Perfume Room

LEGEND, ICON, FOUNDER KILIAN HENNESSY is in the Perfume Room this week! Heir to the Hennessy dynasty, Kilian has given new meaning to the family name: PERFUME.

Founded almost two decades ago, Kilian Parfums was one of the early luxury niche brands to emerge, and one that's shaped and laid the blueprint for so many brands that have followed.

Today we chat about everything from his family, to his unlikely path to perfumery, what it takes for him to launch a new fragrance, the discontinued gems of Kilian Parfums, the current amber woods epidemic, and so much more.

Full video coming later this week on Substack!

SOTD: Kilian Sparkling Royal

FRAGS MENTIONED: Kilian: A Taste of Heaven, Light My Fire, Amber Oud, Rose Oud, Back to Black, Angels' Share, Liaisons Dangereuses, Love Don’t Be Shy, Straight to Heaven; Baccarat Rouge 540, Le Labo Santal 33, Creed Aventus, Mugler Angel, Dior: Eau Sauvage, Jules; Chanel Pour Homme, Antaeus, Ralph Lauren Polo, Guerlain Vetiver, Kilian Dark Lord, Dior Fahrenheit, Kenzo Kashaya, Cacharel Anaïs Anaïs, Issey Miyake L’Eau d’Issey, Dior: Poison, Dune, Fahrenheit, Dolce Vita; Paco Rabanne Ultraviolet, Alexander McQueen Kingdom, Armani Mania, J’Adore Dior, Mugler Angel, Jean Paul Gaultier Le Male, L'Eau d'Issey, Kilian: Piña Paraíso, Midnight Espresso, Sparkling Royal, Eau Sauvage

FOLLOW: @kilianhennessy | @kilianparis

FOR PERFUME ROOM UPDATES + EVENTS: linktr.ee/emmavern

JOHN EARLY AND RUBY McCOLLISTER ARE IN THE PERFUME ROOM THIS WEEK!!!!

We're chatting Maddie's Secret (the film!), Maddie's Secret (the scent!), the history of cola, John's personal journey into perfume (one Ruby shepherded), and Ruby's lifelong love affair with fragrance that all started with her mother. And of course, all roads lead to Marissa Zappas!!

FOLLOW: @bejohnce @ruby.mccollister @maddiessecretedp

SOTD: Maddie's Secret EDP

⁠SHOP MADDIE'S SECRET⁠ (10% off with code 'perfumeroom')

FRAGS MENTIONED:

Marissa Zappas Tragedy Oil, Mondo Mondo Patchouli Palace, Radi$h Maddie’s Secret EDP, Malin & Goetz Cilantro, Unreleased Cigarette After Love, Fendi Asja, Robert Piguet Bandit, Heretic: Nosferatu, 'Til Death; Nostos Calico, Evyan White Shoulders

Thank you to this month's sponsor: Essential Parfums!

A perfume industry vet, Géraldine Archambault KNOWS the essentials.

In fact, she's built a global luxury fragrance brand around them: high-quality ingredients, top-tier perfumers, a diverse offering of fragrances, and most importantly: affordability.

HOW? In this episode, the Essential Parfums founder shares exactly how she cracked the code to offer niche, luxury scents at prices well below all of her competition.

FULL VIDEO EP: https://perfumeroom.substack.com/p/full-video-ep-222-essential-parfums

Get 10% off Essential Parfums:

luckyscent.com (code: perfumeroom)

twistedlily.com (code: perfumeroom10)

FOLLOW: @essential.parfums

FRAGS MENTIONED:

Frederic Malle for Acne Studios (SOTD), Essential Parfums: Ambre Latte, Divine Vanille; Shiseido Feminité Du Bois, Serge Lutens Feminité Du Bois, Guerlain Samsara, Parfums Aubusson, YSL Libre, Essential Parfums: Velvet Iris, Neroli Botanica, Rose Magnetic, Ambre Latte, Fig Infusion, Bois Impériale

~This ep is generously BTYB this month's sponsor: Essential Parfums~

Are you using your perfume powers for good or evil?

