Hidden Habits: a fragrance inspired by nostalgia, from Temporal, and Chemia.

We all know how scent can evoke memories, which inspired Temporal, a new Los Angeles-based fragrance brand to develop Hidden Habits – a complex fragrance based on a distant memory.

Carter Branch, creator of the brand – found himself exploring the concept of scent memories towards the end of last year. “As I went through a deep thought exercise about interests that have been with me since I was a child, one that kept coming up was fragrance. I remember sneaking my parent’s perfumes, mixing ‘potions’ together in the kitchen, and having this follow through teenage years and adulthood”

One scent memory in particular has frequently come and gone throughout the years and inspired the creation of Hidden Habits. In the 90s, a relative would mask a habit with classic wintergreen mouthwash – evoking a distinct memory of clean mint, faint tobacco, and their leather briefcase. This particular memory served as a starting point for Hidden Habits – and represents a moment in time. The definition of temporal: “of or relating to the sequence of time or to a particular time” and association with temporal lobes processing scent memories inspired the name of the brand.

Carter partnered with expert perfumer Dr. Justin Frederico and boutique fragrance house Chemia, with additional development support by Bart Schmidt to completely reimagine this particular scent memory into a long-lasting Eau De Parfum. “Bringing this memory to life in an alluring way was quite challenging and required several rounds of iterations, but we’re very proud of the final result. A unique signature fragrance that’s very wearable and strikingly memorable” said Dr. Frederico. 

The top notes are thyme and clean mint, the middle notes are jasmine, golden amber, and smoky woods, and the base is leather, tobacco, musk, and vanilla. The fragrance is paraben and cruelty-free, vegan, and made in the USA.

“This process has taught me to have endless respect for anyone who creates something tangible, large or small. If you have an idea of your own that won’t go away I’d encourage you to explore it,” said Carter.

Hidden Habits is available now in the U.S. at smelltemporal.com and select retailers soon with plans to grow the product line next year.