A New Concept Scent that Actually Smells Great

Named after an odorless — and some think poisonous — flower once common across New York City (and still blooms at Central Park’s Conservancy Garden) comes a new scent from Joya, the unorthodox Brooklyn perfumery. Or ‘fragrance design studio,’ as they prefer to be called.

The fragrance, Foxglove, is Joya’s fourth and most daring to date, a reimagining of and homage to old New York. Specifically, the perfume oil takes its cues from the Romantic Movement of the early 19th century, a time that saw the creation of America’s grandest parks as sanctuary from the Industrial Revolution and its noxious, mass-produced ways. “We sourced beautiful and extremely rare naturals and specialty raw materials,” says Joya’s founder Frederick Bouchardy, “to give the fragrance a real sensation of bursting stems, stamens, and leaves.” The notes in the resulting juice are a mix of salt meadow grass, hyacinth leaves, oak, cedar, and camellia.

Foxglove is sold exclusively on Net-a-Porter, a contrary situation that presents the sort of conceptual dilemma Joya seems to revels in — a fragrance based on a non-odor and sold without possibility of testing. The artful packaging, however, should help ease with the leap of faith. The full-sized version comes in a forest-green porcelain pot, custom-stained and slip-cast at the Joya studio, with an applicator wand that’s been dipped in 22-karat gold. The travel size is also nicely considered with its acid-etched green glass, while the bar soap is saponified and drill-pressed by hand.

$112 (full size, 75 ml), $28 (travel size, 10 ml), $14 (bar soap) at Net-a-Porter