To celebrate our abundance of wonderful Australian fragrance houses at Lore Perfumery, we started a QnA series to get to know all of the people behind the brands a bit more.
Jade and Jess have both been quietly obsessed with Tulita since it launched at Lore. The most exquisite natural fragrances that not only last, but smell amazing. Launching at Lore shortly after the brand launched itself, Tulita has proved to be incredibly successful and loved by the team and customers alike.
Tulita is paving the way for naturals and making their own rules to create a truly unique and iconic fragrance house. We see big things for this brand in the future!
What is your first or most powerful non-perfume scent memory?
I grew up on a hop farm in Tassie and the intoxicating and heady aroma of hops being harvested and dried is one of my first powerful scent memories. Even our clothes lingered with the scent weeks after harvest time. This is also intertwined with memories of picking blackberries and the sweet juicy nectar spilling all down our hands and clothes. Those smells carry rich memories of carefree joy.
What inspired you to start Tulita?
During my health and fertility journey I became really passionate about natural alternatives to my beauty routine. But I struggled to find a natural fragrance that was able to perform in terms of longwear, and that felt as luxurious and sophisticated as my high end fragrance. But it was in the studio that the inspiration truly came, as a yoga teacher and chakra healer I was seeing first hand the energetic lift that my chakra balancing classes were having on my students when I was integrating crystals, botanicals and affirmation into the practice. It inspired me to create a fragrance that captured this essence in a bottle to elevate mood and transcend a physical gesture of just scent but also energy.
What would you say are the core tenets of Tulita, what defines it?
Tulita was founded to set a new benchmark in luxury, ethical and sustainable fragrance.
How do you approach the creation of a fragrance? Do you start with a story/concept and then make a fragrance that embodies it, or do you start with the fragrance and write its story from there?
We have a really unique approach, it starts with the energetics of the chakra energy centre, for example Agati, our root chakra fragrance, it is an energy of calm, grounding, it’s soothing and comforting. We next turn to the Ayurvedic botanicals known to balance the specific chakra energy. With these two starting points the rest unfolds organically and then we really start to play and test the full limits of the botanicals with the vision to create unique and iconic scents made entirely of plant based ingredients.
Are there any materials or ingredients you especially love to use in your fragrances?
We are so drawn to Australian Sandalwood; that is such an icon in our fragrances. It is known in Ayurveda as one of the most potent botanicals for mindfulness and is a truly spectacular essential oil to work with in perfumery. We have a very special relationship with Dutjahn our Sandalwood supplier in Western Australia, not only are they pioneers in ethics and responsible sourcing, they also consult on the development of our fragrances which creates a very special relationship between the supplier and the perfumer and ultimately this highly collaborative development process creates true magic.
Is there a fragrance from Tulita that you feel particularly passionate about or connected to?
Honestly, they all play a very big part in my life, I connect and wear them as they are designed, depending on my mood or what mood I’m needing to call more in. If I have a big day of meetings I will layer in Mukta for the energy and support, if I’m feeling anxious I will layer Agati and sometimes Divya on top. Date night, it’s always Vikasa. During the creative moments I layer in Sasra.
What’s something that people may not know about Tulita?
That we are only just over 1 year old. Most people think we have been around for several years or even more which is always fun to hear.
Do you have any perfumery pet peeves?
When people take it too seriously or attach rules. It’s meant to be fun, to be enjoyed, a moment to transport and connect and that is an entirely personal journey.
What does it mean to you to be an Australian fragrance house?
It feels very aligned, we are blessed to be inspired so much nature and such high quality botanicals. But it can also be challenging as to work with the best perfumers and to create to the level we want to means that we have to travel to New York to work with our nose and perfumer. But luckily she is so inspired by Australia that it just works.
What fragrance are you wearing today and why?
Today I’m wearing a test sample of our sixth fragrance that we are currently developing. I’m utterly obsessed and spoiler alert, it is incredibly sexy…
