This year for International Women’s Day, we’re focusing on four fragrance houses founded / run by fabulous women who continue to inspire us all year ’round. Think of these scents as a way to wear your strength (and celebrate theirs) with perfumes to meet your every need; and they all come in handy discovery sets to try before you decide which ones to buy in full size. Which ones will you choose…?
Maya Njie (pronounced ‘Maia N-Jai’) has uniquely diverse familial and artistic roots to bring to her fragrance creations. Being born in Västerås Sweden, with a West African heritage, and later moving to London in her teens, Maya went on to study at the University of the Arts. Weaving together these threads via the medium of the senses, Maya began experimenting with smell alongside the the visual mediums of colour and photography. The result? A stunning, soulful, and so-artistic selection…
Within Nordic Cedar, for example, we may never have visited the Swedish Forest it was inspired by, but we feel a sense of towering trees, the reassuring comfort of cedar and earthy patchouli enclosing us as cardamom gifts brightness, ambergris adds a touch of mist.
For Vanilj, the traditional Swedish note of cardamom is used again, the comfort intensified by addictively dark vanilla that swirls boozily amidst ambered musk.
In Tobak, addiction is ramped up via the honeyed smokiness of the tobacco leaf, a trail of animalic musks and leather resonating many hours later.
Incorporating music as another inspirational medium, Les Fleures is named for Minnie Ripperton’s 1970 song, a green floral scent that ripples with bergamot’s brightness, magnolia and sweet fig, an ‘unbound celebration of life, love and creation.’
Those longing to escape might yearn for Tropica – an invitation to imagine ‘trading in a dark, bleak and cold setting for a warmer climate far away, with flourishing green vegetation and remote beaches’ with tropical fruits lushly layered on sandalwood and coconut.
And in Voyeur Verde, nature claims an abandoned car, leaves and creepers entangling the leather seats, a wonderfully verdant burst of rebirth and ‘balmy cypress trees shadowed by the Sierra Bernia mountains.’
Jasmine is at the heart of the majority of Sana Jardin‘s scents, and formed part of founder Amy Christiansen Si-Ahmed‘s fragrant inspiration to launch the house. As Amy explained to us, for her, the smell of jasmine is a scent memory that will linger forever:
‘The scents I’d encountered on my travels over the years were enchanting to me: the pure and golden shimmer of orange blossom, the mystical, enveloping depth of sandalwood, the seduction of jasmine blooming at night. I felt I could never find that captured anywhere on a department store shelf.’
‘Sana Jardin is the world’s first socially conscious luxury fragrance house created primarily as a vehicle for social change and the economic empowerment of women through The Beyond Sustainability Movement ™. Sana Jardin believes in the sacred and ancient power of scent to heal, transport and inspire.’
Savage Jasmine Night-blooming jasmine, wrapped around intoxicating musk.
Sandalwood Temple Moroccan neroli oil, enveloped it in Atlas cedarwood, Haitian vetiver, creamy vanilla and East Indian sandalwood.
Tiger By Her Side Showcases Moroccan rose alongside Somalian incense and Indonesian patchouli.
Berber Blonde Filled with the light of Sana Jardin’s signature orange blossom, alongside Moroccan neroli oil and musk.
Celestial Patchouli Exotic aromas of patchouli, leather, cinnamon bark and Australian Sandalwood give way to the abundant warmth of rose, jasmine, osmanthus and Moroccan orris.
Nubian Musk A sensuously inviting blend of musk and vanilla, rose, jasmine, Moroccan grapefruit flower, Haitian vetiver and Australian sandalwood.
Revolution de la Fleur This is a sultry, sun-filled melody of Madagascan ylang ylang, Moroccan jasmine, frangipani, rose, vanilla and sandalwood.
Jaipur Chant Heady & Seductive Tuberose. Indian tuberose, the goddess of flowers, blooms in the still of night.
Incense Water Here rose is refined to a soft shimmer; an effect brought about with Moroccan May rose.
Vanilla Nomad A gourmand fragrance that coaxes out the sensual side of vanilla.
Sana Jardin Discovery Set: £30
Take a powerful raw ingredient pioneer (Elizabeth Gaynes), one of the world’s most famous former supermodels and trailblazing female entrepreneurs (Helena Christensen!) and a perfumer-provocateur (Christophe Laudamiel), and what do you get? STRANGELOVE – which has achieved cult status for its utterly addictive, opulent scents…and we’ve fallen in love with all of them!
Now you can try the ENTIRE NICHE COLLECTION at home with this decadent discovery set. Each strangelove scent showcases stunning raw materials: with sustainable oudh as the precious catalyst for the collection – from deadofnight, with euphoric Indian champaca and creamy gardenia enfleurage to lostinflowers, the surprising (and oh-so-addictive) dark chocolate and orris butter fragrance. We can’t wait to hear which one really gets your heart beating.
Built around a subtle base of precious oudh [also spelled ‘oud‘], carefully blended with other precious ingredients gathered from all over the world, this is a house that refuses to compromise on quality, and with the very best (meticulously, sustainably sourced) materials at their fingertips. Christophe Laudamiel, punk rock star of the scent world, has created all the fragrances – so read on to delve deeper into each beguiling scent…
deadofnight – empowers its devotees to take risks and dive into their desires.
fallintostars – propels a mystical experience of boundless wonder, as lovers transcend time and space to journey into a parallel universe.
lostinflowers – evokes the thrill of new love, capturing that electric moment of discovery when two destined wanderers finally collide: lost in time, lost in romance, lostinflowers.
meltmyheart – inspires romance and indulgence for devoted lovers.
silencethesea – captures the intimacy of the lover’s gaze: soundless, eternal, profound.
Strangelove Discovery Set: £92
Contemporary artist Sarah Baker’s photography, sculpture and films are inspired by ‘fashion, luxury and celebrity’ (particularly high camp 80s feisty female stars); but little did she know that when she created a fictional fragrance house as part of her artwork, her passion for the project (and the public’s reaction to it) would result in a real-life fragrance house. Having recently ramped up the ravishing longevity of their fragrances by adding Extrait to their collection, these bold, genre-defying and yet still utterly wearable scents are stronger and more provocative than ever.
The entire Sarah Baker collection is clever, characterful and cheerfully takes up place in your fragrant world. Now, you can try them in a discovery set and change your own character at will…
Atlante: A mermaid emerging from the sea. Real beach vibes.
Charade: Big white flower with a cutting edge of rustic leather. Sophisticated and contemporary.
Jungle Jezebel: Bombastic banana bootylicious beast. Love it or hate it? We love. Join us.
Gold Spot: A spotlight on filmstars who love their luxuries, indulging themselves in bed all day with broadsheets and butterscotch bonbons.
Greek Keys: A yacht ride in the Greek Islands. Fresh, Oceanic, Luxurious.
Tartan: After a long walk in the Highlands, enjoy your first sip of whiskey next to the fire in the library.
Leopard: Power fragrance that must be worn with shoulder pads. Not for children.
Loudo: Playful and sweet, yet nostalgic and serious. Deliciously woody.
Sarah Baker Extrait Discovery Set: £45