The past year has been packed with new launches, with both new additions to some of our long-time favourite brands and new brands that were highly requested to be added to our roster by our clientele.
Fragrance
Join us Friday, Dec. 2nd for an upbeat meet-and-greet with Imaginary Authors founder & perfumer Josh Meyer!
Chat with the perfumer, enjoy exclusive gifts with any Imaginary Authors purchase, and sip a signature cocktail inspired by “In Love With Everything.”
1826 Sherbrooke St. W, Montréal, QC
December 2nd, 5:00pm – 7:00pm
As you might know, each Imaginary Authors fragrance is framed as the scent of an imaginary novel. And to understand the pleasures of their newest fragrance “In Love With Everything“, it helps to look at a real-life work of art: the musical “Xanadu”. I’m not talking about the famously-failed movie musical starring the late, great Olivia Newton-John. Instead, this fragrance reminds me of the film’s surprise-hit Broadway musical adaptation.
You’ll be forgiven if you haven’t heard of either; the original “Xanadu” movie was famously bad. While the soundtrack by E.L.O. became a hit, its perception as a campy failure was so universal it heralded the end of glossy musical film productions for decades. On the other hand, “Xanadu: The Musical” was a 2007 Broadway adaptation which tried to capitalize on the delightful excess of its source material. It was a parade of deliberately over-the-top scenes and cheesy musical numbers, mostly performed on roller skates. The plot of the musical parodied the film’s preposterous storyline: a Greek muse helping a hunky artist to open an L.A. nightclub. It worked: the production was so committed to the joys of a guilty pleasure that it flew past irony and looped back around to life-affirming. While the original film inspired the Golden Raspberry Awards (which honour the “worst” of that year’s cinema), “Xanadu: The Musical” was nominated for a Tony for Best New Musical.
To us, this is what’s going on in “In Love With Everything”. The fragrance is an electrifying shot of eighties breakfast orange juice, raspberry jam, and intergalactic roses. Instead of elevating its ingredients, it exaggerates them for maximum pleasure. The result: a fragrance which flies past guilty pleasure and into something even more joyful. Once the tart, pulpy opening eventually dissipates like so much roller-disco fog, it reveals a glow-in-the-dark, arcade-birthday-party warmth. That warmth feels naggingly familiar, evoking the nostalgia of unnamed childhood sense memories. Is it the “stardust” note? Or perhaps the “tropical punch” accord? Impossible to say.
Aspects like these are called “fantasy accords” in the fragrance world, and are one of the trademarks of the work of Josh Meyer, the Portland-based perfumer who founded Imaginary Authors. They usually consist of a cocktail of synthetic molecules meant to evoke a place, texture, or even an emotion. Classic examples of this include “amber” (a fantasy accord imagining the scent of the fossilized resin, not to be confused with ambergris) and home scents which describe their scent as “clean linen” (an object which likely smells mainly like the laundry detergent it’s washed with, or even like nothing at all).
Including these accords in a list of notes doesn’t describe a fragrance’s actual ingredients so much as it offers another dimension of storytelling. Meyer often challenges you to imagine aromas that are tactile and conceptual: Fresh Tennis Balls (“The Soft Lawn”), Warm Sand (“Falling into the Sea”), Arpora Night Market (“Slow Explosions”), Baltic Sea Mist (“Every Sea a Serenade”), Orchard Dust (“Yesterday Haze”), Salvaged Shipwreck (“Whispered Myths”), First Kiss (“Sundrunk”), and even simply “???” (“O Unknown”). If a list of notes is like a Table of Contents for the fragrance, why not make the chapter titles as evocative as possible?
Like Meyer’s other scents, “In Love With Everything” achieves the sensation of entering a vivid imaginary world. The fragrance embodies the gleeful, spandex-futuristic visions of the early 80’s (or 90’s, for that matter – or any stretch of time when the sensory world could feel genuinely new). Maybe it even smells a bit like the feeling of surging adolescence. Either way, with its refreshing, mind-bending wearability, it shows “bad taste” doesn’t really exist and that a “guilty pleasure” is only a state of mind. After all, who can resist the pure, ecstatic, dopey joy of musical lyrics like these:
“I’m alive / and the dawn breaks across the sky / I’m alive / and the sun rises up so high / Lost in another world / Never another word / But what can I say? / I’m alive! / I’m alive! / I’m alive!”
