Why fragrance is the ultimate travel souvenir | Canada Voices

The Maker, Hudson

Lifestyle fragrance brand the Maker began as a posh hotel in upstate New York. After selling their beauty brand Fresh to LVMH, co-founders Lev Glazman and Alina Roytberg created a travel destination to provide inspiration for fragrance creation. Each of its bottles takes its cues from an aspect of the guest experience, be it a romantic tryst with Libertine or a cozy weekend getaway with Fire. The brand’s aesthetic translates the Maker’s eclectic take on English country house maximalism: carton interiors reproduce decorative wallpapers while fluted bottles add romantic dimension. You can find the line at Sephora, but the custom lattes and cocktails inspired by the fragrances (and are served with sample blotters) are exclusive to the hotel’s cafe and bar. themaker.com.

Xinú, Mexico City

In the Indigenous language of central Mexico, Otomi, Xinú means “nose” and this perfumery’s offerings draw on the aromatic botany of the Americas. Ceramic vessels as well as wood and blown glass bottles hint at the talents of its founders, industrial designer Hector Esrawe, creative director Veronica Peña and Ignacio Cadena, an architect. Each juice is by Mexican master perfumer Rodrigo Flores-Roux, renowned for creations including Clinique Happy and Tom Ford Neroli Portofino. His standout Aquamadera takes inspiration from mezcal with notes of guaiac wood, green lime and earthy agave. Xinú has shops in San Miguel de Allende, Mérida and Polanco, but seek out the multisensory experience of its flagship in Mexico City’s Juárez neighborhood. xinuperfumes.com.

Fischersund, Reykjavík

Once you’ve enjoyed the obligatory soak in Iceland’s geothermal Blue Lagoon, stop by Fischersund in Reykjavik, where the aesthetic is tinged Nordic gothic. The family-run perfumery draws on herbs and oils harvested in the Icelandic wild. Together with artist sisters Lilja, Sigurrós and Ingibjörg, self-trained nose Jónsi Birgisson (lead vocalist of Icelandic experimental rock band Sigur Rós) founded Fischersund. The salty, smoky birch tar and Siberian fir of bestselling No. 23 evokes the bygone harbour of Old Reykjavík, while No. 101 features chervil, blackcurrant and Arctic angelica. Scent is just one expression of their collective; each aroma inspires a music composition that is pressed into limited-edition vinyl. fischersund.com.

Arquinesia, Palma

Swiss interior designers Romana Durisch and Urs Leuenberger consider scent the finishing touch on interior projects. After spending 20 years working on the Mediterranean, they decided to produce fragranced products that would capture the sea, citrus groves and wild herbs of Mallorca. While researching in Grasse, they connected with a kindred spirit perfumer from Spain, who remains anonymous. On a side street in Palma’s old town, they restored a dilapidated former furniture workshop to create a home for Arquinesia. Artisanal scents including Fig and Orange encapsulate the sunburnt beauty of the island. aquinesia.com

Nishane, Istanbul

A decade since it began, Nishane, the only Turkish luxury fragrance sold globally, operates shops in style capitals such as Paris and Rome but it’s worth the pilgrimage to the city where it was born, Istanbul. Its headquarters sit above a petite boutique in the heart of Akaretler. Founders Murat Katran and Mert Güzel were born and raised in the city and Nishane’s ethos is rooted in its cosmopolitan history. Try on the creamy coconut and rum notes in a bottle of Fan Your Flames, a semi-gourmand interpretation of tobacco leaf. nishane.com.

Scent of Africa, Accra

This Ghanaian brand expresses the mythology of the African continent and its olfactory universe in gendered fragrances that spotlight ingredients such as Nigerian ginger or Somali uunsi (a.k.a. frankincense). In spicy Fik cologne, the focus is vanilla and black pepper from Madagascar, while floral aquatic Gleti, named for the moon goddess of the Dahomey kingdom, features Tunisian orange blossom. The brand is eyeing international expansion, but it’s now stocked at boutiques in its native Ghana as well as Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Djibouti, South Africa and Kenya. scentofafrica.com.

Bombay Perfumery, Mumbai

Manan Gandhi’s family business had been supplying fragrance houses around the world with raw ingredients for more than 40 years when, after living in Grasse, he decided to launch a homegrown brand. Billed as the scents of modern India, Bombay Perfumery’s sleek packaging belies its roots in native plant species from Coonoor, Kannauj and Tirupati. Opulent Indian rajnigandha (tuberose) is at the heart of Moiré, while Madurai Talkies is a white floral of jasmine from that southern city and conjures early Bollywood heroines. bombayperfumery.com.

Goldfield & Banks, Sydney

When Franco-Belgian creative director Dimitri Weber first visited Australia, he was struck by its vast aromas, under-explored in modern perfumery. The veteran of European luxury fragrance houses such as YSL and Jean Paul Gaultier relocated and launched Goldfield & Banks, the country’s first luxury fragrance brand. The unisex compositions riff on familiar olfactive families – floral, chypre, citrus – but are constructed using distinctly Australian essences including buddha wood, blue cypress and desert peach, a bushfood native to the Outback. goldfieldandbanks.com.