About REFRACTED Fragrances

REFRACTED Fragrances treats scent the way artists treat light — as an abstract medium for emotion and contemplation. That conceptual framework is paired with material transparency: every ingredient in every formula, naturals and aroma chemicals alike, is named and explained.

Mission Statement

REFRACTED's fragrances translate the phenomena of light (light that bends, light that lingers, light that dapples) into wearable form. Each fragrance is built around a distinct light behavior, translated into scent through precise materials named openly, with intentional ingredients. They go beyond evoking nature and warmth; they render specific qualities and feelings.

Values

Art-first: Fragrance as an object of contemplation, rather than an aesthetic or cosmetic.

Transparency : Every material is named, naturals and aroma chemicals alike. No hiding behind "fragrance."

Precision over abundance : Naturals and selective aroma chemicals chosen for what they do, not what they signal.

Origin Story

Two experiences fueled my passion for creating fragrances.

A career in art collections management placed me inside museums and private holdings for over 20 years. My work focused on materials, provenance, and the care each work requires. The minutiae behind the art itself, alongside its meaning.

Studying and practicing photography for almost as long as my working career, taught me to pay attention to light as a working material: how it bends through glass, how it lingers after dusk, how the smallest change in framing changes what the eye believes. How it makes me feel. 

When incorporating scent into an art installation about light, it became a medium in its own right. From that exploration, the idea of a fragrance line built around the phenomena of light took shape. I've focused the last three years learning the craft of fragrance making and bringing light to my ideas.

Both practices shape how I work now. Each fragrance is composed with the precision a collections manager brings to managing art collections and the attention a photographer brings to seeing. While REFRACTED's fragrances are an abstract way to express the poetics of light, every component is documented and revealed.

The maker is accountable for what's there.

You are trusted to feel.

— Founder and maker, Megan Kirschenbaum

A note on imagery

Like the scents themselves, the evocative visuals and branding imagery that accompany the fragrances are an extension of my artistic practice and crafted through a lens and by hand.