The crisp and cozy fall weather has arrived, and the team at Etiket is, of course, full of product recommendations for the seasonal change. Find out what staples make up some of our staff’s beauty, skincare and fragrance daily rituals.
Shop these products online at etiket.ca or stop by our boutique!
As the world rediscovers the joy of travel, we decided to curate our summer sample pack with fragrances that not only are perfect for warmer weather, but also transport us to fascinating destinations around the world.
Whether evoking the coconut, vanilla and wild gardenias of the Seychelles, the coniferous mountain forests of Alberta, the yuzu-studded steam baths of Kyoto or the Victorian violet gardens of the United Kingdom, our picks for summer scents are a gateway to fragrant frontiers near and far, while also serving as the perfect scent pairings for sunny summer fun.
FRAGRANT DESTINATIONS | Summer Sample Pack
Try our 10-scent itinerary and embark on a journey of fragrant discovery. Features 0.7ml samples of our top 10 scents for summer.
Perfume is a luxury. And on days like Earth Day, when we audit the necessities and excesses of our lifestyle and their effects on the health of the planet, it can seem like luxuries are, by definition, out of sync with the natural world.
However, there are fragrance brands making steps to work within the bounds of nature. Some produce perfume using only plant-based materials. Others have spearheaded initiatives in favour of sustainable production and radical transparency.
Read on for a list of all-natural and sustainable brands, as well as a curated list of their scents we think you’ll love.
ALL NATURAL PERFUME BRANDS
ABEL
Abel is the ultimate intersection of art, ethics and natural science.
Following a failed search for a natural perfume that was chic, modern and long lasting, Abel was founded in Amsterdam by New Zealander Frances Shoemack with a simple goal – to create the world’s best natural perfume.
Abel is made of 100% natural ingredients. Rather than clouding your personality with a consistent intensity, the beauty of all natural ingredients is their evolution on your skin, working with the natural chemistry of your body to create a unique scent.
Abel believes in the power and beauty of scent, and its ability to enrich daily life in a way nothing else can. Their scents prove that indulgence doesn’t need to have a negative impact on the earth, its inhabitants, or you.
HIRAM GREEN
Since 2013, Canadian-born perfumer Hiram Green creates handcrafted fragrances made exclusively from natural materials.
All fragrances are developed and produced in small batches by Hiram in his perfume studio in Gouda, The Netherlands. He believes that natural fragrances need not be instantly recognizable as natural, or have less intensity or silllage than traditional perfumes.
His vibrant compositions have been praised by perfume experts and enthusiasts alike. Each Hiram Green scent is proof that polished, world-class perfume can be made solely from natural ingredients.
SUSTAINABLE INITIATIVES
HERMETICA
Hermetica is a collection of molecular fragrances inspired by the ancient practice of alchemy. Hermetica founders John and Clara Molloy created the brand on a foundation of sustainable manufacturing and ingredient transparency. Their bottles are made from recycled glass, and their boxes are made from biodegradable, recycled paper and zero plastic.
In addition, Hermetica has partenered with Planète Urgence, the French environmental non-profit organization, to finance the planting of more than 5,000 trees in Madagascar and Indonesia. With every purchase, you will be supporting reforestation programs in the region.
Hermetica uses a blend of natural and molecular ingredients, and features a unique raw material index on their website which catalogs every ingredient in their formulations (a rarity in perfume).
MAISON CRIVELLI
Maison Crivelli is a new French perfume house practicing a philosophy of slow perfume. Their scents showcase classic ingredients in surprising new blends, resulting in groundbreaking new synaesthetic scent experiences.
Their fragrances are bottled in eco-responsible packaging, with an eye to reduce waste. They use 100% cardboard boxes without plastic, hand crafted and created from artistic FSC Italian paper, and wrap them in biodegradable cellophane which is produced from wood.
Their founder Thibaud Crivelli’s long experience with sourcing natural raw materials led him to support the Cœur de Forêt (Heart of the Forest) association, which supports the sustainable farming of patchouli in Indonesia. For every purchase of 3 bottles, Maison Crivelli finances the planting of one sustainable patchouli cutting.
