About You
Tell us who you are?
I’m the founder and creative director of New York City-based ERIS PARFUMS. I wrote about vintage perfume on my blog yesterdaysperfume.com and in my book, Scent and Subversion: Decoding a Century of Provocative Perfume (Lyons Press: 2013), and then I launched ERIS in 2016.
How did you get into the perfume industry?
By chance! I became deeply interested in perfume around 2008. I started a blog about vintage perfume. That turned into a book. I did an interview with perfumer Antoine Lie, which is at the end of the book in its “Scent Visionaries” section. I thought it would be fun to take my perfume obsession all the way and turn it into a brand, and Antoine agreed to create the perfumes for me.
What was the first perfume you ever purchased?
Either Lauren or Grey Flannel in the 80s.
What is your favourite meal?
Hard to pick a favorite. I’m into fancy food but I also love hearty basics: Shrimp Po Boys from New Orleans, Southern Fried Chicken, Vietnamese spring rolls, steak frites. I guess I really love fried food.
Where is your favourite place?
Too many to count! Saigon, Paris, Istanbul, New Orleans…
Do you have an interesting party trick or any hidden talents?
I created a sourdough starter in February and I’ve really enjoyed baking sourdough loaves from scratch! I also do graphology (analyze handwriting) and I have since I was a kid.
Who would play you in a film of your life?
She’s not half Asian, and she’s younger than me — but Aubrey Plaza. Similar weirdo vibes. 😉
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About your Brand
Describe your brand in one sentence.
Sexy scents for subversives.
Where does the name of your brand come from?
ERIS is the Greek goddess of chaos and strife, or, in modern terms, she’s a disruptive troublemaker, a party-crashing badass.
Who are your perfumes for?
People who enjoy luxurious ingredients and statement perfumes with a twist.
Tell us about your latest perfume.
Delta of Venus is a guava-centric floral that reimagines the Garden of Eden’s Forbidden Fruit, complete with a hissing snake companion (Galbanum) for knowledge-seeking Eve who has reclaimed the Garden of Eden for herself. This “fallen” beauty is represented by indolic, decadent, and sensual Jasmine Sambac. The perfume is named after Anais Nin’s groundbreaking work of erotica written in the 1940s. In a way, she’s an heir to Eve, Eris, and all the women rebels.
If someone wanted to try your fragrances, which one would you recommend they try first and why?
I’d recommend two extremes: Green Spell for its intense freshness and then Mxxx. for its richness and depth. If either are too much, there might be something in the middle for you. But as a fan once said about ERIS Ma Bête (and I think it could speak for the entire line): “It’s not for everyone, but you’ll know if it’s for you.”
What challenges do you want to overcome for your brand?
I want it to be easier for international perfume lovers to try it and buy it. So that means either more international retailers or a cheaper way to get it to them from New York.
What is unique about your brand?
ERIS fragrances are bold, beautiful, and tell a story. And because they’re creatively directed by someone who sniffed her way through the 20th century and smelled a LOT of perfumes, they’re deeply informed by what’s come before and what has never been.
Find out more about Eris at the website here
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