Making Scents

When you first glimpse inside MiN New York, with its dark wood interior and 19th Century accents, what may come to mind is an old-fashioned speakeasy or a gentleman’s club, and not so much a fragrance boutique. The haute perfumery, apothecary and atelier has been in SoHo since 2010, where owner Chad Murawczyk  sees MiN as a steward of niche scents, constantly searching for new concoctions and rotating out those that find a home elsewhere. It favors unisex fragrances with notes of spice, wood and tobacco and also sells items like shaving soap and shaving kits. Their customers are curious global travelers, foodies, fashionistas and creatives who seek out these scent connoisseurs for a sniffapalooza extravaganza.

Murawczyk feels that finding a new fragrance should be a guided experience, like a wine tasting, which is why his staff will present you with a list of essential questions such as where you grew up, what your favorite foods and colors are, what your current romantic status is- which by the way, may help change your status if single- among other personal tidbits. Selling dozens of indie and limited distribution scents from around the world, MiN stocks selections from Laboratorio Olfattivo near Rome, Naomi Goodsir’s line from the French fragrance capital, Grasse, and the enchanting- yet strangely named- Kerosene from rural Michigan. And with their Fragrance Flight- an exclusive olfactory club with over 10,000 fragrances- you work with a mixologist to determine your signature scent during an hour long consultation for $250, which includes multiple rounds of recommendations. MiN will soon launch their first members-only eponymous scent collection, where each one is about a moment that means a lot to them. Which is why Old School Bench, with its notes of cedar and wood wax, may take you back to those days studying in the library…or perhaps in detention. wwwminnewyork.com