GOLDFIELD & BANKS
Goldfield & Banks is the first luxury perfume house in Australia. It was founded to represent the majestic, varied landscapes the country is known for, as well as showcase the indispensable natural raw materials they produce, such as sandalwood, buddha wood, boronia, blue cypress, wattle (mimosa), and even oud.
Working closely with Australian farmers, they prize traceability and quality in their materials. Their fragrances and ingredients are cruelty free and child labor free. Their bottles feature wooden caps made of repurposed driftwood, and are packaged in FSC paper boxes with biodegradable cellophane.
NATURE-CONSCIOUS SCENTS TO TRY
Fresh: Tauer – Cologne du Maghreb (all-natural fragrance)
Green: Heeley – Vetiver Veritas (all-natural fragrance)
Citrus: Maison Crivelli – Citrus Batikanga (eco-conscious brand)
Classic Floral: Hiram Green – Moon Bloom (all-natural brand)
Modern Floral: Hermetica – Peonypop (eco-conscious brand)
Fresh Woody: Abel – Green Cedar (all-natural brand)
Rich Woody: Goldfield & Banks – Silky Woods (eco-conscious brand)
Musky: Abel – Cyan Nori (all-natural brand)
Sweet: Hiram Green – Slow Dive (all-natural brand)
Scents can lift the spirit, bring back memories, and carve out moments of reflection, connection, and joy. For this Mother’s Day, we’ve selected a variety of products both nostalgic and forward thinking, and for both the body and home. From upgrades of classic perfume styles to new flights of fragrant fancy, these are sure to delight, surprise, and show how much you care.
Shop these gift ideas online at etiket.ca or stop by the store!
Scents have the magical ability to collect memories, framing moments in time like an invisible scrapbook which reopens the moment you take a sniff. For this reason, wearing a new fragrance can be the perfect way to turn the page on a new season, perspective, or outlook on where we’re headed.
Our top 10 scents this spring share an energizing, vibrant quality, perfect for clearing cobwebs and conjuring an optimistic outlook. Featuring a variety of raw materials in relatively lighter compositions, they’re perfect for the warm-but-not-yet-steamy days to come.
SPRING SCENTS SAMPLE PACK
Our favourite scents for spring share an energizing, vibrant quality, perfect for clearing cobwebs and conjuring an optimistic outlook. Sample the fragrances mentioned in this blog post by purchasing our Spring Refresh Sample Pack!
Known for her avant-garde silhouettes and flashes of punk-infused fantasy, the aesthetic world of Naomi Goodsir balances inspiration with French savoir-faire. Founded in 2012, her namesake collection of perfume extends her uncompromising vision and impeccable craftsmanship to the realm of fragrance. These are statement perfumes of the highest order, and must be experienced to be believed.
Unique, polished and achingly beautiful, the fragrances of Naomi Goodsir are not for smelling like everyone else. However, for those willing to take the plunge, they are sure to hypnotize and delight all who enter their trail.
EXPERTLY ECCENTRIC
Founder Naomi Goodsir is a true original. Born in Sydney, Australia, avant-garde milliner Naomi Goodsir has created pieces for the English National Opera and Kanye West’s eponymous label, and has been exhibited by museums around the world. With creative director Renaud Coutaudier, she crafts perfumes as detailed and unmistakeable as her accessories, in collaboration with perfumers such as Julien Rasquinet, Bertrand Duchaufour and Isabelle Doyen. Her collection is an idiosyncratic olfactory ecosystem, full of emotion and mysterious textures.
THE COLLECTION
“Bois D’Ascèsce” smells like the most expensive country fireplace in the world, crackling in comfortable silence as a story begins to be told. Mysterious, slightly mystical, and quietly very confident, this is one of the most well-balanced, romantically polished woodsmoke fragrances we’ve smelled.
A vivid recreation of clean saddle leather saddle that blurs the line between racehorse and racecar. Dark, dry resins mingle with something akin to burnt rubber, infusing the scent with animalistic alertness. It’s intense but also polished, crisp, energizing, and even, in a strange way, refreshing.
