Molly Ray Parfums New Fragrance for the Emerald City

10 min read | MAGAZINE | A.M.

THE FOLLOWING WAS PUBLISHED IN OUR SUMMER ‘22 ISSUE AND IS REPRINTED HERE IN ITS ENTIRETY.

Molly Ray Parfums are releasing their 13th fragrance in an ode to the beauty of the Northwest. Called simply Emerald, the parfum—much like the Northwest itself—is a delightful mix of ancient and modern, fresh and familiar, and offers a rich complexity that evolves over time. We caught up with eponymous founder and parfumer Molly Ray in the midst of her most recent globetrotting pursuits for a deep-dive into the world of bespoke fragrances and the philosophy that upholds them.

Founder and Perfumer, Molly Ray Parfums

“While I live in Seattle, I take inspiration from all over, including trips to Astoria, Juneau, and even the Olympic National Forest. I wanted to capture the wildness of the Northwest, but also the brightness and diversity of water, mountains, our great food scene, and our innate sense of style and sophistication, with this arc bridging the natural and the modern.”

We received a review unit of Emerald, and in our experience, it definitely builds a bridge that unites the senses. The fragrance springs to life with a bright burst of cedar and citrus that mellows into a smooth vanilla and lavender, upheld by a coffee note that enhances but never overwhelms. Imagine your favorite vanilla scent paired with a morning rainfall as it evolves into a mid-afternoon-sun-break, whilst sipping a cappuccino at your favorite off-the-beaten-path bistro, staring at the glistening dew quickly evaporating off the late-spring pines, as the snowcapped Cascade mountain range blares its sunlit reflection through a blanket of silver-lined clouds. Then off to dinner and dancing, obvs.

Perhaps more remarkably, we traced Molly’s perfumery origins to their wonderfully poignant beginnings to discover the methods behind the sensory seduction that evolved into one of our regions most desirable perfume lines in recent memory.

“I just always knew that I loved perfume more than most people. Whenever I would travel, I would look for something different that no one had that I could bring back with me just to remember that experience.”

Unsurprisingly, both her travels and her sense of refinement led Molly to the one place where her curiosity could thrive unabated, with influences uniquely directing her toward what would ultimately become her true north.

“The first fragrance that comes to mind is Angel by Thierry Mugler. It’s an iconic perfume that came out in the 90s that was really different because it used notes like patchouli, which you typically don’t think of when it comes to luxury fragrances. And it also used notes like chocolate and vanilla which had this all-encompassing feel to it. I remember I brought it with me on my fist trip to Paris with my mom. Paris has always been our place, and we’ve been back seven or eight times. And every time, I bring Angel because it’s this Paris scent for me. And even if I’m not in Paris, whenever I smell that, I’m there.”

“But the very first fragrance I can remember was my grandmother’s perfume, Trésor by Lancôme, which is also a classic. She barely used it. It was more like a piece of art to her on her dresser. But I would sneak in and smell it and thought it was always something precious and special.”

“I moved around a lot as a kid and I think that scent was a thing I could count on. Like the smell of laundry or those basic domestic smells, you could recreate them and experience them in different places. I think there was a sense of security or comfort in that. And it wasn’t until I became a perfumer that I came to understand the science behind it.”

The connection between scent and memory is well documented and is widely recognized as one of our most powerful sensory associations. It comes as no surprise, then, that Molly’s early realizations of scent’s inherent power would later form the basis of her perfumery inclinations. More than merely a collection of appealing scents, Molly Ray Parfums lineup has a deep commitment to storytelling in the tradition of Parisian houses from over the last century. And her company’s story can be traced to one fabulous day in Versailles. Surely anyone who’s been there can relate.

“Many years ago my mom and I visited Versailles. I remember having a beauty treatment at Spa Guerlain. The presentation was beautiful. During the facial, they had me smell these stemless wineglasses, each of which had a silk scarf—I believe there were twelve of them. And they asked us which one we preferred. So I went through each of the silk scarves before landing on one, which I handed to them. At the time, I wasn’t sure what this was leading to. But as I’m getting ready for the facial, the esthetician brought out a perfume bottle and told me that I had chosen Shalimar Eau de Parfum, which she proceeds to spray over me in a figure-eight motion. It came down on me as a wonderful mist and all I could think at the time was, This is it. All I wanted was to be surrounded by perfume—to make it and to create this kind of experience for other people. So later, when I created my first fragrance as an homage to Versailles, it really was meant to bring others into this very intimate experience of being there. [Our fragrance] Versailles is in my floral category, so it’s very clean, fresh and light with notes of bergamot and lemon for brightness, as well as rose, lilac and sage at its heart. It’s still my best seller, very easy to wear. And anytime I’m not sure what to wear, or just don’t have time to think about it, Versailles is still my go-to all these years later.”

Molly’s path to perfumery would evolve quickly after her Versailles experience. But it was the stepping-stones along the way that would cement her unique take on the centuries-old art. After a long career in the corporate world achieving an executive position as Head of Sustainability for Office Depot, Molly’s commitment to our world would impact her artisan business as she discovered how to translate sustainability from large to local scale. Yet it wasn’t until her son graduated from high school that she gained the courage to cut her corporate strings and enter the wild world of independent fashion.

“I found this course in Grasse, France, about an hour [west] of Nice. There’s an institute there that’s considered to be one of the best in the world. And I studied mostly natural perfumes—so the classic, French style of perfumery—but with environmental aspects.”

“Sometimes people want to work for an established perfume house and help develop scents for them. Some people are there to learn more about marketing for other brands. And when I finally went through this course, I realized that I want to be in control of some designs for myself.”

“But if you really want to know the exact moment [when I chose to become a perfumer], I think it all came together in Grasse when I thought, These are my people. They were just like me—obsessed with scents in general, talking about them, understanding them, knowing the difference between a lemon and a lime, training your [senses]. It just opened up a whole new world for me. And I wanted to be a part of it.”

“I now have an existing collection of thirteen fragrances in four categories: Floral, Fresh, Smooth and Complex. And if you don’t know or don’t have a category preference, I have a fragrance personality quiz that will point you to one of the four quadrants to give you a starting point from which to explore.”

“Emerald is intended to be genderless—just like all my fragrances—and is really intended to bring inspiration of places and things to anyone who would enjoy it. And so I’ve put lavender and honey suckle which reminds me of our springs. And for a top note, I wanted something that has the kind of zing befitting the weirdness of our wonderful Northwest, so I chose both lime and neroli for a fresh, bright, citrus pop to it. And the base notes are very woodsy, with cedar and even a hint of coffee—after all, we need our coffee.”