelled and reviewed the entire collection. Josh: Yes, you have. And I fell in love with Dark Vinyl Musk and I was trying that on skin and I noticed that one of the owners was having a conversation with you. I walked back over and I really did not like the way he was treating you, and I don't like the way he was speaking to you. So I chose not to buy that bottle. And I will not buy that bottle directly from them because you don't talk to my friends that way. Michelle DeLorenzo: Mm-hmm. Mm nope. Yep. Yeah, and I will no longer be supporting them publicly. even though I had for quite some time, like I said, I have reviewed their entire collection. I I just recently got on their PR list and yeah, it was it was really disappointing. Josh: It like he was being so condescending and demeaning towards you as a friend of mine, as my co-host, as a content creator, but also as an employee of the store that he's trying to to argue with you about. Michelle DeLorenzo: Yeah. Yeah. And Yeah. Yeah. And Josh: And that's why I like, Hey, we need to go talk to Soph. Like, we need to get out of here. So I digress with with that. I I just I think the way he treated you was unacceptable. I did, however, fall in love with Dark Vinyl Musk. I bought a decant online. And if any of our viewers or listeners have a bottle of it and want to declutter it, I would love the perfume, but I will not purchase it from them. Michelle DeLorenzo: Anyway. Mm-hmm. Moving on. Josh: yeah. Brighter pastures, the two bottles that I think I need, but were unavailable were actually from the same perfumer. It was from Hunk Amsterdam and Blenderography, which prior to Scentfest I did not know were the same owner. Michelle DeLorenzo: Mm. Mm-hmm. Josh: Okay, how do we encapsulate? So he has four upcoming releases that he debuted at Scentfest. Two for blenderography, two for Hunk. Michelle DeLorenzo: Hehehehehe. Josh: I think all four of them are stunningly beautiful. Musk Margarita will live in my dreams. Michelle DeLorenzo: Yeah, amazing. So good. Which I think is it might be out already, but I think right now they only come as a duo. Yeah. Josh: Right. The duo of Saint Al no, not Saint all painkiller. What's the Saffron Sangria? Michelle DeLorenzo: Saffron Sangria, yes. Josh: And and and Musk Margarita come in a duo currently. There's individual bottles come out, I want to say in like August, was what he said. stunning. The two that I think I need were the new Hunk. I'm a big fan of Hunk, anyways. I don't see a whole lot of people reviewing them. I owned a gardener, gave it to my roommate. I love Boxer, Mechanic is quite cool. Michelle DeLorenzo: Musk margarita. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Mm. Yeah. Mm-hmm. I love mechanic. Josh: The two new ones Yeah. Double O seven, Spy, which branding, and Candyman. Michelle DeLorenzo: Mm-hmm. Perfect. Mm-hmm. I alright. I smelled candy manette essence too. What a mindfuck of a fragrance. Josh: I think spy is like this quite sexy, modern, smooth take on like a masculine fragrance. I could go either way on having it or musk margarita, which also kind of occupies a similar territory. Candyman is truly unlike anything I've smelled before. Michelle DeLorenzo: Mm-hmm. Yeah. It's wild. Josh: It starts sour sweet. Michelle DeLorenzo: Mm-hmm. Josh: But before it can become I think you said like before it crests into like candy territory, it gets funky and synthetic. Michelle DeLorenzo: Yeah. Yeah. It's a it's a really weird experience because like I think we're used to smelling fragrances like in layers, like a top, a middle, a dry down, like smelling it over time. But this is sort of like the initial smell where it's like it's like it's like a burst of sweetness, but it like I said, it really just kind of like slopes up and then drops down so quickly where it's like it they're almost kind of competing for which one is it. Is it bright sour sweet candy or is it skunky weed? Josh: I actually did not get weed from it. I got like a sweaty gummy bear factory in a forest. I don't like it was Yeah, there's like this woody greenness. It didn't read skunky weed to me. But then there is this like weird synthetic like machine lubricant conveyor belt aspect. And then there is like this sweaty gummy bear. I'm Michelle DeLorenzo: Ooh. