Indie perfume boutiques offer a sensory escape from the mainstream — and blend storytelling, craftsmanship and experimentation into unique New York experiences.
Osswald NYC
Osswald NYC, the Manhattan outpost of a Swiss family business, stocks scores of fragrances, among them Empire, by the British independent maker Boadicea the Victorious. The scent has top notes of orange and bergamot, heart notes of rose, and its base notes include amber and musk.
Stéle
Stéle sells about 90 artisanal brands online and at its two city locations, but the selections at its flagship Manhattan store, shown here, and its store in Brooklyn are different. As its website says, Stéle wants to offer “a world of scents.”
Aedes Perfumery
Aedes Perfumery, established in 1995, promotes itself as the first perfumery in New York dedicated to exclusive artisanal scents. “We want to create an environment with an European flair that make people comfortable,” said Robert Gerstner, co-founder of Aedes.
Scent Bar NYC
Scent Bar NYC is the Manhattan location opened in 2019 by Luckyscent, which also sells its selection of niche fragrances, candles and teas online. Its other two boutiques are in the Downtown and Hollywood neighborhoods of Los Angeles.
Modern Urban Sensory Experiences
Muse, or Modern Urban Sensory Experiences, offers virtual shopping or in-person sessions at Kimberly Waters’s Harlem townhouse. (Ms. Waters, the founder, right, is shown with Travaulya Wallace, a fragrance influencer.) “What I’ve built,” Ms. Waters said, “is a living, breathing expression of Harlem’s creativity, spirit, and energy — where fragrance becomes a bridge between people and connection.”
Naked Ghosts
Christophe Laudamiel personally selects all the perfumes for his Naked Ghosts boutique in Manhattan. The master perfumer, who created fragrances such as Fierce for Abercrombie & Fitch, now is the master perfumer at Osmo, a Massachusetts artificial intelligence start-up that has a fragrance lab in Manhattan.
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