Best Zach Abel Podcasts (2025)

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216: Smell Ya Later WRAPPED: our favorite smells from 2025 1:01:58

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16h ago1:01:58

1:01:58

Every year, we review our favorite smells that launched into the world in the last 12 months, broken down by such innovative categories as "best body mist," "Best candle," and "best body product smell..." you get it. Here's a tight, correct list of our favorite new smells born in 2025. [What we smell like today: Imaginary Authors Yesterday Haze, Da…

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215: TASTE!!! [feat. Serviette] 1:08:56

8d ago1:08:56

1:08:56

We speak of brands often, sometimes (often) critically, other times admiringly. One such brand in the latter is Serviette, helmed by Trey Taylor. A creative culmination of his own tastes, education in fashion, and upbringing in the Great North, Serviette explores the tension between class with modern olfactory concepts, and a whole moodboard's wort…

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214: Maybe smelling basic isn't that bad 🤷‍♀️ 44:41

14d ago44:41

44:41

Things have gotten too complicated, too niche, too try-hard. Sometimes it's nice when familiar things are done well — as you'll hear in this episode, in which we smell through some newness from Billie Eilish and Kayali. [What we smell like today: Rite of Way Rising Sun, John Varvatos Rock Volume 1] This episode is sponsored by Cécred (hurray!) Use …

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213: All we do is GIVE: The 2025 Smell Ya Later gift guide 1:07:37

22d ago1:07:37

1:07:37

Another year, another round of smelly things you can buy for your loved ones, obligatory gift recipients, assigned gift swap honorees, and also just yourself! We have roughly a dozen items that smell nice, abet nice smells, are delicious, and/or can be lit on fire in this episode, as well as an abundant balance of chit-chat about smells we've smell…

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212: How to have the best-smelling hair wash day with Cécred 59:19

29d ago59:19

59:19

We are delighted to welcome Robyn Melissa Watkins, Senior VP of Product Development at Cécred (AKA Beyoncé's haircare brand). After a truly Holy shit, how does my hair look this good airdried?? moment Sable had when trying the line, we were very excited to discover not only how its signature scent Temple Oud was created, but also the formula develo…

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211: 50% Concentration!!!! with Amouage 1:08:03

1M ago1:08:03

1:08:03

Known for exquisitely powerful scent profiles that explore the deepest resins and ambers, the most vibrant florals, and the most complex musks, the Omani fragrance brand Amouage has become a regular mention in the perfume social orbit. We have the brand's creative director Renaud Salmon as a guest on this episode, going long on all things Amouage —…

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210: Life after smell-maxxing 54:13

2M ago54:13

54:13

Ok, we have a lot of smells we're catching up with this week, including newness from Abel, D'Orsay, Bianco Profumo, The Nue Co, d'Annam, LORE, Ellis Brooklyn, and etcetera... [What we smell like today: D'Orsay Holy Berry, Bianco Profumo Caffè Amaro] Find our 👚BRAND NEW MERCH👕 now available on our website. It's very cute, also very cool, and we made…

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209: Abel is making fossil fuel-free the new fragrance benchmark 1:06:53

2M ago1:06:53

1:06:53

We have the pleasure of chatting with perfumer Isaac Sinclair on this episode — the only kiwi perfumer (we've heard of) and the olfactive partner for Abel. He tells us about Symrise's upcycling tech that's kind of like the agua fresca of fruit notes, how the "oriental" olfactive family was originally "ambery," and how Abel's directive for creating …

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208: Wearing Chris Collins's perfumes will get you Juno🤰 58:04

2M ago58:04

58:04

By Smell Ya Later

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207: 🕯️Burning Braless👙 with SIDIA 57:47

2M ago57:47

57:47

After smelling the zesty candle collab between SIDIA and Esthetician Sofie Pavitt, we're very pleased to welcome Erin Kleinberg on this episode to chat all things scent in her bodycare and home line, SIDIA, as well as her many endeavors in beauty and fashion media that (little did we realize) we've been interacting with throughout our own careers i…

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206: Which designer fragrance brand is making our favorite scents these days? 46:03

