Upcoming Events, Olfactory Art, Dating with Your đđ˝
+GUERLAINESQUE & 2025 PERFUME TRENDS
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Hi friends, itâs Nadia! I hope your 2025 is off to a healthy, safe, and beautifully scented start. My hiatus went a little longer than I expected. Life has been feeling overwhelming, and many of us have been watching so much suffering through our phones over the last few years. Our hearts go out to the City of Angels, devastated by the fires. If youâre looking for ways to help beyond donations, hereâs a great resource shared by The New York Groove on how to support L.A. communities.
Letâs take a moment to check out, step into a fragrant bubble through your inbox, and find some joy together. <3
I havenât shared a SOTD in a while, but I have been wearing so much fragrance!
Sana Jardinâs Incense Water ($165): I recently bought the Sana Jardin discovery kit. I like to describe it as an incense water you can literally drink. Itâs a fresh rosewater scent that is bright, fruity, romantic, with a creamy incense dry down. Itâs not a rose bomb at all, but rather a fresh sip of botanical water that calms you down on a hot day. It doesnât last long (sadly), but I donât mind reapplying because itâs so beautiful.
Scent Trunk Top Sellers Sample Set ($20): The best $20 Iâve spent this year! You get 5 samples by incredible brands which include, Black Frankincense by Dana El Masri of Jazmin SeraĂŻ, Stroopwafel by Ineke RĂźhland of Ineke, Cloud Cardamom by Mauricio Garcia of Herbcraft Perfumery, Moon Jasmine by Loreto Remsing of Laromatica & LARĹ, & Black Hemlock by Joshua Smith of Paraphrase. Iâm going to post a review of them shortly. spoiler: theyâre amazing.
Todayâs newsletter covers upcoming events, new boutiques and launches, & a fragrance dating show you have to attend!(we wrote about a fragrance dating service that once existed in NYC).
Today, Thursday, Jan 16:
Olfactory Art Keller Opening Receptions (5â8 PM)
Soft Time: Ro Millerâs debut solo exhibition explores how scent can reshape our perception of time and domesticity. Featuring multi-sensory works, including the centerpiece 3 Steam, the exhibition invites us to rethink how fragrance transforms personal spaces and softens lifeâs rigid structures. On view until Feb 22
Stinks to Heaven: Olfactory Art Kellerâs Project Room presents an immersive tribute to Baroness Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven by German artists Janine Mackenroth and Camilla Nicklaus-Maurer. Inspired by the Dada âwild womanâ who may have co-created Duchampâs Fountain, the exhibit reimagines art history through a heavily scented bathroom. With overlapping scents of American and German toilet cleaners, a typical toilet bowl, and Duchampâs letter projected on the wall, it challenges ideas of authorship, gender, and conceptual art. Visitors can also snag a cheeky nail polish bottled like a toilet brush. On view until Feb 22.
Aromatherapy Workshop (7â9 PM)
Explore aromatherapy techniques and create your own essential oil perfume.đBrooklyn | Tickets here.
Friday, Jan 17 â Sunday, Jan 19:
Botanical Mixology: Sip and blend at The Alchemistâs Kitchen (1/17, 6:30 PM)
Intro to Perfumery: A beginner-friendly primer (1/18, 11 AMâ12 PM)
Scent Composition Workshop: Dive deep into fragrance creation (1/19, 1â4 PM)
UPCOMING EVENTS:
Perfume & Society: Fragrance and Femininity, 1/25 11am-12pm
Dive into the evolution of perfume, gender, and societal shiftsâfrom post-war resilience to 1960s liberation and the rise of unisex scents.The New York launch of Viscose Journal Issue N 7 âScentâ will happen at Olfactory Art Keller, 1/30 6:30pm
Join cultural critic Rachel Syme at Strandâs Rare Book Room for a letter-writing workshop celebrating her new book, Syme's Letter Writerâa whimsical guide to reviving the lost art of correspondence, 1/30 6:30pm
Bonus Beyond NYC: After Hours Fragrance Consultation at Merz Apothecary, 1/30 6-8pm
February Sneak Peek:
Sensual Scents & Aromas at Brooklyn Brainery, 2/7 6:30-8pm
Join art historian Jessica Murphy for an interactive and multi-sensory sips and scents class exploring six romantic fragrance notes and their histories.The Scent of Chocolate class with Stephen Dirkes (2/8)
Romantic Candle-making (2/8)
Aromatic Affection: Wine & Fragrance class (2/13)
Valentineâs Sip & Pour Candle Making (2/14)
Februaryâs Perfume Room LIVE Event is a Fragrance Dating Show!
