Arielle Shoshana: A Place to Enjoy Perfume, Even in Small Quantities

“Perfume is wearable art; I think of the shop as my own little art museum.”

— Arielle Weinberg

Before looking for a familiar brand, start with shelves of sweet or fresh scents. Arielle Shoshana, a multibrand perfume boutique in the United States, has long offered that kind of introduction.

The store opened in Fairfax, near Washington, D.C., in 2015 and moved to Old Town Alexandria, Virginia, in 2026. It also develops its own fragrances under the same name, but its starting point was selecting perfumes by different creators and introducing them to local customers.

Contents

At a Glance
The Founder and the Origins of the Store
Approaches to Selection and Sampling
References

At a Glance

Founded and first physical store opened: September 2015
Founder: Arielle Shoshana Weinberg
Co-owner: Katri Haas
Place of origin: Mosaic District, Fairfax, Virginia, USA
Current store: 313 Cameron Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22314
Business: A multibrand boutique and online store offering perfume, home fragrance, and body products, alongside its own namesake perfume line
Official website: Arielle Shoshana

The official website describes the current Alexandria location as a flagship bringing together more than 50 brands. The store takes its name from its founder; early coverage also called it Arielle Shoshana Scented Luxuries.

The Founder and the Origins of the Store

Taking a Bus to New York to Buy Perfume

Growing up in Maryland, Weinberg immersed herself in perfume reviews and posts about the day’s chosen scent on online beauty forums. For her high school prom, she chose Bond No. 9’s New Haarlem. When she learned that it was unavailable around D.C., she took a Greyhound bus to New York to buy it.

Trying the perfume she wanted meant traveling to another city. The woman who would later bring a niche perfumery to her own area had herself known what it was like to seek out a distant shop.

From Science to Introducing Perfume in a Store

Weinberg studied natural sciences at Johns Hopkins University and hoped to work in the chemistry side of the perfume industry. Her father was the first to suggest that she open a perfume shop, though she was initially unconvinced.

She reached the final stage of selection for perfumery school but was not admitted. The goal she had worked toward did not align with her strengths. That experience became a turning point, prompting her to reconsider how she might participate in the world of perfume.

In New York, she worked at two perfume shops, carefully observing what they did well and where another approach might work. Even without becoming a perfume creator herself, there was work to be done connecting people with perfumes. She would bring that retail experience to a shop of her own.

From New York, with its many perfume shops, she turned to northern Virginia, where she saw demand. The perfume enthusiast who had written a fragrance blog during college became a shop owner bringing together the work of different creators.

Opening in the Mosaic District in 2015

The first physical store opened in Fairfax’s Mosaic District in September 2015. It began welcoming customers ahead of a planned formal opening celebration.

Its early shelves included Maison Francis Kurkdjian, Atelier Cologne, CB I Hate Perfume, and Neela Vermeire. Weinberg introduced visitors to different perfumes according to their style and preferences. The selection and the conversation together shaped the experience of the store.

Customers of different ages and backgrounds came from Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. The store rooted the way of introducing perfume she had learned in New York in another community in the capital region.

From Customer to Co-owner: Katri Haas

Haas was not a founding member from the outset. She first visited as a customer, became friends with Weinberg, and began helping with shifts at the store. With experience in beauty retail, she eventually became a co-owner. Around the time of her first visits, she had said:

“Just pay me in perfume.”

— Katri Haas

The current official introduction also explicitly identifies the two as co-owners.

They do not always smell the same perfume in the same way: one may find it citrusy, while the other senses warmth. Those differences in perception are also part of the store they curate together.

An Alexandria Store with a Courtyard in 2026

After roughly ten years in the Mosaic District, the store moved to Cameron Street in Old Town Alexandria in January 2026.

The new space has a courtyard. Weinberg wanted a place where customers could sit and take their time experiencing perfume. Rather than simply moving people in and out, shopping could become an experience in which they spent time. The new location was chosen as a setting for that idea.

Store and Business Timeline

Period	Event
Before founding	Studied natural sciences at university and wrote a perfume blog. Gained experience at two perfume shops in New York.
September 2015	Opened the first physical store in Fairfax’s Mosaic District.
2017	Launched the first in-house perfume, later known as Saturday. This was a different year from the store’s opening.
After the opening	Katri Haas joined the store after first coming as a customer, and later became a co-owner.
January 2026	Moved to 313 Cameron Street in Old Town Alexandria.

Approaches to Selection and Sampling

Starting with Scent Families Rather Than Brand Names

When opening the store, Weinberg chose a gender-neutral atmosphere, drawing on her experience of a New York clientele that had been half male. She also arranged the perfumes by scent category rather than by brand.

“Instead of sorting by brand, we have [the fragrances] by category”

— Arielle Weinberg, excerpt

If customers know they gravitate toward sweet or fresh scents, they can begin there. This arrangement provides an entry point even for those unfamiliar with brand names. Today’s online store likewise offers routes through citrus, floral, green, and woody scents, along with an Undefinable category for fragrances that resist classification.

Rather than trying only a familiar perfume, customers can follow a shared interest toward another creator. That is one of the pleasures particular to a multibrand store.

Established Niche Names Alongside New Creators

The current selection is not limited to the house’s own perfumes. Official product listings checked in October 2026 included D.S. & Durga’s Bowmakers, Ex Nihilo’s Fleur Narcotique Eau de Parfum, and Vilhelm Parfumerie’s Mango Skin. Well-known niche brands are represented by specific products.

The official brand menu also includes BORNTOSTANDOUT, Jorum Studio, Liis, d’Annam, and Clue Perfumery. These are not shelves organized around a single country or price range.

At the outset, the store combined niche-perfumery mainstays such as L’Artisan Parfumeur and Maison Francis Kurkdjian with smaller, adventurous brands. In 2024, the two owners emphasized keeping options that people could take home and enjoy in small quantities, rather than stocking only expensive perfumes.

“We want to make sure that there’s always a place for everyone at our shop.”

— Arielle Weinberg

The selection also includes Kai Fragrance, carried since the store’s opening. Memories of their own younger selves asking at perfume counters for smaller quantities continue to inform their selection.

The Team’s Preferences and Discoveries from Customers

In 2026, the two named packaging, price point, and perfume quality as buying criteria. They also value a clearly articulated brand voice and purpose. Neither a beautiful bottle nor an unusual scent alone determines whether a brand is selected.

“we don’t bring in anything we don’t love.”

— Arielle Weinberg and Katri Haas, excerpt

Discoveries of new brands do not flow in only one direction. Alongside trade shows and approaches from brands, customers introduce perfumes to the owners. That was how they discovered BORNTOSTANDOUT. Rather than the store simply teaching and customers learning, customers’ curiosity helps shape the shelves to come.

Leaving Time to Try Before Deciding

Three complimentary samples are offered with in-store and online orders. The store also provides a sample of the purchased product, allowing customers to test the fragrance before opening its packaging. Taking samples home extends the encounter beyond the sales floor.

This is not a service for making bespoke perfume, but a store that helps each person find a match among a curated selection of niche fragrances. Developing its own perfumes became another activity in 2017, while its role in helping people compare different brands and encounter unfamiliar scents continued.

Following Arielle Shoshana’s story shows that making perfume is not the only way to take part in its world. Selecting creators’ work, considering how to arrange the shelves, and listening to customers all contribute to bringing perfume culture into everyday life.