AMPERSAND | A symbol whose purpose is to connect
Personal fragrance can define one’s personality and personal brand. Growing up I’d chit chat with my mother as she was getting ready. Before putting on her jewelry she’d spray Obsession by Calvin Klein or Mauboussin Pour Femme.
My first cologne was Adidas Moves, then I upgraded to Fierce by Abercrombie & Fitch. A couple years later I was wore Eternity by Calvin Klein and Tommy Bahama’s St Kitts. When I relocated to Chicago in 2015, Jo Malone Oud & Bergamot became my favorite. When I met Tyler in 2019, he smelled amazing, so quickly I started wearing The One by Dolce & Gabana. Then Tom Ford Black Orchid was my everyday.
Tyler recalls his mother wearing Liz Claiborne perfume with the recognizable triangle bottle. His father wore Kenneth Cole Black around Y2K. Tyler discovered Michael Jordan cologne in high school, then later worked at Hollister so Jake was his go-to. As he matured Mr Burberry and The One by Dolce & Gabana became his everyday. Today, Ampersand Profumo is his mainstay. The notes of ink, cedarwood, and suede set nicely on his skin.
When we relaunched Cowboys and Astronauts we wanted to be intentional with fragrance, candles, and self-care items. We partnered with independent Chicago-based fragrance house, Casa dell’Unknown, quickly becoming their largest stockist. We immediately fell in love with Casa dell’Unknown’s approach to fragrance…scent, memory, and the unknown. Each unique fragrance is designed to provoke emotion, creativity, and curiosity, all inspired by Italian, handmade in Chicago, and formulated in-house.
Developing AMPERSAND in collaboration with Casa dell’Unknown, further enriched our custom fragrance collection for Cowboys and Astronauts. AMPERSAND is the second scent of our trio. The launch of COWBOY was an immediate success in May 2026, so we knew AMPERSAND would have a similar popularity among our customers passionate about having a beautiful vessel, fragrant burn or spray inspired by Cowboys and Astronauts, slow burn candles, and long lasting fragrance.
AMPERSAND is a sophisticated blend of dark ink, warm cedarwood, smooth suede, dry amber, and skin musk. Inspired by a symbol, the ampersand, whose entire purpose is to connect, this scent captures the beauty of anticipation: a quiet reminder that the story is never truly finished.
The vessel includes ampersands in various typographies as well as our bison constellation. AMPERSAND is a slow and steady burn of 65 to 70 hours with a double wick for even burn across.
Casa dell’Unknown founder, Dominic Ferraro, shared, “…having another brand trust me with both their products and their image means more to me than I can really put into words. COWBOY and AMPERSAND have been some of the most rewarding products I've had the chance to create. From designing the screen prints and sourcing the glass to developing fragrances that capture the Cowboys and Astronauts world, I've loved finding ways to translate the character of the brand into something tangible.”
This November we complete our trio of fragrance with our third scent as we round out this collection. In the meantime swing by the shop at 1478 W Summerdale Ave, Chicago to smell AMPERSAND for yourself, or head to cowboysandastronauts.com. We have a feeling you’ll fall in love with AMPERSAND and go home with a candle and eau de parfum.
