S.S.K. (Labs), a new fine fragrance house debuting on Sept. 15, is here to pull back the curtain on the exclusive, if not intimidating, prestige perfume industry. Grounded in the belief that fragrance is for everyone, the New York-based brand champions scent exploration and customization for novice and expert noses alike through its debut layerable fragrance kit.

Inspired by the recent uptick in women-owned brands, co-founders and college friends Jeanine Stanislaus and Terry Kezoh linked up in 2023 to try their hand at beauty entrepreneurship. Stanislaus is a seasoned beauty public relations consultant who has worked with the likes of Ceremonia, Harlem Perfume Co. and Ami Colé, while Kezoh hails from the tech world with a background in product development. Two years ago at their first weekly Tuesday meeting (a tradition they uphold to this day), the duo decided to team up and pursue Stanislaus’s longtime love of fragrance by setting S.S.K. (Labs) in motion.

“Our mission is rooted in exploration, education and creating lasting memories through scent,” Stanislaus tells Fashionista. “When you think about your hair care, you have your products tailored to a specific hair type [or] hair texture. When you have skin care, it’s your skin type, oily skin, dry skin, combo, […] but with fragrance you don’t get that. It’s a mystery.”

S.S.K. (Labs) aims to solve that mystery by creating scent collections (which the brand refers to as “families”) centered around a singular fragrance note. Its debut collection — crafted by perfumer Frederic Jacques — revolves around amber. Retailing for $300, its Fragrance Kit 01 explores three separate variations of amber through one signature eau de parfum and two roll-on oils, or huile de parfums.

Grounded in a strong amber base note, the 50 mL signature eau de parfum opens with lemon, bergamot, petit grain and pink pepper berry before moving into heart notes of orange blossom, honey, marigold, orris, oak moss and saffron. Its base is notably spicy, accompanying the amber with oud, frankincense, patchouli, vetiver, vanilla and musk.

The perfume oils, AM – O (Tonka) and AM – O (Myrrh), take two separate approaches to the amber core. The tonka oil strikes a sensual, woody balance boosted by patchouli, sandalwood and cardamom; while myrrh invokes a refreshingly herbaceous blend of lemongrass, lemon and lavender.

Related: Perfume Oils Are Having Their (Well-Deserved) Moment

Stanislaus and Kezoh specifically designed this kit as a “tool to experiment,” meaning the scents can be worn individually or layered together (or with other fragrances in your collection) for a unique experience. “If you are a novice to layering or customization, it’s actually really great because we’re giving you this kit [and] you don’t have to guess, ‘Oh, what scent goes well with what scent?'” Stanislaus says. “This is literally a great entry into layering and creating a custom scent.”

But what makes amber the right entry point? For the co-founders, it’s a timeless, albeit mysterious, note that may intimidate some people. “We wanted to showcase it in different ways and show that yes, it can be spicy, but it can also be this light, beautiful scent or it can be this deeper scent,” Stanislaus shares. “So I think we really just wanted to show up with a bold first focus.”

Similar to its scent collection, S.S.K. (Labs)’s name elicits fond memories: Alongside the initials of its co-founders’ surnames, the label’s extra “S” is a tribute to the duo’s mutual friend from college who passed away eight years ago from lupus.

S.S.K. (Labs) is available as of Monday exclusively on ssklabs.com, and is spending its first post-launch steps focusing on building its consumer base before exploring retail partnerships. To do so, the duo is betting on word of mouth marketing as well as tapping into social media platforms for user-generated content (UGC).

“We want to understand our consumer, how they respond to things,” Kezoh says of the brand’s marketing strategy. “Do they like the drops, do they want everything at once? How do they respond to UGC? Do they like the pop-ups? And then going to different retailers, we do have an idea of retailers we would like to go to, but that’s not immediate. It’s down the line when we have strong grounding and our feet are planted.”

Looking ahead, S.S.K. (Labs) has cued up its Oil Kit 01, a $120 bundle of its AM – O (Tonka) and AM – O (Myrrh) roll-on oils, for a March 2026 launch. The brand is also on track to complete its amber family with “Light” and “Deep” iterations of the eau de parfum by 2027.

In addition to amber, Stanislaus and Kezoh are contemplating future fragrance families to incorporate into the brand’s offerings. The duo called out mango as a potential frontrunner, along with cherry, ginger or even mint.

As Stanislaus puts it, “We really want to also make sure this is something that you have not maybe seen before or smelled before.”

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