Creature

August 12, 2025 / Photo: Courtesy of Creature

Navya Dev knows that scent preferences are profoundly personal. So she created a fragrance brand that celebrates experimentation and the powerful olfactory properties found in nature. 

Dev has always had a fascination with scents and how people relate to them differently — she says she even did a science project on olfaction when she was 12. This interest followed her to NYC, where she began experimenting with different essential oil combinations in her apartment. Friends quickly took notice of these sweet-smelling creations and offered to pay for their own. This led her to create a series of bespoke scents under the name Creature, which she says embraces the wild, ephemeral, and untamable nature of the botanicals she works with.

Through the burgeoning brand, Dev tests, perfects, and releases seasonal scents, while working with clients to make their own custom combinations. Her limited release collections, made by hand in Brooklyn, endeavor to capture different concepts, sensations and natural settings. 

When working with clients, Dev creates a collaborative and personalized process. Through a series of conversations and questionnaires, she aims to understand exactly what they would like encapsulated in a scent. She empowers them during what can feel like an esoteric process, and helps them understand how fragrance notes work together. She also uses raw, naturally-derived oils, which allow for more combinations and distinct scent experiences.

Dev frequently works with friends and other community members to uplift their work while showcasing her scents. She has hosted several local fragrance workshops, created a "Free Palestine" scent benefiting American Near East Refugee Aid, collaborated with artist Phil Panza to create a wearable fragrance holder, and recently held a guided scent discovery session in partnership with Emmanual Mohammad who helms awaré wine and Œnology Projects.

Up until now, she has relied mostly on word of mouth to market Creature. But she recently launched a website featuring two separate factions of the brand. One will be Creature Studios, in which she will continue to offer custom scent creation services and spotlight her signature fragrances. The other will be Creature Labs, in which she will offer fragrance consulting services for other brands.

More about Creature can be found here.