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Josh: So it it wore incredible on me and I was like, Can I have this? And he was like, No, it doesn't come out until later this year and I like, But can I have this? Michelle DeLorenzo: Yeah. I'm imagining a gummy bear wearing a leather harness smoking a blunt. Josh: That was essentially me in San Francisco. I mean Michelle DeLorenzo: Minus the blood. We didn't get that crazy. Josh: Well yeah, yeah, I don't I don't partake, but still, yeah, it was delightfully weird in the best way. It's what I want to see in perfumery. Michelle DeLorenzo: Yeah. It's fun. It's like I I really did not think blenderography would be for me personally. I I I had smelled vanilla mudslide and I'm like, okay, like I understand this is why this is popular, like rightfully so. This is a great vanilla, but just not a kind of scent profile that really resonates with me. And but smelling through the entire collection For the second time I smelled it again in at first in a sense, but now in the sort of cleaner space to smell it. I really enjoyed a lot of them. And I wound up walking away with one. and I was really excited about it. I I've been hiding it for my husband because he wants to steal it so bad, but I walked away with patchouli mojito. I I need to send you a decant of this for Alex to smell, who Alex claims that he does not like patchouli and I think he's a liar, but this is a beautiful, like green, super bright, citrusy, like it's like somebody's muddling mint and lime and patchouli. It's like such a great mashup of what it's supposed to represent. One of my biggest pet peeves and fragrances is when you name something very specific and it does not deliver on that scent. Josh: Mm-hmm. Michelle DeLorenzo: And this a hundred percent delivers on what it's supposed to be. It almost even feels fizzy like a mojito. I love it. There there's a little bit of that like s maybe a like a top off of sprite in it. I love it. Josh: There is, I had also smelled, I think it was Jasmine Martini and Vanilla Mudslide by them. And I was like, okay, I get it. Cocktail-inspired fragrances. but Santal Painkiller, wow, that was amazing. I did like Patchouli Mojito. I really liked the saffron sangria and the the musk my margarita a lot. I don't drink and I thought they were fantastic. So Michelle DeLorenzo: Mm. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah. I definitely I challenge people. I know, like I said, vanilla mudslide is always sold out. It's always doing well, but I definitely challenge people to smell the other ones from this collection because they are equally as cool. They might just be a little less familiar than your vanilla mudslide, but they are they are very nice fragrances. I enjoy them quite a bit. Josh: Yeah. were there anything that you wanted to get but couldn't before we get into our other purchases? Michelle DeLorenzo: Lots. there was so you had gotten two of these, but there was there was one that I really wanted. So this is by the brand SW19 from South Korea. and the only reason why I couldn't get it is because it is not released yet, but they have a rice fragrance that's in an x ray concentration, which is wild. I love a steamy rice fragrance. I have quite a few and I'm always looking for more. And I've never smelled one this intense before. And I was captivated by it. It was like sweet, sticky rice. It was a little coconutty. It was like just really well balanced. It was everything that that I enjoy about a rice fragrance just condensed and amped up to a thousand. It was so, so cool. it does not release until I believe September. I will pay that tariff to get it here. I will buy that. and then the second one that I really wanted but couldn't get was from Biang Biang. It was also a rice fragrance. I believe it was 90, yeah, 99 Streams Mountain Rice. I should have bought it on the first day when I first smelled it. And because when I went back by the second day, they were already sold out, but they were very lovely and they gave me A bunch of samples of it. So I will I will use my 10 samples of it and then order a bottle. Josh: Yeah. So yeah, there was also the Tibetan brand Mangla that he had incense, soap, and perfume in I think six cents. he unfortunately was cash only and I don't carry cash, so I did not walk away with one of his incenses, but they were Michelle DeLorenzo: Mm. Josh: Again, the perspective of these brands, because I'm not culturally Asian, but I've also not been to most of these countries. I it was like a completely new perspective on the way to build a fragrance. It wasn't the French perfume pyramid. They had these ingredients that I was unfamiliar with, these notes I didn't know what to expect. It was just new in a way that was really, really exciting and really cool. Michelle DeLorenzo: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I Josh: there were a lot of brands that I don't think so Mangla was from Tibet, Bienbiang was Chinese, Zufu was Chinese Michelle DeLorenzo: I believe so, yeah. Zoof. Josh: Mimicry was Korean. I don't want to be in c yeah, I didn't want to be incorrect there. who was between SW nineteen and Mimicry? Their booth with the beautiful glass bottles. Michelle DeLorenzo: Mm. Yeah. Yes, I believe they were also Korean. gosh, the ones that were na made with recycled pocket like they were designed