strangelove nyc

About strangelove nyc

strangelove nyc is a fragrance house founded by Elizabeth Gaynes in 2013. Working with Creative Director Helena Christensen, it uses perfume to tell stories of love and sensuality. Natural oud forms the center of its compositions, meeting flowers, resins, orris and other materials in different combinations.

History

Gaynes encountered oud through her work with GaiaOne, a company devoted to sustainable farming practices for essential oils. That experience shaped her approach to sourcing fragrance materials. Christensen contributes to the romantic narratives, presentation and visual identity of the house. Christophe Laudamiel composed the first five scents, with Hamid Merati-Kashani creating the sixth, bringing another compositional voice to the collection.

Philosophy & Signature Style

Direct relationships with material producers and attention to rare ingredients are central to the house’s account of its work. It offers alcohol-based extrait de parfum as well as pure perfume oils intended for dabbing onto the skin. French glass bottles and 24-karat gold-plated caps connect the fragrances to a considered physical presentation. The caps carry the Golden Ratio together with moon and star details, recurring motifs in the brand’s visual language.

Iconic Fragrances

Melt My Heart brings chocolate and orris together, Lost in Flowers explores a dense floral character, and Silence the Sea takes a marine direction. These examples share an oud foundation while giving the surrounding materials different roles. The relationship between that common core and contrasting textures provides a way to understand the collection.