3M ago46:03

46:03

Well, maybe not these days, but we'll tell you about our faves from the bygone days (2010s) of designer fragrance moments. That, plus we chat about some new department store scents, revisit some newish scents, and wonder what it all means (what else is new?). We have our 👚BRAND NEW MERCH👕 now available on our website. It's very cute, also very cool…

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205: The 2025 Smell Ya Later Awards :) 1:02:42

3M ago1:02:42

1:02:42

It happens every year around this time, and somehow we're always surprised even though this is our podcast that we plan and produce entirely ourselves. Please enjoy the 5th annual Smell Ya Later Awards, a collection of extremely biased, not entirely sensical, but entirely 'we mean it' categories of fragrances that we love, support, wonder what's go…

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204: The Vanilla Skinematic Universe 52:42

3M ago52:42

52:42

... And other things we've smelled lately, including: Ellis Brooklyn's new Vanilla Salt, Kayali Milky Musk Oud and Chocolate Oud, Orabella Eternal Roots, Phlur Cherry Stem, DS & Durga Cognac Reign, etc etc... [What we smell like today: Kayali Milky Musk Oud, Orto Parisi Brutus] 🌐 Find more info, episodes, and merch at Smellyalater.live ☎️ Leave us …

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203: What do angel numbers smell like? 🪽💫 1:01:11

3M ago1:01:11

1:01:11

If you see 222, 333, 444, 555, and 11 11 everywhere, now you can smell them — or at least the interpretation of them via Lake & Skye's popular fragrances. Brand founder Courtney Somer joins us this episode to discuss creating the popular 11 11 scent that launched the brand, as well as their new Angel Numbers body mists, which take the concept in a …

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202: Can people please be normal about pumpkin spice 48:30

4M ago48:30

48:30

The Tokkers are at it again, this time selling out a certain indie pumpkin spice-laden perfume in service of... vasodilation? ¯\(ツ)/¯ OK, we guess! This week, we combatively chit-chat about very expensive perfumes, very affordable perfumes, and all the basic in-between perfumes (y'know, the usual). And we address a listener question about fall frag…

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201: Rare Beauty's first perfume looks like that for a reason 1:04:09

4M ago1:04:09

1:04:09

We're delighted to welcome Joyce Kim, chief product officer for Rare Beauty, on this episode to talk about how Rare's first eau de parfum was created: its unique bottle design created in collaboration with hand therapy specialists, the four scent layering balms that dramatically transform the scent, and how an early unintended packaging design feat…

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200: Mist-flation for the caramel-curious 52:11

4M ago52:11

52:11

We have MORE body mists in the world this week. We have perfumes for decades. We have opinions on cheeky scent-naming formats. Catch up with us as we (briefly) mention some summer cinematic blockbusters, smell the new Philosophy body mists, argue about how much body mists and 10ml travel EDP vials should cost, and we smell Selena's (Rare Beauty's) …

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199: Making perfume with the ghost of Eartha Kitt [feat. Harlem Perfume Co] 1:03:37

4M ago1:03:37

1:03:37

We have Teri Johnson of Harlem Candle Co. and Harlem Perfume Co. talking about her historically reverent collection of perfumes inspired by the great artists of the Harlem Renaissance: Billie Holiday, Langston Hughes, Josephine Baker, Duke Ellington, and Eartha Kitt — who's perfume was made in collaboration with her daughter Kitt Shapiro (and whose…

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198: Perfumes that attract humans vs. perfumes that attract bugs 44:52

4M ago44:52

44:52

The Venn diagram of perfumes "for sex" (which let's be real, is all of them) and perfumes that attract bugs might be a near-circle. However, there are certain fragrances and fragranced products that could be handy on your next camping trip if you want to avoid attracting either. Also in this ep: A listener question about the smell of summer Sable i…

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197: AI can't replace us because we don't know what we're doing 52:51

5M ago52:51

52:51

Yes, we heard about the short-lived AI perfume influencer, and we're not worried. But everyone was for a minute there! We're chatting about "work" and "jobs," beauty awards being scams, new bananas, the most basic thing about Sable, a listener question about mummies (sort of), what AI is potentially useful for, D.S. & Durga's relaunched tennis scen…

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196: Can you smell the difference between indie and big oil house-made perfumes? 51:30