to look like pocket watches, right? those were very cool. I am blanking on the name. I will we will we will tell Adam and Adam will insert it here. Josh: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Ren Atelier was pretty amazing. I know a lot of people have been talking about them lately. and then just brands that Yeah, then there were just brands that I haven't had a chance to see before, like Gigi Day. Michelle DeLorenzo: Yeah. Yeah. They were also at Scent Explorer. Mm-hmm. Josh: Herbcraft perfumery, who I was familiar with but had never seen. Michelle DeLorenzo: airbraft. Yeah. You got to experience Voyager and CM nineteen twenty eight, which I'm big fan of. Josh: Yep. Pryn was great. let's just continue gushing. I mean getting to meet and give a hug to to Tony and Gabe from Tank House was great. Maya. Yes. Michelle DeLorenzo: Yeah. Tank house. Yes. Shout out to Tank House. We love those boys. Yeah, my and Jay. Love her always. Yeah. Yeah, it was there was there were too many and if we don't say your name, I'm so sorry. This was a blur. I mean so many amazing people. you know, getting to getting to have dinner with Paula and Alex of the Pataya Collective and and Boris from Boca and and Mitty and getting to have brunch with Kari of So Peculiar and Liz and and Paula and Alex and and Christina and Josh: It the list goes on and on. Like it was just Michelle DeLorenzo: It's just it's like it filled my cup so much to be around all these people. And I really like coming back to work was like a crash back down to reality where I was like, I might, I might quit. I might quit my job. Josh: Yeah, I mean getting to hang out with Alex was really fun because Paula posts and creates content and we talk mm borderline weekly, if not daily. so getting to spend more time with Alex was fun because they're both just amazing. And also meeting people that we've interacted with on like TikTok live and on Discord for years, so salty. Michelle DeLorenzo: Mm-hmm. Yeah, incredible humans. Yeah. Shout out to Mistress Alti Skyla. Love Skyla. Josh: yeah. Skyla, I mean We loved seeing everyone again, if we don't explicitly name you, know that it's just because there were so many good interactions. Michelle DeLorenzo: Yeah, yeah. and Sophia. I'm so proud of Sophia. Josh: Yes. Shout out to Sophia. So if you are someone who is in a corporate job and you're like, man, I love fragrance. I mean, I would really love to be in the fragrance industry. I really feel like Mishi and and Soph are the two kind of templates for people who loved the the industry and then have bridged into it. Michelle DeLorenzo: yeah, I mean she's working with she's been with room ten fifteen and she's been with House of Ira. And now I'm not sure if we can say it publicly yet who her new client is, but it is a pretty large one and we are so excited for her. yeah, it's she's she's doing the damn thing. She is quitting her corporate job to be in fragrance full time, and I am so proud and so happy for her because this is something we've chatted about and dreamed of together and she's making it happen. And it's it's incredible to, you know, be to be a woman in your thirties and in your forties and and pivot like this is it's not easy to do, you know? And and for the past year and a half, her and I have both been sort of balancing both of these worlds and it it gets you it gets you down after a while. So I'm very proud of her for for breaking free and and living her dream. Josh: Yeah. everyone was just so cool. Got to hug Paula from PolySense again. my my patron Fragbro. Michelle DeLorenzo: Polly, I do hope you come to Stell when you are in New York City next so I could show you I could show you the way, Polly. Josh: yeah, let's talk about some fragrances we did buy though. I mean you talked a little bit about patchouli mojito. Michelle DeLorenzo: Yes. I did, I did. So it's your turn. Tell us about one that you got. Josh: well this is one we both got. Michelle DeLorenzo: Yes, which is very rarely happens. Josh: So, yes, very rare for Michigan to completely link up like this, but we got Suspect by EVC. so EVC is owned by the same owner and perfumer of Siam 1928 and Voyager. this is carried by ZGO, if you are so interested as a US retailer. Sorry, Europe, I don't know about you. Michelle DeLorenzo: Yeah. Yes. Josh: It wears it has two completely different perfumes on me versus Michy. Michelle DeLorenzo: Yeah. Josh: So on me, this wears like someone spilled a caramel macchiato on like a funky fur coat. It wears very animalic and very caramel on me, and I love it. Michelle DeLorenzo: Yeah. Yeah. On me it kind of reads almost a little bit like stale caramel popcorn. Like it's giving a little movie theater, but here's here's a secret. I like my popcorn a little bit stale. I know that's that's a little bit weird, but