The only dating show where scent is the ultimate matchmaker, Smells Like Love is the brainchild of the brilliant and hilarious Emma Vernon of Perfume Room. Emma will be hosting this fragmance show Valentineâs Day weekend. Think scent matchmaking, laughs, and giveaways. Singles mixer to follow; bring your best scent and game. Get tickets now.đCaveat (21A Clinton Street) đ Sat, Feb 15 4-5:30 PM đ $25 advance | $30 door | $15 livestreamThe Creators Series celebration at Fragrance Alliance Network, featuring renowned perfumer Pierre BĂŠnard Segu presenting his new fragrance, Lilith, Sombre HĂŠroĂŻne, 2/15
IWIRC NY Annual Galentine Perfume Making at Olfactory NYC, 2/19
Bonus Beyond NYC: Happy Hour with Pearfat Parfum at Squasht boutique in Chicago, 2/6 5-7pm.
Although this is sold out, I want to plug Pearfat Parfumâs romantic cinematic scent making workshops. Hope thereâs more!
In the News
Guerlain has officially removed the word âorientalâ from their website and descriptions of Shalimar, opting for âamberâ instead. As the perfume house often credited with popularizing the âorientalâ category, this quiet shift signals their positionâintentional or notâin the long-standing debate around the termâs use in fragrance.
2025 Fragrance Trends: Whatâs in the Air? Fragrance in 2025 is all about bold self-expression and sensory storytelling. According to Parfumado, weâll see velvet fruits, reinvented florals, and grown-up gourmands taking over. Cosmo says homes are getting fancier with elevated, fragrance-forward decor. Meanwhile, Fragrance Reddit is buzzing about marshmallow, violet, incense, strawberries, and even aldehydes. Genderless scents continue to expand, with By Rosie Jane predicting that traditionally âmasculineâ notes like leather and amber will be modernized for everyone. Boozy accords (think cognac and rum) are trending, and oil-based fragrances are gaining ground for their beast-mode longevity. Bold "power notes" are officially back (when did they leave!)- according to Sir Candle Man. The vibe for 2025? Maximalist, daring, and completely personal. What are you guys excited to smell this year?
StĂŠle opened their second boutique, right in the heart of Nolitaâthe unofficial (and letâs be honestâofficial) perfume district of NYC. As
so perfectly put it: âIf Williamsburg was a modern-day temple, then Nolita is the Vatican.â I finally visited the new space, and I have to confessâthe fragrance demon in me was fully revived. Itâs truly a haven for those whoâve perhaps spent too much on perfume (but regret nothing). Expansive, gorgeously curated, and dangerously tempting.My favorite hand sanitizer brand is getting into fragrance (who isnât?). But this one makes some sense since their products are already beautifully scented. I have their Rosewater on heavy rotation and will never, ever go back to regular hand mists. Touchland is launching eight âskincare-infusedâ body & hair mists early February, touted to have mood-boosting and odor neutralization effects thanks to Givaudan tech. Scents include Mango Mojo, Lush Tropicale, Golden Amber, Peachy Lychee, Sparking Bergamot, Cashmere Woods and Rich Pistachio.
NEST released a Santa Barbara Strawberry Perfume Oil and Body Mist (starting at $35). As a NEST and đ fan, I might blind buy this.
Random Notes
This mustard collection, curated by cake icon Aimee Frances
Saffron Milk Kadak Chai Tea Recipe - fragrant, warm, & yummy.
What do you guys think this 19th century Victorian dressing set smells like?
DIY Fire starters that smell amazing?! I never knew.
Thatâs all for today, friends! Stay warm and smell good.
x
Nadia
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Thank you for the Brooklyn Brainery mention, N! đâ¤ď¸