L.A. Story

Perfumehead pens a love letter to Hollywood with its pop-culture-inspired scents.

THE SUNSET STRIP in the '60s had a curious mascot twirling above the Sahara Hotel sign: a cowgirl visible from Gore Vidal's room at the Chateau Marmont. "For me she is Hollywood, and mesmerizing," says the title character in Myra Breckinridge, Vidal's 1968 novel. Daniel Patrick Giles might agree, given the L.A. arcana infused into his new fragrance project, Perfumehead. The seven hand-poured extraits, debuting at Violet Grey, glimmer with lore. Cosmic Cowboy (musk, orris, cinnamon) takes cues from Myra, Orville Peck, and a Nudie-suited Robert Redford. Moon Flower imagines 3 a.m. blooms along a Runyon Canyon hike. "Over my shoulder is the Chateau Marmont," Giles says from his home in West Hollywood, describing the legendary hotel as a nexus for Perfumehead's "osmocosm." Room N° is an overt nod, with sensual, spicy notes: "I started to think about 'if these walls could talk.' " Ahead, Giles plans to add an eau de parfum with proceeds that benefit mental well-being, in part influenced by his odyssey with long COVID. Scent as "an emotional connection—that's what really excites me."

LAURA REGENSDORF