Last week I was in New York for ScentXplore. If you are anywhere on perfumetok or follow fragrance accounts on IG, you have probably already seen this show all over your feed. ScentXplore is an annual niche perfume convention where brands fly in from all over the world and set up booths of varying sizes and levels of fanciness. It is both B2B and B2C, which means store owners and consumers shop it side by side.
This was my first time attending. I am not even sure what “niche” means in perfume anymore, but this was not your LA Scent Week type of niche (put on by the incredible Institute of Art and Olfaction). ScentXplore includes huge well-known brands like Amouage and Memo alongside smaller houses I had never heard of, like Param Sara, which ended up being a standout for me. I still equate niche with small and independent, but here it seems to mean anything that is not a designer brand.
The event also includes a people’s choice awards, and I was honored to be nominated for outstanding written contribution. I did not win, but it meant so much to have strangers come up to tell me they voted for me. Meeting some of you in person was the real prize. Plus the award was large and spiky, and there was no way I would have gotten it through airport security. And no matter how much perfume I buy on any trip, I refuse to check a bag.
The best part of last week was doing what I always do in New York, which is hanging out at Stéle with Jake and Matt. They are incredible curators and you will find things there that you can’t smell anywhere else, it is such a treasure of a place. I also loved seeing all the perfume people I usually catch up with when I am in town, and it was a real highlight finally meeting some fragrance friends in person for the first time. The parties were fun, but the nerdy perfume conversations and genuine connections with friends were the highlight. And a quick note since there was a lot of confusion: I am not part of The Dry Down Club. Several people told me they bought tickets to their event thinking I was involved, so sorry about that mix-up, and please help me spread the word.
All the fragrance worlds converge at ScentXplore. I know this can feel like a small world but this event was a reminder that I inhabit a very small planet in this perfume universe. You will meet every kind of fraghead, perfumer, and content creator at ScentXplore. And it’s overwhelming and a bit jarring.
I did not fully understand that this was a consumer show going in. I was very grateful for a media badge that let me enter early each day. I tried to arrive right at 10 a.m., because by 12:30 it started to fill up, and by 2 p.m. it was almost impossible to get anywhere near a booth, let alone a perfumer or brand owner. And that is the real reason I wanted to attend ScentXplore.
I was not there to capture content or join the frenzy of buying, I am perfectly capable of doing that from my couch or in person at Stéle or Ministry of Scent. I went because I wanted to meet the perfumers and brand owners attending and learn their stories. That was the most satisfying part of the show for me. Those few quiet hours where I could walk around and smell in an uncrowded booth and really talk to the people and perfumers who dreamt up those brands. The joy of Dry Down is about connection for me and sharing the stories I uncover with you all.
Because brands were there to sell I didn’t want to push my way forward past paying customers to ask them questions. But in those lovely quiet hours before the madness descended I was able to talk to a few folks. Here are some I cherished.
I did buy a bottle from Meo Fusciuni, and talking to Giuseppe Imprezzabile, the founder and perfumer, ended up being one of the highlights of the show for me. He is from Sicily, where my mother and brother were born, and I loved hearing about the perfumes he created inspired by that place. His fragrances are unmatched and have a depth that is hard to describe. There is soul in those bottles that can’t be copied. Sweat and love and grit. And he is just such a kind, generous person to be around. A treasure.
I also had a truly special time talking to Céline Verleure, the founder of Olfactive Studio, a brand I have known about for a while but had never smelled through properly. She walked me through the entire line and shared some of the stories behind each scent. I love her concept of building each fragrance around a photograph, a theme that carries through to the bottle design, which is subtly reminiscent of cameras. She was a delight to talk to, and we ended up chatting about Brazil, where she lived for a while and even danced in Carnival. One of the best things I smelled at the show was a fragrance she has coming out next year called Sister Oud. She had a small sample bottle, and after she sprayed it on a strip for me, I asked if she could spray some on my skin. I huffed it all day until it finally faded many hours later. She has worked with some incredible perfumers, and of course my nose went straight to the Dominique Ropion creations in her line.
I had a great conversation with Dr.Mike, the founder behind Room 1015. He’s a very cool guy who grew up in France steeped in American culture. A bigger piece will be coming on him! I got some samples of their latest release, Electric Wood, which is a re-release of the very first fragrance they did, and it’s beautiful. I worn it on skin this week and it’s full bottle worthy for me. Perfumers are Amelie Bourgeois and Anne-Sophie Behaghel.
I was so happy that Arquiste was at the show. Incredible house and founder Carlos Huber is a delight to talk to. Their new release Nocturnality is Rodrigo Flores-Roux’s latest for the line and it is such a good leather scent, I may need a bottle of that one as well.
Some of the wonderful brand owners and perfumers I chatted with, all highlights of the show for me. I’ll share more about their lines in future Dry Down posts. From top Left: Curatrix founder, I believe her name is Heather - someone lmk! Sarah Baker has the best energy, Param Sara founder, Ankita Gill, you need to smell this line! Loved talking to the Punk & Dandy team, they have some really fun fragrances. House of Iyrah founder, I’ll share more from her line soon too. And finally, Elysian Perfumer founder Jessi Park.
New brand House of Cosmo had some fun ones, Lunar Minerale was my favorite. Teddy of Teddy the Perfumer fame is their Creative Director.
There was also an educational component to the show. I only caught David Seth Moltz and Michael Nordstrand’s talks, and both were great. I wish I had been able to see more of the programming, it felt like one of the most valuable parts of the event.
Favorite evening was Emma Vernon’s Hot Takes event at Stéle. You could really see Emma’s stand-up comedy roots come through when she hosts events and it was very fun to hear people’s hot takes (mine is below!).
Too many faces to include in this post! From left: Christina aka Tuna Smells Things and Angelique, Rachel of L’Epoque, Starr and Lola, and Justin Charles who just released his first three fragrances - they’re solid, get your nose on them!
I ended the week in the most perfect way that completely centered me, a nice long dinner with one of my favorite perfume people, Michael Nordstrand, who will be doing an advice column here in the new year! Of course he took me to a place called Iris, which was delicious.
Do I need to go to ScentXplore again? Probably not. Is it a great week with a ton of perfume people in NY? For sure. I can’t tell you to not have fomo but I can underscore that the best thing about this week was connecting with amazing people who share this same weird obsession, and at the end of the day you can do that anywhere.
Here’s the hot take I read at Emma’s event in case you’re interested!
There is no right or wrong way to collect perfume. None.
You don’t need to know all the notes or memorize perfumers’ résumés. You don’t need to chase every new launch. And we really need to stop policing each other.
Listen to people you trust. But don’t follow anybody’s rules but your own.
You want to be a smaple queen and grow your collection that way? god speed
You want to only buy designer and all the gourmands? go forth
You’re intro stinky rare niche stuff because it genuinely makes you happy and you love the weird shit? have fun!
You want to blind buy a $300 bottle? spend your money the way you want to.
You want a signature scent and nothing else? That is not wrong.
All of this is supposed to bring us joy in a world that is on fucking fire. So let’s not judge each other for what we love, how we collect, or whether we accept free stuff from brands and then review it. (That one’s personal.) And while I’m at let’s just be nice to each other online and not police each other there either. We can educate each other, but we don’t need to shame each other.
I have enough people in my life who don’t understand my growing collection. I need the people inside this crazy, beautiful fragrance world to be kind to one another. Go smell shit and be happy!
I will never be going again but it was lovely to see you!!
I would have been on my feet after you read your hot take, clapping and woohoo'ing like crazy.