2026 began with the launch of The Different Company, an elegant and discrete Parisian brand founded at the beginning of the new millenium by the legendary perfumer Jean-Claude Ellena and designer Thierry de Baschmakoff. Majaina Sin (2017) maintains the fundamental ethos laid down by The Different Company, both outrageous yet balanced, it immediately appeals with its handling of Madagascan vanilla, temptingly delicious and addictive, though fresh and spacious. Dashes of ginger, neroli, bergamot, and candied orange lend freshness to an ambery gourmand body of tonka bean, chestnut cream, maple syrup, and cinnamon. Majaina Sin has become one of the definite vanilla fragrances in our collection.
Cafe Arabesque (2026) extends Les Indemodable’s material palette with an extraordinary, high-fidelity Brazilian coffee extract attained through the house’s ultrasound extraction process. Cafe Arabesque moves from a dark syrupy ristretto to a creamy milk coffee; though it is uncompromisingly an amber perfume - while the coffee is brilliant, it is in the service of an accord made from Laotian benzoin and New Caledonian sandalwood - a rounded and smooth frame that holds the fragrance together. The result is deep and complex; a real perfume, without feeling like novelty.
In 2026, we welcomed the full range of deeply idiosyncratic and mystical-leaning fragrances from Mendittorosa, based in Naples. Their most famous creation, Le Mat (2014), is inspired by the fool in the tarot, who walks with feet on the soil, looking up towards heaven. Rose, geranium, patchouli, nutmeg, and immortelle tumbles through dusty earth, sun-roasted sand, and scorched vegetation redolent of garrigue - it has a brazen sense of walking through a blazing fire. It is a memorable and artful creation.
A Grove by the Sea (Arquiste, 2024) cools us down. A window into an evergreen, aromatic landscape - with its first spritz, one pictures a sunny island in the Adriatic, a small harbor with fig and olive groves - plump fruit destined to be crushed and turned into peppery oil - this is surrounded by verdant hills of Mediterranean pine trees, strings of cypress and wild herbs throughout. It is the exact point that a lush green turns to deep blue - the salty sea mixing with the exhalations of towering trees. It is true to Arquiste’s manner: bottled history. Mandi Rhubi (Isabelle Larignon, 2025) draws out a smile, with its grinning blend of green citrus and fruits. A riot charged with green mandarin and rhubarb - the materials that give Mandi Rhubi its name - followed with lime, blackcurrant, juniper berry, and cedar. The whole effect is the same gorgeous bottle green colour of a Perrier, fizzing and refreshing, like a step into a crunchy green vegetable garden, or the freshest aromatic cocktail you’ve ever had - both tart and sour. Isabelle Larignon is a true independent perfumer based in Paris, now at home in Australia at NOAH.
Bois Imperial’s (Essential Parfums, 2020) popularity showed no signs of slowing down this year. A winning combination of fresh aromatics - Thai basil, grapefruit, Timur pepper - sizzle and spark, and innervate the woody notes in the base of the scent. A Quentin Bisch creation through and through, a modern profile of vetiver, cedar, and patchouli materials give the fragrance tenacity, strength, and longevity - it is solid yet transparent, like woods that turn into thick polished glass.
