I jumped at the chance to purchase a discovery set from ånd fragrances when they arrived in Australia at a local perfumery. I’ve long been a fan of their founder Simon Constantine’s work. For those unfamiliar with the name, he was the in-house perfumer for many years at his father’s brand, Gorilla Perfumes/Lush. I’m an admirer of that brand with perfumes such as Breath of God, Kerbside Violet, and Dear John bonafide classics. The Lush ethos runs through ånd fragrances. Hallmark ideals such as hand-made, sustainable, regenerative, ethical, and vegan also form the framework of this new brand.
Indeed Simon Constantine practices what he preaches. For example, for their tonka bean scent, Beån, the brand, partnered up with the Kayapō community in Brazil. As a result,100 percent of the brand’s initial sales of that perfume were donated to the community to fund basic hygiene and supplies for the area’s people. Similarly, with proceeds from the sales of their Frankincense scent, Frånk the brand helped support the regrowth of trees in Somaliland.
And now, onto the scents themselves. None of which are as challenging as anything from Lush, I don’t think. The discovery set I purchased included five fragrances, Frånk, Beån, Måd, Båre, and Sånd. At the time of writing, the brand has seven scents to its name. The two new ones are the patchouli-centred, Påtch, and the cheesecake gourmand, Får. Two scents I tried stood out, two were quite good, and one I found pretty forgettable. Below are my first impressions of each.
My least favourite was the cedar/woody, Båre. Unfortunately, it fell relatively flat on my skin. The combination of pine, cedar, and vanilla didn’t make much of an impact. Gentle, soft, and somewhat true to its name. After about an hour, the vanilla starts to dominate the woods. And after two hours, the scent is gone without so much as a trace.
Frånk is a fizzy incense scent. Fresh, invigorating, and it reminded me of candied sweets. Starbursts or jellybeans, maybe? Lime, lemon, and mango deliver a burst of freshness. This freshness provides an interesting contrast with the perfume’s resinous smoky elements. Perhaps this is another incense for the summertime. Måd revolves around vanilla. The persistence of the blackcurrant and floral notes (jasmine, ylang-ylang) make this one a tad too sweet for my liking. And the vague suggestion of something medicinal achieved through the inclusion of cloves fails to keep my interest. Still, it might be worth checking out if you’re a vanilla fan.
Sånd highlights, you guessed it, sandalwood. But, it’s such an intriguing take on the note. