A Nose For It

For as far back as she can remember, Kristen Michèle has poked her nose in things. It’s not other people’s business she’s interested in, however, it’s the scent of – well, everything.

“I remember spending time with my favorite aunt as a young girl,” says the 30-something Newport Beach perfumer on her Web site (kristenmicheleparfumeur.com). “We’d often hit a hippie sort of health food store after a day at the beach. I still recall the smell of the place; carrot juice, oats, sprouts. While she shopped, I slipped away to the perfume oil counter. I’d open every bottle and smell each scent…”

Though she studied broadcast journalism, public relations and music at USC, her love for scents and perfumes never left her. After college, she traveled through France, visiting perfume houses, and then began working as a flight attendant on private jets, where she would place the perfumes she created in bathrooms and on guest seats. In 2004, she started blending fragrance oils with purpose and began creating customized scents through one-on-one consultations with clients. She launched her fragrance line with three scents – Fleurs Blanches, Épice Orientale and Notes Fraîches – in January 2008, and already has several celebrities, like Marlee Matlin and Ashley Roberts of The Pussycat Dolls, buying custom scents and from the line.

Michèle took some time off from her busy blending schedule one afternoon to answer some Coast questions about her fragrances and her keen nose.

What inspires your fragrances?
Many different things, I think, as many artists would say. I’m such a visual person – I love interior design… Typically, I’m inspired by people that I admire, and by gardens… I love going into Roger’s Gardens and just smelling flowers. In doing that, I can almost, in my head, put together something… One thing I’m not inspired by – trends. I’m inspired by things – classical things, classical places.

When creating custom scents, how are you able to capture intangible things like emotions and memories in a bottle?
A lot of it is really intuition. A lot of it is getting a read, being able to connect with someone and getting a vibe and a feeling from them, what they’re saying.

What’s the strangest fragrance you’ve been asked to create?
Something that smells like sex.

The Kristen Michèle Parfumeur line is available at Spa Gregorie’s in Newport Beach, The White Dress in Corona del Mar and can be ordered through kristenmicheleparfumeur.com for $70-$75 a bottle (ask about lipstick-size purse sprays available through the site for $35). E-mail Kristen Michèle through the site for sample vials or to schedule custom scent appointments, bridal scent appointments and perfume parties.