Romano Ricci—Juliette Has a Gun Founder, great-grandson of Nina Ricci, and Co-Founder of Nose Paris—joins me in the Perfume Room this week! We discuss everything from rebelling against the fam biz, reimagining it, what gender in fragrance means to him, the idea behind Nose Paris, and why fragrance pyramids are a thing of the past. Plus, I live-smell the newest Juliette Has a Gun launch, Juliette! SOTD/review: Fueguia Ett Hem FRAGS MENTIONED: Fueguia Ett Hem, D'ORSAY Nous Sommes Amants MD, Creed Millesime Imperial, Juliette Has A Gun Not A Perfume, Acqua di Parma Colonia, Dior Eau Sauvage, Nina ..read more

*canon episode alert* Back in March, I sat down with legendary Givaudan VP Perfumer (and incredible storyteller!), Rodrigo-Flores Roux, to record a very special live-audience episode. This week, enjoy a condensed version of that conversation! Rodrigo shares his earliest scent memories and wins (the latter will shock (& delight) you), where he sources inspiration, the *Rodrigo flair* you might feel across all his creations, his most beloved vintages, and so many fun insider stories you simply. cannot. miss. FRAGS MENTIONED: Arquiste L’Or de Louis, Schiaparelli Shocking, Caron: Narcisse ..read more

LuckyScent’s Steven Gontarski and Dana Buchanan are in the Perfume Room today talking hidden gems of LuckyScent, how to intuit what a client actually wants (versus what they say they want), and a retail phenomenon they refer to as 'perfume trigger words.' We of course also discuss their personal wardrobes/collections including their desert island scents, what's new and exciting them most right now, and why we need to redefine the criteria of what makes a fragrance “GOOD.” FRAGS MENTIONED: Granado Violeta, Marissa Zappas Violette Hay, Escentric Molecules Molecule 05, Commodity Paper +, L’Artisa ..read more

Givaudan Perfumer Christine Hassan is in the Perfume Room today! We discuss her unconventional and holistic path towards becoming a perfumer, perfumery across cultures, her own special scent rituals, and a benzaldehyde spill in her high school chemistry class that changed EVERYTHING. FRAGS MENTIONED: Zoologist Rabbit, Oriza L. Legrand Chypre Mousse, Florence by Mills Wildly Me, Tory Burch Electric Sky, Boy Smells Hinoki Fantome, Anna Sui Mellow Yellow, Guess Bella Vita, Tom Ford Vanilla Sex, Smells Like You, Tory Burch Electric Sky, Florence by Mills Wildly Me, YSL Rive Gauche FOLLOW CHRISTINE ..read more

Esxence is an annual Milan-based niche fragrance convention that boasts the title of world's largest perfumery trade show! Content Creator Valerie March, AKA @thenichesampler — a longtime friend of the pod AND 3rd year attendee of Esxence — is in the Perfume Room this week recapping her recent experience and sharing everything from perfumes [from Esxence] we need to know, to unspoken ecosystems and structures of the expo, hot takes, trends, and key takeaways! Plus a possible theory on the recent surge (or heightened awareness) in copy cat perfumes. SOTD: Obvious Parfums Scoville FRAGS MENTIONE ..read more

IT'S OFFICIALLY FRAGRANCE WEEK! To celebrate, longtime friends of the pod—Jenn Sullivan and Jess Matlin, Fat Mascara Co-Hosts—are in the Perfume Room today sharing the fragrances that are exciting and intriguing them most for Spring 2024! FRAGS MENTIONED: Xinú Ummo, Parfums de Marly: Perseus, Delina; Riddle Oil, The Body Shop White Musk, Phlur Apricot Prive, The Perfumer’s Story Sequoia Wood, Régime des Fleurs Little Flower, Ellis Brooklyn Myth, Matière Première: Crystal Saffron, Vanilla Powder; Andrea Maack Jest, Hanae Mori Butterfly EDT, Tom Ford Lost Cherry, Maison D’ETTO Karat EG, Prescrip ..read more

We're celebrating Valentine's Day with Master Perfumer Honorine Blanc, a perfumer especially renowned for her sensual and addictive fragrances. In fact, as far as I'm concerned, modern perfumery has two eras: B.H. and A.H. (that is, before Honorine and After), because Honorine quite literally invented a texture in perfume that before her, didn't exist. We discuss what makes a scent a 'date night scent,' how to create sensuality and texture in perfume, what it means to be a Master Perfumer, the most important advice she shares with young perfumers, and what she learned from her greatest mentors ..read more

In 2001, 62 vials of perfume were recovered from the Titanic shipwreck. Neil Owen, Head of Product Safety Sciences at Givaudan, was one of the lucky few specialists (alongside esteemed perfumers Christopher Sheldrake and Mark Evans as well as a botanist) tasked with analyzing exactly what the contents of those vials were. To whom did these vials belong? Were their contents revolutionary or status quo for the times? What did they smell like? Which recovered vial did Christopher Sheldrake describe as one of the best-smelling naturals he'd ever encountered? FRAGS MENTIONED:  Guerlain Mitsouk ..read more

Dave 1 is the guitarist and lead vocalist of the Grammy-nominated, Electro-Funk duo Chromeo, and he’s also a fraghead. This week he’s in the Perfume Room talking about everything from the the F-Boy scent of Paris you never saw coming, gems from his personal collection, perfumes you'll never catch him wearing, the evolution of his own taste, smells from different places and points in his life, and his *highly efficient and innovative* means of teaching himself new hobbies. FRAGS MENTIONED: Sana Jardin: Vanilla Nomad, Berber Blonde; Matière Première Neroli Oranger, Masque Milano Russian Tea, Fre ..read more

What's the actual best Britney fragrance? Who's the most underrated flanker of them all? Liz Renstrom (@basenotebitch) is in the Perfume Room today and we're traveling deep into the multiverse that is: BRITNEY SPEARS FRAGRANCES to tackle all the hard questions. We've procured 12 of her 36 creations (including 6 Fantasy flankers, 3 Prerogative flankers, Believe, Cosmic Radiance, and of course, the one that started it all: Curious). We're live-smelling, reviewing and ranking them all! PLUS - thoughts on Drake’s new fragrance oil, celebs we wish had fragrances, and our analyses and predictions on ..read more