Maria McElroy is the creator of Aroma M, a line of perfumes inspired by the art and culture of Japan. Maria is an artist (she studied painting) and lived in Japan for seven years, where she not only met her husband, but also fell in love with the Japanese way of life on many levels.
I’m very drawn to Maria’s sense of beauty and I admire her innate elegance.
My favorites in the line are the ravishing Geisha Noire, the warm and cosy Geisha Rouge and Geisha Amber Rouge.
Let’s hear more from Maria in today’s questionnaire…
A good day starts with… first with a smile and kiss from my husband and then green tea in my favorite cup from Kyoto.
I’d never leave the house without… a scented handkerchief and lipstick.
I always feel good when… when I am creating something.
My favorite thing in the world is… green tea, shopping at the farmers market, salt and Champagne.
The next thing I want to buy is… a display table for my perfumes to put in the Dumbo studio.
The place I always come back to is… Kyoto.
My personal style is… casual glamour. I love to mix vintage pieces with couture.
My favorite perfume… I don’t have a favorite bottled perfume but I love the scent of the sea, flowers in the sun and my chef hubby, irresistible and sexy.
When I travel, I… like to have as many adventures as possible, eat as many new things as I can and learn something new everyday.
To relax I need… to light some incense and take a bath.
I like to gift people with… transportive one of kind perfumes, and laughter.
When I have a bad day, I… try to find some humor in the day and meditate.
I find my inspiration… all around me. Seeing art, reading, music and running along the East River in NYC.
Something I would never want to miss… spending time with my husband.
My last mistake was… not getting enough sleep.
In my fridge there is always… Champagne and sashimi.
On my nightstand I keep… a scented satin eye pillow, a bottle of Jasmine oil and several books by Tanizaki, Paul Auster and Murakami.
The perfect weekend starts with… breakfast in bed with my chef hubby.
My role model is… my mother. She had a wonderful joie de vivre and infectious laughter. Life was full of beauty and light that my mother sprinkled all around. I learned the value of creating beauty from her, it is such a gift.
Being married to chef sounds like a very good idea! 🙂
I love how Maria talks about her mother. The value of creating beauty – Maria definitely took that lesson to heart, to the benefit of all of us.
Are you familiar with Aroma M? What are your favorites?
Olfactoria's Travels 
Must try one day! I love the paper wrapped around the bottle. So beautiful. I enjoyed reading how she loves her green tea.
Me too, the Japanese papers are gorgeous!
I thought of you when I read about the green tea. 🙂
I was not but I am now. Camellia Oil no less as well as oil options for the perfumes. I also like her fridge as described above.
Good! 🙂
I wouldn’t mind her fridge either… 😉
I haven’t tried the juice but I keep seeing these beautifully created and curated cylinders and am lemming them like crazy Birgit. A bottle of jasmine oil on the bedside reads like pure luxury, and nice to read another bath taker!
Portia xx
They look very enticing in their gorgeous packaging, don’t they?
Baths rule!!! 🙂
OOOOOOH! I have never heard of this line but amber, amber amber has got my nose perked. What an elegant woman. I have now made it my goal to change my “Personal Style” from “whatever comes out of the drier first” to “casual glamour” (thrilled to see it spelled with a U!) The only thing I seem to have in common with this wonderful woman is my love of tea 🙂
She is an elegant woman indeed! Her ambers are really worth a try, as are the others in the line.
oh how fun! party in perfumeland.what a wonderful dream that would be to laugh,drink champagne,and meet all of you! today i thank you all for making my stars shine even brighter! cheers!
Cheers, Carrie!
That would be a lovely get-together, I’m all for it! 🙂
I haven’t tried anything from the line (yet?) but I really like the packaging 🙂
I enjoy this form of interviews and I hope you have more of them coming.
A few more… 🙂