perfume curation

Perfume Edit: The Horse Stable

by Aubrey Allison

Parfum d’Empire Ruade is the perfect balance of an authentically equestrian scent with wearability and sophistication. Oud and leather are supported by hay and narcissus, for a scent that is just the right amount of animalic.

Sarah Baker Bascule is the horsiest of this bunch. Imagine nuzzling your nose into a fresh peach, inhaling the fuzzy ripe scent – now replace the peach with a horse’s coat. The earthy, leathery barnyard hay is softened and lightened with the scent of the sun-ripened fruit.

With Naomi Goodsir Corpus Equus, we’re in a horse stable, but it’s the set of a fashion editorial. The leathery patina is there, along with a smoke-and-ash facet. Settled quietly underneath is something cool and soft, like rosewater, that keeps the animalic notes from overpowering. This is not so much the scent of a horse stable or an open field, but rather the scent of an enigmatic person who moves through those spaces and has an understated yet distinctive style all her own.

Francesca Bianchi The Black Knight is an epic tale of medieval knights camped before battle: the leather of horse tacks, the smoke of campfires wafting over wild flora. The heart of this perfume is a waxy, powdery rose.

Parfumerie Generale Arabian Horse paints a scene: an early morning, cool mist lingering over the dewy, sweet grass of the open countryside. You can smell the suede-like warmth of the horse under you and the freshly-turned earth under its hooves.

Andy Tauer Lonestar Memories evokes a cowboy atmosphere. Its clary sage and geranium are herby and green, while carrot seed is earthy and warm. Cedar, vetiver, and birch tar bring woody, grassy, and smoky notes to this dry, resinous perfume.

Photo by Oleksii Piekhov via unsplash

Perfume Pairings for Pantone’s 2024 Color of the Year: Peach Fuzz

by Aubrey Allison

These perfumes feature prominent peach notes and fit Pantone’s characterization of the color, which includes words such as gentle, tenderness, sanctuary, warm and cozy, wellbeing, sweet and airy, quietly sophisticated, clean, and nurturing.

The soothing peach priestess, Frassai Tian Di is a peach pit carved from ivory wood, tendrils of incense smoke rising. self-assured and calming.


L’Artisan Parfumeur À Fleur de Pêche is the gentle scent of peach skin with airy jasmine and a soft, subtly earthy wood base.


Keiko Mecheri Peau de Pêche clean and soft, this perfume is like rubbing your nose on the fuzzy skin of an underripe peach. orris gives it an earthy-clean powdery texture.


In Les Bains Guerbois 2013 Residence d’Artistes, peach, mandarin, jasmine, and violet combine for a heart that is both a juicy fruity-floral but also restrained and sophisticated. cardamom and cumin bring a smooth spiced aspect, while a subtle patchouli-leather accord adds depth and richness. the scent is rounded out with clean musks, soft sandalwood, and a papyrus note that blends the texture into something more smooth and dry than the sum of its notes. lovely.


Shay & Blue White Peaches is the most straightforwardly sweet of this set. clean, cool, peachy sweetness, like ice granita. birch wood tempers the sweetness with gentle structure.

A Wedding Perfume for M & J

by Aubrey Allison

In early 2020, I had the joyful assignment of selecting some curated perfume sample options for a couple who was engaged to get married in the desert near Santa Fe. They wanted to both wear the same perfume on their wedding day, which I love. Like many couples, the pandemic changed their plans, and although they didn’t get married in the desert as planned, the perfume they selected brought the feeling of their Southwest vision back into their wedding day in Portland, Oregon. Profumum Roma Arso, which they were able to pick up at their local perfume shop Fumerie, is dry woodsmoke and incense, comforting cedar and pine.

Congratulations to the wonderful couple M & J, and I hope this striking scent will bring back wedding memories for years to come!

Wedding Perfumes for C & K

by Aubrey Allison

Last weekend two of my best friends got married, and I had the pleasure of helping them pick out their wedding perfumes.

Katy wore Arquiste Flor y Canto, a lovely white floral that is at once heady and airy. The bouquet of plumeria, magnolia, and tuberose sits atop a soft, slightly sweet, resinous base of copal incense—pretty with a subtle air of ceremony, perfectly suited for this elegant, joyful, gorgeous bride on her wedding day. Connor wore Arquiste ÉL, a bold, spicy fougère with an earthy richness and a bit of an animalic-musky edge—perfect for this handsome groom who tore up the dance floor at the reception.

