The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
Celestial Object was conceived around a question the founders kept returning to: what does it feel like to be connected to something vast? The answer arrived as a composition, not celestial in the cold sense, but warm and starchy and close. Rice paper became the unexpected anchor, chosen precisely because it had no business being beautiful. Alissa Sullivan and Leslie worked with Jérôme Epinette to translate that paradox into a scent. The name followed: an astronomical term for something both distant and present.
What makes Celestial Object unusual is the rice paper accord, a starchy, almost medicinal warmth that sits between gourmand and atmospheric. Most fragrances in this family lean heavy: vanilla, caramel, syrup. This one lifts slightly, evoking paper and powder rather than dessert. Frankincense threads through to prevent it from going too soft. The combination reads as clean at first, then quietly sweet as the drydown settles. The quince in the opening adds a tartness that keeps everything grounded in something real.
The evolution
Celestial Object opens bright. Quince arrives first, tart, slightly acidic, the kind of fruit that bites before it sweetens. Pink pepper follows, warming the transition without adding heat. Thirty minutes in, rice paper takes over. That's when the fragrance earns its name: starchy, soft, faintly powdery, like something between a page and a warm skin. Almond drifts underneath, the marzipan sweetness building slowly. The frankincense appears here, not as smoke but as a quiet resinous hum, incense without a church. By the second hour, the quince has faded and the drydown arrives: tonka bean and labdanum, soft and warm, clinging to the skin in a way that invites proximity rather than announcing it. Lasts six to eight hours on most skin types. The base lingers longer on fabric than on skin, check your collar in the morning.
Cultural impact
The rice paper and almond combination sits in a niche corner of the gourmand family, warm and sweet without the heavy syrupy quality that typically defines the category. Wearers describe it as cozy and comforting, particularly suited to cooler months and evening wear. The community notes divide on whether the composition reads as sophisticated or simple, which likely reflects the user's baseline expectations for a niche fragrance in this price range. What no one disputes is that it's unusual.
