Latest news with #EllisBrooklyn
Forbes
3 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
Ellis Brooklyn Celebrates 10 Years With Their First Rollerball Perfumes, Plus How They Changed Fragrance
The Ellis Brooklyn Fragrance Oil Rollerballs created for the brand's 10th anniversary It's easy to see why Saturday Night Live used to create mock perfume commercials. The fragrance world used to be very different. 'Twelve years ago, when I first had the inkling to start Ellis Brooklyn, the story lines being told in fragrance were really exotic—and not in a good way,' says Bee Shapiro, Founder & CEO of Ellis Brooklyn. 'I mean exotic as in, wow, this makes no sense. Literally, it's a famous actress rolling in the sand in what looks like the Sahara. I also noticed that there were very few women in fragrance, which, to me, was bizarre, if you think about how much fragrance impacts a woman's life. It goes anywhere from deodorant to your shampoo; scent truly affects so many different parts of our lives, in such a functional way. And there was no representation. Honestly, I just felt like it needed change. I also was itching to have a different kind of creative outlet.' Shapiro took matters into her own hands and launched Ellis Brooklyn 10 years ago. At the time, she was a beauty writer for the New York Times, so she had a deeper understanding of the beauty industry and the white space she was seeing. 'I wanted to try something where the boundaries were unlimited, so it was a fun exercise,' Shapiro says. 'At that point in time, fragrance was very, very dominated by very expensive niche brands and designer brands, and that was kind of it. And wow, has it changed. I love Gen Alpha and Gen Z because they're talking about fragrance in the way that I dreamed people could talk about fragrance—there's an openness to it. There's an understanding, even at a very young age, that fragrance is joyful and not a necessity. Fragrance is a dream. It's desire, attraction and joy. It's fun to see how much the world has transitioned to this very elevated, open minded approach to fragrance. There's more brands and diversity in this space, which has only fueled that whole environment and made fragrance such a fun category.' A trio of Ellis Brooklyn fragrances When Ellis Brooklyn launched, it was one of the few clean luxury fragrance brands. In the beginning, Shapiro had to go through the banned ingredients list with her retail partners and explain why they were different. 'We're still clean and still hold those standards, but it's become table stakes amongst certain brands,' she says. 'Obviously not all brands are clean, but I certainly think a lot more are.' Additionally, sustainability metrics are important to the brand and Shapiro has learned about things like biotech ingredients, upcycled ingredients and green chemistry along the way. 'There's always new ingredients, but there's always new ways to get ingredients,' Shapiro says. 'That is endlessly fascinating to me, because you can be very responsible to the environment now, or at least be able to track and make choices. When I first started, it was more just about safety, and as we've moved on from it, it's like how can we also be responsible? It has to be done during the creation.' Ellis Brooklyn Founder & CEO Bee Shapiro In addition to setting a new standard for sustainability, Shapiro also wanted to change the way people talk about luxury fragrance. 'When we first came on the scene, a lot of the scents were described in a difficult to approach way,' Shapiro says. 'It was intimidating, frankly, and very European. The way we describe scent is pretty straightforward. Even when we write copy, we use three descriptors. We want our scents to be understandable. I don't think luxury should have to be explained. I think luxury is a feeling. So, when I'm creating, I start with a note that is understandable. Miami Nectar opens with pink pineapple. People know what pineapple is, but then it has this complex storyline. It's taking something that most people understand, but in a different direction and elevating it.' When Shapiro considers all of the Ellis Brooklyn launches over the last decade, she believes each is a reflection of its time. 'I want to keep it modern,' she says. 'When I made Myth, there was a lot of loud fragrances at the time, and Myth was the counterpoint to that. It was one of the early skin scents.' Though the values of Ellis Brooklyn haven't changed over the last decade, the scents themselves have. Initially the perfumes were typically subtle and muted, but the perfumes have gotten bigger, more floral and juicier. 'My first five years I treated them almost like editorial projects,' Shapiro says. 