Marissa Zappas

Marissa Zappas is an independent perfumer, scent designer, and poet based in New York City, where she has worked as a freelance perfumer since 2017. She began working in fragrance in 2015 while studying anthropology and the history of cemetery construction, and launched her namesake brand in 2021. Her background in anthropology and academic research into perfume, attitudes toward death, and cemetery design informs a distinctly conceptual approach to scent, often rooted in historical, literary, and cinematic references.

Zappas learned perfumery at Givaudan, first as a receptionist and later as a lab apprentice to master perfumer Olivier Gillotin, before moving fully into independent practice. Her work is characterized by a strong interest in avant garde perfumes of the early twentieth century and a fascination with memory, nostalgia, and the intersection of fantasy and everyday life. Collections such as Redamance, launched in 2022, build olfactive portraits of overlooked women from history, including Imperia La Divina, Ching Shih, and Queen Nzinga, with compositions that reflect each figure’s time period and environment.

Many of her perfumes draw from hyper specific inspirations: Technicolor films, gothic narratives, funereal rituals, vintage Hollywood boudoirs, and natural phenomena such as petrichor and damp earth alongside deliberately artificial notes like balloons and candy. Signature creations frequently cited by retailers and reviewers include Flaming Creature, Maggie the Cat is Alive! I’m Alive!, Annabel’s Birthday Cake, Violette Hay, Lilac Dream, and The Sun Card. Through limited production, collaborations with artists and writers in New York, and a focus on narrative perfumery, Marissa Zappas has developed a cult following among niche fragrance enthusiasts who seek poetic, character driven scents rather than mainstream formulas.

In addition to her main line, Zappas co founded Gumamina, a side project with fellow independent perfumer Courtney Rafuse of Universal Flowering, which launched in December 2023. She continues to offer custom scent design, including personal fragrances, candles, and home goods, while expanding her catalog through small batch releases that often debut via sample bags and specialty retailers.