In 2013, Bee Shapiro was pregnant with her first daughter, living in Brooklyn and writing about beauty for The New York Times. She wanted to drop parabens and phthalates from her routine, and then she went looking for a fragrance that was clean and still sophisticated. She could not find one on any shelf. Two years later, she made her own.

That is the origin of Ellis Brooklyn, named for that daughter and for the borough. Shapiro is a Georgetown Law graduate who left a New York firm for freelance art, fashion and beauty writing, and I think you can tell. Each scent starts, in her words, with an idea and a feeling, and the names read like a novelist's chapter list: Myth, Dear Sky, Plum Tonic. She has said she cold-called top perfumers and nobody called back, until a favor got her an introduction to Jerome Epinette, who also works with Byredo. Persistence, then taste.

If you are searching for Ellis Brooklyn for the first time, the eaux de parfum are the proper place to begin. Myth is the one to sniff first, and its retail listing calls it paraben-free and phthalate-free, with bergamot, ambrette seeds and cassis on top, tiger orchid, pink lotus and jasmine petals in the middle, and patchouli, liquid musks and white cedarwood underneath. Shapiro says it stays close to the skin and invites people in.

The trick is that the clean claim is about what is left out, not about how it smells. Vanilla Milk and Salt are the skin scents, soft and close. Sun Fruit, Miami Nectar and Isla Sirena read like holiday ones, with the last two built around coconut and pink pineapple or lime. Plum Tonic and Dear Sky are the two I would read about before choosing. Start with whichever name you would want to read about.

A mist sprayed onto a hairbrush, not onto the hair itself, gives you a soft trail and none of the stiffness you can get from spraying straight onto strands. Run it through once. It is also how I would test any of these for a day.

The mists are the lighter, more playful side of the line, and the names say what they are going for. Banana Milkshake, Marshmallows, Forever Pistachio and Cocoa Blanco are the dessert-shop ones, for people who like to smell like something you could eat. Love Pom and Crush are fruitier and suit a summer tote. Miss Amber and Vanilla Sin are the warmer, deeper pair, for evenings and sweaters.

A pairing I like: a mist all over in the morning, then a dab of the matching eau de parfum on the wrists before dinner. Layering within one family keeps it tidy, and the mist becomes the base that the bottle sits on.

The mists are also the easiest way to work out if you like the gourmand territory without buying a full bottle. Gym bag, desk drawer, back seat of the car: a mist that lives there gets used.

What I would skip: a dessert mist on the morning of a long meeting in a small room. Sweet carries, and you will be the only one who does not notice.

Indie perfume tells a slightly different story in the first ten minutes. Most of these open bright and settle into something else, so test on skin and wait two hours, because the dry-down is the part you will live with.

Henry Rose's Ripe, with lychee and watermelon sorbet in the name, suits a person who wants fruit with a chill on it. Commodity's Paper is a personal scent with amber and Iso E Super, which is the kind of name that promises a skin-close scent. Skylar's Coconut Cove and Sunkissed Dahlia are the easy summer pair, and I would hand either to a friend who says she does not wear perfume. DedCool's Xtra Milk is the soft, creamy one.

Maison Louis Marie's No.04 Bois de Balincourt is the quiet woody in the group, the one I would wear to a dinner where I want to be remembered by one person only. PHLUR's Mood Ring is the crowd-pleaser, and Commodity's Milk, which lists marshmallow and mahogany wood, bridges the dessert mists above and a more grown-up bottle.

Put Commodity Milk on the pulse points and use a plain, unscented lotion over the rest of the body. One scent, one place.

What I would skip: buying three indie bottles at once because the labels are nice. Wear one for a full week first.

Scent holds better on moisturized skin, so a matching or neutral body lotion after the shower does quiet work for any fragrance you wear. Put the lotion on first and leave the perfume for last.

Nécessaire's The Body Lotion in Olibanum comes with 5 peptides and 2.5% niacinamide, according to the name, and it is the practical pick if you like your body lotion to do something too. D.S. & Durga's I Don't Know What Body Lotion has the most charming name here, and a title like that is half the pleasure of shopping for it. Byredo's Mojave Ghost and Gypsy Water body lotions suit someone who already wears those perfumes and wants a proper layer.

Flamingo Estate's Roma Heirloom Tomato Body Lotion is the odd, savory one, good for a person who is tired of vanilla. Salt & Stone's Santal & Vetiver Body Cream and Nonfiction's Santal Cream Body Lotion are two sandalwood routes, one richer and one lighter. Sol de Janeiro's Body Badalada Lotion, with hyaluronic acid, is the daily bottle to keep by the shower.

Salt & Stone body cream sits well under Ellis Brooklyn's Salt, because the names agree and sandalwood and vetiver make a calm base layer for a salty scent.

What I would skip: a strongly scented lotion under a perfume that is meant to be quiet. Two loud things make a muddle.

Ellis Brooklyn works, for me, because Shapiro started with a real problem and a writer's ear. A reporter who could not find what she wanted decided to make it, and the catalog still reads like someone who likes words as much as perfume.

So I would begin with Myth if you like a fragrance that stays close, or Vanilla Milk if you want something you can wear every day. Add one mist for your bag. Shapiro did not find the bottle she wanted on a shelf in 2013, and you are lucky to be shopping after she did. If you want to keep browsing, I also put together Kylie Jenner Perfume and Ariana Grande Cloud Perfume and Other Creamy Vanilla Scents.