The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
Stones began with a question: what do stones smell like? Not metaphorically, literally. Perfumer Irina Zhurikhina-Nesa built the composition around that odd, grounding image. The cold mineral surface of a rock after rain. The slight salt of lichen. The green that pushes through cracks in pavement. Atelier de Geste, Beau Rhee's New York art studio, approached fragrance as sculpture, scent as another dimension of physical experience. Stones was the result. A limited release, 200 pieces made, launched in 2016. An independent fragrance from an independent house, with no interest in smelling like everything else on the shelf.
The top notes announce the intention immediately. Galbanum brings a sharp, almost aggressive green that most perfumers would temper. Tomato adds a darker, more vegetal shadow, not the fruit, the leaf. Cape gooseberry contributes something odd: a faint tartness, almost metallic. These aren't friendly opening notes. They're the smell of something growing in difficult conditions. The choice signals that this isn't interested in universal appeal. The base tells a similar story, vetiver, moss, lichen. Not warm woods or comfortable musks. Cold woods. The kind of fireplace you don't light. The green and mineral never fully disappear, which is the point: Stones stays itself from first spray to final drydown.
The evolution
Galbanum hits first, bright, direct, slightly harsh. The kind of green that makes you lean in. Within minutes, the tomato leaf emerges from beneath it, giving the green a darker, more vegetable quality. Cape gooseberry adds a tart counterpoint, almost like the smell of stems. The handoff comes around 20 minutes in: ginger rises to meet the green, adding fresh heat. Ivy and lotus keep things cool and aquatic at the edges. Pine settles into the background, woody and aromatic. By hour two, the composition has shifted entirely. Vetiver dominates the base now, dry, smoky, slightly salty. Moss and lichen add a mineral earthiness that feels damp. Lily of the Valley appears, but cool and restrained, not sweet. The final hours are quiet: a green-mineral quiet that lingers close to the skin. Moderate sillage throughout. The evolution isn't a journey from A to B, it's a slow settling into earth.
Cultural impact
Stones was a finalist for the Art & Olfaction Award, Independent Category, in 2017, a signal that independent fragrance communities recognized its artistic intent. Only 200 pieces were produced. The fragrance exists outside conventional fragrance house conventions entirely: no heritage, no family tradition, no Grasse lineage. Just a small New York studio asking what stones smell like, and then making it real. For collectors and curious wearers, it occupies a specific corner of the niche world, the kind of fragrance that signals you're paying attention to something other than what's popular.
