A New Dry Down Era
Dear Dry Downers,
You may have noticed that our last letter -- and now this one! -- was sent from Substack, which is the new home of The Dry Down. We’re writing to you today to tell you about our decision to transition into a subscription model, and to detail what you’ll get with the new subscription (skip on down to the list below if you want to quickly check out the goods).
The Dry Down has been a labor of love for both of us, and we’ve loved writing it for you, but for us to be able to continue writing it, it’s necessary that we monetize this endeavor. Doing so will not just allow us to continue writing you the same Dry Down you already (hopefully!) love, but also to send you more frequent Dry Down content, in more varied forms, and to share some new perfume-related projects we haven’t had time or resources to complete in the past. Read on to hear about about everything that will come right to your inbox with the new expanded Dry Down! (Or if you want to just go ahead and subscribe right now, you can do so by clicking here.)
Just to give some quick background: The Dry Down is a longform newsletter (and salon series, and community) by writers Rachel Syme and Helena Fitzgerald all about perfume, but also touching on history, memory, cultural criticism, Big Moods, and a potpourri of other subjects. As Rachel wrote in the first letter, we wanted The Dry Down to be “perfume as a shared language.” It has meant so much to us to see just how shared this language has become. Since we started this project, we have thrown two sold-out live events (some pics by the great Sylvie Rosokoff are here and here), collaborated on two sample boxes, been written up in Nylon and HelloGiggles and Cosmo, Racked, NPR and Kottke.org. We wrote about leather and death, and roses and sex, and the dream of the 90s. We talked to our moms about the perfumes they wear, and invited our partners on for a guest Dude Edition. The Dry Down Slack (which you can join here) has ballooned into a whole world where people are talking about scent and memory every day (it’s really fun, come on in).
SO. LET’S GET TO THE GOOD STUFF. WHAT DO YOU GET WHEN YOU SUBSCRIBE?
1. One joint Dry Down letter per month (the classic Dry Down, with six perfume recommendations around a theme) and full access to the Dry Down archive (all our past letters for you to go back and read with your Sunday coffee, only available to subscribers).
2. One other solo letter from Rachel or Helena per month. These will be longer reflections on a perfume, or a single note, or a category or topic related to smell, the kind of in-depth essays on scent we’ve both wanted to write for a long time and haven’t been able to give full attention to until now (coming up: Helena finally writes her treatise on Cool Water and the Nature of Desire! Rachel finally writes her big ode to celebrity perfumes of the 2000s (here’s looking at you, Fantasy by Britney Spears)).
3. A weekly Perfume Diary letter. Perfume Diary is a new Dry Down feature, in which one or both of us will share a short, off-the-cuff reflection on whatever we’re wearing right now.
4. Dry Down guest posts, exclusively for subscribers. A guest post might be written by a perfume maker, perfume expert, historian, another perfume writer, or just someone fascinating who has something unexpected to say about their relationships to scent. This is something we’ve wanted to do for a long time, and we’re excited that the subscription model will make it possible! These are still in the works, but you can expect around one guest post per month.
5. Subscribers will exclusively receive The Dry Down Guide To Perfume, which will provide all the basics you need to know to get into perfume as a hobby (or even if you just want to talk about it at parties). It will help you learn about sampling, notes, the difference between EDP and EDT, common perfume myths, how to buy vintages, and much more, giving you all the information you need to get started confidently on your own perfume journey.
6. Discounts on and early access to all Dry Down Live events and sample pack collaborations. Our two events last year were smash hits and both sold out within a single day. We have at least two events in the works for 2018, as well as plans for more sample pack collaborations (spring is just around the corner!) Being a Dry Down subscriber will get you a 25% discount on both, and first access to tickets and products.
7. If you subscribe to the yearly option ($50, which is already a cumulative discount from the monthly option), we’ll throw in a free private Perfume Genie consultation. Over e-mail, one of us will ask you about what you want to smell like (your favorite memories, your fantastical aspirations, your weird dreams) and from our discussion we’ll put together customized recommendations for your new signature scents.
We’re so excited for the next phase of The Dry Down, and we hope you’ll join us as we embark on it! We know and very much understand that $5/month can be prohibitive for some of you; if you want the Dry Down in your life but truly can’t afford the subscription at this time, please email us (don’t be shy!) and we’ll do our best to get something set up for you. In the meantime, we’re so excited to start sending lots of new letters about smell, and sharing this weird world with all of you.
PS: You smell great.
xo,
R+H