The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
Formula 3 by Dalton Maldonado arrived in 2015 as one of the earliest statements from a brand that was still figuring out its shape. The fragrance was named for Dalton Maldonado, an American athlete, and a portion of the proceeds went to You Can Play, an organization working to ensure equal access to sports for LGBT athletes. Xyrena described the composition as a fresh athletic scent, built around clean, cooling notes that translate easily from morning run to midday meeting. The formula reads as bright and wearable, a sunlit composition that leans into its sporty premise without veering into heavy territory.
The middle notes refuse to stay conventional. Grass and ozone together create something that reads as both grounded and weightless, like standing in a field during a rainstorm that hasn't started yet. The cotton flower in the base, often a forgettable laundry detergent signifier, gets treated here with enough musk underneath to give it dimension. The ozone lends a metallic brightness that keeps the cotton from collapsing into soft territory, and the musk adds just enough warmth to keep the whole thing from reading as sterile.
The evolution
The first 15 minutes belong to grapefruit and star anise, and they're loud. Bergamot smooths the edges but the anise gives it a sharp, almost licorice-cool jolt that catches you off guard for something this clean-coded. By the 30-minute mark the citrus steps back and ozone floods in, the grass note underneath making it feel less like a beach and more like a freshly mowed lawn right before rain. The heart holds for about 2 hours, airy and almost atmospheric. Then cotton flower and musk take over for the drydown, and here's where the composition shows its quiet strength: the cotton reads warm, not starchy, and the musk gives it a skin-like quality that lingers close to the body. The drydown stays intimate, close to the wearer rather than projecting outward, and the interplay between airy ozone and grounded cotton creates a tension the fragrance carries from start to finish.
Cultural impact
Formula 3 occupies a specific place in Xyrena's catalog as an early composition tied directly to a real person and a real cause. Dalton Maldonado, an American athlete, lent his name to the fragrance, and a portion of the proceeds went to You Can Play, an organization working to ensure equal access to sports for LGBT athletes. That connection gives the composition a reason to exist beyond the bottle, turning it into something more than a simple scent object. Among the 96% similarity matchups in community databases, the closest reference points are fresh, clean-leaning compositions rather than the darker territory Xyrena would later explore.
The House
XyrenaXyrena creates niche fragrances that riff on pop‑culture moments and cult classics. Founded by perfumer Killian Wells, the house blends cinematic references with a cruelty‑free ethos, offering scents that feel like scented souvenirs from a favorite movie scene. Each launch arrives in a bottle that nods to the source material, turning a fragrance into a collectible artifact for fans and scent lovers alike.
The Creator
Killian WellsWells favors raw materials that carry a strong identity. He layers smoky accords, such as birch tar or burnt amber, with unexpected bright notes like citrus zest or green tea, creating contrast that snaps the composition into focus.
