CaFleureBon Profiles in American Perfumery: Maria McElroy of Aroma M + Geisha Draw

I fell in love with Aroma M O-cha when I was a publicist at Luckyscent; o-cha is the Japanese word for tea (お茶 ocha). But the scent is much more; it is luminous and delicate, with notes of clary sage and sweet orange- unlike anything I had smelled before or since.The flacon, is a work of art in itself packaged in a pouch that used fabric from Japanese kimonos (I still keep my passport in it after all these years). We lived three blocks away from each other, so I met Maria McElroy at the Grammercy Hotel’s Rose Bar from time to time. I was struck by her beauty, intelligence, and singualr style. We chatted for hours about men, art, and literature and of course our mutual passion for perfumerycalled (kodo) in Japanese. I marveled that this young woman ran every facet of her business which had taken on cult status with perfumistas since its debut in the 1990s. When I hear the words ‘Indie perfumer’, I remember Maria telling me that when she launched Aroma M the word ‘niche’ didn’t even exist !

Her latest fragrance Geisha O-Cha oil was one of my favorite spring scents of 2010. Maria is also a co founder of Cherry Bomb Killer

photos are from Maria McElroy all rights reserved

Profile:”My mother was of Greek heritage; therefore I was raised in a home, rich with the customs and traditions of the Mediterranean. As a little girl, I remember the wonderful smells wafting from my mother and grandmothers kitchens, especially when baking was being done for a party. I have memories of our dinning room table set with embroidered linens, fragrant bouquets of flowers, candles and sweet delicacies that tasted as good as they looked. The room would begin to fill with numerous relatives, followed by story telling and much laughter“.

My grandfather came to the United States from Greece at the turn of the century and settle in a small town in Nevada. He opened a dry goods store, grocery store and furniture store. My grandmother joined him after he was settled, making the long boat journey from Athens with a lady in waiting. My grandparents took care of many in the community and also back home in Greece. My grandfather was truly a self made man, learning to speak and write beautiful English. He was known as the perfect gentleman and greatly influenced many lives. His spirit lives on in our family and boosts many entrepreneurs.

Looking back on my childhood, and the many wonderful trips to Greece and other areas of the Mediterranean since, I see how much our home was influenced by our Mediterranean family history.

On American perfumery

I feel very lucky to be involved in the perfume industry for over fifteen years. As Americans, we all come from such diverse backgrounds and I believe this adds richness to the creativity and awareness in our specific “indie” industry. Additionally, being a perfumer in the modern age, in which the world is so accessible and where we are able to travel with such ease, is amazing. The influences and experiences connected to perfume are limitless. Specifically in my case, spending so many years in Japan has influenced my sensibility, and in turn, my view of scent in a truly deep way. It is a fascinating industry that continues to grow and evolve with ingenuity and talent.

One of the American artists that I have adored since my days in art school is Cy Twombly. I used to sit in front of his painting for hours at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. I was entranced with his work. It was like experiencing illusions, abstract calligraphy. He somehow captured time like a narrative writer. I have followed his work through the years and continued to find it lyrical and poetic. I was so sad to hear of his passing this year I will miss his inspiration.

For our draw leave a comment about something fascinating you learned about Maria and log on to www.aromam.com and one commentor will be eligible for an AromaM oil. Please name the Geisha Oil in your comment. Draw closes August 17, 2011.

Michelyn Camen, Editor in Chief

Editor’s Note: Maria performed in a traditional Koto concert, but alas the photo did not load. If you use this as something interesting you learned about Maria, your entry won’t count!

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20 comments

  • I learned many things, her mother was of Greek heritage, her grandfather came to the United States from Greece and settle in a small town in Nevada. Maria has been in the perfume business for 15 years……….its amazing to find out peoples heritage and what makes them who they are today.

  • I lived in Las Vegas, Nevada for several years and thought it interesting that Maria’s grandfather came from Greece to Nevada. I wonder which small town it was? Heaven knows, there are MANY small towns in Nevada!

    I would love to try the Geisha O-Cha oil.

    Thanks

  • Geisha Violet sounds gorgeous. Maria spending time in Japan was what I thought most interesting about her life . It obviously shows in her beautiful fragrances and their packaging.

  • The most fascinating thing I find about Maria is her rich heritage of cultures. Mediterranean food has always inspired me and her sharing about the aroma of foods coming from the kitchen was almost like smelling the mentioned foods with her. It was a great read.

    My choice would be Geisha O-Cha.

  • I would love to try the Nobara-cha oil. I am a Cy Twombly fan and he has inspired my paintings so I liked learning of another fan!

  • It was interesting to learn of her Greek heritage, but, the most interesting thing Maria said was “When she launched Aroma M as an Indie perfumer, the word *niche* didn’t exist.” I would love to try Geisha O-Cha!

  • It is so interesting to learn of the perfumers background. I am just learning of niche perfumes and had never heard of this until reading about it here. I think Maria is lovely and seems to be quite accomplished. I think living in Japan would be both exciting and calming at the same time, and it does show in the beautiful packaging. I would love to try any of her fragrances, but if I had to pick one from the descriptions, I think I might like Geisha Noir. Thank you for the draw.

  • Aroma m oils contain 90% natural ingredients geisha green has absinthe in it’s composition and is very uni sexy
    Each perfume is Stapleton japanese paper and no two are alike!
    Maria was also part of the original untitled series for luckyscent

  • Thank you Michelyn for the lovely profile and I have loved reading all the wonderful comments! Thank you all for your interest and I look forward to continuing the perfume conversation…xoxo

  • Very interesting mulitcultural background. I would like to know how Maria deals with the fact, that japanese people seem to prefer room fragrances instead of perfuming themsleves.

    My choice for the draw would be geisha green.

  • I was fascinated to see that someone loved to dress Maria in little plaid dresses and big, floppy hair bows. But seriously, it was interesting to note that it was spending so many years in Japan that influenced her sensibility and her view of scent.
    I was further fascinated upon visiting her website to find that she had spent seven years in Japan not only studying Kodo (perfumery), but also Ikebana, Koto, Shiatsu and Zen Buddhism, and that she has a Japanese born husband (that she met in New York).
    It is so difficult to choose just one of these lovely scents, but choose I will — Geisha Marron.

  • I found it interesting that Maria is entranced with Cy Twombly’s work, as I am as well. Geisha Noire- combat stress? That’s the one for me!

  • I love these series! I did not know anything about Maria, and I am glad to meet a fellow modern art lover.

    If I had a choice, it’s Marron. I love lily of the valley.

  • I think that the history of Maria’s grandparents is fascinating. The journey from Greece to America must have been hard for a pregnant woman.

    I would love to try Geisha Marron 🙂

  • Michelle Hunt says:

    I too love reading about the fact that Maria’s grandparents were immigrants who started businesses. It must have been tough, very inspiring!

    I would love to try Rouge! Thank you 🙂

  • I adore her packaging and to find out she makes perfume pouches from vintage kimonos! It’s so hard to pick just one but blanche sounds lovely.

  • I love that she went to art school and that she has the most fabulous red Mary Jane shoes in her childhood photos. Geisha Noire is the only one of my favorites that I don’t own so I would like to be entered for that one, please.

  • This was a lovely profile. She seems like a fascinating person and so do her perfumes. She’s married to a japanese chef!

  • Having my own story involving Greece I loved reading about Marias Greek Grandfather and his journey of a new beginning in America.It takes courage dealing with language, customs to learn, and he obviously had plenty of that. He had the support of a wonderful woman , Marias Grandmother and together what a dynamic couple they must have made! Geisha O-Cha, I bet it is divine!