Do you like your fragrance enough to wear it forever? There’s no such thing as everlasting scent (yet), but Avery Mullins, AKA Spooky Vuitton, offers the next best thing: perfume tattoos. Highsnobiety chatted with the Cincinnati-based artist about her serendipitous introduction to the tattoo world, the art of inking scent, and her obsession with Mugler’s Angel.
AVERY MULLINS: My name is Avery Mullins. I also go by Spooky Vuitton as my tattoo name. I'm from Cincinnati, Ohio. I'm 23 years old, and my pronouns are she/her.
HIGHSNOBIETY: Tell me more about your background. When did you start tattooing, and how did you get into tattoo artistry?
AM: It's kind of a long story — it really goes back to the beginning of what I can remember. I would take those little Pip-Squeak Crayola markers on the bus when I was 10 years old… I would be like, "Who wants a tattoo?" That developed throughout middle school. I remember doing glitter tattoos on my mom's friends when they would come over.
I became really interested in the art of tattoos in high school, around 16, 17. I started watching videos about tattoos, learning about tattoo styles. I had heard that to become a tattoo artist, [I had to] put together a portfolio of designs. I worked at an arts and crafts store at the time, and bought a little photo album from there. I started cutting out stuff from my sketchbook and putting them in this photo album. It sat there dormant for a few years. I went to college out of high school, and I was studying something I didn't really love. There was nothing I liked.
HS: What were you studying?
AM: Integrative studies. It's a multidisciplinary degree… I had a focus in psychology and philosophy. One day I was in a lecture and I was like, “Hmm, I want to get a Friday the 13th tattoo.” I had never gotten a walk-in tattoo. So I'm scrolling through my phone, not listening to anything my professor was saying. And there was this girl [also looking for a Friday the 13th tattoo], so I messaged her. I was like, "Did you find a place doing them?" And she [sent me] the shop [UniqInk] that I’m actually at now.
I saw a video of the owner, whose name is Mel. She was like, "I'm looking for an apprentice. If you want to learn how to tattoo, come to the shop and talk to me." It was such a defining moment in my life: I grabbed all my books and left in the middle of my lecture. I'm like, “I have to go pursue my dream!” I went home and got that book out that I had put together when I was 17. It worked out so well… I was able to work [at UniqInk] part-time and finish my degree. I started at the end of 2019, and I started actually tattooing on people mid-2020, which was a crazy time.
HS: In your Instagram bio, you describe yourself as a perfume princess. What sparked your interest in scent?
AM: My first scent memory is with those scented markers. The brand was Mr. Sketch — the big, chisel markers in the blue package. I was just so enthralled by then. I really liked the cherry one and the licorice one. It’s interesting that they were all gourmand fragrances.
When I was in high school, I had a substitute teacher who wore [Mugler's] Angel. Every time she would walk in the room, it felt like I was transported to a cozy universe. I remember one day being like, "What perfume are you wearing?” And she said, “Oh, it’s Angel. It’s in a star bottle.” I never bought it… I didn't wear fragrance in high school. But for the next five years, every time I asked somebody what [they were] wearing, it would be Angel. It just did something to me.
The last year is when I got interested in learning more about fragrance. What really sparked that was the Sol De Janeiro body mists… When I got into the Sol De Janeiro fragrances, I saw a video that was like, "Gourmand scents that you would love.” And I was like, “Wait, what is gourmand? What does that mean?” I looked it up and I was like, “Oh my God, this is what I love in scent.” I learned that Angel was this transformational, statement gourmand that had never been seen before. That's really what sparked my interest — I found a way to define the experience that I had with fragrance and learn more about it.
HS: Do you have a perfume collection?
AM: I've only been collecting perfumes for a year, but I probably have 30. There's nothing I love more than starting the day by choosing what fragrance I want to wear. It just sets the mood for the whole day.
HS: When did you start tattooing perfume bottles?
AM: Almost a year ago. I had this client that I tattoo on pretty frequently…. She wanted a vase with flowers in it. I had so much fun doing the vase and the detail in the glass. I started listening to [fragrance podcast] “Smell Ya Later,” and I was so intrigued by the careers of the people who run the podcast — how they have this whole career centered around beauty and fragrance. I started saying I want fragrance to be part of my career, or a second career in some way.
I was listening to the podcast a lot while I was tattooing, and I was just like, “How can I think about fragrance more during the day?” I've always loved doing really extremely detailed and shiny things, but I never really wanted to do realistic tattooing in the traditional sense. I like to work on the smaller scale. [Perfume bottles] are the perfect way for me to incorporate highly detailed realism, without it being a massive piece.
HS: When people come to you for a perfume tattoo, what reasons do they give you? Are there any noteworthy back stories?
AM: One of the recent ones I did was Vivienne Westwood's Boudoir — it was her mom's favorite perfume. It's funny, the girl that I tattooed Angel on, she actually had never smelled it or even knew what it was. She just liked how the bottle looked.
HS: So she came to you with the idea, or was the bottle part of your flash [pre-designed artwork that tattoo artists create and display in their studios]?
AM: It was part of my flash — I had put together designs of the perfume bottles I wanted to do. Most [of the people coming in to get perfume tattoos] see it on my flash, actually. I'm surprised that so many people are willing to get perfume bottles that they don't necessarily wear.
HS: Do you wear perfume while tattooing?
AM: Yes, all the time. I try not to choke people out. The one that everyone always [compliments] is Sol de Janiero 71 — it’s macadamia nut and caramel.
