Capsule Parfums Is Making Fragrance Cool Again

When a beauty product has been around for as long as perfume has, it's pretty hard to make it feel new, not to mention actually cool. Capsule Parfums, however, does not have this problem. The L.A.-based indie company was started by a married couple just last year, and so far, appears to be doing everything right. They're an "independent collective practicing art in the visceral realm of olfactory expression," with a progressive vision of perfume that's inspired by fashion and street culture. We were instantly hooked on the line, which contains five original unisex scents in minimalist downtown-chic packaging.

The fragrances are meant to be mixed and matched, encouraging creativity and individuality. But, the scents are also wonderful on their own. We're particularly fond of Jaunt, a woodsy fragrance with notes of black vanilla pods, leafy tobacco, and cedar. We're also excited about Moto, a scent "inspired by renegades and badass babes" that has notes of black plum and something else dark and warm — described by the brand with words like "leather glam" and "midnight oil." Talk about appealing.

Speaking of the brand's descriptions of the products, never before have we encountered such poetically branded scents. Take, for example, their list of the notes in Polis: "Sparkling calone, riviera mimosa, sea lily, vetiver moss, feathery paper blooms, cotton, daydreams, moonbeams, white clouds, sheer musk." This isn't just your average fragrance fluff. Polis smells like moonbeams. How that's possible, we don't exactly know — we'll leave that mystery to the perfumers.

Capsule Parfums Eau de Parfum in Jaunt, $38, available at Capsule Parfums.