Heritage
A house, in its own words
Marlena Stell spent more than ten years shaping the beauty industry before turning her attention to scent. After building MakeupGeek Cosmetics into a recognizable online brand, she announced a new venture in early 2024, positioning House of Marsté as a fragrance house based in the United States. The launch coincided with a live online event that streamed on a Sunday afternoon, drawing attention from her existing community and from fragrance enthusiasts who followed the announcement on social media. At that event, Marsté introduced three inaugural fragrances—Jardin du Luxembourg, Montmartre Midi and Une Nuit Parisienne—each named after iconic Paris locations, signaling a clear geographic inspiration despite the brand’s American roots. Shortly after the debut, the house announced a collaboration with master perfumer Michael Nordstrand, whose expertise helped refine the olfactory profiles for the launch collection. Within weeks, the brand expanded its catalogue to include a series of “Essence” scents—Vanille, Santal, Mandarine, and others—all released in the same year, reinforcing a rapid but focused rollout strategy. Though the brand is still in its infancy, the combination of Stell’s cosmetics background, a high‑profile perfumer partnership and a clear thematic direction has established a recognizable identity within the niche fragrance community. Marsté treats perfume as a personal narrative rather than a trend. The house believes that a scent should capture a single memory—a garden walk, a café at dusk, a quiet moment on a balcony—and then let the wearer carry that fragment into daily life. This belief stems from Stell’s experience curating beauty products that empower individual expression; she transferred that mindset to fragrance, insisting that each composition remain true to its inspiration without trying to please every palate. The brand also emphasizes transparency: ingredient origins are disclosed whenever possible, and the creative process is shared through behind‑the‑scenes content. Sustainability is approached pragmatically; Marsté selects suppliers who meet basic environmental standards and avoids excessive packaging. By focusing on a limited number of well‑crafted scents each year, the house aims to maintain a high level of artistic integrity while allowing customers to build a curated scent wardrobe.