Mariah Vail, Founder of NOIR97, a Luxury Fragrance Brand with Intentional Design
By Jules Lavallee
Mariah Vail is the founder of NOIR97, a luxury fragrance brand specializing in thoughtfully crafted candles and home fragrance, and Between Us, an intimate candle-making experience centered around scent, creativity, and connection.
What began as a passion for fragrance has grown into a multi-dimensional brand built around creating spaces and products that invite people to slow down, connect, and create something memorable. Through NOIR97, Mariah creates elevated home fragrance designed to linger, while Between Us brings people together through intimate candle-making experiences, private events, scent discovery, and curated candle bars.
Based in South Florida, Mariah is building both brands with an emphasis on intentional design, community, and creating experiences that feel personal rather than transactional. From intimate gatherings like Velvet Hour to custom candle collaborations and private events, her work continues to explore the relationship between fragrance, atmosphere, and human connection.
As an entrepreneur, Mariah is focused on growing NOIR97 and Between Us into brands that extend beyond products — creating opportunities for people to gather, discover, connect, and leave with something they can take with them.
What led you to launch NOIR97?
NOIR97 started with my love of fragrance and my desire to create something that felt personal, elevated, and completely my own. I’ve always been drawn to the way scent can change the atmosphere of a room and, more importantly, how certain fragrances can become connected to memories and emotions.
I wanted to create candles that felt different from what I was seeing in the market — something moody, sophisticated, and intentional. What started as an idea around candles has grown into a larger vision for fragrance, home atmosphere, and creating moments that people remember.
Tell us about NOIR97 and Between Us. What makes your brand unique?
NOIR97 is a luxury fragrance and home fragrance brand centered around candles and scents designed to linger. I’m intentional about creating fragrances that feel layered, sophisticated, and emotionally evocative rather than simply following whatever fragrance trend is popular at the moment.
Between Us grew from that same idea, but brings fragrance into a shared experience. Through intimate candle-making experiences, private events, scent discovery, and candle bars, Between Us gives people an opportunity to create something while also connecting with the people around them.
What makes the two brands unique is that they are connected by the same belief: fragrance can create atmosphere, but connection creates the memory.
That idea is at the heart of Between Us: Come for the candle. Stay for the connection.
The fall is approaching, one of your best-sellers is VELVET. Tell us about what makes VELVET special and take us through your fall collection.
VELVET is special because it captures the mood I want people to associate with NOIR97 — warm, intimate, sophisticated, and inviting. It has become one of those fragrances that people continue coming back to, which is always exciting as a small business owner because it tells me that the fragrance is resonating beyond the initial impression.
For fall, I created Autumn After Hours, a four-fragrance collection inspired by the feeling of a night unfolding slowly.
The collection includes:
UNTOUCHED — a crisp, airy fragrance with bergamot, juniper, lavender, cedarwood, moss, and soft amber.
CLOSER — warm nutmeg and clove with buttery praline, creamy coconut, and cedarwood.
SLOWLY — a warm, smoky take on pumpkin spice with cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, pumpkin, smoked embers, and vanilla.
SURRENDER — a layered blend of pumpkin, cracked peppercorn, cardamom, nutmeg, vanilla, sandalwood, and patchouli.
The names are intentional because the collection is meant to feel like a progression: UNTOUCHED. CLOSER. SLOWLY. SURRENDER.
In addition to our candles, NOIR97 offers room sprays and custom fragrance products. Through Between Us, I also offer intimate candle-making experiences, private candle events, scent discovery, and candle bar experiences.
What challenges have you faced as a small business owner?
One of the biggest challenges has been learning how to grow while also doing almost everything myself. As a small business owner, you’re the creative director, production team, customer service department, marketer, operations manager, and sometimes even the person packing orders late at night.
I’ve had to learn that growth isn’t just about having more ideas — it’s about building systems that allow those ideas to actually work. I’ve become much more intentional about organization, inventory, production, event operations, and knowing when I need to bring other people into the process.
There have also been plenty of moments where I’ve had to remind myself that building a brand takes time. I’m learning to celebrate the progress while continuing to refine what I’m building.
Raving Reviews
The response to Between Us has been especially encouraging. After our first Velvet Hour candle-making experience, guests shared how much they enjoyed the intimate atmosphere, the opportunity to create their own candle, and the conversations and connections that came from bringing everyone together.
Our Baby Legend candle bar also introduced Between Us to a new audience and led to new followers and inquiries about private candle-making experiences.
One of my favorite parts of building the brand has been hearing people talk about the experience after they leave — not just the candle they made, but the atmosphere, the conversation, and how they felt while they were there.
Share your vision for your brand over the next 6-months.
Over the next six months, my focus is on expanding NOIR97 and Between Us while building stronger systems behind both brands.
For NOIR97, I want to continue developing new fragrance collections and expanding our home fragrance offerings beyond candles and room sprays. I’m also interested in more collaborations with businesses, creators, and organizations that align with the brand.
For Between Us, I want to expand private candle-making experiences, scent discovery, and intimate events for birthdays, girls’ nights, corporate/team gatherings, bridal events, and other celebrations.
I’m also focused on building more strategic partnerships and creating opportunities for NOIR97 and Between Us to show up in new spaces.
Ultimately, I don’t want to build a brand that people only purchase from. I want to build something people experience, remember, and want to be part of.
Socials (IG, FB, TikTok): @noirnineseven & @betweenusbynoir97
