Fragrance house

January Scent Project

Founded by John Biebel in 2015, January Scent Project grew out of his study of perfume chemistry and composition and his freelance fragrance writing. Biebel’s background in painting, music, UX design, and fragrance writing informs a practice that connects perfume with visual art: he handles perfume making and packaging design, with occasional assistance from others. The name comes from a high-school calendar project, with “January” representing a beginning, challenge, and blank slate, and “Project” signaling an ongoing, evolving process. The brand’s fragrances use unusual, self-created or reconstructed names intended to avoid preassigned meanings and allow each scent to develop its own identity. Its first composition, Smolderose, dates to the brand’s emergence in 2015; by spring 2017, the line included Smolderose, Eiderantler, and Selperniku, followed by Vaporocindro that September. Smolderose has been identified as the line’s most widely known fragrance. In 2024, the brand paused operations for a rebranding involving new packaging, logo, typography, visual design, trademark and barcode registration, and development of a new fragrance; by December, its official offering had reached ten perfumes.