5M ago51:30

51:30

Not to be contentious, but... what do people think "indie" even means? What does mass mean? And is who they're made by indicative of the quality of fragrance? It's a question making the rounds amongst the fraghead forums, and it's a question that calls for investigation of how our fragrances are being made, who influences their formulas, and what r…

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195: The Scent of Australia In 6 Stories [Feat. Raconteur] 🇦🇺 1:08:24

5M ago1:08:24

1:08:24

Years ago, Craig Andrade took a candle-making class that became the impetus for a life pivot from being a lawyer to becoming a perfumer. And in studying perfumery, he realized that so many of Australia's native raw materials had yet to be introduced to the world. We have Andrade on this episode to discuss how Raconteur embodies the stories of Austr…

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194: Rite Of Way's lighting accord in a bottle⚡️(feat. Alex Brands) 1:06:27

6M ago1:06:27

1:06:27

We recently met Alex Brands, founder of the new fragrance... brand, Rite Of Way, at our scent swap last month. He gifted us his first scent Outer Realm, and we were intrigued by the packaging design, the cute little tote, and of course, the scent (which also happens to be created by Joey Rosin, former guest and perfumer for Sable's Die Hot With A V…

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193: Honestly what's with all these body mists? 41:56

6M ago41:56

41:56

No, really though? What would a banana, peanut butter, and bread perfume smell like? What's that one fragrance brand Tynan accidentally had been hating on for too long? What will Sabrina Carpenter's new Man's Best Friend album era perfume release be? What's the cocktail scent Tynan wanted to wear this week? So many queries for so many smells we've …

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192: A Roundabout NYC Perfume Shopping Itinerary 58:40

6M ago58:40

58:40

Here's an episode about all the places we like to go smell some good and premium smells in the Big Apple. Also: - We went to the Fragrance Foundation Awards. What are they? What do they mean? Why didn't we get invited to the dinner portion? - Tynan got the new soon-to-be-released Clue Perfumery scent, Dandelion Butter - We attended Fugazzi's Orange…

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191: Anyway, shout out to billionaires 😮‍💨💸 45:01

6M ago45:01

45:01

Sable went to Miami for too long. Tynan discovers what a buy-out is for Rhode Beauty's M&A. We both went to Nette's Lemon Puff fete. We smell the new D.S. & Durga cologne collection, with unexpected results. We talk about Krigler's newest fragrance and Violet Grey's first fragrance, only one of which we've smelled, but both may as well be Klarna ba…

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190: Talking with your hands never smelled so good 55:11

7M ago55:11

55:11

Hand sanitizer has a rather unfair reputation — this sticky, medical-smelling goo serves to remind us of a worldwide pandemic, or else the inconvenience of not being able to find a wash sink with soap. Ugh. Touchland is a brand that elevates the hand sanitizer experience with complex, trend-driven scents that could double as perfume in a pinch (and…

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189: What went down at our first scent swap? 50:18

7M ago50:18

50:18

In case you hadn't heard from our last five eps or so, we hosted our first scent swap last week at Talea in Brooklyn. We had 180 RSVPs, 50 swag bags, and a whole lot of perfumes to swap. Here's a little catch-up about the event, and some smells we've been enjoying recently.By Smell Ya Later

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188: When Rebrands Flop ☹️ 52:37

8M ago52:37

52:37

The chat around the frag-o-sphere as of late has been steaming about Boy Smell's big rebrand. It's been called everything from Temu-ified to TikTok-bait. And aside from our thoughts about it (of which they exist in abundance), we wondered what rebrands are for, when are they successful, and what do brands owe their audience? [What we smell like tod…

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187: How to smell like a music festival 🏁 [feat. Romy Kowalewski of 27 87] 1:02:19

8M ago1:02:19

1:02:19

Burnt rubber, absinthe, red pepper, fennel — not the most typical notes you'd find in a perfume, but 27 87 has a clever way of incorporating unexpected things into their very sophisticated, very balanced, and very can't-stop-smelling-yourself fragrances. Romy Kowalewski, the German-born and Barcelona-based founder of 27 87 makes such scents, based …

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186: How smart homes smell good 1:13:37

