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Much like Charli XCX—grandiosity incoming—I released my most popular work to date in the summer of 2024. While my novel Perfume & Pain had a cultural footprint roughly 0.0000000001% the size of Brat’s—no presidential nominees, to my knowledge, included my book in their campaigns—I feel connected to Charli nonetheless. (Perfume & Pain was included in roughly 100 Books for Brat Summer roundups online.) It obviously feels amazing to release art that people connect with in the way you’ve always hoped they would, but it also feels weird, especially when you’ve released many other pieces of work into the marketplace to vaguely indifferent audiences. It inevitably makes you start to spiral a bit. Were the other ones bad? Why did people connect with this one? Can I do it again? Was it a fluke??? Charli made a movie about this spiral with The Moment, a Sundance film about that moment when you get what you think you wanted and instead of feeling great, you start to unravel.

In the wake of Brat, Charli said in interviews that she wasn’t sure she’d make music again. It wasn’t until Emerald Fennell approached her about Wuthering Heights that she could conceive of a way to do it (and thank god she did: it’s perfect). Music, Fashion, Film is Charli’s first solo project post-Brat, and it’s about her process of making art after finding viral success. Sonically, it’s rock music—kind of—crunchy, fuzzy guitars by way of hyperpop, like if A.G. Cook produced The Strokes. It’s the sort of lo-fi, glitchy, at times slapdash sound that could really only be pulled off by a popstar with Charli’s bravado (she is, of course, a Leo). Similar to fan favorite How I’m Feeling Now, the sound has an urgent, almost impromptu quality, like an idea that just had to get out. Thematically, the album reflects this feverish drive to create, often at the expense of everything else. Over eleven songs, Charli keeps returning to the idea that it’s only in becoming someone else, whether through music, fashion, or film, that she can be fully herself. And that’s sort of how we feel about both wearing perfume and writing this substack!! Ok, let’s scent her.

—Anna

“Wink Wink” // Kyse Sérénade aux Fraises

You know when you’re like “I’m a new woman now!” and God is like “ok whatever you say, girlie :)”. That’s exactly what this song is about! As with many things in life, “Wink Wink” makes me think of Ramona Singer. Over thirteen seasons of RHONY, we watch Ramona over and over again reinvent and “renew” herself, with home renovations, new haircuts, etc., but honestly—she’s always the same screechy, out-of-touch blonde chugging Pinot Grigio, and we love her for it. Charli is going full Ramona on this track. She’s telling us all the ways she’s changed: she used to jump on trampolines with no underwear on, now she basically just wears trousers. She used to say “scream if you wanna go faster,” then she sold her Porsche. Maybe she fucked your dad, or no, she’s only saying that for effect. Her point is people can change, she’s a good girl now. But also, wink wink ;). As with Ramona’s entire existence, Charli is begging the audience to wonder: is this real, or is this some grand performance piece? Obviously, it’s both. And in perfume form, that’s Kyse Sérénade aux Fraises. It’s playful, hyperfeminine spectacle centered around strawberries and cream (“I used to lick cream off strawberries,” Charli begins the song). This fragrance is singing 🎀 ྀིྀིI’m just a girl🎀 ྀིྀི in a baby voice and winking at us while doing it.

Hot or cold? Hot like the pink in your blush.
Who wears it? Girls who feign incompetence to get out of things.
Place? Victoria’s Secret.
Animal? Pink poodle.
Sister song? “Stupid Girl” by Garbage.
Texture? Whipped cream.
Signature drink? Dirty Shirley.
Favorite word? “No:).”
Vampire or angel? Neither, just a girl 🎀 ྀིྀི.

—Anna

“Card Declined” // Iris Cendre by Naomi Goodsir

Perfume mentioned! “Let’s go shopping, I’ll buy a handbag / I’ll buy some perfume, a Mah Jong sofa,” Charli sings in her signature gravelly monotone. This is probably the most outright depressing song on the album, lamenting the feeling of empty materialism and detailing all the expensive things that don’t buy happiness or authenticity. Indeed, we will keep buying perfume in spite of the fact that it is pricey and will never fill the void. I was tempted to pair this song with something like Baccarat Rouge 540, but it’s lazy to use that for a substitute for ‘rich and empty’, and this song’s authentic sadness deserves a perfume that’s also beautifully sad. Iris Cendre by Naomi Goodsir smells like lipstick, leather, plastic, vintage clothes, and maybe a funeral. I find it cold, vegetal, and gorgeous, but some people find it plastic and offputting. Smells like swiping your credit card at the too-expensive thrift store, lighting a cig, and taking an adderall to get through the day.

Hot or cold? Cold hard cash.
Who wears it? Sad e-girls with Amazon wishlists in their bio.
Place? Rodeo Drive during the pandemic.
Animal? Martha Sitwell’s late bird Hecate, RIP.
Sister song? “Celebrity Skin” by Hole.
Texture? Platinum Amex.
Signature drink? Free champagne at the department store.
Favorite word? “Spent.”
Vampire or angel? Vampire with a lot of rewards points.

