Ellis Brooklyn Founder Bee Shapiro on How Fragrance Tells a Story, Plus the Inspiration Behind the Brands’ Signature Scents

Do you have a favorite fragrance? 

I would say MYTH and BEE. BEE, a cozy, yummy and boozy fragrance, is the complete opposite of the floral scents I was drawn to when I was younger. BEE was made to embody the experience of falling in self-love. 

I came up with the idea for this fragrance during my own journey of finding self love and wanted it to be so inviting that when you spritz it on, you turn inward and self-reflect. It was weird for me to name the fragrance after myself – doing so felt like I was really putting myself out there – but it just felt right. Plus, the scent also has notes of honey, so to play along with the idea of a bee was fitting.

What fragrance trends are you excited about in 2022? What’s next for the brand? 

Because we’re still dealing with the pandemic, I think we’re all loving the idea of escapism. It used to be so easy to go somewhere exotic and it’s way harder now. 

I have this yearning to go to Capri or the Maldives, and the idea of capturing that experience in a fragrance is so dreamy to me. We have something coming in the spring that, like APRES, will take you somewhere you might not be able to go. 

What advice – beauty or non-beauty – would you give to your younger self? 

I wish I could tell my younger self not to overdo it and to be easier on myself. In my 20s, I was so anxious and would go on diets and work out like crazy. I'm turning 41 this year, and I have to say, my body is way better now that I don’t have any rules. It’s so freeing. Get to know yourself, it’ll make all the difference.