I Love I Hate Perfume!
I unwrap the beauty department packages all day, so I smell practically
every scent on earth. Yet I can't stop combing the CB I Hate Perfume
website after going to the company's Gallery, a tiny boutique hidden away on a
barren street in industrial Williamsburg and lined with rows of Alice in
Wonderland-type vials of intriguing fragrance. In one visit, I was hooked.
The scents are eclectic, original,and often—the best—brilliantly literal:
The primary note in At the Beach is Coppertone sunscreen, circa 1967;
In the Summer Kitchen smells like fresh garden vegetables and wooden
rafters; In the Library recreates the smell of leather book bindings and
worn cloth. In lieu of taking the train to Brooklyn in the middle of my
workday, I browse longingly online for a new, weirdly beautiful (Burning
Leaves? Who knew?!) scent to call my own.
—Cat Marnell, beauty assistant
And you must go to the store and visit the owner's mastiff. Big and lovable.