You're on this list because you subscribed to smelling good! Each edition brings you local NYC perfume news, fun fragrance events, and exclusive features to spark your scent exploration.
Hi friends, it’s Nadia! 💌 It’s been a while, and I’ve missed you all so very much! I hope you had a lovely and exciting summer—and smelled all kinds of interesting things around the city.
Perfumeverse is officially back in action, with plenty of fun things on the horizon. In this issue: all the fragrance-forward NYFW events I could scour, September happenings, industry news and launches, plus an introduction to the newest member of my family.
Before we get into any of that, I truly cannot believe today marks 25 years since September 11.
I’ve been feeling extra nostalgic lately and thinking back to my own childhood. I was 11 years old and in sixth grade on 9/11. I vividly remember sitting in history class, extra excited because my teacher would choose a new “wonder of the world” each week and ask if anyone knew it. That day, it was the Taj Mahal—and I was dying to let everyone know that I KNEW that one because I’m Indian (!!!). Honestly, I knew all of them because I was kool like that.
Unfortunately, that excitement didn’t last long once the announcement came. Growing up in New Jersey, we could often see the skyline from our classroom windows. I do not envy the eighth graders who witnessed the whole thing.
I could go on about what came after—the pain, the sadness, learning to hide my Muslim identity, and everything we witnessed across the globe. Everyone’s story is part of the 9/11 story. Twenty-five years later, New York City has its first Muslim mayor (one who was even younger than I was on 9/11) and some people still tried to keep him from the memorial.
But I’m choosing not to rehash all that here. I just want peace. Today is about remembering the lives lost, honoring the survivors and first responders, and holding close everyone who continues to carry the weight of that day. It’s also about looking back at the beauty of what was.
My family used to own a gift shop inside a hotel in New Jersey, and we carried so, so much NYC paraphernalia from City Merchandise. I found what I could, along with some wonderfully old-school ads and other sweet little artifacts. Looking through them felt like stepping back into the good old days—but, of course, we didn’t know they were the good old days while we were living them.
But like I said: I just want peace. So I’m training myself to stop yearning for what was and start living in what is. After all, how do we know these aren’t the good days, too?
I hope these images warm your heart a little, as they’ve done mine.
THIS WEEKEND 9/11 — 9/13
CHANEL Coco Mademoiselle Crush Absolu Experience (9/11–9/13 + 9/18–9/20) — CHANEL transforms the Meatpacking District into a café-inspired Coco Mademoiselle experience celebrating the new Crush Absolu.
Carolina Herrera Good Girl Lab (9/11–9/13) — Celebrating 10 years of the iconic stiletto with an immersive Good Girl fragrance lab + café.
Pet Portraits and scent matching with Biche at Commodity Soho, 9/12
Estée Lauder Glimmer Pop-Up (9/11–9/12)
Dover Street Market “Tears” EDP (9/12) — A new collaboration between Comme des Garçons Parfums and Denim Tears.
Prada Paradoxe Sweet Chemistry Pop-Up (9/12–9/13)
Dolce & Gabbana Beauty “Your Devotion” Pop-Up (9/12–9/13)
Fragrance.com NYFW Takeover (9/12) — An early-2000s “It Girl”–themed activation moving through SoHo, West Chelsea and Flatiron, with mini street-fashion shows, paparazzi moments + plenty of fragrance sampling.
NOYZ “Loose Ends Social Club” on Elizabeth St. (9/12–9/13)
UPCOMING SEPTEMBER EVENTS ✨
Fragrance Appreciation for Curious Beginners with Jessica Murphy, 9/14
Scent Bar Brooklyn (9/15 — 9/19)
9/15 Initio - Feel Lab, 4-7 PM
9/17 Essential Parfums, 5-7 PM
9/18 CHAMBRE52, 5-7 PM
9/19 JOVOY / JEROBOAM, 5-7 PM
MaxMara Le Parfum Pop-Up (9/19)
Waldorf Astoria x FIT (through 9/20) — Be sure to stop inside the gorgeous Guerlain boutique while you’re there, or treat yourself to the Guerlain Wellness Spa!
SCENTS & SIPS ☕️
Penhaligon’s at Dante West Village (9/10–9/13)
Byredo x Rhythm Zero, 62 Wooster St., (9/12-9/13)
Ellis Brooklyn x Hutch and Waldo: Queens Caramel, through 9/13
NEST New York Cardamom Latte at Sephora, (9/14)
DedCool x The Elk (through 10/10)
SOME NEWS & COOL TINGS 🗞️
NISHANE is coming to Elizabeth Street! At this point, I’m ready to start a petition to officially rename it Perfume Alley. Would you sign?
Nemat is officially part of Target Beauty Studio. The family-run fragrance house has spent more than 170 years crafting scents rooted in the Indian tradition of attar-making. And I’m EXCITED!
Beautyspace has opened Little Luxuries in Union Square, stocking minis from more than 100 prestige beauty brands. Most important question: Do they have mini perfumes or nah??
Jo Malone is making your dog smell fancy. Its new Orange & Cedarwood Dog Shampoo was created with WildWash—and naturally, the campaign stars Tom Hardy and his French bulldog, Blue.
SMELL THAT MOVIE! A new season of HALOSCOPE Media’s fragrance-and-film podcast arrives next week.
Brach’s bottled the smell of candy corn in its first fragrance, Ode to Candy Corn: a blend of creamy vanilla, spun sugar and honey. $22 is a vibe.
FUMED heads south. The indie perfume expo lands in Atlanta October 10–11.
A24 x Dior at Cherry Lane Theatre — Dior’s new two-year partnership with A24’s historic West Village theater will span fashion, film and live programming. Could fragrance enter the picture? And for the lady… Smell-o-vision, perhaps?
Cécred bottles Temple Oud for hair. The rich, woody floral is now a hair perfume designed to refresh and scent your strands. Sounds like a no-brainer to me!
Contrapposto moves from tweakments to perfume. The West Hollywood aesthetics house has debuted three $350 extraits created with perfumers Frank Voelkl and Shyamala Maisondieu, all designed to melt into and enhance the wearer’s natural scent.
The case for smelling a little haunted — Who needed a reason?? Harper’s Bazaar explores the rise of witchy, ghostly and supernatural fragrances, with insight from our very own favorites at Stéle. It’s about time we staged a little rebellion against gourmands.
Scentbird bottles the world of Verity. The Scent of Truth Collection translates the characters of Colleen Hoover’s psychological thriller into fragrance. Don’t tell Blake Lively….
Old Navy tapped master perfumer Jérôme Epinette to create seven new scents, each offered as a $15 hair-and-body mist, body wash and lotion.
Tamburins’ perfumed scrunchie has entered the chat. I’m obsessed with the Summer Tails campaign—and SO jealous of the exhibitions Seoul always gets. Monica Piloni’s surreal DOLL SERIES collaboration brings “Light Green Honey Wind” to life through perfume, hair perfume, hair oil, a scented scrunchie and even a comb set. The visuals, products and scent story? Perfection.
THE NEWEST MEMBER OF PERFUMEVERSE 💌
Speaking of learning to live in the good days—meet the newest member of Perfumeverse. She arrived this summer and, yes, smells better than anything else in this issue. As you can tell she’s already nosey. xx
Thank you for reading, sharing, sniffing, and staying nosey. :)<3
DID WE MISS SOMETHING? Hit reply & Let us know.
INTERESTED IN CONTRIBUTING OR PARTNERING? Email us to see if we’re a fit.
Thanks so much for this awesome rundown!
Any chance you’ll do one for October? 🤞