How a Boutique-Fragrance Expert Spends Her Sundays
Kimberly Waters is the founder of Muse: Modern Urban Sensory Experiences, a niche fragrance business that she runs out of her home on the weekends. A visit to Muse is by appointment only and includes cocktails and snacks. The main event is a guided tour of Ms. Waters’s curated perfume collection, with bottles available for purchase.
In Harlem, she said, “Historically, some of the greatest conversations have happened in the parlor, which was the main floor of someone’s home or townhouse.” She added, “Black people congregated there, which encouraged a sense of community and ideas.”
Ms. Waters, 40, who is a pharmaceuticals representative during the week, lives in a Harlem townhouse with her boyfriend, Steve Kirkpatrick, 59, a real estate lawyer.
WAKE AND ROLL I let my body wake me up around 9:30 or 10 a.m. I’m up at 7:30ish during the week, so this is my time to rest. I’m a wake and roll person. It’s a bad habit. I don’t do coffee. I love the smell but hate the taste, or tea. I fill a water bottle, get dressed, and I’m out the door.
WORK IT OUT I’m usually running late for my session with Sereco Campbell, a local trainer I started seeing six months ago. She’s only a few blocks away and has a studio in her apartment on 142nd Street. If I’m on time we work out for an hour. If I don’t go to her, it’s yoga or total body fitness at the Y.M.C.A.
JUICE BREAK On my way home I go to NBHD Brûlée, a coffee shop in our hood. Steve has been strolling around the house downloading music while I’ve been working out. I get him a large cappuccino. I get avocado toast and salad, and an apple juice or lemonade. As I’m waiting I’ll “woosa,” which is my word for relaxing and taking a breath.
REAL ESTATE DREAMS If I don’t have perfume appointments, Steve and I will spend the day together. We hang out in the kitchen while I eat and try to convince him to walk around the West Village. We love architecture and design. When we walk around we manifest what kind of house we would get if we had West Village money.
LOCAL SHOPS I want to support Harlem businesses, so I stop at Cathedral Wine & Liquor and get HRLM Champagne, a sweet riesling, and orange juice for mimosas. No one wants hard liquor at this hour. I go to Perfect Picnic because they have fancy and really good baguettes and sandwiches like ham and cheese, salami and Cheddar, and my favorite, fig and jam. Last is Lee Lee’s Baked Goods. He’s an O.G. of the hood and has been making rugelach for over 30 years.
PARLOR PREP If I have appointments, I run around the house cleaning and setting up the fragrances. I’m a last-minute person who runs off stress. I slip on some clothes and do my makeup. I hit one of my Spotify playlists, “Saturday Vibes at Muse,” which is an African beats and R&B mix, or “Fall Vibes,” which has Victoria Monét, Black Pumas, Robert Glasper and Snoh Aalegra. It’s sultrier and warmer.
SHOWTIME I have a ring alert on my phone. Once that goes off it’s showtime. Harlem was a hub for fashion, music and the arts but didn’t have a fragrance presence. Black people love to smell good, it’s part of their swag. But there wasn’t a destination for them to learn about what they are consuming and purchasing. Here they feel seen, understood and have a connection.
VIBES I do about 40 appointments a year. We start in the kitchen. I pour them a drink and they have something to eat while we get to know each other. I’m looking for what their intentions are: to replace their perfume with something similar to what they already have or to go out of their comfort zone.
THE MAIN EVENT We move into the parlor. I turn up the music and pull perfumes I think they’ll like. I have close to 50 different bottles so I don’t bring everything out. I usually start with Maya Njie. Her collection has six fragrances, and they meet a specific category, like floral or vanilla. Depending upon what they like or gravitate to gives me a good starting point. Then I pull more bottles, which we narrow down to three favorites. They have another drink, they take a lap, they smell other brands in case I missed something. Then we get closer to identifying what resonates.
STOOP SHOTS Before the session closes out, I take a stoop shot of them so I can capture the experience they had. I ask them for a quote about being here and post that with the photo on Instagram. Then I clean up the testing strips and put the perfume bottles away. I nibble on a sandwich or cookie that’s left and have some Champagne to wind down.
HOT STUFF Steve comes home. Around 6 we’re hungry. If we want quick and light, we go to ROKC for ramen. They also have a fancy cocktail called Smoke, which is made tableside and lit on fire. When they lift the glass the encapsulated smoke wafts in the air. Steve likes Ethiopian so we might go to Tsion Cafe. We will jokingly argue about how to get home, walk or Uber. If we walk, we go through St. Nicholas Park.
RADIO AND TV Steve hangs out downstairs in the kitchen and listens to 1010 WINS on the radio, I go upstairs and get ready for work. I check emails, place outstanding orders, print labels for Monday’s post office drop and, if I need to, prepare for my 8:30 a.m. conference call. Then I stream something. I was watching “Insecure,” but the season just ended. Now I’m watching “Power” on Starz — it’s a street drama and is produced by 50 Cent — and “And Just Like That.” I grew up watching the characters on “Sex and the City,” so there’s something about this part of their lives that I identify with.
ONE LAST EMAIL By 11 or midnight I’m in bed and ready for sleep. I’ll email anyone who came by over the weekend and thank them. Then it’s lights out.
Sunday Routine readers can follow Kimberly Waters on Instagram @muse_experiences.
