Welcome back to Scare Me! a weekly horror newsletter. Today, my friend Sophie Desmond is taking the reins and sharing a perfume playlist inspired by Widow’s Bay.

Howdy, gentle readers!

If you weren’t here when Michelle last gave me the keys to the T-Bird for Nosferatu, allow me to reintroduce myself: I’m a horse wrangler and recovering editor based in our shared home state, Virginia. 

I’ve also known Michelle since we were assigned lockers next to each other in middle school, so I have no qualms sending her things like this:

We live on opposite coasts, work odd hours, and I’m a Pisces; there is simply no telling when Michelle might receive a wall of text from me about something I think she’d like. (Editor’s note: And I love it so much!)

Widow’s Bay is a new Apple TV show helmed by Katie Dippold, who previously served as a writer and executive story editor on Parks and Recreation. More importantly and more infamously, she once dressed up as the Babadook for a Halloween party that had more of a grown ups drinking wine vibe.

The ten-episode series stars Matthew Rhys as Tom Loftus, a mayor who’s determined to turn a cursed New England island into the next Martha’s Vineyard…if only he can overcome the sea hags, killer clowns, and ever-present fog, among other dangers. Each episode blends horror and absurd humor, acted out by a stellar cast that also includes Jeff Hiller, Dale Dickey, Kate O’Flynn, and Stephen Root, among others.

As of this writing, Michelle still hasn’t watched Widow’s Bay, so this post is spoiler free. However, if you also haven’t seen it yet and want to go in as blind as possible when you do, bookmark this for later! We’ll be here when you get back.

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Alright, let’s get into it with the initial inspiration for this post: Patricia, municipal assistant and Millennial final girl extraordinaire. 

In Episode 8, “Your Baggage,” we get a look at Patricia’s (imho, extremely relatable) home life. After her dinner was a bust due to a delivery order mix up, we see her sorting through her closet, quietly muttering to herself about what to keep and what to get rid of.

Computer! Zoom and enhance. 

That, my friends, is a bottle of Glossier You.

If you’re unfamiliar, Glossier You is the Glossier brand’s flagship fragrance. Housed in a Millennial pink, ergonomic glass bottle with a red cap, it’s formulated by the same perfumer that made Le Labo’s Santal 33. It’s become somewhat iconic among those of us in our thirties and forties who spent a not-insignificant amount of time reading Top Shelf interviews on Into the Gloss in the 2010s. 

Glossier You makes so much sense for Patricia. First, it goes with everything. It’s a clean musk “skin scent” that’s always appropriate. It’s not overbearing, so she can wear it to work, but its intimate sillage is still compelling enough that if someone does get close to her, they might want to get closer.

For a character who’s mostly content with her life on the island—but still gets lonely and carries her share of personal baggage—an approachable, nuzzly musk scent from a cool, mainland brand fits perfectly.

Another character whose home life we’re eventually shown is Ruth, Mayor Tom’s elderly secretary. Without getting too far into it (I said no spoilers and damn it, I meant it!), the last two episodes feature a nasty nor’easter that sends Tom off to find Ruth, who’s at home, minding her business on her walking pad and fretting about how her herb garden will weather the storm.

While the two hunker down together, Ruth fixes tea—one of two blends she makes herself from said herb garden, which steeps for 27 minutes. When Tom suggests they switch to the other blend, which steeps for only three minutes, she addresses him with the kind of frank incredulity that only women who have lived for several decades can truly muster: 

Ruth reminds me a great deal of my own grandmother, and I'm sure I’m not the only one who felt that way. Seeing inside her house, clean but lived in, with a full calendar and more than a few kitschy cross stitch pieces around the place, I just knew it smelled of fresh laundry and a slight yet constant whiff of Yardley Lavender. The classics are classic for a reason, and the clean, herbal, slightly medicinal Yardley Lavender is bonafide. 

While lavender is most often associated with feelings of calm and serenity, the Victorians associated it with distrust.

Reader, I love her. Rosemary works at town hall with Tom and Patricia—their brusque, unbothered coworker who loves gossip and chain smoking Winstons on her break.

While Rosemary probably only smells like office coffee, tobacco, and cinnamon Altoids in her day to day life, I do see her spraying on a little something when the occasion calls for it. For my money, that little something would be Calvin Klein Obsession. She’s been wearing it since it came out in the ‘80s and it’s more than appropriate for Patricia’s Sunset Cocktails in Episode 4, “Beach Reads.” 

What do we think the actual island of Widow’s Bay smells like? I'm going with ambergris, a classical perfume ingredient that comes from the digestive tract of sperm whales. It’s rare, and its use is extremely restricted now (see: sperm whales). Still, there are a few smaller perfume houses like Strangelove NYC that do use it. 

silencethesea is Strangelove’s ode to their ethically-harvested or “beach cast” piece of ambergris, and therefore it’s eyewateringly expensive. It’s also simply eyewatering. Personally, I can’t wear it. I also can’t get rid of my sample—it still compels me to give it a try now and then. It’s worth seeking out for curiosity’s sake, and who knows! If you’re daring enough, it might work for you.

While writing this post, I did consider pairing scents with the men of Widow’s Bay. I then quickly came to the conclusion that they all would smell like Old Spice or Jovan Musk that they picked up from the drugstore. [Bangs gavel!]

I couldn’t help but include some of my favorite scents for summer break. Wear them on your next vacation, or when you simply need some cheering up in the hot weather.

Estée Lauder Bronze Goddess: Like suntan lotion on hot skin at the beach. It’s impossible to be in a bad mood while wearing this. There are also several flankers that are good too if you can find them; my favorite is Azur.

Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse: I’m 99% sure I found out about this stuff on Into the Gloss back in the day, and I haven’t been without it since. Best worn when you’ve called out sick from work because it’s so nice outside.

Clarins Eau Dynamisante: Some summer days are simply too hot and humid for anything more (at least that’s the case here in Virginia). Mist with abandon to refresh and rescue your will to live from the “real feel” forecast.

In my Nosferatu post, I recommended a lilac scent from Ineke Perfumes called After My Own Heart. It brings me no pleasure to report that Ineke has recently closed up shop. They seem to have anticipated our despair, though, because they’ve made us a list of perfumes similar to their now discontinued line. I haven’t tried them all yet, but best believe I’ll be sampling soon. 

Want to smell ‘em for yourself? Sophie’s favorite sites for perfume samples are Luckyscent, Twisted Lily, The Perfumed Court, and Surrender to Chance.

Last Friday, I had the absolute joy of chatting with Ryan Samuel Carr, who I met at StokerCon a few weeks back! Ryan is a supremely talented artist whose work has appeared everywhere from gallery walls to the cover of Creepshow. Since 2020, he’s been the George A. Romero Foundation’s artist in residence.

We talked about his creative process, the tricky magic of capturing complex emotions, and his surreal journey from horror fan to John Carpenter’s dinner guest. The conversation truly left me feeling more motivated and inspired by the genre than ever, and I can’t wait to share it next Thursday.

P.S. Chuck Tingle’s new book, Fabulous Bodies, came out this week, and I loved it! I reviewed it for Macabre Daily here.

Scare Me! is a free weekly horror newsletter published every Thursday morning. It’s written by Michelle Delgado, featuring original illustrations by Sam Pugh. You can find the archive of past issues here. If you were sent this by a friend, subscribe to receive more spooky interviews, essays—and maybe even a ghost story or two.