A langorous take on leather, with fruity facets of immortelle sparkling in the long rays of afternoon sun. The brooding atmosphere is playfully subverted with a whiff of sweet tobacco and… lipstick? Like lounging in a luxurious pied-a-terre awaiting a hedonistic summer’s eve.
A portal to the earthy soul of iris root, with its green and buttery aspects in full display. It wears like an invisible texture, both fudgey and feathered, surreal and edgy, as if Alexander McQueen and Iris van Herpen traded notes. A poetic nature documentary filmed in visceral virtual reality.
An avant-garde scent both reckless and controlled, gritty and operatic, with milky, humid tuberose anchored by pungent green galbanum and earthy woods. Wild, alchemical, hallucinatory, full of movement and bracing nature, it feels like wearing a sculptural piece of scent couture. Astonishing.
Though tobacco-inspired, to us this fragrance smells as cheerfully intoxicating as a hot toddy. Tangential references to oak, maple, rum and coconut are decadently set ablaze, but even with all that warmth, “Or du Sérail” remains comforting and approachable, imploring others to get closer.
SAMPLE THE COLLECTION
Shop Naomi Goodsir’s Discovery Set: A perfect way to immerse yourself in the world of Naomi Goodsir.
This set features 2ml spray samples of all six fragrances in the collection. It also includes illustrated blotters to experience each olfactory artwork in its purest form.
Most of us want to be alluring in some way, whether we’re single, partnered, or something in between. And there is perhaps no sense more tailored towards intimacy, or the prospect of it, than the sense of smell. Smell is a primal sense, hijacking memory and emotion, triggered by a poetic process in which a tiny piece of what you smell must breach your physical boundaries and enter your olfactory sensors in literal physical communion.
So, if attraction is the goal, how to harness the sense of smell?
First and foremost, we need something that makes us feel confident. A study showed that women rated men’s attractiveness higher when they were wearing a scent, even if they only looked at a picture of the man and couldn’t actually smell what they were wearing. In other words, scent helps us feel like we’re projecting our best selves. But while confidence is key, for Valentine’s month, we decided to dig a little deeper. We dove into the history of sensory research, discovering which raw materials have been shown to be attractive, stimulating, and emboldening. From there, we curated a list of scents that are sure to make an impression.
Musk was one universal choice. It mimics an animalic rush of intimacy, warm and slightly forbidden. Arquiste’s “Él” is like wearing a tailored suit to a glamourous tropical disco, and dries down to an intoxicatingly sexy musk; never veering too far into old-fashioned funk. For a more carefree sex appeal, all-natural brand Abel manages to capture an addictive salt-kissed skin musk effect in “Cyan Nori” – and perhaps there’s nothing sexier than effortlessness.
Speaking of effortlessness, the abstract molecular aura of “Escentric 02” by Escentric Molecules takes the magnetic skin-enhancing magic the brand is known for and adds an effervescent freshness. It features hedione, a molecule similar to aspects of jasmine, which has been shown to possess aphrodisiac qualities. And like all Escentric Molecules scents, it smells even better to those around you.
The history of perfume is filled with winking nods to intimacy. The fragrance “1725” by Histoires de Parfum is a modern reinterpretation of the seminal perfume Fougère Royale, a civilized scent for nobility which, as scent writer Luca Turin has noted, featured an irreverently dirty drydown. This version, suitably dedicated to Casanova, is cleaner and more delicious than its historic reference. It adds a layer of elegant vanilla to the composition, an ingredient also cited for its attractive powers.
In fact, for some people, there is nothing more alluring than waves of unctuous vanilla. For this reason, we’d be remiss if we didn’t include a fragrance tailor-made for sex appeal: “Absolute Aphrodisiac” by Initio. Unabashedly swooning, the fragrance glows with an eternal, narcotic vanilla warmth, deepened by amber and musk.
It surprised us to learn that fruity notes have also been shown to stimulate attraction. “Habdan” by Parfums de Marly contains one of the most surprisingly well-structured uses of fruit we’ve smelled in fragrance, using the crisp snap of fresh apple to enliven incense with devilish panache.
