Skin Anarchy: Blending Design, Storytelling, and Scent with The Maker Fragrances

Fragrance Friday Special • Host: Dr. Ekta • Guests: Lev Glazman & Alina Roytberg
Release Date: August 29, 2025

Overview

This episode dives into the creative universe of The Maker, the hotel-turned-fragrance-brand founded by Lev Glazman and Alina Roytberg. Dr. Ekta guides a journey through their holistic approach to design, sensory storytelling, and how personal memories and spaces transform into evocative scents. Lev and Alina share their philosophy around building immersive environments, the emotionality of fragrance, anecdotes from their past, and the artistry behind their genderless, experiential fragrance collection.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Origins and Philosophy of The Maker

[00:44 – 04:52]

• Breaking away from uniform hospitality: Lev recounts their desire to create a hotel that mirrors the individuality of a home, where every room is different, every corner tells a story, and guests are deeply immersed in an experience—contrary to standardized rooms of typical hospitality.

• From Fresh to The Maker: Alina discusses how their early retail experience (Fresh) inspired a love for crafting worlds for people to enter, ultimately incubating the ambition to build an entire hotel as the ultimate immersive environment.

  “When we start talking about something, it’s almost—the seed is planted. The conversation keeps on going and going… until you’re asking yourself, ‘Can you actually do it?’”
  —Lev [03:08]

  “What is the ultimate world to build? That is a hotel... you really take an incredibly active audience into the world that you want to build.”
  —Alina [04:26]

2. Storytelling and Scent: Emotional Narratives Over Olfactory Pyramids

[06:13 – 12:07]

• Personal history: Lev shares a vivid story about growing up in Russia with limited access to fragrances, describing the moment he and his mother bought smuggled French perfume from the black market, and how this imprinted the power of scent in his mind.

• Fragrance as transformation: Scent is viewed as a deeply emotional trigger that can transport, evoke memories, and spark fantasies—serving as both a representation and a creator of intimate moments.

  “When my mom took me... she grabbed the box, paid him 120 rubles—a phenomenal amount... I remember... we were both transformed. My mom... joy on her face. I myself felt transported. I never smelled something beautiful like that. For me, this was when the seed was planted, and fragrance became my way of dreaming…”
  —Lev [06:56]

  “Fragrance is very transformative. It can take you to places... you sometimes capture in your memory through a scent… I was fascinated that I’d come home and my mom would not be there, but I could smell her fragrance. Her spirit would be there.”
  —Lev [09:30]

3. Space Inspiring Scent: Translating Hotel Moments into Fragrances

[13:37 – 16:29]

• Designing with scent in mind: As hotel spaces were completed, Lev would imagine stories unfolding within them—visualizing scenes, moods, and even the music and clinking of glasses—to inform the creation of each fragrance.

• Example – Lover: The first fragrance was inspired by a cozy, intimate moment in the hotel lounge, combining notes like juniper berry (gin), smokiness (fireplace), and rich vanilla.

  “I started thinking—I could see this couple sitting in front of a beautiful fireplace... there’s Billie Holiday playing, clinking of glasses, a little smoke… How do I make it not smell just like burned wood, but have a more sensual appeal? That’s the first fragrance I started imagining.”
  —Lev [14:00]

4. Fragrances as Characters and Stories, Not Just Formulas

[16:49 – 17:45]

• Lev emphasizes that every fragrance begins as a story—rooted in either his own experience or imagined fantasy. The scent must have an emotional connection, not merely a list of ingredients.

  “For me, when I think about a fragrance, it has to be a story. That’s the only way I can imagine it... In order to create an emotion in the fragrance, you literally have to have a story that’s also connected to some emotion, right?”
  —Lev [16:52]

5. Universality & Emotional Accessibility in Fragrance

[18:50 – 21:24]

• Balancing personal stories with universal appeal: Alina describes how the real, living environment (the hotel) provides a recurring source of inspiration, allowing guests to connect through their own memories and emotions—whether or not they’ve visited The Maker. The olfactory experience taps into fundamental and accessible parts of being human.