8M ago1:13:37

1:13:37

We're hosting a Scent Swap at Talea in Williamsburg on May 7th from 6-9 pm. It's free with RSVP. Bring at least one fragrance to swap and enjoy bevs & snacks from our host. If your idea of home fragrance involves sticky reed diffusers, sweeping up incense ash, or $80 candles, Pura offers something for the tech-savvy, with one of the first smart hom…

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185: The computers are smelling [feat. Christophe Laudamiel of OSMO] 1:11:50

8M ago1:11:50

1:11:50

The fragrance industry is trotting out AI more and more in new creations and creative development, but when it comes to digitizing smells, OSMO is a Google-born initiative that uses machine learning, sensory neuroscience, data science, engineering, fine fragrance, analytical chemistry, and product development to map smells, engineer new smell molec…

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184: "It's a TikTok rose," and other things we've smelled this week... 44:22

9M ago44:22

44:22

This is what happens when we're left to our own devices in front of two hot mics, a bevy of new scents, and no guest 🙃 [What we smell like today: Bond No. 9 Greenpoint, Phlur Rose Whip] 🌐 Find more info, episodes, and merch at Smellyalater.live ☎️ Leave us a voice message on the SYL Hotline at Speakpipe.com/smellyalater and we may respond on a futu…

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183: A dupe by any other name would smell as [redacted] 53:16

9M ago53:16

53:16

Did you know that beneath our noses this whole time, our beloved Bath & Body Works have been releasing their own body mist line of dupery? The collection is a flexible series of scents that go in and out of style based on... perfumes most mentioned on Tiktok? Most inescapable scents in the culture? Mysterious trend forecasting documents? Who can kn…

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182: The magic's in the minimalism feat. Maison Louis Marie 1:07:14

9M ago1:07:14

1:07:14

You know their minimalist packaging and their cozy, comforting scents — perhaps most famous being No. 4 Bois de Balincourt, one of the defining sandalwoods of the decade. We have Marie Du Petit Thouars alongside her partner Matt Berkson on this episode for her very first podcast interview. The couple are the founders of Maison Louis Marie, the tres…

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181: Swipe no more: sniff your way to your next match 1:08:13

10M ago1:08:13

1:08:13

For those tired of swiping on apps, four artists in London have brought you another sensory option for finding a date: smelling your way to a match. The Scent of Connection is an artist collective founded by Jack Jessé, Niko Alonso, Porsha Thompson, and Jasmine Imren, focused on reimagining how people connect by exploring sensory experiences beyond…

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180: The blind leading the buys 55:18

10M ago55:18

55:18

We all know perfume collecting is an expensive hobby. Yet blind buys are on the rise, according to this BoF article (but also to anyone who's keyed into PerfumeTok or fragrance enthusiasts in general). What's the most you're willing to shill for an unknown scent? [Today we smell like: Valentino Sogno In Rosso, Frederic Malle Musc Ravageur] 🌐 Find m…

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179: Perfumes to fall in love (or just crush) to ❤️ 59:04

10M ago59:04

59:04

We've all been perfume-fished before — someone smells really good, which makes you crush real hard, and then after getting to know them, you realize that maybe the best thing about them was their scent... Honestly, could be worse! [What we smell like today: Montale Bubble Forever, Merit Retrospect] Find more info, episodes, and merch at Smellyalate…

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178: What does a movie smell like? 52:32

10M ago52:32

52:32

New year, same us — now with more ( ◡‿◡ *) as you'll notice in our official new look (thanks to photographer Zach Bergren). We're chatting about all the things we've smelled during the longest month of the year (new Chloe, new Fine'ry collection, Jil Sander's newest perfume drop, and more), addressing a listener question about scents being licensed…

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177: How will PerfumeTok survive this? 53:28

11M ago53:28

53:28

We recorded this ep on the eve of the U.S. TikTok ban, speculating what will become of the fragrance culture (and economy) in a post-TT digital landscape. Welp. We all know how that went... So instead, enjoy this little chat that may very well become prescient now that we know who the clock app is pledging allegiance to... [What we smell like today…

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176: The State of Scent (What is it?) 55:45

