THE STORY OF ELIJAH AGURTO, FOUNDER & PERFUMER OF XO ATELIER.
An independent fragrance haus born from a love of beauty, the intimacy of scent, and the belief that the things we wear should mean something.
At 22 years old, Elijah Agurto is the founder and perfumer behind XO Atelier, an independent fragrance haus based in Northern New Jersey. Working from a small personal studio, Elijah is building a brand that brings together his interests in beauty, creativity, perfumery, and the deeply personal relationship people have with fragrance.
For Elijah, fragrance has never been just about smelling good. It is about the feelings attached to certain scents, the people they remind us of, the places they take us, and the moments that somehow stay with us long after they have passed. A fragrance can become part of someone's identity without them ever having to explain it. It can be familiar, comforting, unexpected, nostalgic, or entirely new. Most importantly, it can become something uniquely theirs.
That belief became the foundation of XO Atelier.
THE BEGINNING OF SOMETHING PERSONAL.
Founded in 2024, XO Atelier began with a simple ambition: to share a genuine passion for fragrance with the world.
The name itself carries meaning. XO represents hugs and kisses, while Atelier refers to a creative studio or workshop. Together, they reflect the heart of the brand: a place where creativity, emotion, and individuality meet.
What began as an idea gradually became something much more tangible. There were concepts to develop, fragrances to formulate, packaging to consider, a business to establish, and an entire identity to bring to life. Every decision was an opportunity to create something that felt personal rather than follow what was already being done.
The journey was not entirely linear. After establishing XO Atelier in 2024, Elijah stepped away from actively developing the business while navigating the demands of full-time education. The passion never disappeared, however. The time away offered an opportunity to reconsider the direction of the brand, develop new ideas, and return with a more defined vision.
In 2026, XO Atelier entered a new chapter.
This time, Elijah returned with a renewed commitment to building the fragrance haus he had originally imagined. What had once been a dream gradually became a daily responsibility, requiring far more than creativity alone. It meant investing his own time, money, energy, and countless hours into something he believed deserved to exist.
And he was willing to put everything he had into it.
TWO WORLDS, ONE VISION.
Outside of XO Atelier, Elijah is a full-time student pursuing his education in nursing. Balancing the demands of an academic program with the responsibilities of owning and operating an independent fragrance business has been one of the most challenging aspects of his journey.
There are exams to prepare for, assignments to complete, business decisions to make, fragrances to develop, orders to fulfill, and customers to take care of. Some days involve studying before returning to the studio, while others mean spending hours preparing shipments, working through formulations, or planning the next release.
It is a balance that requires discipline, patience, and a considerable amount of sacrifice.
Yet, for Elijah, these two worlds represent different parts of the life he wants to build. His education is an important personal commitment, while XO Atelier gives him an opportunity to explore his creativity and turn a passion into something tangible.
There is something particularly rewarding about seeing an idea move from a notebook or formulation experiment into a finished fragrance that someone else can experience.
"Some days are certainly more demanding than others, but I genuinely love what I do. Whether I'm formulating something new, packing an order, developing ideas for the brand, or studying, I feel incredibly fortunate to be working toward things that mean so much to me. Seeing XO Atelier become what it is today is something I once could only imagine."
For Elijah, the long days are part of the process. The intention has always been to build something meaningful, even if it takes time to get there.
A DIFFERENT RELATIONSHIP WITH FRAGRANCE.
The philosophy behind XO Atelier is rooted in a simple idea: wear what words can't say.
Some things are difficult to explain. A feeling, a memory, a particular chapter of life, or the way someone makes you feel can be almost impossible to put into words. Fragrance offers another way to express those things.
Elijah wanted to create fragrances that could speak before the wearer ever had to. Something that could become recognizable, personal, and memorable. Not simply a fragrance someone enjoys wearing, but one that becomes associated with them.
The kind of scent someone asks about. The fragrance that reminds a person of a particular moment. The one that becomes so familiar that its absence is noticed.
This is why the relationship between fragrance and memory remains so central to the haus. Scent has a remarkable ability to connect us to experiences, sometimes bringing back details we didn't even realize we had remembered.
A fragrance might capture the sweetness of a summer afternoon, the comfort of something familiar, the excitement of a new beginning, or the feeling of being somewhere you wish you could return to.
These are the kinds of experiences that inspire the creative direction of XO Atelier.
The intention is not to make every fragrance tell the same story. Each composition should have its own character, its own atmosphere, and its own reason for existing. Some are playful and indulgent, others are soft and comforting, while others explore entirely different moods and olfactive directions.
Together, they make up a wider world of fragrance, with room for different personalities, preferences, and expressions.
THE PROCESS BEHIND THE PERFUME.
