Erin Fraser of Curioso Perfumes

Profile: The world of nature was imprinted onto my consciousness from a young age and has been part of me for as long as I can remember. I spent my childhood in Traverse City, a town in Northern Michigan surrounded by forest, lakes, and orchards, situated on a bay on Lake Michigan. My family’s house was situated next to public forest land and I spent much of my time outdoors, exploring the woods, talking to trees, picking watercress and wild raspberries down our trail with my mom, and swimming in Lake Michigan or the many smaller lakes.

Erin Fraser as a young child at Brown Bridge Pond, near her house

The scents of my childhood are the scent of cherry orchards, the smell of ferns, cedars, and pines in the woods, of freshwater lakes and my dad cleaning fish, the aromas of apricots and plums at farm market stands, and the smoky scent of creosote in our wood burning stove. I was always noticing and cataloguing the smells of places in my memory (something I still do).

The trail in the woods

After my mom remarried, my family moved down state to a beach town on Lake Michigan where I spent my adolescence. During that time, I discovered my mom’s old herbal medicine books and became interested in holistic health and natural beauty and I dove into making herbal infusions and beauty concoctions. Essential oils weren’t widely available and natural perfume wasn’t on the radar yet. Perfume didn’t figure into my life at the time because many synthetic fragrances gave me headaches so I largely avoided them, except for the amber perfume oil sold in health food stores and head shops.

Old copy of The Herb Book by John Lust, which belonged to Erin’s mother

I moved to Nashville, TN in 1997 and began working in health and wellness retail, becoming a store buyer for Wild Oats Market and Whole Foods, which furthered my immersion into the world of holistic health. After a decade in retail, I spent a few years as a neurofeedback technician balancing people’s brainwaves, and studied Medical Qigong, the energy work branch of Chinese Medicine (Chinese Medicine has always been one of my favorite subjects). Although I liked working in holistic health and wellness, I had a desire to reconnect with my creativity. I was surrounded by musician friends (and a musician/filmmaker husband) and I wanted to use my right brain for a change and do something creative, too.

Michelyn’s copy of Essence and Alchemy (I think it was a first edition )

About ten years ago, I did an online search for natural perfume just to see what was available I and ordered samples from various companies. When I tried the samples from Aftelier Perfumes, I was blown away by their beauty. I revisited the site to explore more of Mandy Aftel’s creations and discovered that she had a perfume making tutorial kit. Something inside me whispered “You could do that!” It was like my sensitive nose had finally found its purpose. I bought the kit along with her book Essence and Alchemy and began my journey as a natural perfumer. I worked in stops and starts for years, along the way helping a chocolate sommelier friend create a chocolate olfactory training kit (Projet Chocolat Les Arômes du Chocolat) before finally launching Curioso Perfumes. I chose the name Curioso because I wanted something that would represent an aspect of who I am, and my sense of curiosity was the first thing that came to mind. Curioso is an Italian word that can either be an adjective meaning curious, inquisitive, or peculiar, or a noun meaning an inquisitive person.

Curioso Perfumes studio

On being an American Perfumer:  America is diverse, both in landscape and culture, and this is reflected in American perfumery. There’s such a wide variety of styles and expression and it feels very inclusive. I’ve been so pleased to see natural perfumers being embraced by the indie fragrance world because natural materials are such a magical medium to me.

Curioso Perfumes Boreal perfume

I often connect with a material and then figure out a pairing to build a perfume around. Curioso Perfumes Boreal, which I created for myself as my personal signature perfume, was built around orris and balsam fir absolute, two of my favorite materials.  I create what I like and I don’t feel pressured to follow anyone else’s dictates.

Ray and Charles Eames courtesy of Eames Office

Favorite American Artist: I’m cheating because they’re two people, but they come as a unit: Charles and Ray Eames. The Eameses produced so much iconic mid century design and their creativity spanned the gamut, from furniture to architecture to film, and Ray was also a talented sculptor and painter. To me, they embody the spirit of curiosity, a sense of fun, and the boundary pushing nature of the creative process, and I find them so inspiring.

–Erin Fraser, perfumer and founder of Curioso Perfumes

Curioso Perfumes Hygge, Boreal, and South Seas, Nuovo Cacao perfume sampler set

Thanks to Curioso Perfumes, we have a draw for one deluxe sample set of 1 ml each of Boreal, Hygge, South Seas, and Nuovo Cacao. To be eligible please leave a comment with what you enjoyed about Erin Fraser’s path to perfumery, which you fragrance you are drawn to. This is open to USA registered readers only. (You must do this here). Draw closes 9/3/2019

Erin Fraser is 146th American  Perfumer in our series which began in 2011.

Please like CaFleurebon Profiles in American Perfumery and your entry will count twice. Please leave that in your comment.

All photos belong to Erin Fraser of Curioso Perfumes except where noted

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