Certified *perfume shop girl* and Nose Candy pod co-host Chloe Coover breaks down your biggest perfume-shopping faux pas, the bottles she's emptied, holes in her collection, the scents that define her, her high school persona and how it shaped her taste, and so0o0 much more.

FOLLOW CHLOE: @trannehathaway @nosecandypod

ESSENTIAL PARFUMS EVENTS! linktr.ee/emmavern

FRAGS MENTIONED: Guerlain L'Heure Bleue 2026 (SOTD)

Dolly Parton Dolly, Eight & Bob Original, Caswell Massey Sandalwood, Axe, Liis Flower Glyph, Guerlain Mitsouko, Rochas Tocade, Halston, Kilian L’Heure Verte (now known as Fievre Verte), Stora Skuggan Hexensalbe, Kerosene Black Vines, Parfums de Nicolai Vanille Tonka, Akro Crush, L'Eopque Dopamine Rose, Oriza L. Legrand Horizon, Hollywood Gifts Centerfold, Serge Lutens: Ambre Sultan, Fleur d’Oranger, Fils de Joie; Stora Skuggan Mistpouffer (empty #1), Jorum Studio Gorseland (empty #2), Marc-Antoine Barrois: Aldebaran, Tilia; Robert Piguet Fracas (empty #3)

In search of the next great aromachemical (think of predecessors like ISO E Super, Cashmeran, Galaxolide, etc...), Patina Co-Founders Sean Raspet and Laura Sisson spend their days in the lab testing and developing new molecules. What does that mean? What is scent design and how does it work?

And—in the same way every color has its own immutable RGB code, can we empiricize smells? Laura and Sean hope to do just that.

FRAGS MENTIONED:

Dior Thé Cachemire (SOTD), Chambre52 Contra Ta Peau, Guerlain L'Heure Bleue (2026), Zoologist Squid, Viktor & Rolf Spicebomb, Tauer L'Air du Desert Marocain, Frederic Malle Carnal Flower, Anti Rosa Antiqua, Patina: Metalox, Olivine, Ozocure, Ocean Simulation, Peppercess, Silterra; Chanel No. 5, Patina Nopalia

Logos, slogans, jingles--they all matter, but Beauty Exec-turned-Founder Caroline Fabrigas knows that the next (and most impactful) frontier in branding is scent.

Through her company Scent Marketing Inc., she's developed everything from iconic hotel scents (The 1 Hotel, Baccarat Hotel, and Auberge Resorts), to retail spaces, med spas, amusement park rides—even 20 blocks of 5th Avenue.

Where money can be spent, scent can be smelled.

Today we chat about scent as a means of branding, how Caroline got into this business, and how she reimagines her client's brands through the lens of smell.

scentmarketinginc.com | ⁠scentfluence.com⁠ | @scentmarketinginc

SOTD: Chambre 52 Contre Ta Peau (get 10% off LuckyScent sample with code: perfumeroom)

BOOK A SCENT STYLING SESSION W ME: linktr.ee/emmavern

FRAGS MENTIONED:

Chambre 52 Contre Ta Peau, Penhaligon's Fortuitous Finley, Comme des Garcons Odeur du Theatre du Chatelet Act I, Headspace Sauge, La Perla Once Upon a Garden, Celine Saint-Germain-Des-Prés, Dior Bois D'Argent, Abercrombie Fierce, Hollister Socal, Wayfair Perfect Weekend, Dior Eau Sauvage, Estée Lauder: Youth Dew, Cinnabar; Revlon Charlie, The One Hotel signature scent, Guerlain Shalimar, Chopard Casmir

Within hours of launch, Influxious sold out of all inventory on Sephora.com. The next day it sold out again on the Influxious site. The visionary behind this booming and blooming brand? It's the one, the only, Queen-of-PerfumeTok-turned-Founder, Funmi Monet of course.

She's in the Perfume Room this week sharing the behind-the-scenes of building her brand, the importance of picking the right partners, the double standard she faces as a Black-owned perfume house, the *sheinification* of TikTok, and what the future holds.

