We're open again!

I was able to restock some stuff this weekend, so all orders still waiting to be dropped off will be dropped off tomorrow.

You'll notice that my prices have increased. I was encouraged not to over-explain, but a perfume goblin'll do what she'll do, and over-explaining is what this one does best!

I didn't want to have to do this, but I undervalued my perfumes right out of the gate, and I figured it was better to rip the bandaid off early & increase them adequately now vs. waiting too long and having to do either a bunch of tiny increases or a giant increase after expanding my reach too far and getting into serious trouble.

I think I really wanted to be just as ultra-affordable as possible. I grew up on the wrong side of the poverty line in a husk of a town called Lubbock, TX (Lubbock, if you're reading this, you smell like cow poop and old french fry oil, and I hope one day you're swallowed back up into whatever hellmouth spit you out in the first place) with some pretty severe mental health issues, including body dysmorphia, and although we couldn't afford it often, scent became a sweet little ritual I could do for myself that helped me reconnect my mind and my body during a time where that was incredibly hard for me. And I just really wanted to be able to provide that for someone else. My whole thing is about finding others who grew up feeling like I did - other queer kids growing up in places where it's even harder than usual to be queer, other changelings and strangelings, or other people who feel a little out of time and out of place for whatever reason - and making perfumes that feel safe, transportative, and transformative for them, perfumes that capture that liminality of never quite feeling whole or human and finding a way to make that a celebratory place for us. Shit, I'm crying. This is hard. Anyway, being as affordable as I possibly could was part of that, but those prices weren't sustainable.

I have to remind myself that although my perfumes will not be for everyone (and that's okay - scent is very subjective), I think the quality and care that I put into them is evident regardless of personal preference. It's not so much a worry on my end that anyone will be upset - I already know that people will understand. Still, I know that increases always carry a risk of pricing some people out. Even if they aren't really upset, it can still feel disappointing. 

But:

• I am increasing the compound strength of all of my perfumes. Crossroads & Mossmallow Puff have already increased by 1-2% and that's the max they can go before they start violating IFRA recommendations for tree moss. Same for After the Night's Shade - its next batch will increase by 1-2% and stop there. Everything else is being increased by 3-10%. I'm doing this in increments for 2 reasons: 1) I don't want any batches to be significantly stronger than the previous batch, just to keep things fair - this was gonna happen regardless of the price increases, and 2) I want to be able to test each new increase in case a perfume starts to hit a threshold of producing off-notes. I take a lot of pride in avoiding common perfumery pitfalls like "oops, accidental rubber!" or "let's get dropkicked in the face by an angry vanilla candle!" and material dilution is a careful balancing act in that regard.
• I'm reworking the rewards system to add more free things and more fun things.
• Trinket pack purchases will now be followed up with a 15% off coupon for full size bottles. I'm not sure how long this will go - maybe permanently? But at least for a month or so.

So hopefully these things help a bit. I will also be sending out a 10% off coupon in the morning to people who purchased in Feb/early March as an apology for the long TATs.

More news soon, changelings - thank you all for your kindness & support. I hope that wherever you are, you are safe, cozy, and smelling like something you love. Kiss your pets for me.