it's a textural thing and I kind of like it when it's a little a little extra chewy. so I enjoy this fragrance a lot. And I also want to shout out like what a cool way to do a very otherwise simplistic stock bottle. But really elevate it into something cool, like this great little acrylic piece right on here. This is this is not a huge you know, and and this is to to show indie brands like it can be it can be elevated while not breaking the bank, right? You don't need you don't need a house of bow level bottle to be really cool. Josh: Oop Oop, you don't need to pay three hundred dollars. Michelle DeLorenzo: For really cool fragrance. Let me stop before I get in trouble because I pissed some people off with that take. But no, I think I think this is a really beautiful way of elevating an otherwise very simple stock bottle and still making it very visually interesting. and just again, really, really cool scents. I'm I'm blinking on the name of the perfumer behind Voyager CM and and EVC, but he does. really fascinating things with a gourmand, I think. you got to smell one of my favorites, Yod beer. And I was shocked that you enjoyed that because it is such a it's such a fascinating fragrance where it has this sort of like roasted malty barley ness about it. But then there's this like drenched in honey and like laying on a bed of like sunbleached banana leaves. It's stunning. yeah. Josh: It is also worth noting all but one of the fragrances I purchased were gourmands. Michelle DeLorenzo: Which Josh is now a Gorman girly officially. Yeah. Josh: Officially. Officially. What's one you want to talk about? Michelle DeLorenzo: I I wanna go back to my utter, utter love for this woman. I go golis golissimo from Hildi Soliani. I picked this up from the Marie Marie. I am so goddamn obsessed with this woman. I love everything that Hildi is doing. This is one of the most outstanding chocolate perfumes I've ever smelled. it's it's right up there, honestly, with my Rivendare Yemeni Gold. That's how good it is. And that is a rare bottle that is impossible to find. Josh: not to segue too hard. brunch, there was like a whole Love Fest conversation about Rivendare. So shout out to Rivendare, you have fans across the world. Continue with Hilde. Michelle DeLorenzo: yeah. Yeah. Across the world. Yeah, we love you. where where that one is very sort of like unsweet, sort of dark chocolate. This is a very like this is a very sweet, almost Nutella like chocolate. pht phenomenal. Absolutely phenomenal. I I Hilde can do no wrong in my eyes, period. I was gonna buy a bottle from Hildi at Ministry of Scent on the first night, and Josh was like, hold on. Wait until we actually get to the event and then come back. Josh: Yeah. and you wanted to buy hot milk and I was like, Hold hold your horses. You know you love hot milk. We'll get you hot milk eventually. I'll make you a decant if you need it. Let's see everything else. Michelle DeLorenzo: I dream of it. I dream of it. yeah, and the folks at the Marie Marie were so fucking cool. Like they had probably the best outfits there. Josh: Yeah, I mean whoever I'm gonna make an assumption, so I apologize if you're not, but the little gay boy that was wearing the Tom Brown skirt suit the first day. It is one of the when I saw it on runways, I was like, What an impeccable piece of menswear and then I saw him wearing it and was like, Wow, this looks phenomenal on you. More men in skirts, please. Michelle DeLorenzo: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yes, please. Josh: so for my next one up, we each got one from Zufu, the Chinese brand. I got Cafe Roma. Michelle DeLorenzo: Yes. Mm-hmm. And I got go ahead. Josh: Which A, again, the bottles are stunning. this may be as close as I get to my coffee fragrance. This is like a not sweet hazelnut latte. Michelle DeLorenzo: Mm-hmm. Josh: Stunning. Stunning coffee. Michelle DeLorenzo: Yeah. Honestly, I so I got triple matcha. I mean, no surprise there. it is it is this beautiful, really like fluffy, creamy. There is matcha in the in the opening, the heart, the bass. There's an almond accord in here. It's honestly like kind of mind blowing. It feels like you've mixed all the matches with a little bit of like Josh: What what which one did you get? Michelle DeLorenzo: Almond paste and cream, and you've fluffed it up and made a a really fluffy whipped cream ball out of it. it it's stunning. I honestly I could have walked away with probably two others as well. I really enjoyed the coffee one that you got as well. And then there was a, I'm forgetting the name of it, but there was a tea one as well that I really enjoyed. But yeah, these were, these were phenomenal. And I love these. Josh: Yeah. Really, really phenomenal. Michelle DeLorenzo: The bottles are so beautiful. It's a little it's a little