The Rise of Australian Fragrance Brands
Recent years have birthed some powerhouse Australian perfume brands that are starting to give the European ones a run for their money. After all, Australia exports so many stunning raw materials used in fragrance all over the world – we are responsible for around 40% of the world’s sandalwood oil! Not to mention all the rare and unique native botanicals we have to offer – ingredients like boronia and mimosa (wattle) have become staples in the European perfumer’s toolkit.
At Lore Perfumery, we have always cared about stocking local brands, and have made a point of curating a range of Australian fragrance houses that demonstrate the capability this beautiful land has for producing incredible perfume. All of these Aussie brands are so incredible in their own way, so we wanted to give you a little introduction to each one and the incredible range they have to offer!
Launched in 2017, Mihan Aromatics was started by local couple Josh and Jules. Their fragrances are largely inspired by Fitzroy and the surrounding area, so as our neighbours, they’re extra close to our hearts here at Lore. Minimalist yet impactful, Mihan’s fragrances conjure emotions, from heartache to hubris to harmony.
Founded in 2014 by creative Sarah Blair and filmmaker Jeffrey Darling, Map of the Heart draws on their passion for story and understanding that scent is as transporting and intoxicating as words and images. From pure joy, to lightness, to love or aching darkness and desire – our heart is our essence. By mapping it with scent and colour, we can explore what it is that makes our hearts beat.
Goldfield & Banks was founded by Sydney-based Dimitri Weber in 2016. After moving to Australia, French-Belgian Weber fell in love with the country’s lush, aromatic, and botanical beauty, and felt compelled to create a perfume line paying tribute to its extraordinary beauty. Combining the science of Australia’s most authentic native essences with centuries of French expertise in the art of perfume making, Goldfield & Banks’ perfumes are a quest for the ultimate Australian olfactory experience.
Perdrisât is the brainchild of Callum Mitchell; designed, hand-made and bottled in Melbourne, Australia.
Callum comes from a filmmaking background, which is apparent in every Perdrisât fragrance – each one is a character or a vignette, a closeup scene with vivid imagery. While Callum has his own stories and associations attached to each scent, he invites the wearer to bring their own interpretation to the table, as you would when you watch a film.
Founded in 2019 by Craig Andrade, The Raconteur (“The Storyteller”) is an artisanal luxury fragrance brand specialising in Australian native botanicals and plant extracts. As a fragrance house, The Raconteur is about telling the story of the scent of Australia – a story about the quiet beauty of what was always there. They aim to not only showcase the better-known Australian botanicals (sandalwood, boronia, lemon myrtle, etc) but the rarer ones too.
Ficifolia Fragrances was conceptualised in the Melbourne lockdowns during the Covid pandemic of 2020. Ficifolia aims to harness the memory-igniting power of fragrance, dreaming up signature scents worthy of a spot on your vanity. Potency is served in smell and storytelling, with each bottle ‘reverse-engineering’ a moment, time or place gone by in Australian cities. Each bottle pays homage to niche local experiences: first came a trilogy capsule celebrating distinctly ‘Melbourne’ vibes in 2023, and in 2024 a suite of Sydney-centric scents followed.
Founded by Sandy Wong in 2021, Chasing Scents is an Australian perfume house dedicated to capturing the essence of tea through fragrance. Chasing Scents perfumes draw their inspiration from the experience and ritual of drinking tea, from enjoying it by yourself to sharing it with loved ones. Their scents are modern but still rich in their cultural roots, with formulas that use a variety of teas, natural extracts, aroma compounds and resins.
Based in Melbourne, made in Australia, Tulita (“Balanced” in Sanskrit) is redefining the fragrance experience, using scent as a conduit for connection with nature’s vibrational life force. Tulita’s fragrances harness the highest vibrational powers of Mother Nature using activated crystals and botanical extracts, all interwoven with the infinite wisdom of Ayurvedic practices. All-natural and free from any harmful synthetics, Tulita is a passionate pioneer in the blue beauty movement, with an unwavering dedication to sustainability and transparency.
Founded in 2023 by John Domjan, ÖRÖK FRAGRANCES is about sharing narratives of queer joy, diversity, adversity and resilience through scent. “ÖRÖK” is an homage to Domjan’s heritage, meaning inheritance/legacy/eternity in Hungarian. A Naarm (Melbourne) based brand, many of the ÖRÖK fragrances are evocative of local queer experiences – nights out clubbing, days at the beach with friends, shenanigans in city gardens. That said, the beauty of this range is that everyone and anyone will be able to find something they relate to within it.
Vararoha is an independent Australian artisanal fragrance house based in the Macedon Ranges. Named after an old Sanskrit word, one translation of which is “ready to offer boons or gifts”, the concept of Vararoha is meaningful in many ways to founder and perfumer Prashant’s ethos and heritage. Each Vararoha fragrance is presented as a gift to those curious enough to receive them, to those who seek beauty not as an ornament, but as an inheritance of experience.
