By Lani Gering

Arielle Shoshana is the brain child of Arielle Shoshana Weinburg. She and her partner Katri Haas have dubbed Arielle Shoshana as “Alexandria’s perfume playground”. According to their website, they have the most exciting and exclusive fragrances that you won’t smell anywhere else and they embrace a line of audaciously original fragrances for perfume lovers who spray by their own rules.

Unfortunately, I can’t personally attest to the above statement…yet!  Due “inclement” weather we had the last week of January, we had to conduct our interview remotely so I didn’t have the pleasure of meeting Arielle (left) and Katri (right) at the store.

The upside is that they introduced me to Google Meet. This is the first interview that I have conducted remotely. The only other face to face “tool” I have used is good old Facetime with friends and family and that’s been a handful of times. (Guess you can tell that I didn’t have to work remotely during the pandemic.) The downside, obviously, is that I didn’t get to experience just what the process is in creating my own fragrance or sampling the many interesting scents they have in-house. However, the friend that suggested we profile the perfumery said she had a fabulous experience and highly recommended checking it out. That being said, by the time you’re reading this, I will have met the ladies in person and, hopefully, customized a fragrance to my specs.

In order for you to “spray by your own rules” you are encouraged to take a two-question quiz – questions below. All of the choices for answers made me smile but here are a few standouts:

How do you want to smell?

Bold, juicy, vibrant, like a passion fruit margarita from your favorite rooftop Bar.

Comforting, cozy, delicious, like a matcha latte with particularly adorable latte art.

Bewitching, subversive, resinous, like midnight mass in a long-abandoned cathedral.

It’s 9:00 on a Saturday night, where are you?

Fence hopping. Skinny dipping. Being escorted off the premises.

At home, sheet mask on your face with Drag Race Season 5 on your laptop.

Building a bonfire deep within the forest for a midnight ritual with your coven.

I guess you could say that, in addition to knowing fragrance, Arielle and Katri have wicked senses of humor. And, I can see how answers to these two questions could lend some great insight to a person.

Arielle Shoshana also has fragrances for your home, office or any space you prefer – candles and diffusers and even a laundry detergent.

Having to rely on their website for the bulk of this content, I really think this statement says it all:

“We delight in the unexpected: in Mondays that smell like Saturdays (and vice versa), in vibrant, imaginative perfume notes no one else would dare to use. Wear our days-of-the-week fragrances wildly out of order, entirely according to your own whims.”

I am also very impressed by the press they have garnered from these well-known publications:

Allure

“The Long Weekend Sample Set includes a citrus scent for Friday, bright fruit for Saturday, warm gourmand for Sunday, and soothing lavender tea for Monday. ‘It’s giving range. It’s giving maximum variety.'”

Elle

“Arielle Shoshana makes the coolest day-of-the-week-inspired fragrances, and Monday is no exception. This uplifting scent smells like Earl Grey tea, bergamot and lavender—just the thing to get me out of bed after the weekend.”

The Strategist

“I love a niche fragrance boutique. Places like MUSE in Harlem and Arielle Shoshana in Washington, D.C., stock brands you might not otherwise find — and that’s especially good if you don’t want to walk into a room and smell like anyone else.”

Not being able to meet the ladies in person and actually being inside the store has made writing this profile a bit of a challenge but I think you have a good idea of what they are all about and I hope that the next time you are in Old Town that you stop in. I know I’m looking forward to my first visit.

Arielle Shoshana

313 Cameron Street

Old Town Alexandria

ArielleShoshana.com

Hours:
Monday-Saturday: 11 AM – 7 PM
Sunday: 11 AM – 5 PM

You can shop in-store or online by brand or fragrance family. In addition to their Arielle Shoshana line, they handle several other independent brands. If you aren’t familiar with any of them, you can pick the fragrance you have in mind – citrus, beach, floral, spicy, etc. – and the experts will point you in the right direction.