While the finished bottle is what customers ultimately experience, much of the work happens long before a fragrance is ready to be introduced.
Formulation is an ongoing process of exploration, experimentation, and refinement. It requires understanding individual fragrance materials, how they interact with one another, and how a composition changes as it develops.
An ingredient that smells beautiful on its own may behave differently when introduced into a larger formula. Certain accords need to be balanced, others need to be softened, and sometimes an entire direction needs to be reconsidered.
The opening of a fragrance must work alongside its heart and dry-down. The transition between these stages matters just as much as the individual notes themselves. A composition should feel cohesive rather than like a collection of unrelated ingredients.
Some fragrances come together within days. Others take weeks or months of adjustments before they begin to capture the original idea.
For Elijah, this is one of the most rewarding parts of being a perfumer. There is no shortcut to arriving at a composition that feels right. It takes patience to understand what is working, recognize what isn't, and know when a fragrance needs more time.
Material selection is equally important. XO Atelier places an emphasis on carefully selected fragrance materials and thoughtful formulation, considering not only how a fragrance smells but also how it wears.
Skin application, development, projection, and sillage all contribute to the overall experience. The intention is to create compositions that are enjoyable from the first application through their lasting dry-down.
Every fragrance is developed with the finished wearing experience in mind. A beautiful opening is important, but so is everything that follows.
And while the process is often technical, it is also deeply creative. It is where inspiration becomes something tangible.
A HAUS BUILT WITH INTENTION.
As an independent fragrance haus, XO Atelier operates differently from the large established fragrance institutions that have shaped the industry.
There is no corporate fragrance department or large production team behind the scenes. The brand is founder-led, with Elijah personally involved in its creative direction, formulation, product development, business operations, and the many details that go into bringing a release to life.
That independence allows the haus to explore its own ideas and develop a distinct creative identity.
Each fragrance release is approached as a curated collection rather than an endless stream of new products. Multiple fragrances are introduced within each release, with the selection intentionally kept to a considered number.
The purpose is to give every composition its own space while maintaining a cohesive direction across the collection. It also allows customers to explore different fragrance personalities without feeling overwhelmed by constant launches.
For Elijah, releasing a fragrance should mean something. It should have a purpose, a point of view, and a place within the wider world of XO Atelier.
The goal is not simply to release more, but to release with purpose.
FINE FRAGRANCE, MADE MORE APPROACHABLE.
One of the most important considerations in building XO Atelier has been finding the balance between quality and accessibility.
Elijah has always admired the world of niche perfumery and the attention to detail that goes into creating distinctive fragrances. At the same time, he recognizes that the pricing of fine fragrance can sometimes make the experience difficult to access.
He wanted to create a brand that reflected his passion for fragrance while remaining approachable to the people who wanted to experience it.
That meant thinking carefully about formulation costs, fragrance materials, packaging, production, and the many expenses involved in operating an independent business.
XO Atelier fragrances are developed as extrait de parfum compositions, with an emphasis on the overall wearing experience and the careful selection of materials. The concentration is part of the brand's commitment to offering a considered fragrance experience, while the final composition remains the most important part of the process.
Affordability, however, does not mean compromising the creative vision.
Every release involves time, experimentation, investment, and decisions about how to bring a fragrance to market responsibly. Maintaining an accessible price point while continuing to invest in the quality and development of the products is an ongoing consideration.
Elijah does not believe that enjoying a thoughtfully developed fragrance should be an experience reserved for a particular price bracket.
He wants people to discover something they genuinely love, make it part of their daily lives, and return to it because it feels like them.
WHAT COMES NEXT.
At 22, Elijah is still at the beginning of what he hopes will become a much larger story.
XO Atelier has grown from an idea into a functioning independent fragrance haus, but there is still so much he wants to accomplish. New fragrance concepts are constantly developing, creative directions are waiting to be explored, and the vision for the brand continues to evolve.
There are ambitions that extend beyond the small studio in Northern New Jersey, but the foundation remains the same: creating fragrances with intention, sharing a genuine passion for perfumery, and building something that people can connect with.
The journey has required sacrifices that aren't always visible to the customer. Every finished product represents hours of work, personal investment, and the determination to keep moving forward even when balancing everything else becomes difficult.
But perhaps that is what makes the experience so meaningful.
Every order that leaves the studio represents someone choosing to become part of the XO Atelier story. Every fragrance that finds a place in someone's collection is another opportunity to create a connection. And every customer who discovers a composition they love is a reminder of why the haus was created in the first place.
For Elijah, the dream has never been limited to putting fragrances into bottles. It has always been about creating something that people can experience, remember, and make their own.
Because the most meaningful things aren't always the ones we can explain.
Sometimes, they're the ones we carry with us.
XO ATELIER.
Driven by memory & love.