portalsparfums com
A pop album you can smell. That’s the hook behind PortalsParfums.com, Melanie Martinez’s fragrance line that turns her other‑worldly record Portals into bottles, candles, and even wearable pendants.
Why Portals Parfums Exists
Martinez has always blurred the line between art forms—think of her “Cry Baby” perfume milk back in 2016. With Portals, she partnered with indie house Flower Shop Perfumes Co., letting fans step through a sensory “portal” instead of just pressing play.
A Sculpture That Opens Like a Secret Door
Skip the rectangular atomizer. The Debut Collection arrives in a foot‑tall pink creature head that cracks open to reveal four micro‑flacons. Display piece first, perfume second—exactly Martinez’s brand of show‑and‑tell.
Inside the Debut Collection: The Four Elements in Spray Form
The quartet riffs on earth, air, fire, and water. Each 15 ml bottle costs fifty bucks or the full set for $275, making the big sculpture the price‑of‑entry collector’s item.
Air of Clarity (Air) — Coconut caramel meets salted skin. Think sunscreen melting into a waffle cone while you stare at seagulls. Solar‑gourmand notes of caramel, ambroxan, musk, tonka, and sandalwood keep it sweet yet aerated.
Earthy Abundance (Earth) — Green‑tea steam rising from fresh soil. Turmeric leaf and lavender add herbal grit before a vanilla‑bean hug. It’s the only one in the bunch that smells like a farmer’s‑market bouquet dragged through a pastry case.
Fiery Passion (Fire) — Strawberry taffy tossed on smoldering woods. Pink peony lifts the opening, then vanilla and musk slink in like glowing embers; perfect for people who want their gourmand with a hint of danger.
Water of Intuition (Water) — Creamy New‑Caledonian sandalwood swirled with cocoa and amber. Imagine hot chocolate in a cedar sauna. It’s the deepest of the four and leans unisex despite the cuddly brief.
Lighting Up the Tracklist—13 Candles
Martinez didn’t stop at perfume. Every song on Portals has a matching candle: Death, Void, Tunnel Vision, all the way to Womb. Take Evil—a vanilla‑vetiver burner spiked with salty tears (yes, listed), oregano, and black pepper. Light it, and the room feels like a spell circle in a seaside cave. At $75 for 4.3 oz, they’re priced like niche‑brand candles but come with album‑lore bragging rights.
Ethics at the Core
Portals Parfums headlines its site with “long‑lasting, cruelty‑free, ethically‑sourced ingredients.” The sandalwood in Water of Intuition, for instance, is LMR‑certified sustainable, while multiple scents lean on up‑cycled or fair‑trade extracts. Martinez’s fan base watches that stuff closely, so the transparency matters.
Price, Availability, and the Fan Scramble
Launch day in late 2023 saw the entire sculpture sell out in hours. Subsequent drops let fans buy singles; pre‑orders ship months later, stoking hype and frustration in equal measure. Current pricing holds at $50 per 15 ml parfum or $275 for the set, with free U.S. shipping on orders over $100.
The Buying Experience
The website leans maximalist pink with looping animations. A pop‑up touts a 30 percent “SUMMERPORTAL” code, proving that even niche celebrity brands love a sale. Checkout is Shopify‑smooth, but overseas customers eat steep shipping fees and import taxes—no surprise, just plan for it.
What the Internet Says
Trustpilot scores a brutal 2.6/5 from just eight reviews, most complaints zeroing in on shipping delays rather than scent quality (Trustpilot). On fragrance forums, early adopters praise the creativity but knock the 15 ml size. Meanwhile resellers on eBay already ask three‑figure sums for unopened sets.
Should You Take the Leap?
If you treat perfume as merch, Portals Parfums nails the brief: immersive world‑building, collectible design, and notes that mirror Martinez’s candy‑goth aesthetic. Pure price‑to‑juice chasers might prefer mainstream niche houses. But fans who want to wear the album—or light up their room with a song‑specific candle—won’t find a tighter fusion of music and scent on the market right now.
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