Fruity notes also enhance the plush textural symphony of “Phi: Une Rose de Kandahar” by Tauer. The fragrance is a velvety ode to rose, a material which studies have shown increases the perception of attractiveness. In fact, the natural Afghani rose oil used in the formula is so unbelievably rare the perfumer himself warns it is sometimes impossible to produce. Even if you didn’t know what went into making it, the scent feels like an intoxicating, ultra-luxurious cuddle, and would make anyone want to get a closer sniff.
Rose isn’t the only flower that has been shown to have powerful emotional effects. Lilies, even in synthetic reconstruction, have been shown to have a stimulating effect. Long the realm of classical, stately compositions, lily becomes vibrant, ultramodern and achingly fashionable in “Lys Sølaberg” by Maison Crivelli. A smoky, wood and amber undercurrent cements the allure and keeps it wearable for all genders.
For those who want to make a seductive impression, woods and resins are an excellent go-to. “Autoportrait” by Olfactive Studio blends musk, incense and moss with vetiver, an earthy ingredient that has been shown to heighten attraction. It’s a versatile, daily signature with a coy excitement sizzling beneath the surface. There’s something about it that smells youthful and commanding at the same time, projecting spontaneity and confidence.
In the same family, “Pachuli Kozha” by Nishane might be one of the most lusciously sensual smoky fragrances we can think of. Top notes of aphrodisiac ylang-ylang brighten a delicious current of black pepper and honey, which pours lavishly over the brooding embers of incense and patchouli. It’s impossible to wear and not feel your confidence soar.
This year saw the arrival of some of the most memorable fragrances in recent memory. As we started compiling our favourites, we noticed many of our picks were united by a spirit of reinvention. Modern takes on chypres, fougères, and incense & rose, for example, mined old tropes for newly satisfying blends. In addition, most scents shared a sense of warmth, as if anticipating the extra comfort we’d need to stay grounded in our turbulent world.
Creamy dreamscapes, poetic forests, glowing auras of musk and smouldering incense helped us access serenity at Etiket HQ. But make no mistake: these scents are not just for winter! Instead, they prove that cozy, soothing or contemplative fragrances don’t have to be boring. Read on to discover our favourites, listed in no particular order.
If you’ve never encountered the fragrances of Toronto-based Zoologist, you’re in for a wild ride. Each extrait de parfum is inspired by a different animal, invoking its personality and even, in the case of Hyrax, actual (humanely harvested) aromatics from the titular creature. But no animal, humans included, exists in isolation. They’re but one part of the web of flora and fauna which collaborate on the unknowable art project that is their respective habitat. This is why, at least to me, Zoologist perfumes aren’t really about animals as much as the scent of wild landscapes. Panda evokes a misty bamboo forest; Chameleon a tropical island fantasy. Now, with their newest scent, Zoologist turns its attention to a world under the sea.
When Pixar was developing “Finding Nemo”, the production team took scuba lessons to learn more about the look and feel of being underwater. They soon realized that even the clearest, cleanest water is filled with textures; little floating organisms, plant matter, bits of coral and sand floating by, glittering in the shafts of wobbly sunlight. Hours of painstaking animation ensued to add multitudinous sea stuff to each shot. This proved to be the elusive ingredient in making the underwater world feel real.
Zoologist’s new fragrance Seahorse is filled to the brim with “Finding Nemo” textures. You can smell the colours of a richly animated oceanic ecosystem, pulsating like a garden of algae and alien wildflowers. Blue orange blossoms sway in the airless breeze, tides sluice around glossy grass, and all sound goes underwater quiet. In fact, in my opinion, this stillness is key to the uniqueness of this fragrance. Many aquatic scents take the constant churning motion of waves as inspiration, evoking sea spray on the shore where humans can greedily inhale its vapour. But there is something more serene and grounded about Seahorse — still playful but meditative, lapping instead of crashing, like touring the palatial gardens of an undersea empire. This scent doesn’t just take you to an oceanside view, it invites you to be fully submerged.
On the skin, the scent can feel like bioluminescence, the green notes waxing and waning, a foamy floral warmth anchoring all that freshness. Transparent tuberose adds touches of neon coral, and vetiver and ambergris conjure a sheer vegetal earthiness, evoking the sandy sea floor at the base of everything. Those for whom aquatic scents are solely for the heat of summer, take note: the lifelike nature photography in this scent gives it enough depth to wear all year round. If each Zoologist scent is conceived as a voyage into an unknown world of unspoiled nature, Seahorse might be one of their most fully realized. It’s a transportive fragrance, thrillingly foreign and, perhaps from the films of our childhoods, also strangely familiar.