bamboo. Josh: Yeah. I mean, again, we had some debate with Paula about the value per milliliter, because this is a fifteen milliliter bottle. And it was like one nine USD. but I I I'm gonna revert. Initially I said I don't think this was a very good buy, but like the quality of the scent and like the lovely feeling of the bottle, I'm gonna I'm gonna say I was wrong, and this is awesome. Michelle DeLorenzo: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. They were very unique. They were very beautiful perspectives. I think they also use only Chinese perfumers as well, which I really not to discount, there are lots of really amazing Asian owned brands that use French perfumers that I think do really well. But I've said this before and I'll say it again. I love experiencing another culture through fragrance. even more when the fragrance was developed by somebody who has experienced and lived that culture, not just on vacation ones or, you know, I summered there, you know, for a month when I was twenty. No, this is this is your lifelong lived experience. to me it just it really resonates differently. Josh: I agree. I think that was one of the cool things was to see the perspectives of everyone showing through. Like it's worth talking about mimicry again. I know we didn't buy any of the bottles. We both bought a discovery set from them. Michelle DeLorenzo: Mm-hmm. We did. We got discovery set. Josh: But like seeing a brand take humble art materials and express them so graphically and accurately and emotionally as perfumes, we that was the first booth that we went to and we were drooling over the perfumes. Michelle DeLorenzo: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Honestly, I have to say if I had gone to them later, again, I I stopped myself because it was the first booth and I didn't want to buy everything right away. but I I don't I think I would have even bought one that was not in my Discovery Assist kit. I got I am pencil, Dada, and Picasso, but the one I keep thinking about is the gesso one. Like just what a wild use of petrachor to make it smell like wet gesso was s and and it was so accurate, it really was quite, quite impressive. Josh: Mm-hmm. yeah, we we went with Liz like right as the doors opened. We got there on the first day. And yeah, it it was shocking at how quickly it just sent us right back to like, I'm prepping canvas in the GSU like art studio lofts. Like, wow, I'm shaving these pencils to do my 2D studio classes. Like it is Michelle DeLorenzo: Yeah. Yeah. Josh: So realistic. Michelle DeLorenzo: I would love to see one that smells like a dark room because I I was I was a photography major for two whole years and I loved being in the dark room and I want that smell back. Josh: In a way that's not, you know, frying your brain. Michelle DeLorenzo: so the next one I picked up was the Soma Pan Panorama, which was Sebastian's collaboration with Josh, remind me the name one more time. Josh: it was with Angelos Creatives olfactives. Michelle DeLorenzo: Yeah. And this is I mean, I didn't expect to really like this one. And I will say it does smell differently to me now than it did at the convention, but I I get I think I got something very different where to me it's almost like it's almost like a little bit of a boozy rice pudding and caramel, but really delicate. Maybe there's a little orange blossom water in there, but then there's this sort of like background of something green, which I think is I think is cannabis also, right? Josh: I think so. Michelle DeLorenzo: Yeah, I think I it's but it's really not in this very like you smell like weed kind of territory. It's just kind of rounding out all those otherwise very sweet, very heavy notes and giving it really a gorgeous balance. It's very, very lovely. I I saw that there were only a hundred bottles available and I was like, fuck. I and I love a fucking limited edition, even though yeah, but this will be released soon. They only had a hundred bottles for the event itself. so this will be released soon. I don't know how limited the stock is going to be once it's released, but you know, Sebastian has a wonderful nose and worked with a wonderful perfumer. And I think he did a I think they both did a really lovely job on this one. So I'm very happy to have it. Josh: Yeah, and this is the first of a trilogy of these. So yeah. Michelle DeLorenzo: I'm definitely excited to see more of this very interesting balanced fragrance. Josh: The ne the own the three other bottles I got were all from SW nineteen. Which for anyone who knows me, I don't think I own three bottles from any one brand. Michelle DeLorenzo: Ha ha ha Josh: I own two bottles by Liquid Imaginaires and that's the closest that we have. Michelle DeLorenzo: Wow. Josh: to be fair, one of them was for Alex. I only kept two of