Fragrance samples spilling out of fashion magazines and bottles clouding up department stores have long sought to lure consumers sniffing out a signature scent. But perfume layering, a trend that has blown up in the past few years, is changing the market.
The idea is to spritz fragrances over each other for a custom scent. Publications like Vogue have outlined how to try it, while brands like Nest and Jo Malone sell sets with sample-sized bottles designed for layering.
In Baton Rouge, new local biz Bayou Aroma allows customers to layer their favorite notes in one fragrance for a unique perfume—no mass-produced bottles required.
Bayou Aroma owner Catherine Montour
It launched last year as Perfume Parties, growing a following through events.
Now with new owner Catherine Montour and a new name, Bayou Aroma is carting its private parties and pop-ups around town. From an arsenal of scented oils, alcohol bases, bottles and roller balls, shoppers concoct one-of-a-kind fragrances.
“I kind of came up with the idea that it’s Louisiana based, so like that (double meaning) of like, bayou—but also it’s by you,” Montour says.
“I think people get excited about the fact that nobody else is going to smell like this.”
[—Bayou Aroma owner Catherine Montour]
Montour stocks a collection of over 150 scents. Some are fruity and floral, like apple, pear, lavender and jasmine, while others lean musky and sweet like amber, vanilla, sandalwood, and tobacco and bay leaf.
Montour helps customers mix and match their own scent, and she can even help them create dupes of popular or rare scents. She knows deciding on a personal fragrance is a big commitment. If the notes are wrong or the ratio feels off, she’ll let clients adjust or even start over for a perfect perfume or cologne.
“I think people get excited about the fact that nobody else is going to smell like this,” Montour says. “So often you find a product, and then that product becomes a trend. But this is something that’s not trendy. … It’s uniquely you. You’re going to walk away with something that nobody else has.”
How it works
1.Customers smell their way through Montour’s collection in between sniffs of ground coffee to reset the olfactory system.
2. Montour plays scientist using pipettes to add the liquid to either a tube or a bottle. Bayou Aroma’s customers are allowed up to 10 milliliters of oils.
3. She fastens a rollerball or spray nozzle to the custom fragrance.
This article was originally published in the February 2025 issue of 225 Magazine.
