If the Characters of ‘Only Murders in the Building’ Were Fragrances, Here’s What They’d Be

Come Tuesday, Hulu’s “Only Murders in the Building” will once again grace screens for its fourth season, with amateur sleuths and mystery podcast cohosts Mabel Mora (played by Selena Gomez ), Oliver Putnam (Martin Short) and Charles-Haden Savage (Steve Martin) aiming to crack the latest in a string of murders taking place at the Arconia, their residential building in New York’s Upper East Side.

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Ahead of the cozy sitcom’s latest installment, here WWD imagines six of its main characters as fragrances.

1. Mabel Mora

Maison Margiela Replica By the Fireplace Eau de Toilette, $165

On a literal level, Mabel Mora and By the Fireplace have in common their spicy exteriors but warm hearts, with Mora’s deadpan sense of humor being akin to the scent’s clove and pink peppercorn top notes, while a fierce loyalty to her partners-in-fighting-crime, the cashmeran and vanilla accord base. But By the Fireplace is, above all else, about its eponymous vibe — and considering her presently unclear living situation and lack of a steady job, what is Mora about if not, simply, vibes?

Charles-Haden Savage

Calvin Klein CK One Eau de Toilette, $75

Retired TV detective Charles-Haden Savage, seemingly loved by all with whom he becomes acquainted, is the human opposite of an “acquired taste.” Not so different from Calvin Klein’s woody-fresh CK One, which became the first unisex perfume to make it big following its launch in 1994 — a harbinger of the genderless wave that would take the category by storm decades later. Considering his penchant for the classics when it comes to liquor and music, it’s only right to pair him with a similarly timeless scent.

Donna Williams

Juliette Has a Gun Not a Perfume, $150

No-nonsense detective Donna Williams is all but Juliette Has a Gun’s Not a Perfume in human form. Launched in 2010, the cult-classic, single-note scent brings cetalox — an ambergris-like synthetic molecule often used as a base note — center stage for the ultimate your-skin-but-better scent. Considering her no-frills approach to doing her job (and dealing with the true crime aficionados that at times impede it), Not a Perfume embodies precisely the level of pragmatism Williams makes it clear she’d like to see more of in the world.

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Oliver Putnam

Maison Francis Kurkdjian Grand Soir Eau de Parfum, $245

It’s only logical to pair Francis Kurkdjian’s bright lights-inspired Grand Soir with larger-than-life Broadway director Oliver Putnam, whose commitment to the bit knows no bounds — from making someone pause mid-sentence so he can more accurately time a spit-take, to getting entangled in a real-life murder mystery while directing a comeback play about one. The quadruple-threat (singer, dancer, actor, director) and amber-cinnamon composition are a match made in theatrical heaven.

Sazz Pataki

Dior Sauvage Eau de Parfum , $145

Someone was going to be assigned Dior Sauvage , and who better than Mrs. Steal Yo Girl herself? The smooth-talking stunt double and repeat girlfriend snatcher — who has aptly nicknamed herself “Sazzmatazz” — is perhaps less emblematic of the 2015-launched fragrance itself than of the lore it has been assigned by its teen-boy and twentysomething devotees (and their equally staunch female counterparts, who’ve deemed the ambroxan-infused scent a dating red flag). Plus, it just makes sense that Pataki would opt for the kind of fragrance that can be smelled from a mile away. (Honorable mention: Guy Laroche’s Drakkar Noir.)

Loretta Durkin

Abbott Sequoia Parfum, $88

If her Broadway acting big break hadn’t at last come to fruition in the third season, we wouldn’t have put it past Loretta Durkin to forge a career as a clean fragrance influencer on #PerfumeTok instead. With notes of cedarwood, sandalwood and smoky incense, Abbott’s sustainably sourced Sequoia evokes the spirit of Putnam’s braid-sporting, paisley print-loving romantic interest, played by three-time Oscar winner Meryl Streep . And, like all of Abbott’s fragrances, Durkin’s lifelong flair for show biz, too, was made in New York.

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