This All-Star Collab Now Offers Customizable Fragrance “Uniforms”

When faced with the opportunity to collaborate with Opening Ceremony on a spring fragrance collection, perfumer Julia Zangrilli was stumped. Her company, NOVA, is known for crafting custom fragrances for patrons, and Zangrilli wanted to give OC customers a similarly bespoke scent experience that was flexible but foolproof (and much more time- and resource-efficient than hand-blending fragrances for every shopper). Her inspired solution: Zangrilli created four perfume palettes, each composed of four separate scents that can be layered or worn separately.

For each set, Zangrilli was inspired by the styles of four different decades: the '60s, '70s, '80s, and '90s. Tiki Surf evokes the surfer attitude of the Beach Boys era, Wood suggests the nature-loving vibe of the '70s, Pop captures the exuberance and color of the '80s, and Glass refers to the sporty minimalism of the '90s. From there, Zangrilli broke down each theme into separate olfactory elements. For example, the four scents in Tiki Surf are tan, with notes of sunscreen and orange blossom; tropical, which blends coconut and spearmint; powdery, evoking freshly laundered towels; and oceanic, which has salty marine notes.

The genius of this idea lies in the fact that fragrance is so closely tied with our mood. Sometimes, we want a complex, multidimensional scent to announce our arrival, while, other times, we seek the simple pleasure of a few pared-down notes. So, with these perfume palettes, you can create the exact fragrance experience you're looking for every day. And, since each set allows for 16 different scents, we'd say that's some real bang for your buck.

NOVA x Opening Ceremony Exclusive Fragrance Palettes, $130 each, available at Opening Ceremony.