—Crissy

“2007” // Rabanne Black XS for Her

2007 was a magical year. I was a junior in college and, by all accounts, “dangerously thin.” M.I.A. released Kala, LCD Soundsystem released Sound of Silver, Britney Spears released Blackout, and I got a cease and desist for torrenting a Jay-Z album I can’t even bring myself to name. Ed Banger Records was popping off in Paris, Cobrasnake was photographing Cory Kennedy like every night stateside. And Charli was 14, in her Essex bedroom, recording music alone. She first began posting demos on MySpace in 2008, so “2007” is nostalgic for a pre-fame era, back when she was a pop star only in her own mind. It makes sense that “heaven” for post-Brat Charli is being in her teenage bedroom making music with zero stakes or expectations. I—more grandiosity incoming—frequently look back at when I was just writing fiction alone on my family’s desktop computer into the void with a similar fondness. I’m pairing this sticky, indie sleaze-coded track with the indie sleaze-coded Rabanne Black XS for Her, a cult fave of 2007. With notes of cranberry, black violet, patchouli, and vanilla, it smells like a purple lamé American Apparel dress, like the glow-in-the-dark stars on your teenage bedroom ceiling that you were maybe a little too old to have, the sweet scent of dreaming your future self into existence.

Hot or cold? Warm like your laptop on your stomach.
Who wears it? Girls who had side bangs.
Place? MySpace.
Animal? Fruit bat.
Sister song? “!Francheskaar!” by Charli xcx.
Texture? Lamé.
Signature drink? Vodka Red Bull.
Favorite word? “Login.”
Vampire or angel? Teen vampire.

—Anna

“Camera” // Red Flag by Fascent

All I know is how it makes me FEEL! The chorus of this song is a party, an instantly infectious earworm that I find strikingly deep. It’s a refrain that describes the indescribable, when you can’t explain why you’re obsessed with something but you remain hopelessly obsessed: all you know is how it makes you FEEL, ok?! “Something new and undiscovered / And something kind of violent / Daring to fail and being ugly” also describes what it’s like to write and post on Substack, honestly, so. I have to pair this with a perfume where all I know is how it makes me feel: right now, that scent is Red Flag by Fascent, a perfume I first encountered on our field trip to Scent Bar in L.A. and remain deeply obsessed with now. It opens with a strong beetroot note (read: dirt) mixed with spicy ginger and cardamom, then it dries down into something creamy and sweet with notes of iris, incense, tonka, and vetiver. Red Flag is supposed to evoke the feeling of being drawn in by something dangerous that you should probably avoid, which is exactly the tension Charli’s singing about on Camera: the movie business is evil, yes, but the feeling is simply too sweet to ignore.

Hot or cold? Hot under the stage lights.
Who wears it? Girls with headshots.
Place? Hollywood Boulevard but ironically but also sincerely but still ironically.
Animal? The very rich and famous Rin Tin Tin.
Sister song? “Radio” by Lana Del Rey.
Texture? Frothy like the cappuccino the PA brings you on set.
Signature drink? Dirty martini with your director.
Favorite word? “Action.”
Vampire or angel? Angel who wants to age like a vampire.

—Crissy

“Magic Metal Montana” // Cowboy by Mondo Mondo

For over a year before we started Sample Sluts, I had my own flailing substack whose identity never became clear to me. I published intermittently, and never felt any urgency or excitement around it. But as soon as Crissy convinced me to start Sample Sluts with her a little over a year ago, the substack inspiration has not stopped flowing! We now publish two pieces a week, and it doesn’t remotely feel like work. “Magic Metal Montana” is Charli’s ode to her own Crissy, longtime collaborator A.G. Cook. “You make it easy for me,” she chants over and over in the chorus. That’s how I feel about Crissy! A lot of this album is ironic and cynical, but “Magic Metal Montana” is one of its rare sincere moments. Because finding someone who encourages you to create, and who speaks your creative language, is one of life’s most precious gifts. Crissy and I both love the scent of dirt, and the song references Montana where A.G. Cook moved during the pandemic, so I’m pairing it with Cowboy by Mondo Mondo—which happens to be one of Crissy’s favorite perfumes ever. With notes of honeysuckle, grass, and soil, it’s earthy and aromatic, a rare moment of groundedness on a very winking album.

Hot or cold? Warm like your skin under a cloudless Montana sky.
Who wears it? British people who romanticize the American West.
Place? Livingston, Montana.
Animal? Mule deer.
Sister song? “Bros” by Wolf Alice.
Texture? Guitar strings.
Signature drink? Whiskey.
Favorite word? “Pardner.”
Vampire or angel? Angel in a saddle.

—Anna

“Persona” // Let’s Pretend by Etat Libre D’Orange

Above, Anna likens us to Charli XCX and her collaborator A.G. Cook, with her perfume choice working as an ode to me in the same way “Magic Metal Montana” is an ode to A.G. I could cry! So I am dedicating “Persona” to Anna, a song about when you’re a narcissist and your best friend is also a narcissist and you see each other. KIDDING! This song isn’t about myself or Anna, we simply aren’t famous enough yet! It’s one of my absolute favorites on this album, catchy and cutting. People on TikTok have suggested it’s about everyone from Taylor Swift to Rachel Sennott (lol, I would call both unlikely) and Charli has said that pretty much all her friends have asked her if it’s about them. If the shoe fits, we are all self-obsessed psychos! Etat Libre D’Orange’s latest, Let’s Pretend, seems like a perfect pairing for this song. The scent “imagines perfume as a costume in the theatre of life” that can “disguise us, hide us” and “transform us into who we want to be.” Persona, much? I find it to be a perfectly fine summer fragrance: heavy on the peach and white florals, spiced up a bit by saffron and pink pepper. It’s the kind of sweet, fresh scent you wear when you’re trying to portray yourself as a basic good girl when you’re maybe a malignant megalomaniac.

Hot or cold? White hot shame.
Who wears it? Your massive ego.
Place? Soho House.
Animal? My dog Osita, honestly.
Sister song? “Actually Romantic” by Taylor Swift (lol).
Texture? Erewhon smoothie.
Signature drink? Fabellini.
Favorite word? “Me.”
Vampire or angel? Vampire who texts you a lot.