'But, I had to take a step back, because as the brand grew, it's like raising a child. When the brand is very small, you're caring for it and putting your own imprint on it because it's your brand. As the brand grows, it starts to have its own personality, and it's a reflection of the era. Especially from COVID on, we've thought about fragrance as escapism. Fragrance needs to have that jolt, that feeling that makes you feel so good right when you smell it.' Ellis Brooklyn Miami Nectar and Guava Granita Embracing bigger, louder scents now follows current trends, but Shapiro says that also mirrors her personal journey. Over a decade ago, when she was working at the Times, she was afraid to wear a strong scent because she thought she'd be judged in the elevator. 'The culture has changed,' she says. 'We certainly aren't post-feminism, but we are in a completely different era where you're not judged on your scent as a match to your intellectual prowess, which is so bizarre. As I've gotten older, I've come more into my own too. In the beginning, I was making scents for my life at that point in time, [when] my career was still on the up and up. It's not that I was trying to hide myself, but it wasn't that era either where the super loud scents were considered work appropriate or everyday life appropriate. Because I was looking to romanticize our everyday lives, I was looking to make the scent that people would wake up in the morning and want to reach for.' As Ellis Brooklyn has evolved as a brand, their stature has too. They have international distribution now, including at Mecca in Australia, Space NK in the UK and Sephora Canada. They've been growing about 80% YOY this year and had 200% YOY growth on social media engagement. Shapiro credits that success to their new VP of Digital Marketing and E-commerce. The Ellis Brooklyn Fragrance Oil Rollerballs 'We learned so much in the last two to three years,' Shapiro says. 'We had a couple years where we were growing, but it was such a struggle. The problems are smaller as you're trying to scale. There was a lot of mistakes I made, and I learned on all those mistakes, and a lot of that gelled together as well on the marketing side. Our era is not a traditional era; there's always a new media channel and a new way to reach. For a brand, what works efficiently? Because you can't do everything. It's a lot of mistake learning that led to this, but also being able to add key staff.' To celebrate the 10th anniversary, Ellis Brooklyn is releasing their first fragrance oil rollerballs later this month. The quiet scents are reminiscent of their first perfumes, making it a full circle moment for the brand. 'In our early years, the scents were more muted, but I would also argue that the scents were more unisex,' Shapiro says. 'There's something very Brooklyn about that. I wanted to create a nod back to our history, which is the musks and unisex scents, but also to make them modern and effortless. I am obsessed with Milk Wood. Milk Wood is this creamy, clean wood, and I made it with [perfumer] Frank Voelkl. It's so Williamsburg from my era of living there; it is a little walk down memory lane. Blonde Musk is like a cousin to Myth. It's a white musk that is different and new. Vanilla Santo was my attempt to blend the current day with this would be unisex palo santo Brooklyn vibe. It has a vanilla up top, but it's not this super sweet vanilla. It is very woodsy, a tiny bit smoky. I wanted to do the rollerballs at a lower, approachable price because it's something that I could see in everybody's bag.' Ellis Brooklyn Banana Milkshake Hair and Body Fragrance Mist Shapiro hopes the next 10 years of Ellis Brooklyn allow her to continue to grow the brand and become a better manager. 'One of the most challenging aspects of running a company is understanding that your role is to be a great leader as well,' she says. 'When you're growing fast, fast, fast, it's really hard. It can be chaotic. You just want to make sure people feel good too. 'The other part is I want to continue launching, since that impacts a broad group of people. Once I realized I needed to let this brand be as big as possible, the fun part of it now is how many people can I get onto Banana Milkshake? I remember when we were presenting to Sephora, everybody was saying banana was the challenging note because not everybody likes banana. Banana has outsold the other two milkshake scents by double. My favorite part is to create with the perfumers I work with, but also to take something so ordinary as a banana and really elevate it. If I can find more moments like that in the future, that's what I'm looking for.'
