RESIDE SUMMER 2021
SCENT-SATIONAL AN OLFACTORY ARTIST MAKES TRULY PERSONALIZED PERFUMES AND FRAGRANCES
Marissa Zappas in her Brooklyn laboratory.
f all the senses, smell is perhaps the most mysterious. Experienced O in the present, yet indelibly connected
to our past, it is as timeless as it is ephemeral. Imagine a perfume specifically designed by a master perfumer to conjure up your favorite memories—be they an evening walk among blooming jasmine, a bitter coffee your father favored, or all of the above. “To have a custom perfume made is a true luxury and ultimate pleasure,” says Brooklyn-based bespoke perfumer and olfactory artist Marissa Zappas. “It is my job to take pleasure seriously.” A classically trained dancer with a master’s degree in anthropology, she followed her lifelong obsession with perfume to study under renowned perfumer Olivier Gillotin of Givaudan (Polo Red, Tobacco Vanille, Higher) in New York. “There’s something really valuable in the knowledge and wisdom that gets passed down,” she says. Zappas credits Gillotin for teaching her that for a perfumer, scents are memories. “There is something profound about seeing one’s self reflected in art, especially when that art is evocative of spirit, is invisible, and encapsulates the most important memories of a lifetime.” It’s a sentiment that has roots in the 18th century, when personal perfumers were de rigueur at Versailles, and were responsible for scenting wigs, garters, and gloves, as well as the décolletage. The relationships formed were sacred, and fragrance formulations kept under lock and key. “I want to bring back this highly personalized and intimate approach to fragrance in 2021 where commercial fragrances are dominant and often redundant,” Zappas says. The California native brings her highly tailored approach to both men and women, and also to the home: Room sprays and oil blends for cold-air diffusers are on the bespoke menu as well. Over the course of a commission with her, the client is intimately involved in the creative process, which Zappas describes as being “satisfying, beautiful, and personal.”