the bottles from SW nineteen. So Michelle DeLorenzo: Which ones did you keep the X rays? Josh: Both of the X guys. So the first one that I'll talk about is so the the X-Tray collection, Michi mentioned the rice one that she wants. There's four, and only two of them are out currently. And it's all themed around a night out in Seoul. So this is the first in the collection, but technically the end of the night. It is Seoul 6 a.m. And it I don't even know. How to describe it, it's like a wool blanket being draped around you that has been drying like out on a line in the middle of a forest. Michelle DeLorenzo: Hm. It's incredible. Josh: It's so warm and kind of sultry and comforting and woody. it is not a gourmand, so I was kind of incorrect. it's the only non-gourmand I bought. but I also love that the the individual that was running the booth kind of bullied me, and I loved that. Michelle DeLorenzo: Mm. I loved her so much. She was so funny. Josh: 'Cause we fell in love with the booth. Yeah, we fell in love, we were sniffing some stuff, and then we left. And on the second day I was like, I think I need to try these on skin. And she was like, do you you came back and you need to try them on your skin? And I was like, I Are you bullying me into buying your perfumes cause it's working? Michelle DeLorenzo: Hehehehehe It worked so well. This is if she is not one of the owners of SW nineteen, if she was just working the booth for you, you need to promote her and and give her a pay increase. And yeah, she's phenomenal. Josh: Yeah, I I think she might have been helping multiple of the Korean brands that were there. Or she was just there to help SW19. But yeah. Love that interaction with her. it was also funny because she was explaining the brand, she was explaining this collection, the the x-trait collection, and it was like 130 for a 30 mil extrait with a magnetic cap. Like the juice is beautiful, the branding is beautiful, the bottle is beautiful. Michelle DeLorenzo: She might have been, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Josh: The price point is amazing. Michelle DeLorenzo: Yeah. Yeah. And you got another one from them too, right? You might as well just say both of them at the same time. Yeah. Josh: Cool, yeah. I was trying to do the back and forth. The other one that I walked away with, I think was the one that shocked everyone, including myself. Michelle DeLorenzo: I I'm still surprised. Josh: was soul midnight. This is a cherry dark chocolate gensing perfume. Michelle DeLorenzo: I'm only laughing because I can't believe Josh actually bought this. Oop, don't drop. Josh: And it just threw the cap across the room. I this is a new me. I don't know how to explain that. Like this is so far out of my comfort zone and it smells divine on me. Michelle DeLorenzo: Yeah. It is a chocolate covered cherry. And it's boozy. Josh: Yeah, but like the ginseng keeps it, yeah, it's really dynamic, I think is a good word for this fragrance. Michelle DeLorenzo: Yeah. It is. That is three things that Josh hates. Josh hates a boozy fragrance and hates like cherry and gourmand, typically. So like three things and it's still made it onto your very strict full bottle list. Josh: Cause it it is sweet, but on my skin, you don't necessarily say, this is a cherry chocolate gourmand. You get this like really fluid dark, like black velvet cherry. And then the chocolate just serves to like balance all of that out with this like dark creamy night. Michelle DeLorenzo: Yeah. Yeah. Mm. So good. Josh: It's phenomenal. It's just phenomenal. I just sprayed it on and I'm like I resisted putting it on my tray because this is a heavy fragrance and it's July, but like Aw man. Michelle DeLorenzo: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. it is definitely a good one. I I regret not getting those as well. But like I said, I was over budgeted. my last one that I got was Mercury from Planet Perfumery. And I had no idea these they were gonna be there, and I really, really enjoyed them. This is a fascinating fragrance. It's one of those where I almost have a hard time quantifying it, but it's like Josh: I think I described it as Bogwitch. Michelle DeLorenzo: Yeah. A little bog witchy. There's some like I feel like I'm getting some like hay, but also a little bit of licorice at the same time. Like in some ways the could this could very much remind me of Hex and Sable from Storus Guggen, but on skin, this is so much cooler to me and so much more dynamic. It's it they lovely people too. Mauricio, the the perfumer. Absolutely loved him. Beautiful human being. Josh: I also yeah, can we talk about the bottle? Cause the cap is just so cool. Michelle DeLorenzo: yeah. Yeah. Super, super cool. I mean, this is so it looks like it's gonna be stone, but it is I believe sand. So it is natural