Daily Mirror
10-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
‘I found the best summer perfume that smells like holidays and lasts all day'
The latest perfume from Ellis Brooklyn makes you feel like you've spent all day basking in the beach on a tropical island, and lasted all day on my skin I'm a firm believer in switching up your fragrances throughout the year. Although there are a few mainstays that work all year round, there's something about swapping to a lighter, summery scent once the sun starts shining that can instantly boost your mood. Although I've tried plenty over my years as a beauty writer, the latest launch from Ellis Brooklyn has shot straight to the top of my list of favourite perfumes, especially if you're looking for a new summer scent. The brand new Ellis Brooklyn Miami Nectar fragrance has a fruity, tropical fragrance that instantly makes you visualise basking on a beach somewhere hot – even if you've not left the UK all year. The brand new Miami Nectar has just recently landed on Space NK, and comes in two different sizes. The full size 50ml bottle is priced at £126, whilst the travel-sized 10ml is £35 and the perfect size for throwing in your hand luggage when you jet off on holiday. As soon as I sprayed Miami Nectar for the first time I knew it had jumped straight to the top of my summer perfume hot list. It has opening notes of pink pineapple, palm leaf and coconut water, which instantly give you that tropical feeling. The heart notes are plumeria, jasmine and frangipani, giving it a slightly warmer, richer scent once it's dried down. The final base notes are amberwood, vanilla and moss, which have a creamy scent to them, giving the overall perfume the perfect balance of sweetness and earthiness that makes it feel more grown up and sophisticated. The Ellis Brooklyn Miami Nectar reminded me a little of Estee Lauder's Bronze Goddess Flora Verde Eau de Parfum, which is slightly cheaper at £70 for a 50ml bottle. However after owning and trying both, I do prefer the scent of Miami Nectar, which has a fresher and less musky fragrance. Miami Nectar is also one of those scents that lasts all day – and I mean all day. A couple of quick spritzes in the morning, and I can still smell it on my clothes and skin when I get ready for bed at night. It's also free from paraben and phthalates, as well as being made with vegan-friendly and eco-conscious ingredients, so it's suitable for everyone (and all skin types). The bottle itself has a nice premium feel to it too, and the cap has a magnetic closure that means it doesn't come off when you throw it in your handbag. However there's no denying that it is a splurge when it comes to the price, especially for a 50ml bottle. If you do want something a little more cost-effective, the Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess Flora Verde is a great alternative, as is PHLUR's Solar Power, £99, which has a scent inspired by 'the glow of sunlight' – a summer fragrance if there ever was one. You could also opt for Sol De Janeiro's Brazilian Crush Cheirosa 62 Mist, which is a bargain at £19.20 (down from £24) and has a similarly lovely tropical scent, but doesn't quite have the same staying power as a traditional perfume.
Forbes
22-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Why Gourmand Fragrances Are Trending This Summer Season
D.S. & Durga's Pistachio is one of the Gourmand trend's best-selling fragrances The perfume industry is enjoying a surge in gourmand fragrances. This rapidly growing sector is characterized by sweet, edible-like scents that evoke the sensations of delicious food and desserts. According to MarkWide Research these fragrances have gained significant popularity in recent years due to their unique and indulgent nature. New Beauty claims that the search for gourmand fragrances is predicted to increase by 33.9 % in 2025. Caramel perfume is expected to see the biggest jump within the category, with an over 42 % increase. Other gourmand scents predicted to trend include marshmallow perfume and especially vanilla, which in 2024 took the spotlight as a key ingredient—from creamy, smooth and fluffy vanilla to rich, smoky or even boozy vanilla. Creme Vanille Le Monde Gourmand MarieAnna Ferdinand, EVP of fragrance development at Le Monde Gourmand, tells me over email that they are seeing year-on-year growth in gourmand fragrance launches. She attributes this to the fact that consumers are tapping into this olfactive profile as they seek comfort in an uncertain political and economic environment. 'Consumers are looking for glimmers of joy that they can experience every day. Gourmand perfumes often tap into a feeling of nostalgia for happier times, like childhood, a favorite memory, but done in a grown-up way,' she says. A good example of this is their Chai Epice perfume, a grown-up gourmand inspired by a comforting chai latte. Ellis Brooklyn, founder of Bee Shapiro, concurs and tells me over email that gourmand fragrances satisfy two of our deepest wants right now: comfort and joy. We tend to feel familiar with these scents because they contain notes that we easily recognize, and they are also joyful, as gourmand fragrances tend to be playful. 'They play on the high-low aspect of perfumery.' This summer, gourmand scents evoke a holiday feel, with increasingly modern fragrances. Ellis Brooklyn's MIAMI NECTAR, for instance, is a tropical formula. 