Six months after launching, the minds behind minimalist makeup and skincare brand Merit decided the brand needed a fragrance. “It’s not a very logical business move,” laughs Ailsa Morin, the brand’s chief marketing officer. “But we saw a void. To be honest, there weren’t a lot of fragrances that appealed to women our age, so we started the concept of Merit fragrances.”
Morin describes the fragrances of the time as either “too girly” scents for Gen Z, or as linear, single-layer fragrances that “smell exactly the same when you first spray them, eight hours later.” None of this appeals to the Merit woman—whom the chief marketing officer describes as a woman in her 30s or 40s who is looking for something thoughtful and vintage-inspired but with a modern twist. Three years later, after repeatedly abandoning the project, Retrospect Extrait de Parfum was born.
But before we get to the current launch, let’s go back to 2022, when Morin and her team nearly dropped the as-yet-unnamed scent. Then came a meeting with French perfumer Fanny Bol. While the majority of consumers in the fragrance industry are women, surprisingly, the people creating the products are a small group of men. Morin found it refreshing to meet Ball, not only because “we had a lot of references in common,” but also because she was exactly the person the fragrance was aimed at.
“We made 200 different versions before we decided on the scent we wanted in the bottle,” Ball told Retrospect. “But I must say, we didn’t stray too far from the original idea.” Finally, and possibly first, Juice has those vintage notes you’re familiar with: vanilla, jasmine and rose, but there’s Bol and Morin. It’s based on your grandmother’s perfume, using the same exact notes, but it comes with a modern and fresh scent.
Another classic element of this scent is that it evolves throughout the day. “It’s very soft and fresh,” said Ball. “In the morning it’s just what you want. In the afternoon, when you’re working, it’s floral and more traditional. Then, in the evening, it gets sexier, a little mossy, a little musk, a little vanilla, a little wood.”
Maureen & Merit founder Katherine Power knew this juice was perfect for the modern woman. “We realized it could stay with you all day and feel good in all different situations,” said Morin. “No one wants to smell sexy when dropping their kids off to school, but they want to smell sexy at home with their partner at night after the kids go to bed. Women have to code switch in so many situations every day, and this scent will literally stay with you.”
Retrospect Extrait de Parfum is available for pre-order now and will be available on October 22. In the meantime, shop more Merit Beauty products below.