We knew their scents would need to stay pleasant in the heat (their wedding day was 110 degrees F!), so we were mindful of that when selecting their perfumes. These two fragrances were perfect, and will bring the newlyweds scent memories of their wedding day for years to come. Congratulations to Connor and Katy!

Curated Perfume Sample Set: Rose

by Aubrey Allison
perfume samples with a vintage illustration of a rose

Recently I put together a perfume sample set for my friend, a gift for his wife as they are both now fully vaccinated and celebrating getting back out into the world. They were looking for a naturalistic rose perfume currently available in the US, with a budget limit of $190 for a full bottle. I had a lot of fun with this assignment—I don’t usually seek out rose perfumes for myself, so I discovered some beautiful perfumes in the process.

The biggest revelation for me was the house Perris Monte Carlo, which I had never tried before but found at Indigo Perfumery. Their Rose de Mai and Rose de Taif are platonic ideals of rose scents, lifelike and pitch-perfect. Rose de Mai is delicate where Rose de Taif is richer, spicier.

Masque Milano Love Kills is a bit darker in mood, inspired by the life and death of a rose stem in a vase. 

Ormonde Jayne Ta’if is a sweet rose with orange blossom, candied yet still fresh. 

Chronotope Perfume Spite EdT is a green rose garden with wings of leather and burned sugar. 

Hendley Perfume Rosenthal is a woody rose with wisps of incense. 

Essential Parfums Rose Magnetic is a light daytime rose with grapefruit, soft woods, and a whisper of mint. 

Villa des Parfums Toujours Espoir is a big floral charmer of a perfume, petally with peony and jasmine alongside rose. I was also able to include an assortment of rose materials—oils, absolutes, and accords—I had kept from an online event with Villa des Parfums through Tigerlily Perfumery, a perfect supplement to an assortment of rose perfumes.

Lastly, I like to include a perfume that’s somewhat adjacent to the actual assignment, for fun and because sometimes it opens up a whole new avenue you didn’t know you wanted to go down. So I included Arquiste ELLA, a beautiful chypre with a rose-jasmine heart. The brand story features a ‘70s disco queen, which is a fun take on the celebratory occasion for this set, but also, ELLA is a lovely, subtly earthy floral perfume that deepens into a beach-vacation skin scent. Plus I got to include its corresponding “masculine” perfume, EL, a bold fougère—in case my friends want a “his and hers” set!

What rose perfumes would you include in a sample set?

Perfume Vibe: Beach Vacation

by Aubrey Allison

Perfumes to help you pretend you’re on a beach vacation.


Heeley Sel Marin is the first whiff you catch of the ocean when you arrive. Salt and sand, carried to you on a breeze. Wade into the waves and smell Profumum Roma Acqua di Sale, salty seaweed and ocean brine. For a softer take, try Hilde Soliani Acquiilssssima: seaweed and jasmine green tea. Your skin will smell like Arquiste Sydney Rock Pool, traces of coconut suntan lotion mixing with the salt water, warmed by the sun. Spread out your towel on a sun chair and the air smells like Heeley Coccobello: coconut, unsweetened, with touches of vanilla, subdued beachy florals in the salty air. 🌊 🏝

In the evening, you might put on Aftelier Parfum Privé, lush, soft, and romantic with tropical florals and a setting sun. Or you might reach for Fzotic Unsettled, the creamiest sandalwood over a relaxing pineapple and black tea accord. Wear Nishane Fan Your Flames if you want to smell like piña colada, but make it fashion—a generous pour of rum, with tobacco and coconut. For dessert, Pink MahogHany Pas Encore Nommé: pineapple cream topped with malted sugar. 🍍

Finally, my favorite part of a beach vacation, which I’m evoking through generous sprays of Pierre Guillaume Poudre de Riz: The Nap. Late afternoon, post-beach and post-shower. The lights are off and the shades are drawn, but natural light suffuses dimly into the room. The sun’s warmth still radiates from your skin, but the hotel towels and bedsheets are cool, and clean, and starched white. There is no nap more restful than this one.