<b><i>Paris Review</i> contributor Katy Kelleher explores our obsession with gorgeous things, unveiling the fraught histories of makeup, flowers, perfume, silk, and other beautiful objects.</b><BR><BR><b>April recommended reading by the <i>New York Times Book Review</i>, <i>Vanity Fair</i>,<i> Goodreads</i>, <i>Jezebel</i>, <i>Christian Science Monitor</i>, <i>All Arts</i>,<i></i>and the<i> Next Big Idea Club</i></b><BR><b>One of <i>Curbed</i>’s and <i>Globe and Mail</i>’s (Toronto) best books of the spring</b><BR><b>A most anticipated book of 2023 by<i> The Millions</i></b><BR><BR>Katy Kelleher has spent much of her life chasing beauty. As a child, she uprooted handfuls of purple, fragrant little flowers from the earth, plucked iridescent seashells from the beach, and dug for turquoise stones in her backyard. As a teenager she applied glittery shimmer to her eyelids after religiously dabbing on her signature scent of orange blossoms and jasmine. And as an adult, she covete