Alex Elle Just Harnessed The Powers Of Scent & Words In Her Latest Fragrance

Every scent evokes an emotion. In Scent Stories, TZR asks tastemakers, celebrities, and industry insiders to share the stories behind the smells of their past and present.

Words have always been at the core of Alex Elle’s GRWM routine. “I started writing to heal,” the best-selling author and coach tells me over Zoom, her sensory Baltimore home serving as the backdrop. “It started as notes to self, long-form letters to myself, and then affirmations.” Reflecting on feelings of insecurity and pain in her teen years through being a young new mom to her first daughter, Elle attributes her continual healing process to the power of language. “I didn't have anybody in my life who I felt showed me how to be a mother,” she shares. “I had to literally figure that out from scratch, and writing helped me find a soft place to land for my feelings. [It] was learning my own language and what I needed and what I wanted.”

The certified breath work coach and self-discovery expert has since taken her own healing modalities such as journaling, mindfulness, and positive affirmations to a growing community of nearly 2 million on Instagram. And now, she’s adding a new medium that’s near and dear to her: fragrance. “I have always been a fragrance girlie,” Elle says, excited to announce her new launch with Snif, aptly named “Gentle Reminder.” “I took a chance on emailing the brand after giving birth to my third daughter, five years ago. I could not wear perfume with the last two pregnancies — the strong chemicals in the scent made my lungs hurt and my eyes water.” After feeling frustrated from allergic reactions to perfume during pregnancy, Elle transitioned to not only building a non-toxic fragrance lineup with the brand (her first perfume was “Heal The Way,” an amber-infused gourmand), but took it a step further by marrying the scents with her signature affirmations.

For her latest launch, Elle says she wanted to “make people feel like I’m giving them a hug,” and like she was alongside them on the path to healing. “Gentle Reminder is so special to me because it incorporates scents like lavender and tea and milk froth,” she says. “I bond with my eldest daughter over tea and lavender, so this perfume is truly a bottled memory for me.”

As a believer in the power that ritual has on mental health and well-being, through fragrance, Elle marries the routine of positive self-talk and beauty-inspired self care. With each bottle showcasing an uplifting “gentle reminder,” Elle has infused action into the practice of affirmations, which is a stance she feels strongly about in her own coaching work. “I tell my clients and my students this all the time. Affirmations without action are just words. You can literally write every love note, every self-compassion note, gratitude note all you want. But if you're writing ‘I am worthy’ but you're continuing to stay in relationships that don't reflect your worth, that is not an affirmation in action, right?”

Ahead, Elle takes TZR through the sensory journey of healing through fragrance, ritual, and memory.

The Scent of Relaxation

“Lavender. I have lavender pillow spray. I have lavender body balms that I put on after a shower. I have a matching lavender tattoo with one of my really close friends. I'm obsessed with lavender, but I can only handle it in doses, because it can be very, very strong. Still, the right amount brings this sense of pure relaxation.”

The Scent of Nostalgia

“Bubblegum.”

The Scent of Confidence

“Vanilla.”

The Scent of Clarity

“Peppermint, eucalyptus, and Palo Santo. I burn palo santo in the house. I drink peppermint tea. I use peppermint essential oil everywhere. I think those scents are so opening, and invite you to get clear and to get grounded. That's what clarity is for — to be able to have space in your mind, body, spirit, to create room for something to enter. Be it a thought, be it healing. Like when we're sick, we are a peppermint tea house all the way. And I think there's something really grounding about herbs and fragrance being used in medicinal ways.”

The Scent of Comfort

“Cardamom.”