material set in a resin. These are all handmade. yeah, I mean, and I I love a I love a handmade bottle. This is, you know, small production, which I love when it has the sort of I I think the I think the Frag Bros would categorize this as ultra niche. But yeah. Yeah. Josh: So there was there's three currently. There's Venus, Mercury and Mars. And you got Mercury? Michelle DeLorenzo: Yeah. I got Mercarian. I think Christina got Venus. Yeah, yeah. Josh: Mm-hmm. Yeah, I think the thing that stood out to us I remember from smelling it on you was the mugwort. Which is probably also why I I keep saying bog witch, because that just sounds like a witchcraft ingredient. Michelle DeLorenzo: Mm, yes. Love it. I wanna smell like a bogwitch. Josh: Yeah, that one was very cool. Mars was also really neat. Michelle DeLorenzo: Yeah. Yeah. I had a hard time picking between Mercury and Mars. Josh: Yeah, those were all very, very cool. Michelle DeLorenzo: But you know, I'm always I'm always blaming Mercury being in the microwave for all of my problems. So it felt appropriate that we vibed. Josh: god, yeah. I mean I think the last fragrance worth talking about is one that doesn't even exist yet. just as a closing anecdote probably. So we were at dinner with Mitty. We were at dinner with a bunch of people, but Nirof from Mitty handed around this little travel tester of a fragrance that he's working on. Michelle DeLorenzo: Okay. Mm-hmm. We won't tell you what any of the notes are. Josh: And he was getting yeah, he was getting some live feedback on this. And he was like, you know, how what do you think? I'm not so sure. I had smelled it the day before, and it's pretty amazing on me. but a bunch of us were wearing it, and we were all gushing about how beautiful it was, because of course, because it's gonna be in the Mitty lineup, it's gonna be a beautiful perfume. But what I think really sold it was the waitress came out. Michelle DeLorenzo: Mm. Yeah. Josh: To hand us drinks and stuff. And she was like, Is someone wearing a perfume? It smells really good out here. And we started explaining, he's a perfumer. This is something he's working on. She was like, Can I wear just like a spray? Can I just like try a spray? Right. So she did wear a spray of it. And then the the other waiter came out and was like, She smells amazing. we were like, What Michelle DeLorenzo: Mm-hmm. Yeah. She's like, What's it called? Could I buy it? And we're like, It's not out yet Hehehehehe. Josh: Your your public test of it is complete. You have a a r a table full of fragrance people telling you it's great, but then you have random people that work at the restaurant also saying, This is phenomenal. What is this? So Michelle DeLorenzo: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So Narav, don't make me bully you now. I will bully you. It's goodness. There are some big things coming from Cult of Korea too, but we can't talk about them yet. Josh: Yeah, we already bully Chris enough. Chris, release your special edition. I want it. Yeah. But he just did the launch that he was working on with perfumology, right? Michelle DeLorenzo: Yeah. And I got it. I got it. So let me let me talk about it too while we're here. because I will admit that this is you know, he was telling me about it while we were in San Francisco. We were we were texting about it and I fully admit that if this was not a Chris Undy fragrance, I would not purchase it. Okay. so it's called the Pursuit of Happiness. It's a special edition bottle and it has it has the Declaration of Independence on the back. And I for for many, many reasons, am feeling quite patriotic these days. Right. And I think it's to me, this is a fragrance. And and you know, hearing the way Chris thought about it, because we are we are very much of the same mindset when it comes to this, is that this is a fragrance. Not about our government. This is a fragrance about who we are as a country and what we're built on as a country. And it's called the pursuit of happiness because it's it's a what the American dream is supposed to be. It's what happiness as a child felt like. And you know, this idea that the world is still open for us and we can still trace our dreams. So knowing that background, I was like, okay, I will give this a chance. Because it's Chris. And I am very pleasantly surprised. I quite enjoy Perfumology. I think they are a great company. They have a really cool curation. owner is a really nice guy. And so, you know, I against all all my better judgment. but Chris did a really beautiful job in this. This smells like this smells like you've been swimming in a swimming pool all day and your skin is just lugged. with that that chlorinated water and you're you're maybe ten years old, still childlike, still full of wonder, and you're watching the fireworks while you're eating an ice pop that's melting down your arm. It's lovely. Josh: So I believe I smelled a mod of this at Fume. Michelle DeLorenzo: Mm. Yeah. Josh: Because I I remember the firework accord and the like rocket pop. And I was like, wow. Like this has I am a big fan of Universal Supreme by Blackbird. I have it back here on my tray because it's like a rocket pop and pool water and dry grass. And it is very childhood summer. And I was like, yeah, this is like childhood fourth of July. Like Michelle DeLorenzo: Yes. