Press and Awards

Yin and Ylang only gets more delightful as the hours go on. As a scent with a high percentage of naturals, it has excellent sillage that gets me compliments every time I wear it, and for me, longevity is excellent; the gorgeous drydown is still noticeable overnight. In order to be memorable, one needs to know not only how to make a grand entrance, but how to linger in the mind after departing. Yin and Ylang accomplishes both beautifully, leaving me always wanting more.

Yin & Ylang Review /// Cafleurebon

Nostalgie goes with flowing skirts and red lipstick. It's not sinister in any way-- the gorgeous honeyed mimosa note is too sunny for that. I honestly feel that this is a very feminine and cleavagy fragrance. Not that it should prevent men from trying, but it brings out my inner Marilyn from the first go. Nostalgie is a synergie of notes and an idea. It's not a recreation of any classic perfume from the past, but it can easily sit on the same shelf as many of them.

Nostalgie Review /// The non-blonde

There’s something intensely sexy about a scent that’s as enticing on him as it is on her. Which is why we love Sonoma Scent Studio’s Tabac Aurea, a rich, heady perfume that enrobes with notes of cedar, sandalwood, pipe tobacco, leather, clove, vanilla, and amber.

Tabac Aurea /// Sonoma Magazine

Sonoma Scent Studio is a brand well worth the effort to seek out and she does offer a sample program so you can try before buying. The five choices above are a gateway to one of our best independent perfumers.

Brand Overview /// Colognoisseur

Back on the trail, IP’s dry-to-humid path perfectly complimented our ramblings through Vasquez Rocks: the aromatics of juniper and sage baking in the hot sun, the boulder puddles filled with tadpoles, the shaded canyons threaded with creeks. After passing the mountain lion test (Katie not eaten: check), I can now declare Incense Pure my new favorite incense -- Nature Enhancement Division.

Incense Pure Review /// Katie Puckrik Smells

It wears as a wonderfully spicy, warm, woodsy fragrance. This is one of my favorite sandalwood perfumes.

Champagne de Bois Review /// EauMG

Nostalgie is a very appropriate name for this romantic fragrance, which conjures soft-focus images of an Edwardian beauty. She’s dressed in white and sitting in a sunny garden amid blooming flowers, bees and butterflies. This, to me, is the scent of Lucy Honeychurch in A Room with a View.

Nostalgie Review /// Australian Perfume Junkies

Still a sexy-man bomb. Still a wonderful amalgam of sunny afternoons, faint whiffs of tobacco smoke, earthy forest floors, dry leaves, a worn bomber jacket and the warm skin of one’s beloved. Gorgeous.

Tabac Aurea Review /// The Muse in Wooden Shoes

It is both long-lasting and drooling trail-worthy; it's parfum strength after all. This is a scent to get you noticed and to be asked what perfume you're wearing.

Nostalgie Review /// Perfume Shrine

Sonoma Scent Studio is a small indie line with an avid fan base among perfumistas, and it's easy to see why: the fragrances are well-crafted, reasonably priced, and have a grown-up, 'modern classic' aura that provides comfort when the pink fruity things at the mall seem so overwhelmingly pink.

25 More Fragrances Every Perfumista Should Smell /// Now Smell This

The smoky amber forming the core of the composition along with the bright, peppery frankincense and elemi, evokes the crisp scent of autumnal air, distant bonfires and wet earth. The sweetness of vanilla and the musky softness of angelica provide an alluring counterpoint to the rich notes, with the end result being quite polished.

Incense Pure Review /// Bois de Jasmin

Laurie Erickson, the nose behind Sonoma Scent Studio, came to perfume through gardening. She craved realistic floral scents she couldn't find at department stores. Today, Erickson has a cult following for elegant fragrances such as Tabac Aurea, Winter Woods, Fireside Intense, Champagne de Bois and Cameo.

Bay Area Indies /// LA Times

Hundreds of meticulously labeled fragrance notes are spread out over several workstations, resembling a fabulous-smelling laboratory. She's working on an all-natural line and planning on holding open-studio-like workshops in her space. Her fragrance knowledge is staggering, and she credits the virtual community for keeping her excited about what she does.

Feature & Interview /// SF Gate

Imagine lying on a bed of soft fir needles and staring up through the branches to where the points of the trees pierce the sky: you can smell the pine pitch, the warm wood of the trunk where the sun is leaning on it, and a lightly peaty whiff of the forest’s humus floor….Every time I sniffed my wrist and breathed in the scent of Incense Pure, I was reminded of my communion with nature...and connected to all that I hold Holy Personal.

Incense Pure Review /// Eiderdown Press

The most interesting small perfumers develop their own style, with an array of scents that hang together and “feel” like their work and nobody else’s. Coming fresh to Laurie Erickson’s scents, I enjoyed how unsweet they are, and how (at least in the more winter-y ones I tried) she’s got a fondness for leather, woods and smoke, but they don’t all end up smelling like slight variations of each other; they’re distinct and attractive scents.

Review of 5 Scents /// Perfume Posse

Spiced Citrus Vetiver is a gorgeous thing.

Spiced Citrus Vetiver Review /// Chemist in the Bottle

Tabac Aurea took me back to that drying barn with the poles of tied off bunches of tobacco leaves drying and the sun shining in around the wooden planks of the barn.

Tabac Aurea Review /// Fragrantica

Winter Woods is a gentle, cozy & reflective sort of aroma. It seems perfectly suited for reading while lounging in your favorite chair by the fireplace. Laurie Erickson must use extremely high quality ingredients because she presents you with the most perfect wood and amber notes. I mean Serge Lutens quality.