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

      Have you ever become enamored with a brand even before its official launch? That’s precisely what occurred with Nostos, a new niche fragrance line that quickly became one of my favorites before its first bottles were even produced. Founded by Jackie Mayol from her apartment in New York City, I stumbled upon Nostos while engrossed in a perfume TikTok binge. It was amusing to realize how deeply invested I was in a product that technically didn’t exist yet, to the point that it became one of my most eagerly awaited releases of the year.

      What grabbed my attention right away was the uniqueness of each fragrance. If you're in search of something warm and comforting, Calico is perfect for you, featuring a note of kitten fur. Teen captures the ephemeral essence of high school summers spent at the mall, nostalgically referencing Victoria’s Secret body sprays, and stands out as the flirtiest and most whimsical of the trio. On the other hand, Shiver evokes the most vivid winter scent: the aroma of snow on concrete, embodying the essence of cold.

      As I dove deeper into my research, I learned that all scents were crafted in partnership with perfumer Marissa Zappas and designed by Special Offer, Inc., the creative agency responsible for Charli XCX’s Brat and Rosalía’s Lux. Month after month, I found myself eagerly checking to see if the launch had finally occurred, and after almost a year of waiting, Nostos finally launched in December.

      In the conversation below, I spoke with Mayol regarding the launch of Nostos and her initial fragrances: Calico, Teen, and Shiver.

      What was your prior experience with fragrance before establishing this brand? I adored fragrances as a teenager; they gave me a significant confidence boost whenever I immersed myself in body sprays. However, I became more engaged with the niche fragrance world during the pandemic. While staying with my parents for a few months, I began ordering discovery sets online. My mother and I would sample a different scent each day, and I took notes on how they evolved throughout the day and how they reacted differently on each of our skin types. This became a daily activity I looked forward to and provided a much-needed escape. I also began exploring fragrance forums and YouTube channels, which offered a sense of comfort and connection during that time. Once things started to reopen, I visited Scent Bar in L.A. for the first time, and from that point on, I was hooked.

      Do you have early scent memories or nostalgic perfumes that influenced you—scents that instantly transport you back to specific moments or periods in your life? A significant scent memory for me is the smell of my hometown in Central California. It’s a vast agricultural area, so the aroma of hay, dust, and farm animals is ingrained in my memory. I now love hay notes in perfumes, but when creating scents for Nostos, I leaned more towards nostalgic fragrances from my middle and high school years. My first bottle of Viva La Juicy by Juicy Couture was life-changing for me. That scent and bottle will always hold iconic status in my heart. I was also obsessed with Victoria’s Secret and Bath and Body Works body mists, which have undoubtedly impacted my taste today. The memories of Sweet Pea, Pure Seduction, and Vanilla Lace instantly transport me back to my middle school locker room, changing out of my baggy PE uniform and dousing myself in the scents from those plastic bottles. When we developed Teen for Nostos, I aimed for it to be a love letter to those formative fragrance years, but with a more sophisticated and mature scent profile.

      Professionally and personally, could you share how you decided to start Nostos? I’d love to hear about your beginnings and how the idea first emerged. My previous career path was quite varied. I transitioned from music PR to being an assistant to a prominent music video director, then moved to advertising, and finally worked in tech at a digital fashion and avatar company. While I was always involved in creative endeavors within those roles, I knew I eventually wanted to create something independently without an approval process, and I was eager to learn how to create a physical product. I felt ready to prove to myself that I could bring a vision to life on my own terms, but I wasn’t entirely sure what that product would be.

      I approached it a bit backward, and ultimately, I believe the product found me. I began mood-boarding and refining what I wanted my overall creative vision to be, which needed to have substantial visual potential. Concurrently, I happened to start a Pinterest board dedicated to perfume bottles simply because I enjoyed looking at their shapes and designs. Then it dawned on me that fragrance could be a wonderful medium to bring my vision to life, alongside the pre-existing love I had for it. A friend suggested I check out Marissa Zappas’s perfumes, and I noticed on her website that she was open