Stressed Out? The Nue Co. Has a Scent for That
September 4 | 5 minute read
Words by Christie Sinclair
That was the starting point for Jules Miller, founder of The Nue Co., when she developed Functional Fragrance in 2018. Backed by neuroscience and created in partnership with Frank Voelkl (the perfumer behind countless cult perfumes, including, most famously, Le Labo’s Santal 33), this warm, smoky blend is designed not just to smell incredible, but to actively lower stress levels.
“Capsules, powders and tinctures couldn’t deliver the immediacy we were looking for. That’s when we turned to the olfactory system, which is essentially the highway to your brain,” says Miller.
From Family Remedies to Functional Beauty
Miller's path to creating one of the most disruptive wellness launches in years was deeply personal. With Colombian heritage, she was surrounded by healing traditions where plants were medicine, while her grandfather, a Cambridge chemist, instilled a reverence for science and formulation. “Health has always felt intuitive to me,” she tells us.
After struggling with IBS for nearly a decade, Miller’s turning point came when her grandfather introduced her to probiotic supplements, teaching her that formulation and ingredient quality make all the difference. “What I found in the market was often the opposite: poorly made supplements filled with unnecessary additives that made me feel worse. That lit a spark in me,” she reveals, adding, “I wanted to create products that were genuinely effective and beautiful enough to want to use every day.” The result was The Nue Co., launched in 2017 and now recognised as one of the most forward-thinking brands in beauty and wellness.
The Science of Scent
With Functional Fragrance, Miller wanted to push beyond the limits of traditional wellness formats. “Scent is the only sense with a direct line to three key areas [of the brain]: the orbitofrontal cortex (awareness), the hippocampus (memory) and the amygdala (emotions and mood),” she explains.
At the time, her fragrance house had just concluded a five-year study with the University of Geneva’s Brain & Behaviour Laboratory exploring how different scents affect the brain. “Frank Voelkl was able to translate that research into a fragrance that is science-backed and deeply sensorial.” The result is a warm, smoky, fresh, spicy scent designed to calm the nervous system. In other words, it’s the quickest way to hack how you feel.
If you're wondering, yes, it smells as good as it sounds. “Even though our fragrances are function-first, I wanted them to stand the test of time as icons,” Miller adds. And at a time where stress is increasingly recognised as a trigger for everything from breakouts to sleep issues, it’s no wonder this spritz has become a cult favourite.
The Nue Co. Effect
Beyond fragrance, the brand has become widely known for its supplements, topicals, rituals and a whole cast of functional fragrances that support wellbeing and slot into everyday life. A magnesium spray that helps you wind down before bed. Forest Lungs, a fragrance that mimics the calming effects of nature. Mind Energy, a scent to sharpen focus and concentration. On the skincare side, there’s a streamlined routine of pH-balanced formulas with prebiotics and probiotics to support the skin’s microbiome and barrier. “We design each product around the most effective delivery system. Sometimes that’s a capsule, sometimes it’s a fragrance. The point is that it fits seamlessly into your life.
Central to all of this is what Miller calls The Nue Code – a method that brings together pharmacologists, dermatologists and nutritionists, industries that rarely collaborate, to ensure every formula is safe and effective. As she explains: “Every product uses clinically studied, ethically sourced ingredients at dosages proven to deliver specific benefits. Over half are organic or community-sourced, non-GMO and free from artificial additives, colourings, flavourings or fillers. We also conduct extensive testing for efficacy, purity and potency, including heavy metal analysis.”
Wellness in Practice
Miller herself swears by her own line-up: Functional Fragrance on pulse points before a meeting (with a calming in-for-four, out-for-four breathwork) and the Magnesium Ease Sleep Spray on her stomach and joints before sleep.
For Miller, however, The Nue Co. is not just about science, it’s also about ritual. “Our products are designed to exist in each part of your day and every room of your house. They are created to feel like a pleasure to use, never a chore.”
That said, she believes we don’t need to spend a fortune or do everything at once to feel ‘well’, favouring a kinder approach. “Community, friends, family, the people who let you laugh and de-stress, are as important as any supplement. So are small rituals: silence in the morning, a cup of tea before bed, walking to a meeting. It is often the simplest practices that quiet the noise.”