SOTDs:

Gap Dream (2026) and Fragrancias Pittoro Pittoro de Mango

FRAGS MENTIONED:

Influxious Gold Standard, High life, Well Loved, Magic Hour; MFK Baccarat Rouge 540, Kayali Yum Boujee Marshmallow, Le Labo Santal 33

BOOK A SCENT STYLING SESSION WITH ME: linktr.ee/emmavern

Julien Rasquinet, Senior Perfumer at CPL Aromas, had an incredibly fortuitous path to perfumery, and it began with a chance meeting at an airport.

Today, he is one of the most prolific and successful perfumers of all time, and when you hear his story, you'll understand why.

We chat about creating the perfect rose, where AI falls short, his least favorite kind of client briefs, the behind-the-scenes stories of your (my) fave perfumes, and how following his nose across the world led him to exactly where he was meant to be [our perfume shelves!].

SOTD: Veronique Gabai Noire de Mai

FRAG MENTIONED: Nishane Thorns become Roses, Estée Lauder Pleasures, Dior J’Adore, Davidoff Cool Water, BDK Tabac Rose, Naomi Goodsir: Iris Cendre, Bois d’Ascese, Cuir Velours; Creed Royal Oud

SMELL CLUB: summerinabottle.eventbrite.com

BOOK A SCENT STYLING SESSION: stele.nyc/products/scent-styling-emma-vernon

EDITOR NOTE: In 2025, Perfumer/Founder Maya Njie released a perfume called Aethi Opum, inspired by her own Gambian and Senegalese roots, with a gowé accord. The idea of gowé was something she had discussed with CPL Aromas a few years prior.

Fragrance and fashion legend Narciso Rodriguez joins me in the Perfume Room this week!!!! (REQUIRED LISTENING.)

Two-time recipient of the CFDA Womenswear Designer of the Year as well as the Lifetime Achievement Award AND recipient of 2003 TFA Best New Fragrance Award (for For Her) (among many others), Narciso has received the highest honors for his contributions in both industries. He is able to capture important moments in time in ways that transcend it. Some of his most seminal creations include Carolyn Bessette Kennedy's wedding gown, Michelle Obama's 2008 Election Night dress, and in fragrance, For Her, which is largely credited with modernizing musk for the 21st century.

Today we chat about everything from how he cultivated his own signature (and what that signature is), to how his fashion and fragrance sensibilities are one in the same, his special friendship with CBK and what the media has gotten right and wrong,some never-before-told behind-the-scenes stories surrounding the creation of Narciso Rodriguez fragrances, and of course, what lies ahead.

Ed. Note: I'M STILL NOT OVER THIS EPISODE!!

FOLLOW: @narciso_rodriguez

FRAGS MENTIONED:

Capucci Pour Homme, Lagerfeld For Men, Narciso Rodriguez For Her, JPG Le Male, Narciso Rodriguez Poudree, Egyptian musk oil, Jovan Musk, Narciso Rodriguez: Pure Musc, Essence, Musc Noir 

SOTD: Voyage D'Hermes

SCENT STYLING STELE (Aug 2): linktr.ee/emmavern

Husband-and-wife duo Isaac Lekach and Lillian Shalom have spent the past few years developing fragrances for other brands. With El Morocco Perfumery, it's finally their turn.

In an attempt to recreate the magic of cafe society (and the legendary club for which the brand is named), the pair approached this project like archivists, collecting every handkerchief, matchbook, and photo they could get their hands on. What began as a mission to be historically accurate became a reimagining of what fragrance bottle and packaging design could be.

FRAGS MENTIONED:

El Morocco Perfumery: Gala, Highball for Lucius B; Escentric Molecules Molecule 01, Animale Animale, Mugler Angel for Men, Stork Club, El Morocco Perfumery: 154, Gala, Highball for Lucius B, Lulu’s Back in Town, Two Cigarettes in the Dark

SOTD: Future Society Rain Tea

BOOK A SCENT CONSULT W ME: linktr.ee/emmavern