11M ago55:45

55:45

It’s the start of 2025, and what are we smelling? A lot of existential ennui, a lot of apocalyptic uncertainty, a lot of Baccarat Rouge dupes. If a chart of the fragrance brands with the most social media “vitality scores” (c/o WWD and Beauty Inc) is to be believed, it’s a lot of the usual suspects. But if we were to go off of what we’re seeing (or…

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175: 🔮 2025's Gonna Smell Kooky 54:06

12M ago54:06

54:06

We do this every year: reflect upon what happened in smells this year, while predicting what the next year will bring in our scented economy. So far, we've been... right. So please enjoy another edition of our visionary scent forecasting for the year to come based on our sheer intellect and powerful nosiness of the industry at large. [What we smell…

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174: Smell Ya Later's 2024, Wrapped 1:02:13

12M ago1:02:13

1:02:13

AKA Our most-worn, most-talked-about, most loved scents released in 2024. [What we smell like today: Dauphinette Poisonoud, Snif No Noses Inc Naughty Nonna] Find more info, episodes, and merch at Smellyalater.live Leave us a voice message on the SYL Hotline at Speakpipe.com/smellyalater and we may respond on a future episode. Follow us on Instagram…

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173: A highly specific scented gift guide for any non-random individual in your life 1:05:59

1y ago1:05:59

1:05:59

What do you get your college-aged girl relative, boy roommate, tech bro with questionable hygiene, situationship, hot mom, and anxious wellness-pilled friend for the holidays? We don't know. Oh wait, but it's scent-themed? OK, yes, we know. Enjoy this highly specific gift guide for all kinds of non-random individuals in your life who you wish to tr…

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172: Mist Connections with Sol De Janeiro 52:05

1y ago52:05

52:05

The smell that launched a thousand ships, if there was one, it would probably be wafting from some maiden absolutely doused in any cheirosa of choice from Sol De Janeiro's perfume mists. We have Maggie Arms and Liza Henowitz from the product side to talk to us about the Sol De Janeiro scent philosophy, some top-tier Cheirosa combos, and what makes …

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171: What Does The Amazon Smell Like? [feat. Francisco Costa] 45:27

1y ago45:27

45:27

Aroma is the singular fragrance of Costa Brazil, one recognizable by its wooden box "bottle" and unforgettable by its deeply resinous and earthy... aroma. We have Francisco Costa on this episode to talk about his trips to the Amazon, which led to the creation of this very popular scent, and the importance of having a point of view through scent. [W…

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170: Can you ever fully dissociate your ex's fragrance from memory? 49:59

1y ago49:59

49:59

...And other listener queries. We are catching up at SYL HQ with a few hotline queries, including what scented laundry detergent is actually good for, and what's the deal with fragrance getting so intense lately? Other things we discuss in this ep: An xoVain wedding reunion The Cult Gaia scents (well, one of them) Sable smells like Creed Delphinus …

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169: Chicago Smells F*cking Terrific (feat. Bianco Profumo) 1:04:12

1y ago1:04:12

1:04:12

We have Mark and Nick Holmes, the father & son duo of Bianco Profumo — a new Chicago-based fragrance brand that captures the Italian-Americana of the '80s and '90s. In their words: "We do it big. Our hair is perfectly spritzed into place, we speak ten decibels louder than everyone else, we’re the life of every party, and we smell f**king terrific."…

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168: What Does Attachment Theory Smell Like? 1:20:33

1y ago1:20:33

1:20:33

Eleasium's mystically oceanic and intuition-formed debut scent is a single perfume oil inspired by dark, cold water, pomegranates, mermaids, seashells, pearls, and...attachment theory. We have Courtney Brunson, founder of Eleasium (and our former colleague from xoJane days) on this episode to chat about her career in brand copy and product developm…

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167: 🕯️Getting A Clue💡 with Laura Oberwetter of Clue Perfumery 55:21

1y ago55:21

55:21

Classic gameboard game turned film, and now perfume brand, Clue Perfumery is such a novel take on the smells of everyday surroundings: the forest floor, church pews, a dusty lightbulb, and more curious objects. Perfumer and co-founder Laura Oberwetter comes on the pod for this episode about all things Clue Perfumery (Those custom caps! Designing th…