A huge thank you to Barbara Herman, the owner of Eris Parfums, for taking the time to answer my questions. If you are looking for the interview, it’s at the bottom after a few thoughts on Mx.
I’m reading Pageboy by Elliot Page and I got this book at the perfect time because I’ve been wearing Eris Parfums Mx, a perfume devoted to gender fluidity and the idea that a scent can be neither masculine nor feminine, it can be both, it can be neither.
I love how spicy Mx. is, although the spices are subdued compared to some spicy scents in my collection. The mix of ginger and pepper is warm but zingy. The combination of the two is soft instead of being overwhelming. The cocoa in the background cushions it before the sandalwood warms it up. I love the way Mx. melts into my skin so that I almost forget that it’s there because it just reminds me of a warm body, there’s a hint of something salty that makes the scent purr… how I’d love to sink my nose into someone whose neck smells like this.
Maybe it’s so comforting because Mx. is all of us. It’s warmth and verve, all in one perfume. Like laughing through your tears, which is what we all need to do once in a while.
If you want something that’s just for you, then Mx. is it.
And if you’re wondering whether you should read Pageboy, I’ll say that you absolutely should. The trigger warning is that it’s a real story about the struggles and violence that was endured, and while I’m sure lots was left out, parts of this book were difficult to read.
Mx. inspired me so much that I reached out to Barbara Herman to ask her a few questions. Herman is a vintage perfume lover who blogged about perfume, published a book, and then launched her brand Eris Parfums in 2016. She was kind enough to supply her answers so have a read.
What vintage perfume do you think perfume lovers should get their nose on?
If they’re in (relatively) good condition: Coty Emeraude; Lanvin My Sin; Aramis; Dior Eau Sauvage and Diorella; Balmain Vent Vert, Robert Piguet Bandit and Fracas (all 3 of which were composed by the great iconoclast Germaine Cellier); Caron Tabac Blond. These would provide an interesting range of categories from fresh to floral to animalic that would be a great intro to the classics.
What do you want people to know before they smell your perfumes?
To try the perfumes on skin before forming a definitive opinion — pro or con. This is true of all perfume, but it’s especially true of ERIS. What you’re smelling on a perfume strip is not indicative of how the fragrance will come alive and evolve on your skin.
Other than that, I don’t think they need to know anything before they smell ERIS.
Marketing, names, brand stories, are all attempts to lure people to the fragrances. So what is the brand story? That ERIS, named after the Greek goddess of troublemaking and disruption, is inspired by muses — divine, human, and fragrant — that exemplify unconventional beauty and subversive glamour.
From a fragrance perspective, that means lots of overdosed challenging ingredients (Galbanum in Green Spell, Animalics in Ma Bête, odd combinations like Orange Flower, Pimento Berry, and Seaweed in Belle de Jour, for example). In the case of Delta of Venus, a guava accord that retains all of that fruit’s challenging, funky facets.
In terms of cultural inspirations, provocative films like “Belle de Jour” or “Scorpio Rising” or books like “Delta of Venus,” the photography of Daido Moriyama, Nan Goldin. In terms of people as muses, artists, actors, and musicians whose glamour or beauty is not conventional: Mx. Justin Vivian Bond, Grace Jones, and probably the most representative fashion model for the ERIS aesthetic, Omahyra Mota.
Mx. was maybe the most subversive launch from your collection – was there a different kind of reaction to it than to your other scents?
I think Mx. has the most subversive name, so, it may be the most culturally subversive launch. (Mx. is the gender neutral honorific used by those who don’t want to be identified by gender, so it replaces Mr. and Ms.). But it’s the gentlest and least provocative of all the ERIS fragrances in terms of wearability. The most polarizing in terms of olfaction is probably Ma Bête, because Antoine overdosed the base with challenging, “dirty” animalic ingredients. So the reaction is anywhere from love at first sniff, to hate at first sniff, to, hate later turning into love. But few are indifferent to Ma Bête!
What is something that surprises you about owning and running your perfume brand?
There’s a lot of drudgery. I don’t think the average consumer can possibly imagine how many moving parts there are to starting a brand, or, in terms of the day-to-day, just getting a fragrance out of the door. (I know I didn’t!) It can also be very expensive. And as any (small) brand owner will tell you — packaging, even for a minimalist design, is the most expensive part of the perfume. So, to answer your question, there are a lot of not entirely pleasant surprises! So you have to love perfume to do this.
What’s another perfume house that you find inspiring?
I’m a huge fan of early État Libre d’Orange. Their first fragrances were a perfect balance of provocative messaging with challenging perfumes that backed up the marketing while still being wearable. (And yes, I’m including the notoriously difficult Sécrétions Magnifiques, by ERIS perfumer Antoine Lie!)
From a purely perfume perspective, with more staid and conventional but still chic marketing, early Frederic Malle. I love that he highlighted who the perfumer was for each fragrance. And of course, early Serge Lutens, for its bold perfumes whose names hinted at interesting backstories.
If you’re interested in something niche, I smelled Hot Cotton by Baruti Perfumes today and it smells exactly like a hot iron on a shirt – steam and starch in a perfume. Try it too – it’s a better perfume because there’s honesty in the message it delivers.
