The Dry Down Diaries gets a glow up ✨ and the latest nails
We're leveling up over here.
It’s been 7 months since I started The Dry Down Diaries. There are over 1,000 people subscribed to this newsletter and that number grows daily. I am kind of blown away by that. This is a project I have been wanting to start for years. I didn’t really know who would be interested or care tbh. But writing these posts has become the highlight of my week. And it turns out there are a lot of people who want to nerd out on fragrance with me. I love hearing about the scents you’re wearing, buying, and smelling. And what my words inspire you to try.
I launched with a mediocre logo I made in Canva. It served its purpose. But as I got more invested I wanted to invest in branding for this space and create a look that reflected what the Dry Down Diaries was all about. Luckily, I didn’t have to invest anything since my boyfriend is a talented creative director and designer and he’s obligated to make things for me for free as part of our relationship. 😉
I am not an easy client (at least I am self aware!) but he did create something that really reflects this space and I am so happy with the final result. He’s the best and I am incredibly grateful to him (I need to make up for the difficult client thing). You better believe I will make him design a ton of swag. I’m thinking about doing some in-person events and having custom ddd test strips. And stickers. Lots of stickers. I will send them to anyone who wants them. My paying subscribers will get some extra special swag too.
The logo
André spent a lot of time on the typeface for the logo. He found something I loved and then made adjustments to it. The ‘d’s in the logo look like atomizers you can pump at the top of a perfume bottle. The ‘r’s get a little bulbous as they extend out which he did to mimic the pumps on those pretty vintage perfume bottles. To me the type face looks very drippy and fluid which feels so right for the Dry Down Diaries.
The color palette
The colors were pulled from jasmine flowers and tiger lilies. Jasmine flowers were the first scent in nature I fell for. I don’t think I smelled jasmine until I moved to California in my early 20s. It blew my mind that it was just growing all over the Mission district where I lived at the time. Giant bushes of the most beautiful smelling flowers spilling out onto dirty sidewalks. I would be walking and smell that gorgeous scent long before seeing the plant it came from. Sometimes overhead and out of sight.
The flower mark is also a jasmine flower. And if you look closely in the middle you’ll see it looks like a very organic d — so when the three flowers are lined up you get the ddd for Dry Down Diaries. I love that so much.
When I was little my mom and I used to pick tiger lilies by the side of our house in this weird space of woods that separated our neighborhood from the highway. Tiger lilies have no smell but this memory is a dear one to me. There’s an orange and a green from that flower that’s in my color palette. I don’t know how often I’ll use those but I love that it’s a part of this.
About the name
I love the language used for fragrances. One of my favorite phrases is ‘the dry down’. The dry down of a fragrance is the final phase of its evolution on the skin. During the dry down stage, the fragrance has fully developed, the top and heart notes have faded, and what’s left behind is the true scent, the ultimate character and personality of it lingering there on the skin. It’s the last impression, the thing you leave behind in a room or on someone’s shirt after you hug them goodbye, it’s what people remember. So I thought that was a fitting name for this space and I love how André showcased the name in these designs.
And now nails 💅
New nails happened last week! I asked Kim for a coquette and fruity design. And I am once again very happy with the sweet results.
Here I am holding a very appropriate bottle of perfume to match:
I love all things strawberry so when I saw Strawberry Support on instagram I knew I had to smell this. Then I read that they were donating 100% of the proceeds to Palestine Children Relief Fund and it was an immediate purchase from me. This smells just like those strawberry hard candies from my childhood— the inspiration for the fragrance that James nailed. Support an indie perfumer and a good cause and order a bottle of this.
Thank you for reading, commenting, and subscribing. I’m so grateful you show up and read and share and nerd out on all the smelly things with me. 💕
LOVE his design. Beautiful work.
Congrats on a beautiful look. You (plural) should be proud!!!