best bets

Best Bet: MCMC’s Maui Fragrance

In a market overrun with flashy celebrity fragrances (Bruce Willis, anyone?), MCMC Fragrances is refreshingly homegrown. Founded in 2009 by local perfumer Anne McClain (who honed her craft in southern France), the brand’s fragrances are composed in small batches and hand-bottled in her Brooklyn studio. This week she introduces Maui, a unisex fragrance inspired by a summer spent on the beach. The restrained, alluringly spicy scent has top notes of young ginger and star anise, along with elements of frangipani, tuberose, and green bamboo. It’s a welcome contrast to some of the hit-you-over-the-head sweet fragrances currently dominating on the shelves, and despite the Hawaiian inspiration, it’s thankfully bereft of any overbearing coconut aroma. Choose from two versions: an alcohol-based blend for spritzing or a portable, roll-on perfume oil.

Maui by MCMC Fragrances, $110 for 50ml (spray) or $45 for 10ml (roll-on) at Thistle & Clover, Jumelle, and Dalaga (meet McClain at the boutique’s anniversary party tonight).

Best Bet: MCMC’s Maui Fragrance