The Stink List: Tate and Aviva

Welcome to the inaugural post of The Stink.

May 13, 2025

Every week we ask those with a fantastic sense of smell to share their favorite odors or where and when they go au naturel. This week, founders Aviva and Tate will be sharing what they’re currently whiffing up.

Aviva Rowley is a ceramist, florist and co-founder of The Stink living in Brooklyn, NY.

Tate Obayashi is an artist and co-founder of The Stink living in New York City.

For the body

Aviva: I cycle through perfumes a lot but my current favorite is Santal Safran by Maison de Fouzdar.

Tate: This is ever evolving, but I like to smell like I've just risen from the ashes. Historically it's been Maison Margiela Replica By The Fireplace or Mondo Mondo's Cowboy. Now that it's warming up I like a more crisp gourmand, like a bergamot (DS & Durga's I Don't Know What) or this cheap pistachio perfume I got at a pharmacy in Italy.

Aviva: I absolutely love Everyday Oil (Mainstay) and Breathless (Aesop). For deodorant - AKT is a game changer! Shout out to Tate for turning me on to it. I use SC.03

Tate: The Stink basically started because Aviva and I have an obsession with deodorant. Currently I'm using AKT SC. 04 though I’ve used SC.02 as well. For overall body, Detox Market's in-house brand Detox Mode Impossible Soap. It smells like showering outdoors and has the texture of sap. That being said, at heart I’m a bath girl and always on the hunt for different salts and bubbles. In the summer I love a few shards of menthol crystals in a lukewarm bath. The sensation and scent is unreal! It cools your body down for hours.

For the mouth

Aviva: My friend Katherine Carothers (@entriken_ny) turned me on to Weleda salt toothpaste years ago and I've been hooked ever since. I love Choward's Violet candy, its very divisive but my mom always had them growing up and they bring back a really strong sensory memory.

Tate: I’m an Arm & Hammer household. My little treat for when I'm driving is Tea Tree Therapy Toothpicks in mint. I picked up my co-worker once with one of these in my mouth and he asked if toothpicks were cool in America because in Spain, where he grew up they were synonymous with fat old men.

For the hands and feet

Aviva: My hands are always dry from floral work and pottery and I swear by Weleda Skin Food. I even use it on my face in the drier months. If I want to go fancy I'll use my Aesop Eleos. For sanitizer, I hoard the free hand sanitizer sprays from CityMD - they don't smell good and they're not exciting but they come in a great compact spray bottle.

Tate: I can't justify Aesop or Diptyque hand soap on a regular basis, so I get it once and then fill the bottle with whatever dupe I can tolerate. Right now I'm loving Itinera's tomato peel hand soap. When I’m feeling chapped, which is always since I work with my hands I lather on Weleda Skin Food.

For the home

Aviva: Mimosa is one of my favorite scents and I love the Diptyque Mimosa candle, mainly for the bathroom. The rest of my rooms get something deep and smoky like Ash from Boy Smells. I also love anything from FischerSund - my go to is NO. 23. I always travel with Hibi incense matches - they are the best of the best. I love the Oak Moss scent. FischerSund NO. 02 incense cones are amazing, I switch between those and Aoyama incense sticks from Astier de Villatte. For a less expensive option I use Saffron Sandal incense sticks.

Tate: Diptyque's L'Elide candle in the matte black porcelain vessel with a relief of Roman goddess Fauna on the front is my absolute favorite. I treasured it for a year, but now it’s burned out. It's prohibitively expensive, so I usually go with whatever is on Le Feu de L'eau's outlet site. For incense, I burn Valley of Gold by Misc Goods Co. incense cones when I can find it. I splurge on Santa Maria Novella incense papers on a seasonal basis and on a daily basis I burn Paine's Cedar incense because they're dirt cheap. Summer doesn’t officially start for me until I get a pack of Nantucket Spider Company incense sticks. They last sooooo long, smell amazing and actually keep bugs away. They also make a great dog spray that smells like Costa Brazil perfume.

Aviva: I tend to keep it simple, I've been using vinegar and water in a spray bottle with a few drops of peppermint essential oil. I don't often splurge on this but I love Le Labo's rose detergent (currently sold out) for intimates. I like to take the sample packs when I travel ;) perfect for washing undergarments in hotel sinks

Tate: Ugh, so many. Sapadilla All Purpose Spray in rosemary mint. I also like Crate & Barrel's cedar and sage cleaner or will dissolve a Be.blum cleaner tablet and add eucalyptus essential oil. Emily Kirkpatrick raved about Zum detergent in her newsletter I <3 Mess and I've been hooked since. Patchouli is my favorite but will do the frankincense and myrrh in a pinch.

For the car

Aviva: I don't drive but I got my mom the Diptyque car freshener (rose) and it smells great.

Tate: I used to splurge on the DS & Durga ones, but now I just sprinkle whatever essential oils I have on hand in the back seat and call it a day. I also kind of like the scent of Armor All wipes.

For everything else

Aviva: Lampe Berger! They were invented in the late 1800's and were used in hospitals to eliminate airborne bacteria. They work by burning isopropyl alcohol and you can make your own fuel at home by adding whatever scent you want. They not only scent a room but they destroy stink molecules in the air!

Tate: I could speak volumes about scent (and will now that we have this newsletter) but my last scent suggestion is not a product but a practice. Which is to indulge in scents while traveling. Whenever I burn my incense I've been hoarding for 6 years from Mexico or spritz on my Italian pharmacy perfume I'm immediately transported back in time. It's an instantaneous, if not ephemeral, vacation mindset

Tate & Aviva