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Henry Aesoph wants everyone to know how safe downtown Portland is whenever he’s asked about it at his niche perfume store, The Marie-Marie (719 SW Morrison St., themariemarie.com).
“It’s a loaded question, but [downtown is] so chill,” he tells WW. “I want to shout it from the rooftops. I love to tell people I think it’s on an upswing.”
Aesoph opened The Marie-Marie in November amid fears of civil unrest and still held opening events for customers and international fragrance houses. While the Alphabet District salon Bellini’s Skin and Parfumerie carries a selection of European scents, The Marie-Marie is fully focused on bringing people together around independent global houses with strong online followings but next to no physical presence in the United States. The store’s selection is comparable to the collection at perfume powerhouses Fumerie Parfumerie and The Perfume House but without the trip to the eastside.
“We’re like matchmakers,” Aesoph says. “It’s very cute, actually. We try to get people stuff they like and will connect with.”
Named for Aesoph’s dog, The Marie-Marie is co-owned by Nicole Miller, Aesoph’s partner in their distribution business Mon Oiel (and the founder of the Blackbird label). Mon Oiel allows Aesoph and Miller the unique opportunity to not only supply their boutique with scents both obscure and highly sought, but also make sure other American stores can stock them, too. Trump’s tariffs are already impacting the perfume industry, but Aesoph and Miller still want to connect people to hard-to-find top-shelf scents.
The Marie-Marie’s staff encourages exploration, with samples starting at $5 each. Along with brands like Kintsugi and Omanluxury, the store stocks viral hits from Heretic Parfum and Nishane so people can experience them in person. There are also fun cheapies from the brand Demeter, which made and licensed the official Powell’s Books perfume. (None was in stock on our visit.)
Aesoph recalls a recent interaction he had with a customer who was a nuclear physicist. “Being able to apply that science brain to perfume—I think we talked for five hours,” he says. “I’m really fascinated by what people outside [the perfume world] have to say.”
See the rest of Willamette Week’s Best of Portland 2025 here!
