A Return to Taste: Inside the World of Serviette
Trey Taylor’s fragrance line invites curiosity and reflection, and the smells are solid.
Before I get into my thoughts on Serviette, I wanted to share this interview I did with
for her Substack, How to Do the Pot. I had a lot of fun chatting with her. I also appreciated this piece by on why we should be celebrating teen boys obsessed with scent. I have so many new scents to share with you all from my travels to LA and NY this month. Looking forward to revealing some new personal favorites soon. 💕In a world overflowing with new fragrance launches, I find myself drawn to the ones with a clear narrative—a throughline that hints at what the brand is trying to say. It doesn’t have to be obvious (and yes, the juice itself always comes first), but I love understanding the inspiration behind a new brand and the fragrances they release. Why did this need to be in the world?
Serviette, the newly launched fragrance line from Trey Taylor, a former Dazed editor and cultural critic with a deep fascination for class, taste, and storytelling, does just that. Serviette is a line of four scents that are equal parts poetic and playful. Taylor learned perfumery during the pandemic, teaching himself through scent trials and obsessive research. He eventually trained under Brooklyn-based and beloved indie perfumer Marissa Zappas and built a circle of indie fragrance mentors to help sharpen his craft.
Serviette explores class and taste and also kind of makes a joke of it all. It asks us to examine how taste is formed, signaled, and sold to us and then encourages us to be our own arbiters of cool. It’s camp luxury with a wink.
The name “Serviette” itself is a nod to Nancy Mitford’s essay on U vs. Non-U English—who says “napkin” vs. “serviette” being shorthand for class. Each bottle arrives with an embroidered linen square, meant to be spritzed and waved like a Victorian calling card. I love the drama of that. I also loved learning (on this episode of Tasteland) that the green color of the brand was inspired by a fabric called baize, which was originally used on pool tables and on the doors of mansions to soundproof rich people’s living quarters from their servant’s living quarters. Trey was very interested in “class dynamics and power and the upstairs-downstairs of it all,” and I love how there’s a nod to that in so many subtle ways. It makes me think about our consumption of fragrance and the barriers to entry there are for so many people based on the price of high-end scents. It’s like we’re in on the joke but also the butt of it.
Serviette isn’t trying to be for everyone, just people with good taste. I’m drawn to the well-designed bottles and packaging. Opening the discovery set was delightful and felt special. I love a good-looking logo and a well-thought-out brand. Serviette’s website is, of course, well-designed, and I love their Instagram, which gives us these fun mood boards for all of the fragrances.
Of course, some of you just care how it smells. André and I smelled through the discovery set together and below is our take on each scent. I had more time with these as I went to the launch party for Serviette and wore all of them (except Sour Diesel). I’m happy to report that the fragrances are just as solid as the concept for this line. I’d wear 3 out of the 4, and welcome them all into my collection!
Byronic Hero
I love this one. I would own a full bottle and regularly wear it. This is my kind of fragrance, a jammy thick rose with a little kick from the clove and some excellent dirtiness from the patchouli, oud, and diesel. This one wears nicely on my skin. André said he didn’t connect with anything here, called it slightly sweet and soft (!), and said he prefers Sour Diesel to it. At least I know he won’t be using my bottle when I eventually buy it.
Top: Clove, Saffron
Middle: Rose, Fir Balsam
Base: Oud, Patchouli, Diesel Exhaust
Frisson D’Hiver
Frisson D’Hiver is a fresh blast of cool air. I really like this one too. André had a big reaction to this one, he thought it smelled like soap, but elevated. He also said, “This one immediately took me to Brazilian cleaning products—like walking into a freshly mopped kitchen. It’s super clean and soapy, with a weird but pleasant brightness. There’s a tiny hint of B.O. in there too, but it works.” This is his favorite of the four. Of course, I like the white florals peeking out in this one. It’s sweet and refreshing, and it does feel cold but in a bright way if that makes sense. This one was inspired by Trey’s childhood growing up in the Canadian Rocky Mountains.
Top: Ice, Bergamot, Orange Blossom
Middle: Lily of the Valley, Rose, Jasmine
Base: Labdanum, Vanilla, White Musk
Sour Diesel
Sour Diesel is sharp and green. André said all he could smell was diesel, and I wondered how much that was the power of suggestion from the name. I got a deep piney tartness that pretty immediately goes to weed. This is the only scent in the line I can’t see myself wearing. But it’s also the best cannabis fragrance I have ever smelled.
Top: Rhubarb, Pink Pepper
Middle: Egyptian Geranium, Juniper Berry, Kush
Base: Patchouli, Cedar, Sandalwood
Ruche
I love Ruche. Maybe it’s the patchouli and sandalwood that draws me in. It opens fresh, crisp, and green to me. André thought all of the four felt cold and sharp, but he thought Ruche had the hardest edges. I like the sweetness of the raspberry in this one, again balanced with a nice spicy kick. And the woodiness really comes out on my skin.
Top: Black Pepper, Pink Pepper, Nutmeg
Middle: Galbanum, Raspberry
Base: Patchouli, Sandalwood
Have you smelled Serviette yet? Tell me what you think! You know I live for your comments.
Ooooh this brand sounds fun! Hope it'll come to the UK soon. And thank you very much for the shout-out xxx
Can’t wait to pass by Stéle to try these