'I love the combination of pink pineapple, watery facets of coconut water with the moss and vanilla underpinning,' says Bee. It's an intense fragrance that is sweet, sophisticated and very contemporary. Another tropical gourmand is Ormonde Jayne's Montabaco Rio, which combines notes of sun-ripened wild fruits, zesty pineapple, and sweet mango with moss, amber, vanilla, and suede, resulting in a vital fragrance perfect for summer. This is a particularly unisex fragrance, as the subtle sweet notes merge beautifully with the amber, making it a strong scent. Ormonde Jayne Montalbanco Rio Jun Lim, founder and creative director of BORNTOSTANDOUT, also tells me that those bright, beachy, borderline edible scents will be stealing the show this summer, as they're both refreshing and mouth-watering. 'Think creamy coconut and sunny citrus blended with gourmand touches, like a twist of salted vanilla, creamy milk, or a hit of tarte tatin. It's as if sunscreen got gourmet," he says. Sugar Addict, a hero fragrance from BORNTOSTANDOUT, encapsulates this summer spirit in a complex scent that has both depth and freshness, simultaneously. Kayali Cherry gourmand fragrance Kayali is another example of summer gourmands. Their Lovefest Burning Cherry is enchanting, and combines succulent cherries, raspberries and sweet caramelized praline with contrasting smoky, earthy notes of palo santo, guaiac wood, and patchouli, making the fragrance unusually sensual. Kayali's Vanilla is another example of a captivating fragrance that opens with a sweet infusion of naturally sourced Madagascan vanilla orchid and creamy jasmine, combined with notes of brown sugar, amber woods, musk, and patchouli, making it a particularly versatile and memorable scent in the collection. The gourmand fragrance category itself has been around since the early '90s, when perfumes such as Thierry Mugler's Angel were first launched, but the new, updated gourmands are different. Speaking to Aitana López de Carrión, global fine fragrance development manager, over Zoom, we discuss how nuts, salted caramel, cocoa, honey, and milk are all ingredients that are rising in popularity, as are bakery-inspired notes, with fragrances that evoke desserts like banana split, crème brûlée, tiramisu or cinnamon rolls, many of which are going viral on platforms such as TikTok. The rise of 'neo-gourmands' scents, however, goes beyond traditional sweet notes and incorporates savory elements, bitter touches or umami flavors, inviting us to explore global culinary cultures. Aitana explains that this year we will continue to see scents inspired by liquors and cocktails. Éclat d'Ombre by Maison Psyche Maison Psyché—the luxury perfume house from the Rémy Cointreau group—fits into this new trend with its unique approach to fragrance: aging perfume essences inside Cognac barrels to create scents of unparalleled depth and complexity. Éclat d'Ombre, crafted by Master Perfumer Sophie Labbé and Rémy Martin Cellar Master Baptiste Loiseau, embodies this new technique and captures the essence of Cognac's historic cellars. Bee Shapiro tells me that several years back, gourmand perfumes were directed to a younger demographic, but today that has completely changed. 'Today gourmands are for everyone—gourmands have also evolved quite a bit. Sure, there are the cake-like scents, but there are a wide variety of vanillas for every scent taste,' she says. Jun Lim agrees and adds that gone are the days of candy-sweet celebrity perfumes. He tells me that today's gourmands have broken many old boundaries: they're unisex, multicultural, and global, and if you don't take yourself too seriously, you can enjoy a gourmand at any age. 'It's less about age or gender, more about your vibe,' he tells me. In his words, the gourmand genre is growing up. 'Think of it as the gourmand palette expanding beyond just 'sugar' into a whole experimental kitchen,' he says, and cites many new flavours including buttered popcorn, salted caramel, BBQ sauce, or even touches of cheese or truffle, which are making their way into fragrances. 'Consumers' noses have gotten more sophisticated; they still love sweet, but they want it with a twist. So you'll get a floral marshmallow with a hit of pepper, or a chocolate scent infused with shiso leaf. Neo-gourmand is all about contrast and surprise.' Sugar Addict BORNTOSTANDOUT As we have seen with other fragrance trends, layering scents to further personalise them is very much in vogue. Bee explained to me that all fragrances can be layered, but with gourmands, if they are focused on a few very specific opening notes, the process is easier. Vanilla and caramel tend to be warm and cozy, and sweet fruits with vanilla tend to be more candy-like and summery. 'You can easily add on different fruits via different fragrances, for example,' Bee says. When I asked Jun Lim about layering these scents he told me that in today's fragrance scene, it's actually encouraged and that perfume lovers are becoming their own mixologists. 'You can take a rich chocolatey scent and layer a smoky cedar or sheer musk over it to tone down the sweetness and add depth. And suddenly you've got a sexy s'mores vibe going on,' says Jun. The key is to have fun, experiment with different notes, and spray with confidence. With the gourmand trend underway, whether you enjoy sweet or savory perfumes, the world now really is your oyster.
