November 30, 2023 |
Lyn Harris is the British perfumer behind Perfumer H – an artisanal fragrance brand committed to circularity and creative collaboration – and she’s on the path toward world domination. Since founding the company in 2015, sweet-smelling spaces where customers can shop her exquisitely developed creations have popped up in Paris and Hong Kong, with two new locations – one in Taiwan and a third in London – which opened its doors last night.
This rapid expansion is impressive but not particularly surprising – not when you understand the commendable ethos that Harris injects into every aspect of the business. Contemporary luxury but not at the cost of the planet, Perfumer H doles out products packed with natural ingredients and housed in recycled bottles created by world-class glassblower Michael Ruh. What Perfumer H does so impeccably is capture the essence of the modern fragrance customer. Gone are the sickly, saccharine scents and clunky exteriors; in their place are pieces that are elevated, understated and elegantly aromatic. People are fed up with compromising on personal style, and Perfumer H understands that more than most.
Harris’s journey to becoming a perfumer and eventually founding her own brand is paved with a passion that started at a young age. “I guess my awakening was this sort of early childhood memory of my grandparents in their gardens and everything they grew,” Harris notes, “My grandfather was a carpenter.” The influence of these early memories on the scents concocted by Perfumer H is clear. Dandelion, ivy, orange blossom and rose populate the brand’s floral offering, whilst fern, moss and woodland are some of the smells available for customers who prefer something a bit muskier. It’s this long-standing interest that makes the brand so foolproof – nobody can claim these scents aren’t made out of love.
After the initial seed was planted, Harris’s ability to create such warm and elemental scents developed. She began working at a perfume shop during her school summer holidays and fell in love with the effect a fine fragrance can have on a person’s energy and attitude. Speaking on the glamorous, fur-clad housewives who floated into her shop to buy the perfumes, Harris posits, “I used to love the way that it transformed how they were, and how it animated them.” Enamoured and armed with a thirst for knowledge, she went to Paris to study traditional perfumery, learning from greats like Monique Schlienger before continuing her education at the fragrance house Robertet in the industry hotspot of Grasse. Returning home as Britain’s first female classically trained nose, she went on to found Miller Harris, her first couture fragrance house with a commitment to creativity, colour and quality.
Despite her formal training, Harris always aimed to carve her own space in the industry, with affordable products centred around natural ingredients being an integral part of her business plan. “I was a bit frustrated,” she remarks, “I’ve learned about all these wonderful materials and naturals [but] was told I couldn’t use Slit and Iris because it was too expensive and no one would be able to afford it. So, I thought well that’s wrong because these are the jewels of perfumery. Without them, your fragrance doesn’t have the centrepiece, it doesn’t have the soul. So I made it my plight to bring it back in.” Fast forward an impressive career, Harris has achieved this goal. The Perfumer H catalogue is vast, whilst still staying true to the brand’s eco-conscious philosophy. Shop at Perfumer H and you can purchase perfumes smelling of rhubarb, rain clouds and saffron as well as loose-leaf teas flavoured with lemon, orange blossom or violet leaf. Incense and room sprays are also on offer, dancing from scents like dandelion to marmalade to salt. For almost any natural scent that takes your fancy, Perfumer H has got you covered. It proves that fragrance can extend beyond its expected petal-doused standard.
The prestige Harris has managed to achieve should not be understated, especially in her position as a female entrepreneur in a traditionally male-dominated industry. “I was different, and the only person venturing out into this sector in England,” she reminds, “I was a bit of a novelty and I wasn’t a threat, because obviously, it was very male-dominated in the 90s.” Since her training, Harris has not only proven herself to be that unexpected menace, but continues to champion the idea that perfumery doesn’t have to be for a single type of person. Her original London shop on Crawford Street doubles up as a laboratory, with each client able to encounter the process of perfume making and experience creating it themselves. Speaking on the decision to format her store in this way, Harris notes, “I think retail for the perfumer is really so bland and very predictable. So I guess I’m thinking a bit outside of the box…people feel they’re stepping into a universe and learning something, that they are then taking away something [more meaningful] and I think that’s really important.” In turn, Harris has made a name for herself but also shifted the fragrance industry towards a more inclusive future which distances itself from traditional, elitist viewpoints.
The opening of her new shop on London’s Clifford Street is something very exciting for Harris. “We’ve just got the keys actually,” she beams. Harris’s enthusiasm is infectious and it’s understandable why. “The downstairs area will have a refill area,” she explains, drawing attention to the feature that is slowly becoming a signature for Perfumer H, bolstering the brand’s circular ethos of giving back to its clientele. “We did it in Hong Kong and it had an amazing response. So we have this little lab in the back of the store where we make the refills. Customers bring back their candle glass, then they take another one straightaway, half price. So, we have all these empty glasses at the end of each week. And then we’re refilling them in the stores. It’s such a beautiful process. Then they get back on the shelf, we rebuild them. It’s what is most important in today’s world.”
Harris’ reciprocity has not only meant building a loyal fanbase but also a community of like-minded creatives who all contribute to the development of the brand. Aside from Ruh’s refined glassblowing, Harris has also collaborated with artists like Jason Line, who was commissioned to make still-life illustrations based on each winter scent in her 2019 collection. In 2022, Harris collaborated with Sotheby’s to create three exclusive scents inspired by Old Master paintings from their Grasset Collection. Even more recently, she collaborated with stationery shop, Choosing Keeping on a bespoke collection of scented objects for the desk, evoking a collaborative spirit that is now spilling into the opening of the store. Speaking on the launch, Harris notes, “We will have a little party. The space we are in is an old gallery; it’s very interesting. Due to the area and the architecture, we are going with a gallery theme. So downstairs, we’re going to curate and work with various like-minded artists…I have this potter called Ed that I worked with previously because we had this pantry range…he’s going to create some pieces, such as beautiful teapots and bowls. Then I have this amazing artist called Will Calver, who is a still-life artist and he’s collaborated with me in the past. Just very exciting.”
Exciting feels like an understatement. What Lyn Harris has done is nothing short of formidable. Perfumer H is generating change in the perfume industry, putting the beauty of nature and the power of customer relations before any semblance of snobbery. Harris’ creations are of the highest artisanal quality but don’t feel full of themselves. And with Christmas around the corner, it seems like the best time to see what all the fuss is about.
Photography by João Sousa.
