A scent that tells a story: Pisces Midheaven transports reality through perfumery

Creator of Pisces Midheaven, Effie Alaia

Los Angeles, CA— Sometimes you are just walking down the street, or entering a room and the smell of nostalgia or heartbreak, or the best day of your life wafts through the air, dilating your pupils in disbelief.

Smell has a long history in human DNA of cultivating more emotion than a visual, even in a world where we are guided by sight.

The Cleveland Clinic posted an article in January called Scent and Sensibility: The Link Between Smell and Memory, where they interviewed psychiatrist Drew Cummings, MD, who stated that the part of our brain that is activated when a scent memory arises shows the unique wiring in human brains, which reflects the importance of smell throughout our evolutionary history.

And we all know that one person who has their signature scent that doesn't leave the couch when they stayed over at your house or the car when you picked them up before a night out.

For Effie Alaia, that scent is ‘Fallen Angel’ from Pisces Midheaven. The brand Alaia launched years ago showcasing her art, such as clothes, handmade jewelry and phone cases, has now solidified into a perfume brand.

Alaia describes Pisces Midheaven as a sensory world where fragrance becomes a story, and perfume feels like art. She describes ‘Fallen Angel’ as the scent born from the chaos of the night, the pull of temptation and the allure of freedom.

She said every scent is not only built from emotion, memory or mythology, but made in small batches with intention.

“I’m not just creating perfumes, I'm building experiences, each one rooted in something deeper like a dream, a song or a ghost of a feeling,” Alaia said.

Alaia did not go to business school and produced everything Pisces Midheaven has posted thus far. She built this brand slowly by teaching herself skills like web design, branding, social media management, marketing, content creation and product development.

She is also heavily involved on the perfumery side from the blending, bottling and label design to packaging, marketing, creative direction and running social media.

“It’s a lot of living and learning, but there’s something sacred about being so involved in every part of the process,” Alaia said.

Alaia said she never felt ready to start but suggests others who are starting their own business to begin even when you're scared or not ready.

“You grow into it. There’s no perfect moment, just your willingness to begin,” Alaia said.

With the limited release and launch of ‘Fallen Angel’ approaching on June 13 at 3:33 p.m., only 15 bottles will be available at first for those anticipating the drop.

Alaia gives us a glimpse of the scent's debut with a poem:

She moves like a secret.

warm as skin after midnight,

wild as a motorcycle ride with a stranger,

dangerous as a backstage rendezvous.

This is the scent of sinful nights

of temptation kissed onto collarbones,

of glances that burn

of a fall too sweet to resist.

Alaia planned on throwing a launch party but due to the unfortunate circumstances in Los Angeles currently, the launch party will be rescheduled to a later date and will be announced soon. But look forward to sampling the scent, building flower bouquets and dancing all night long once the launch party date is secured.

For more information, follow @piscesmidheav3n on Instagram. 

Editor-in-Chief Sarah Van Buskirk can be reached at bysarahvanbuskirk@gmail.com