When Nicole Herbert turned 30 earlier this year, she had a “little bit of a crisis” about this milestone birthday and the inevitable forward march of time.

“I’m like, ‘I’m getting rid of all my makeup, I’m getting rid of all my clothes, I’m going to invest in some higher-quality stuff,’” she said, “‘and feel good about myself.’”

Part of that self-reinvention involved finding a signature scent. Herbert, who had never cared very much about perfumes, ordered some samples online. She was hooked. “One’s not going to cut it,” she remembers thinking. She needed one for every vibe.

Herbert, of Sandy, soon became invested in “#FragranceTok,” a portmanteau for the online community, mainly on TikTok, who share and obsess over fragrances.

This summer, she was scrolling and saw a video from Utah’s only dedicated niche perfume shop, Solvi. The small shop, she learned, was reopening, expanding into a larger space in downtown Salt Lake City.

Herbert was thrilled. No longer would she be “stuck to ordering online” or finding scents at department stores. She could smell the good, unique, indie stuff with her own nose for no cost.

“I was counting down the days,” she said, “until Solvi’s reopening.”

That was in August. Herbert has been back to Solvi three times since. She always leaves with something.

She’s not alone. Solvi has been making a name for itself on Pierpont Avenue, a trendy former artist enclave near Pioneer Park, as more Utahns jump on the growing niche fragrance trend. Some days, lines stretch out the door for a chance to catch a sniff of Solvi’s wares.

A niche perfume shop sells a curated collection of fragrances made by a perfume line, house or brand that “focuses on the sole artistry of perfumery,” said Maya Rigby, Solvi’s owner. Unlike at a department store, where one may conceivably be able to pick up a Chanel bag and one of its signature scents, these perfumers only make perfumes.

The first iteration of Solvi began in July 2025, in a much smaller shop on the same street. Rigby, with the help of her mom Kristy and friends, expanded into a larger location at 341 Pierpont Ave. this year.

When owner Rigby opened that first shop, in a space about the size of a dining room, she thought it’d be the perfect cozy spot for her small business. Customers had other ideas.

“We got so much traffic …,” she said, “it was almost hard for customers to shop in there.”

The vibe

Solvi’s new space is nearly 1,500 square feet, with room for patrons to sniff samples out front, and a back area that is under renovation, but where Rigby envisions hosting events someday.

As you walk into Solvi, dozens of perfumes waft over you. Try as Rigby might to clean the remnants of test sprays with vinegar, the fragrances linger.

“People will come in,” Rigby said, “and be like, ‘What smell is that?’”

“It’s everything,” Rigby says wryly. A pleasant amalgamation of the fragrances Rigby has cultivated — from local Utah perfumers, like Pineward and Ghost Stories Parfums, to scents made around the world.

One of her favorites right now is from the Swedish brand Stora Skuggan, inspired by folklore, unexplained phenomena and old history. She points out one of the top sellers, Monkeyflower, an interpretation based on a popular Victorian flower that “mysteriously lost its sense of smell at the turn of the 19th century,” Rigby said.

Kelton Wagley, who started Ghost Stories in Orem last year with business partner Kade Higham, said having a niche perfume store so nearby is rare. Without it, he’d be selling his products online and through shops based in New York.

“Anybody who’s curious about my fragrances could just walk into a store about 45 minutes away from me and just try it out. And if they like it, they could buy a bottle,” Wagley said. “That’s so cool to me.”

But he also thinks the Solvi experience is different from other boutiques. Anyone wanting to learn more about fragrances should talk to Rigby, Wagley said.

“Even if you don’t think you like fragrance,” he said, “she’s going to find a fragrance that you’ll like.”

Meet the owner

Rigby, 26, was born in the West Valley area, about 15 minutes from her downtown shop.

Her love for perfume began as a teen, when she traveled with her parents and visited niche perfume shops across the U.S. and in Europe.

Rigby is hard of hearing and wears hearing aids. It’s a joke in her family that her sense of smell makes up for what she lacks in hearing.

“It’s kind of a joke,” she said, “but it kind of might be true.”

While she loved those stores, she never planned to open one herself. She was a nanny before opening Solvi, and worked in social media management for about five years.

But when her father Alan died unexpectedly in 2024, Rigby began rethinking everything and went through a “good who-am-I crisis,” she said.

Rigby leaned into that old comfort of travel with her family after her dad died. In November, she went to New Orleans with her mom and Rigby’s then-fiance (now husband). There, she visited Madame Aucoin Perfume, a tiny but “magical” shop in the French Quarter and realized Utah needed something like this — and she could run it.

“Why not?” Rigby thought. Solvi opened about six months later.

At first, Rigby mostly stocked scents based on what she knew and loved. The store opened stocking 17 brands and has grown to 54, with more than 400 fragrances.

For those unfamiliar with perfumes, or those seeking something different, she hosts a quiz on her website that can serve as a guide. Rigby and her staff can also help in-store.

The average price for a 50 milliliter bottle ranges from about $160 to $175, although some brands are much more expensive. A more affordable brand, like Maison Des Animaux, can be bought for just under $100, Rigby said.

Samples of scents — smaller tubes to try out for those who are undecided — go for between $7 and $12 per tube, depending on the brand, Rigby said.

Perfume is trending

The perfume industry has been growing, thanks in part to its popularity on social media. Market research shows the smaller brands are growing faster than those owned by conglomerates.

“I think more folks are becoming aware of just how diverse and wild fragrances can be outside of what you find at the mall,” said Nicholas Nilsson, owner of the Utah-based perfumery Pineward.

Solvi brings that online experience into the real world, “fulfilling this desire,” he said, “to experience these avant-garde scents as it’s more convenient to smell all their wares in one place in-person than having to order samples online.”

Rigby has certainly found a foothold for herself online, with more than 7,000 Instagram followers and more than 5,000 on TikTok.

But Rigby thinks there’s an existential reason she’s seen lines out the door some days.

Perfumes used to be “very commercialized,” she said, and mostly sprayed on for special occasions. That changed during the coronavirus pandemic, when people were stuck at home and bored, seeking stimulation and a sense of self.

“I think people are starting to think of fragrance,” Rigby said, “as an extension of their outfit, of themselves, a way to show up in the world.”

Elizabeth Cohen, 37, got into niche perfumes a few years ago because of her teenage son. He’d broken his ankle skiing and was spending a lot of time on his phone. He discovered the fragrance discourse online and talked Cohen into taking him on sniffing outings to department stores.

His enthusiasm for fragrances has waned, but Cohen’s has accelerated. She now owns 16 full bottles, to his four or five. A self-described “super sniffer,” she hadn’t found fragrances she loved until she discovered the niche perfume market.

Every time she visits Salt Lake City from her home in Park City, she tries to stop at Solvi. She went most recently last weekend.

“It’s just always so fun, because there’s a little bit of everything, and [Rigby] really listens to what you like and helps you find either things that you already know you’ll like or,” Cohen said, “things that might be a little bit of a stretch that she thinks you might like.”

Cohen compared the hobby to wine-tasting. Just replace the sips with sniffs. She likes that Solvi sells samples of most fragrances it stocks.

“I wonder,” Cohen said about the growing perfume trend, “if it’s a little bit of escapism.”

“If everything is terrible,” she mused, “at least you can smell good.”