Kitten Fur, High School Summer, and Snow on Concrete—Introducing Nostos, My New Favorite Fragrance Brand.

      Have you ever developed an affection for a brand before it even launched? That's precisely what occurred with Nostos, a new niche fragrance line that became an immediate favorite of mine even before its first bottles were available. Founded by Jackie Mayol from her apartment in New York City, I first came across Nostos while engrossed in a perfume TikTok binge. As the months passed, I found it amusing to recognize how invested I was in a product that technically didn’t yet exist, making it one of my most awaited releases of the year.

      What captivated me right away were the uniqueness of each scent. If you seek something cozy and soothing, Calico is your choice, featuring a note of kitten fur. Teen encapsulates the fleeting essence of high school summers spent at the mall, with a nostalgic nod to Victoria’s Secret body sprays, making it the flirtiest and most playful of the trio. On the other hand, Shiver presents the most striking scent of winter: the smell of snow on concrete, an embodiment of cold.

      As I delved deeper into my research, I discovered that all the scents had been developed in partnership with perfumer Marissa Zappas, while the design came from Special Offer, Inc., the agency behind Charli XCX’s Brat and Rosalía’s Lux. Month after month, I found myself checking to see if the launch had finally occurred, and after nearly a year of anticipation, Nostos officially debuted this December. Below, I discussed with Mayol the launch of Nostos and her first three fragrances: Calico, Teen, and Shiver.

      What was your experience with fragrance before starting this brand? I adored fragrances as a teenager; they gave me such a confidence boost every time I doused myself in body sprays, but I became more immersed in the niche fragrance world during the pandemic. I spent a few months living with my parents and started ordering discovery sets online. My mom and I would try a different sample each day, and I’d take notes on how they transformed throughout the day and how they differed on our skin. It became an activity I looked forward to daily and served as a form of escapism. I also began exploring fragrance forums and YouTube channels, which offered a sense of comfort and connection during that time. Once things began to open up again, I visited Scent Bar in L.A. for the first time, and the rest is history. I was hooked.

      Do you have early scent memories or nostalgic fragrances that influenced you—scents that instantly transport you to a specific moment or era in your life? A significant scent memory for me is the aroma of my hometown in Central California. It’s a vast agricultural community, so the scent of hay, dust, and farm animals is etched in my memory. I enjoy hay notes in perfumes now, but when creating the scents for Nostos, I focused more on nostalgic fragrances from my middle school and high school years. My first bottle of Viva La Juicy by Juicy Couture transformed my life. That scent and bottle will always hold iconic status for me. I was also addicted to body mists from Victoria’s Secret and Bath and Body Works, which have undoubtedly influenced my taste today. When I think of Sweet Pea, Pure Seduction, and Vanilla Lace, I’m immediately taken back to my middle school locker room—changing out of my baggy PE uniform and spritzing myself with those plastic bottles. When we developed Teen for Nostos, I envisioned it as a tribute to those formative fragrance years, with a more mature scent profile.

      Professionally and personally, could you share how you decided to start Nostos? I’d love to hear about the beginnings and how the idea first came to you. My previous career path was quite varied. I transitioned from working in music PR to serving as an assistant to a prominent music video director, to working in advertising, and then tech at a digital fashion and avatar company. I consistently engaged in creative work in each role, but I had a longing to create something on my own without needing approval, and I wanted to learn about physical product development. I felt prepared to prove to myself that I could bring an idea to life on my own terms, even though I wasn’t entirely clear on what that product would be.

      I worked backward a bit and ultimately allowed the product to find me. I began mood-boarding and clarifying the overall aesthetic, and it became apparent that it needed to embody visual potential. At the same time, I randomly started a Pinterest board for perfume bottles simply because I enjoyed looking at their shapes and designs. It suddenly clicked that fragrance could be a perfect medium to bring this vision to life, coupled with my preexisting passion for it. A friend suggested I explore Marissa Zappas’s perfumes, and on her website, I noticed she was accepting freelance projects. I reached out to arrange a coffee meeting and pitched her some ideas, and she