I love fragrances, perfumes, or whatever you want to call them. When it comes to fragrance, I don’t have a specific type, but I tend to gravitate towards warmer scents with amber, woody, spicy, and green notes. I particularly love oud, myrrh, vetiver, and cardamom.
Among fragrance brands (or houses), there are some that I deeply adore. When it comes to a brand, I look for a clear vision, passion, and keen attention to detail. I must admit, presentation matters to me as well—I love being surrounded by beautiful things.
My favorite places to shop for fragrances are Arielle Shoshanna, Ministry of Scent, and Smallflower. All have retail locations and sell online. I have purchased in person from Ministry of Scent (San Francisco) and Smallflower (Chicago), and I have been blown away by their exceptional service and expert recommendations. Without further ado, here are some of my favorite fragrance brands and some highlights on where I shop! Happy smelling, babes!
ARQUISTE Parfumeur
Curated by Carlos Huber, a Mexican-born architect, restoration expert, and fragrance designer, ARQUISTE Parfumeur offers scents inspired by historical moments and sites, transporting you to captivating places. The brand has one of the clearest and most consistent visions on the market, creating an immersive experience.
My favorites include The Architect's Club (Cocktail time, March 1930, London), Nanban (Japanese galleon, Pacific Ocean, January 1618), and Flor Y Canto (Tenochtitlan, Mexico, August 1400). My absolute favorite, Indigo Smoke, features notes of bergamot, vetiver, apricot accord, maté tea absolute, and incense. It’s warm, cozy, yet dangerous and sensual, with moderate projection and good wear throughout the day. The discovery set is also a pleaser, perfect for various moments in life.
BornToStandOut
I love how effortlessly luxurious BornToStandOut is—vulgar, over-the-top, and utterly ostentatious, yet grounded and down-to-earth. It’s like Dakota Fanning, the nepo baby unfazed by fame and wealth, making her relatable. BornToStandOut’s brand ethos is magnificent, embracing pure rebellion, green chemistry, and cruelty-free products.
Some of my favorite scents include Drunk Saffron (plum, cognac, saffron, leather, and musk) and Unholy Oud (bergamot, lemon, sandalwood, rosewood, tonka bean, and Laotian oud). Their scents can project strongly and change throughout wear, so I recommend trying a discovery kit first. Initially, I found Drunk Saffron too heavy, but as it dried down, it became warm and creamy. This is a brand you need to sit with for a while, but their values make them worth trying!
Liis
Liis is perfect for the subtle or corporate babes, offering wonderfully wearable scents for everyday use. Made in California, their fragrances are allergy-tested, cruelty-free, and vegan. Founded by friends Alissa Sullivan and Leslie Hendin, this brand focuses on creating minimalist, high-quality, and long-lasting scents. Their perfumes have a nice projection and wear time of around 3-4 hours on the skin and 6-8 hours on clothes.
I particularly love the warm citrus notes in Ethereal Wave—it truly feels like floating on a sunbeam, very California. Bo is another great option if you prefer something smokier, woodier, or earthier. It's very grounding, perfect for an earth sign.
Libertine Fragrance
Founded by Joshua Smith with the belief that “Exploring scent helps you become more sensitive to the world around you. It helps you discover all the beautiful parts of you that have been hidden away,” Libertine Fragrance is made in small batches, mixed by hand. This brand is dreamy and offers some of the best wear times at 8+ hours, especially when layered with unscented lotion.
I love every scent in this collection, so choosing a few is hard. I favor Lucky Days, a warm citrus with notes of musk and orange blossom, and Troubled Spirits, which perfectly captures a boozy lover with heavy amber and whiskey notes—just the way I like my fragrances. Honestly, you can’t go wrong with any of the scents here, so take a peek at the discovery kit and start exploring!
ORMAIE
I can only describe this brand as effortlessly chic, and no, it's not just because it's French. Oui Oui. Ormaie is family-owned, with its founders drawing inspiration from their grandmother's love of flowers and their grandfather's sculptures. The commitment to history and individual passions is beautiful, and these inspirations are incredibly clear in the brand's bottles.
ORMAIE is the first brand that made me truly appreciate the concepts and intent behind fragrance—a wonderful gift. These fragrances are very strong and make a statement, so they're not for those who prefer a scent that wears closer to the skin. Toi Toi Toi, warm and woody, and Livrée Bleue, a warm boozy scent, are some of my favorites. But I must admit, there is something special about 28. I smelled it in a store once and was instantly moved—it brought me back to the best parts of my childhood summers.
Without getting too deep, I didn’t have a particularly great childhood, and smelling 28 made me emotional in a way I didn’t know I could be. I felt sad but happy, ready to cry and laugh, all in the middle of The RealReal. Have no fear, I did not cry in public, although crying in public is something I have done more times than I care to admit.
Anyways, don’t let that deter you from this brand—it's powerful, moving, and incredibly beautiful.
Regime Des Fleurs
My love for this brand is hard to explain—it's simply divine luxury. Founded by Alia Raza, a visual artist turned perfumer, on the premise, “Instead of a political and social system ruled by force, we imagine a world of nature, culture, and beauty,” Regime Des Fleurs embodies a duality I greatly appreciate. It's luxurious and classic, yet deeply rebellious. The wear time is outstanding, easily 8+ hours on skin and 12+ hours on clothes.
Tears, with notes of pink pepper, lilac, frankincense, and musk, is the unofficial scent of hot goth girls. It's broody and bratty, one of my favorites, and my signature spring scent. I also adore Falling Trees and Jade Vines, and I'm dying to try their newer scents like Crushed Fruits! If I could recommend investing in one scent, it would have to be Regime Des Fleurs—without a doubt!
Snif
I really appreciate Snif’s approach to fragrance. They create non-toxic fragrances with no preservatives, phthalates, or parabens. They are also very accessible and affordable. Sniff is committed to the try-before-you-commit ideology, which I think more fragrance brands should adopt. Fragrances wear differently over time, and it’s entirely possible that after a few hours of wear, you might develop a headache from a scent. Be mindful of shipping windows and be willing to make returns if needed.
Some of my favorites from them are Vow Factor, a warm citrus fig, and Citrus Circus, which, as you might guess, is a citrus scent.
Stora Skuggan
Niche weird babes, this one is for us. Based out of Stockholm, they offer quality fragrances that make you existentially question life. My absolute favorite is Azalai, inspired by the loneliest tree in the world—strikingly appropriate for me. It features notes of amber, incense, dried fruit, mint, and saffron. It’s warm and familiar with exceptional wear time, smelling even better on the skin throughout the day. Silphium is also a good option. It’s a warm, spicy, woody scent inspired by the ancient healing plant silphium, imagining what this plant might have smelled like.
All their fragrances wear quite well and are always conversation starters. Many of their scents are intense, so I recommend purchasing a discovery kit.
The Maker
All hits, no skips. I love The Maker. All of their scents are perfect and so wearable. They are quite buildable, and depending on the exact fragrance, I can get anywhere from 4-8 hours of wear. I find the brand to be quite unique in its approach, focusing on inspiring a sensual life, without inhibition. Something I can always get behind.
I received the discovery set as a gift from a dear friend and have been obsessed ever since. I particularly enjoy Fire, a smoky woody tobacco; Libertine, an aromatic citrus; and Wild, my most complimented scent, which is a sweet and clean citrus with woody notes. I really want a full size of something from the brand, but I've been having a hard time committing to just one because I love them all equally. I suppose I’ll just have to slowly grow my collection.
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