  “When you think about people experiencing things—when we travel, we’re ready to accept and experience new things… That is a very universal idea.”
  —Alina [19:18]

  “You paint a beautiful picture that is offset by very unexpected sensorial experiences. I think you are creating a very particular home—a very specific niche.”
  —Alina [21:09]

6. Examples of Scented Storytelling: Naked & Revel

[22:11 – 27:21]

• Naked fragrance: Inspired by the intimacy after a night together—skin, sheets, pheromones—a moment many people can relate to, whether or not they've been to the hotel. The written story for Naked intentionally evokes this universal, sensual scene.

  “The cool light of dawn melts past the edge of the curtain and we come alive together, only here, right now, between these sheets like velvet—this magical moment, in my memories forever.”
  —Lev, reciting Naked’s imagery [23:07]

• Revel fragrance: Born from observing countless celebrations at The Maker: proposals, anniversaries, weddings. Originally, it was made for a guest’s wedding, then broadened to bottle the joy of communal celebration.

  “How do I make that fragrance that’s really going to come across as joyful, happy, and sunny? ...It’s very much inspired by those celebratory moments I see at The Maker all the time.”
  —Lev [25:53]

7. Layering vs. Pairing: Signature Cohesion

[27:21 – 31:34]

• Intentional design for compatibility: Lev prefers thinking of layering as “pairing.” Rather than spraying scents on top of each other, he recommends applying different scents to separate pulse points—allowing them to mingle in the air.

• Collection cohesiveness on purpose: All Maker fragrances share a common sensual thread, built to remain distinct yet harmonious in combination—anchored by woods, spices, and an inviting signature dry down.

  “When I designed the collection, I wanted each fragrance to have its own personality, but always be weaved through… the sensuality of the notes… That’s why you can layer any fragrance within the collection whichever way you want, and it’ll work—because the dry down has that common denominator.”
  —Lev [29:37]

8. Lev’s Creative Process: Synesthesia, Perfectionism, and Collaboration

[31:34 – 36:44]

• Alina praises Lev’s rare ability to visualize, dream, and architect scents even before they exist—he chases a concept relentlessly until it’s right.

• Lev describes a near-synesthetic process: he “sees” the color of a fragrance in his mind and continuously iterates with perfumers until the scent matches his internal vision, sometimes chasing perfection for a year or more.

  “Because he has a very unique sense of smell—he can visualize smells. It’s fascinating… it’s really speaking the language of fragrance truly, beyond the idea, beyond the story.”
  —Alina [32:07]

  “I remember the Lover. I worked on it for a year. I had maybe 200 submissions from different perfumers... And I remember, when Frank, the perfumer, sent it—I sprayed the fragrance on the blotter and… this is it. This is what I smell.”
  —Lev [34:30]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Lev: “Fragrance became my way of dreaming, my way of memorizing things, my way of experiencing certain moments.” [09:14]
• Lav: “There always has to be a story… to create an emotion in the fragrance, you literally have to have a story that’s connected to some emotion.” [16:49]
• Alina: “When you have a built-in interest to explore certain things… you take away the prosaic. I think this is a very universal idea.” [19:26]
• Lev: “I like to carry pairing. I never layer one on top of another... I let those two fragrances start communicating... it creates an aura.” [28:19]
• Alina: “He can visualize smells. It’s like speaking the language of fragrance truly.” [32:10]
• Lev: “I dream about the fragrance—I actually could dream it in color... until I hit it right, the journey continues.” [34:00]
• Lev: “I worked on [Lover] for a year... I had maybe 200 submissions... This is what I smell.” [34:30]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [00:44] — The unique vision behind The Maker Hotel and its inspiration.
• [06:13] — Lev’s formative scent memories and the emotional trigger of fragrance.
• [13:37] — Translating hotel moments into scents; the creation of Lover.
• [16:49] — Developing fragrance as story-driven, genderless experiences.
• [22:14] — Naked: evoking the intimacy of shared mornings.
• [24:46] — Revel: celebrations, joy, and crafting a wedding-inspired scent.
• [28:16] — The philosophy and practical tips behind layering (pairing) fragrances.
• [32:07] — Lev’s creative process: synesthesia, perfectionism, and the search for the perfect scent.

Conclusion

This episode is a deep dive into the artistry of The Maker, where design, storytelling, and scent harmonize into immersive, genderless creations. Lev and Alina offer both practical and poetic insights into how to build memories into spaces and bottle emotions into scents, making their fragrances universally resonant and uniquely personal.

Explore The Maker’s world and experience how fantasy, hospitality, and scent intertwine to create lasting memories—each story, each note, crafted for all.