A Niche Brand for Connoisseurs

Hello, Fragrant Friend 👋,

✨ Big news: we’ve found our perfect design partner! After reviewing 100+ top studios, we’re teaming up with Tsubaki Studio — a multi-award-winning creative house whose aesthetic and vision resonate with ours. On the scent side, Chester is finalising the first modifications for our Reflection-inspired fragrance, and behind the scenes we’re sourcing bottle and cap samples that match our emerging brand direction.

🗓️ Contents of this Issue

1. Note Worthy: Goutal Acquired, Signature Lost, and Oxford Scents
2. Strictly Independent: Odur
3. Quiz: Fragrant Exports of the Comoros Islands
4. Scent MythBusters: The olfactive pyramid is the only valid way to understand fragrance

Note-Worthy 🔎🌸

#GOUTALACQUIRED: Interparfums has scooped up the global IP rights to Maison Goutal from Amorepacific Europe. From 2026 it will steer Goutal’s next chapter, with Camille Goutal still shaping the olfactory direction. The brand’s $10–12M annual sales signal strong revival potential.

#SIGNATURELOST: The olfactory “handwriting” of perfume brands is fading fast. Eddie Bulliqi reflects on how houses like Creed, Tom Ford and Jo Malone have drifted from their distinctive styles — swapping identity for reinvention. The age of signature is giving way to shapeshifting creativity.

#OXFORDSCENTS: The University of Oxford opens its doors to olfaction with a two-day course, Crafting Olfactory Experiences. From scent-saturated galleries to multisensory museum design, participants explore how smell enriches cultural storytelling, including a visit to the Ashmolean Museum.

Strictly Independent 🎨 🌟 — Odur

Odur is the kind of Swiss secret that makes you wonder how many alpine treasures remain undiscovered. Founded by two childhood friends in 2017 in Graubünden, it captures Switzerland’s mountains and valleys in every bottle. Perfumer: Giovanni Sammarco. Scents: 5 (Pinus, Ervas, Calma, Terra, Suvi).

Terra — Forest Floor Symphony. Like wandering a Swiss forest after rainfall: fresh herbs over damp earth, with a geosmin note balanced against bright citruses and a leather-musk base. Perfumer: Giovanni Sammarco.

Pinus — Alpine Awakening. Swiss stone pine with autumn crispness: fir balsam, juniper, bergamot, cedar and amber. The scent of forest bathing.

Ervas — Mediterranean Alpine Fusion. A cooling composition marrying a mountain lake with Mediterranean herbs: bergamot, lemon, alpine herbs, mint, rosemary, musk.

Calma — Enveloping Comfort. A cashmere blanket by a fireplace: vanilla, amber, musk, tonka bean and sandalwood.

Quiz 🎲

Which natural ingredient is sourced over 70% from the Comoros Islands?
Frangipani · Tiare flower · Ylang-Ylang · Patchouli

Scent MythBusters 🎭️

“The olfactive pyramid is the only valid way to understand fragrance.”
Myth of the week

TL;DR

The classic Western pyramid (top, heart, base) isn’t the universal guide we think it is. In Indonesia, perfumery centres on sensation — how a fragrance makes you feel rather than how it’s structured. Scent can be experienced intuitively, not just analytically.

The reality check

As perfumer Riyal Noor puts it, it’s about the overall experience. Patchouli is described by its stages of drying and distillation rather than “woody” or “earthy.” Noor’s perfume Sunset captures the bittersweet calm of evening rather than a note pyramid. Indonesian perfumes aim for a seamless, unified scent rather than layered architecture.

So, is the myth busted?

Absolutely. The pyramid is one tool, not a universal law. Next time, skip the note breakdown and ask: “What sensation is this creating? What story is it telling me?”