Scents and Sensibility

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‍How to weave sense into scents? Beverly Nguyen has some ideas. Family Style’s Livings Editor is rolling out her first line of scents intended for room, linen, and body, and she designed each with a clear story in mind. The trio, Dawn, Joy Ride, and Wedding—names that evoke distinct memories for most anyone—is aptly dubbed Memory Book. For the founder of the namesake design shop, they speak to specific formative experiences going all the way back to her childhood in Los Angeles, the daughter of Vietnamese immigrants.

‍‍“Each scent has its own moment,” says Nguyen, who partnered with Atmos to create the line. “Dawn is about being alone in the morning—misty water, sunrise. It’s refreshing, a brand new day.” Imagine a smell that’s sweet and floral, with hints of citrus, surrounding you at the ocean’s edge as the sun rises. In contrast, Joy Ride—that quintessential, cinematic rite of passage for the American teenager, especially on the West Coast—comes with notes of liberation: Think violets and leather; musk and patchouli. “It’s meant to be adventurous, you’re opening your mind to a drive where you don’t know where you’re going, and it’s okay, because you feel held by this scent,” Nguyen describes. Wedding speaks more broadly to “ritual and community,” she says, adding that the frankincense base note, for her, brings to mind the smell of church growing up. The packaging  too, makes direct references to her own parents’ nuptials, with a red rectangle behind the embracing newlyweds harkening to their red invitations. ‍

To reveal the trio of scents, Nguyen hosted an intimate gathering of friends in the penthouse of The Manner hotel in New York, which allowed a plush, jewel box setting to discover the collection as guests moved through the space. ‍“Every product that’s coming out is so personal to me, trying to tell this story about my history and my upbringing, and this cross between immigrant family, and Westernized childhood,” Nguyen says. “It’s celebrating my history, my family, and my life as a Vietnamese American creative.”‍ At the event, Atmos Co-Founder Kristen Knight invited guests to experience fragrances and “not only connect with Beverly’s childhood," but their own, too. “To remember the times where you felt carefree and connected and loved,” she ads. “Scent is one of the most remarkable ways to create new memories. We invite you to take these scents and create new memories this year.”‍

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‍It was back in 2021 that Nguyen first ventured into home goods, beginning with a pop-up that culminated in a permanent storefront on Orchard Street. Much like with Memory Book, the driving force was rooted in personal history, with Beverly’s, the store, also acting as an homage to a similar shop her grandmother owned in Vietnam, as well as a channel to support her own parents’ manufacturing business. ‍‍

‍‍Through it all, Nguyen has always given special consideration to scent both in self-presentation and when inviting people into her space. “With scents, it’s always been a part of why I love getting ready. It’s fashion and feminine, and has the ability to shift your mind,” she says. “When you come into the store, or into my house, one of the first things people comment is, ‘It smells amazing in here.’” It’s apparent that the Memory Book trio is yet another instance of Nguyen’s passions made manifest, conceived with heart and realized to perfection.‍

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The Memory Book trio of scents is available at Atmos.com and at Beverly’s at 27 Orchard St., New York, NY 10002.