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm. Josh: I I was shocked by that like nostalgic openness of it. And he was unable to talk about any of the details. So it's cool to see how this has actually become a perfume and how that relates to the story. Michelle DeLorenzo: Yeah. So yeah, I mean it's it's being a child and still having the entire world be undiscovered and open to you to find your happiness. And I I really love that message. So I looked past my own bias and I was very pleasantly surprised. But I shouldn't be because I I I trust Chris. That Chris is Chris is a perfumer and I say this all the time, who no matter what he does, I've I have enjoyed and You know, I don't want him to think that I I would not be critical if I didn't enjoy it, but he hasn't disappointed me yet, so I also had a first time smelling immortal perfumes from Jen. And Jen owns her own fragrance boutique as well, right? And has her own line and these are like solid, solid fragrances. She is, I can't wait for us to chat with her because these are unlike anything I've ever smelled. There's a lot here to talk about and unpack. But yeah, I wildly impressed with everything Jen does. Josh: I reviewed her whole lineup on my TikTok one year, and then we do have a goth fragrance dialogues with her. Jen is amazing. If you are a book talk person, if you love classic literature, if you love gothic horror, Jen is where it's at. Oceans of Time is a Dracula fragrance that stands toe to toe with anyone else. And Carmilla is a hot bitch perfume. I love it so much. Michelle DeLorenzo: Mm. Yeah. So incredible. Love her. Yeah. Josh: So yeah. other than that, I mean we met so many cool people. San Francisco was an absolute brain melting experience. It was just great. Michelle DeLorenzo: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. We got to see and hug Michael Nortran in person. I forgot about that. Our episode will be out with him next week, our second part of our episode. Josh: Two. Yeah. met a lot of perfumers that we want to talk to. we don't need to name names. That way, if it doesn't work out, we're not overcommitting. But got to talk to a lot of great people. Got to put business cards in some pockets of people we want to chat with. And just in general, get to hang out. I always love getting to see you in person. Michelle DeLorenzo: Yeah. Yeah. Me too. I can't wait to see you again. Josh: Next month. closing thoughts If there was anything you could do differently for Scentfest weekend, what would it be? Michelle DeLorenzo: Game Extend my time so I didn't have to feel rushed. That's always that's always how I feel. I always wish I spent more time somewhere. and I would order more of those those egg custard dumplings from the dumpling kitchen. Josh: That was legitimately what I was going to say. Okay, so before we end the episode, not perfume related, Michi and I went to Pride. We were walking down Castro Street and we were hungry. So we went to this very unassuming little dumpling kitchen on Castro. If you're if you know San Francisco, then you know the one we're talking about. And Mishi ordered these salted egg custard bow. Michelle DeLorenzo: Mm, mm. Josh: Dear listener, when I tell you it was a life altering experience. Michelle DeLorenzo: Later that night I was g I was trying desperately to see if we could get more delivered to the Airbnb Josh: It sounds problematic. I debated going to the bathroom and throwing up and ordering more of those. Like they were truly one of the best things I think I've ever eaten in my life. Michelle DeLorenzo: yeah. And that that should be a fragrance. steamy bao bun and salted egg yolk. Let's do it! Don't steal my idea. Or do steal my idea, but credit me and make sure you give me a bottle. Just give me the butt. Josh: Yeah. Yeah, it was it was otherworldly. And just give me the buttons. I don't even need the fragrance. Michelle DeLorenzo: Mm. Josh: so thank you for listening to us ramble about Scentfest. As always, if you're liking the episode, please like, subscribe, consider sharing it to your friends. we're really enjoying building this little this little community and this channel. So thank you for listening and we'll see you next time. Michelle DeLorenzo: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Love you, bye.