Being part of the fragrance community (or many fragrance communities, I should say) fills my life with delightful scents, incredible discoveries, and many opportunities to be thankful. It’s wonderful and inspiring getting to know the people behind the creation of the fragrances I enjoy sampling and wearing every single day, and I’m grateful for the time that so many perfumers and brand owners take to share or discuss their work. It can take a while for me to get through a discovery set, but I always try to dedicate plenty of time to each fragrance.
I’d love to share some of the samples and sets I’ve tried over the past year or so. I highlighted them in my social media handles, and if you missed them, enjoy the marathon here!
Last year, I wrote an overview of the US artisan brand, House of Mammoth, and included an interview with perfumer Ben Esposito (read the article here). Ben is a gifted and incredibly generous artisan perfumer who sent me his entire discovery.
Once in a while, I find samples of his latest creations in my mailbox! One of these samples is You and I (Will Die), winner of the People’s Choice in the 2025 Art & Olfaction Awards. This haunting fragrance reminds me of something I smelled a long time ago. I just can’t remember what (or who), but I perceive it as a textural fragrance that mimics thin layers of white veil fabric. Read Cuir de Rube’s Substack article for an insightful review of the fragrance. Sonder (2025) is a beautiful reinvention (created in collaboration with perfumer Michael Nordstrand) of the earlier namesake fragrance, and DinoS’mores is a gourmet s’more scent that feels realistic but not trivial. I’m not a gourmand lover, but I’ve been impressed with the unique work of many artisan perfumers in this particular category. Ben has a certain hand with gourmands, so to learn more read my thoughts about the award-winning Voices and the chocolate-rich Rumble in my earlier article).
Earlier this year, I was lucky to finally sample the work by the artful UK brand, Eau de Boujee while attending Esxence 2025, the large perfume trade show in Milan. The brand was founded by creative director Nick Gilbert and perfumer Pia Long, and I’d been looking forward to trying they fragrances (meeting Nick in Milan was a very happy highlight).
I’m impressed with Infleurno’s fiery yet composed passion fruit essence along with juicy grapefruit and smoldering incense, and I’m captivated by Gilded’s golden allure with its addictive shimmering liquid saffron. However, it’s Queen’s noble yet whimsy character I keep going back to. Forget the usual jammy rose. This rose is tart, a tad syrupy, and smothered in addictive resins. Quir’s naughty blend of leather and tobacco will captivate you, while Verdant’s glassy greens will transport you to a Mediterranean island.
On the first day of Esxence 2025, I joined a small sniffing session outside the noise and bustle of the fair, thanks to Marie-Pierre Blanchette (perfumer and creative director) and Pep Dalessandri (fragrance evaluator) of MISKEO, an indie perfume brand based in Germany. We smelled the entire collection along with some of the ingredients included in the fragrances, which are defined by understated sophistication, cool composure, and a sense of calm and nostalgia.
When I initially tried the fragrances of Les Éléments collection during our gathering in Milan, I thought Daim would be my favorite. This is a crisp leather fragrance composed to honor Marie Pierre’s grandparents and their love for leather goods and other beautiful items. But as I tried the fragrances on my own, I found myself loving Èpices even more. The fragrance’s cold spices contrast but eventually seamlessly meld with the rich patchouli (I’m a true patchouli lover, so I guess this isn’t surprising). Feuille includes two of my favorite floral notes, linden blossom and mimosa, along with biting, snappy greens (that tomato leaf is a love), while Pistil is a retro-inspired scent that embodies a carnal narcissus in its entirety (corona, petals, sepals, and pistil). I don’t have a sample of Brume, so I didn’t get a chance to try it again, but at first sniff, I loved the aldehydic punch to evoke the cold, briny morning fog. MISKEO recently released Rococo, their second collection, which I was very lucky to try (without any name revelation) when I met with Marie-Pierre and Pep. I’m hoping to try these fragrances soon!
Flairée is a California-based indie brand founded by a wife and husband team, Katell and Jon. Last year, I featured my favorites from the discovery set Instagram, and I was also happy to discover À La Mangue, their latest release, just before the summer. This fragrance is a dream for all mango lovers! The mango note is pulpy, creamy, and suggestive of a dreamsicle (if dreamsicles were flavored with mango instead of orange). I tend to prefer green and unripe mango scents, but I love how the fruity essence blends with the addictive, floral unctuosity of monoï oil here.
When Generation by Osmo reached out to me about sampling their work generated with olfactory intelligence, I was skeptical. I love artisan, indie, and vintage perfume. I also love the figurative arts, long movies, musicals, and plays. I write and edit for a living, and I’ve been writing letters since a very young age. You could say I love anything that’s a little slow and even time consuming. I admire the artistry and soul behind the work of people who know how to use their hands and brains creatively, so I generally consider the use of AI pointless and drab. And while AI can be used for research and process, the human eye is at the very least still needed for fact checking and making sure that whatever machine is being used isn’t blatantly lying. At the same time, I’m a naturally curious person with a very nosy nose (and brain)! I’d heard about Generation by Osmo through Jill of The Tilted Chair, an artist and fragrance designer who curates art, poetry, and scent exhibitions between the US and Italy. Generation by Osmo works with perfumer Christophe Laudamiel to create fragrance collections for clients such as Jill but also installations for museums and other organizations. The discovery set they sent me includes six fragrances, two of which stood out for me. The sample labeled as G.I is a fun and wearable fragrance featuring cherry, a scent note I typically find very difficult to like. Thankfully, in this fragrance there are no sticky syrup or cough drop cherries but hints of the fruit blended with voluptuous rose and soft patchouli with hints of vanilla. The smoky, phenolic, and mysterious G.III is probably my favorite of the lot. It smells like a dark, damp wooded area, encircled by the mist created by a relentless drizzle. You can take in all the different aromas: the green leaves, the resin tears from the tree bark, the black and leathery birch tar. I later discovered this outstanding fragrance, called Anxiety, is part of the collection created for Jill!
The new artisan perfume brand A House on the Moon exudes a love for nature, animals, literature, wanderlust, and sweet nostalgia. This small house was founded by perfumer Melody Sage, who kindly offered to send me a selection of her perfume oils. I picked four, each from a distinct collection. Summer House on the Moon (Life on the Moon Collection) is a glass of cold peach tea sipped on a warm day at the beach. I detect the fruity tea along with the aroma of peach, enhanced by a floral hint of osmanthus. Melody seems to have a knack for tea fragrances. In her lovely box of goodies, she also included 6 samples, among which Cup of Destiny stood out, a fragrance filled with the aroma of jasmine green tea with a touch of milk.
The Reader Becomes the Book (Get Lit Collection) is the perfect book nerd scent. Imagine reading a book under the stars, the scent of the sweet, dewy grass mingling with that of the dry paper, as you leaf through that book. I can’t stop sniffing my wrist or catching wafts every time I move with this one. There’s something I can’t quite pinpoint and maybe it is that elusive crisp aroma of fresh air in the early evening. Dragon Wood (Lost Fairytale Collection) feels a bit like dragon blood. This fragrance is at once sweet, smoky, mossy, and little metallic. Furever (Animal Lover Collection) is the sweetest tribute to a kitty named Callisto, who crossed over the Rainbow Bridge. The fragrance is sweet, a little zingy, and as soft and joyful as a beloved pet’s fur.
Over the past months, I also connected with Shawn Maher of Maher Olfactive and Aysha Hansen of Aysha Hansen Fine Fragrances. I’ll be writing individual articles featuring interviews with the two artisan perfumers, so keep your eyes open for more.
And stay tuned for more of my writing elsewhere!
