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Emma Vernon needs no introduction. The multihyphenate turned star podcaster has made a name for herself with her hit show, Perfume Room, where she dives deep into fragrance and unpacks why it resonates with so many of us. From talking directly to the perfumers, chemists, and founders that create the scents, to people who simply love them, she is a seasoned expert who chats with her audience like friends and creates a space where people can listen, learn, and feel included, no matter where they are on their fragrance journey.
Emma has also answered the seemingly impossible question of “but how can we smell through a podcast” by creating multiple ways to engage with her audience online and in real life. She created Smell Club, a monthly digital gathering where her listeners can receive a custom curated pack of samples themed around one note, and gather, smell, and discuss. She also hosts in-person events that bring people together through scent.
Emma not only creates an incredible podcast, she goes beyond that and creates a community unlike any other, for fragrance lovers to celebrate their love of scent. Meet Emma Vernon in the inaugural issue of Permanent Press below.
Emma Vernon behind the scenes with Laundry Sauce Principal Perfumer, Sabine de Tscharner, getting a first look at our new, limited-edition scent, Mojave Peach.
Introduce yourself and tell us about your background.
I’m Emma Vernon, and I host the popular fragrance podcast Perfume Room! Before that, I was one of the pioneers of PerfumeTok, and before that, I was a matchmaker and comedian. Recently, I merged all of these parts of me into one big, chaotic good dating show called Smells Like Love, where singles, without ever seeing their potential prospects, have to sniff their ways to love. TL;DR my LinkedIn is a mess, but I am ultimately just a Girl Who Loves Perfume™.
When did you fall in love with fragrance and what did it mean to you growing up?
Fragrance was EVERYTHING to me growing up. A kind of catch-all, it was a source of comfort, love, memories, beauty, as a t(w)een–sex appeal (and other lies I told myself), and ultimately identity.
My earliest scent memory is of my childhood stuffed animal, Bunny. Growing up, there was nowhere that I went that Bunny didn’t. Awake or asleep, I would huff Bunny’s aroma–a panacea-like blend of laundry detergent, hair grease, and whatever other bodily funk Bunny accumulated between washes. (To be clear, Bunny was no one else’s panacea.)
My earliest perfume memories have RANGE. The first is sneaking into my Grandmother’s bedroom as a three-year-old and applying all of her samples and miniatures (which ranged from choke-out florals to choke-out animalics). It begs the question, what if Tommy Pickles wore Giorgio?
The other was my ultra-cool, early-20s-something babysitter, Sheila, who had bangs, crimped hair, a permanent hair scrunchie on her wrist, and wore the drugstore ambrosia that was Malibu Musk. (I know of a modern day dupe for anyone who needs; DM me :-*)
“...Scent is another source of identity. ...when you find someone in the wild who has the same signature scent or shares the same fragrance obsession as you, it feels akin to meeting someone who shares the same moon and rising signs; it’s an immediate point of unique connection.”
Emma's first smell of Mojave Peach
What inspired Perfume Room?
Actually: a failed TedX proposal and… my therapist!
Back in 2020, I was balancing matchmaking, comedy, and perfume content creation. I had a meeting with a woman who worked at TedX about possibly creating a talk around matchmaking. She recommended I ‘lose the perfume,’ because my elevator pitch was a mouthful, and my resume was confusing.
As one does, I was telling my therapist about this conversation (and the pit in my stomach that it gave me). She asked me which path I would choose if I had to pick one to talk about forever, and without hesitation I said perfume. She then proposed I start a podcast. And that was it. That was in December 2020. The podcast launched a few months later. Ironically, that one TedX conversation is why I stopped matchmaking altogether and pivoted to fragrance full-time.
What is your favorite thing about hosting Perfume Room?
Getting to interview people I am curious about about what I am curious about! And the community!
What were some scents that were important to you throughout your life? Fine fragrances or otherwise)
Malibu Musk - my first memory of an aspirational, cool scent.
Gap Dream - my first perfume.
Ibiza Hippie - a seminal perfume in discovering my own taste.
I remember smelling every single perfume in the Sephora in Times Square (as a seventh grader), and picking this one out as my birthday present. There were some other gems in my middle school collection, but this one was my favorite.
Essential Faith - in another lifetime, I was a fragrance gatekeeper (the shock, the horror). It was a time of low self confidence in my life, and my perfume felt like my best asset. Anyway, this was my (secret) signature scent for YEARS. I wore it in college through my late 20s. (It’s v comparable to Nemat Amber).
Mojave Peach is such a stunning fresh peach, but still has the beautiful subtle woody spiciness that makes it feel more like perfume and less like laundry detergent.
Le Labo Bergamote 22 - I remember feeling *unique* wearing this. It was the peak of Santal 33’s cult status (like just before it broke big and still had a sort of IYKYK following). The fact that I preferred Berg 22 over the more popular The Noir or Santal 33 felt like a defining characteristic of my personality. “I’m not like other girls.” (We grow; we evolve.)
Serge Lutens Santal Majuscule - the first real niche perfume I ever purchased… in the 17th Street Barney’s basement of course (RIP).
What is one misconception you feel that people have about fragrance?
That’s what’s trending is good and what’s not is bad. Ultimately what you find ‘good’ and/or ‘bad’ reflects your own taste, which is why there will always be someone who disagrees, and which is why no one can argue with it. Center your own taste, always. You’re the one who has to smell yourself.
You create many opportunities to connect with your community, but digitally and irl. Tell us what you love about the connection that scent creates.
Scent is such a cool lens to get to know someone. Even walking down the street in NYC, I LOVE mindfully observing strangers’ fragrances. I’ll clock someone from afar, try to guess what types of scents they like (and thus what they might smell like). Then, as we get closer, I see how right or wrong I was. (One of many silly silent games I play with myself.)
Ultimately scent is another source of identity, and it’s one of the few narratives in how we present to the world that we can control (if we want). Perfume lovers are more deeply attuned with the narratives they want to tell, and with their own tastes. And when you find someone in the wild who has the same signature scent or shares the same fragrance obsession as you, it feels akin to meeting someone who shares the same moon and rising signs; it’s an immediate point of unique connection.
What are your favorite Laundry Sauce scents and how do you like to use them?
OMG so many. French Saffron. Spanish Leather. Egyptian Rose. I love the laundry pod + dryer sheet combo. It maximizes the scent, and the sillage of Laundry Sauce alone is as stunning and strong as so many of the perfumes I wear.
What’s your favorite way to use and layer Mojave Peach + what notes does it pair well with?
Mojave Peach is such a stunning fresh peach, but still has the beautiful subtle woody spiciness that makes it feel more like perfume and less like laundry detergent. If I wash my clothes with Mojave Peach, I like to lean into different facets of the scent in the perfume I wear; something a little peachy, or fresh musk, or even a spicy stone fruit perfume all complement the scent nicely.
A few frags I’ve been wearing with it:
-The Maker Wild
-L’Entropiste Johdpur 6AM
-Jovoy Musc Pallas