When speaking about perfume, we often use words borrowed from other senses. Ingredients become “notes”, like ones you might play on a piano (which is why a perfumer’s desk is referred to as an “organ”). A fragrance can be too “light” for us, and while it’s sometimes unclear whether we’re describing physical weight or colour, our noses can’t truly perceive either. Scent is steeped in sensory metaphor.
To me, an important sense to invoke in our understanding of perfume is touch. Obviously, smells don’t have physical textures or temperatures. But thinking about the tactile qualities of a perfume can be a gateway to their emotional heart.
Perfumers thinking texturally has led to breakthroughs in the world of fragrance. It often requires a metaphoric leap in the mind of each nose; if one forgets about what an ingredient actually is, what might it make you think of? Perfumer Jean-Claude Ellena uses a signature green tea effect to create a luminous quality, like transparent flowing water, which made hits of fragrances like Bvlgari’s Thé Vert and Hermes’ Un Jardin en Méditerranée (you can sample his work at Etiket in Dia Woman and L’Eau D’Ambre Extrême). Similarly, Olivia Giacobetti pioneered the use of fig and other fresh effects to make fragrances that seem airy and subtly cool to the touch, as she does in Premier Figuier and Passage D’Enfer.
On the other side of the spectrum, perfumer Sophia Grojsman’s work often feels fuzzy and thick because of her trademark “hug me accord”: an abstract blend of synthetic jasmine, violet, musk and cedar molecules which makes her fragrances seem cozy and warm (like in Lancome’s classic Tresor). And Andy Tauer has created a rabid cult following with his unapologetic waves of hot spice, which add a dry crackling heat to scents like L’Air du Désert Marocain and Cologne du Maghreb. Composed with care, a perfume can imply closeness or distance; glass, cloth, paper, powder or liquid; warm or cool; movement or stillness.
The fragrances of Maison Crivelli make brilliant use of texture, and they do so in a modern way. Many of them have what I call a “holographic” texture: lifelike, shimmery, and light-reflecting. Creating fragrances with this effect allows the rich amber notes of Lys Sølaberg to feel approachable and relaxed. It allows bold ingredients like woods and spices to seem almost weightless in Santal Volcanique and Bois Datchaï. And it gives rose, which can smell surprisingly thick, even jammy in isolation, a new, breezy lifein Rose Saltifolia, as if the scent were dancing across your perception on a seaside summer wind.
Maison Crivelli fragrances also use textural elements to evoke extremes of temperature, which form surprising contrasts with classic ingredients. A sparkling, icy freshness makes the lavender, juniper and musk in Absinthe Boréale seem enrobed in a delicate frost. The juicy heat of chili and the earthy depth of vetiver makes the orange and bergamot inside Citrus Batikanga sizzle in the bustling heat of a tropical market.
If all this sounds a bit far-fetched, like those sommeliers who tell you you must be able to taste butter in your chardonnay, don’t worry. The ultimate truism of fragrance is that all scent is subjective. But asking yourself which textures, colours or temperatures you sense when you smell a perfume, regardless of what you come up with, can help make sense of a fragrance’s energy, which will, in turn, hint at what it might feel like to wear it. For example, while everybody’s skin is different, a cool, airy or watery fragrance might leave a more casual impression on your skin than something dark, syrupy, sandy or hot.
Finally, looking for textures is a way to rediscover ingredients or scent families you thought you knew. If you love earthy and smoky notes, but you can’t imagine wearing them to the office, you could step away from the hottest, driest Tauer scents, for example, and towards a more liquid and transparent scent like Smoke Show. If light floral perfumes often feel aggressive and headache-inducing, but you love the scent of real flowers, you could try finding scents that are less cool, bright and sharp and more velvety and warm. And if you thought you hated powdery fragrances because they always feel too “classic”, meet Crivelli’s Papyrus Moléculaire or Iris Malikhan, which both take the concept of powder in richer, darker, edgier, and more contemporary directions.
– David, Director of Fragrance at Etiket