Nuri McBride is a perfumer and cultural historian whose work explores fragrance as a form of storytelling, collective memory, and material ethics.
Through her fragrance house, Atropos Parfums, she distils essential oils and crafts small-batch perfumes inspired by Mediterranean literature, ritual, and regional ecologies. She also consults with private clients in the perfume and cosmetics sectors. Her writing and lectures invite audiences to see perfume not as a luxury, but as a living archive.
Her practice is grounded in historical preservation, ecological care, and the reclaiming of narratives through sensory experiences. McBride sees scent as a tactile language of power, beauty, and cultural memory.
Alongside her perfumery, she explores the intersection of olfaction and death rituals at the Death/Scent project and the cultural history of fragrance at Osmé. Her monthly newsletter, Aromatica de Profundis, mixes field notes, archival insights, and essays that expand smell beyond the bottle.
Nuri has lectured at The British Society of Perfumers and the Corning Museum. She curated the influential Scent & Society program at the Institute for Art and Olfaction, and contributed scholarly essays to publications such as the Encyclopedia of Smell History and Heritage and Plantings: the Journal of the World Sensorium. Nuri also co-edited The Scent of Identity: Olfaction’s Role in Culture, Community, and the Formation of Self.
When not smelling or writing, you can find Nuri exploring 19th‑century gothic literature, learning cuneiform, practising historical needlecraft, training in powerlifting, rowing crew, and getting beaten up in Brazilian Jiu‑Jitsu.
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What people are saying
“She does impeccable research, and her work is fascinating, timely, and very down to earth.”
Saskia Wilson-Brown , Founder & Executive Director the Institute for Art and Olfaction
[Nuri’s] enthusiasm, insights, and support have bolstered me immensely in the past year, with regard to my creative projects. Nuri writes beautifully and extensively at her own blog Death/Scent.
S. Elizabeth, Writer of The Art of the Occult
She is such a tour de force, the subject matter and her vast knowledge makes for some seriously good pieces of writing.
Liz Moores, CEO & Perfumer of Papillon Perfumery
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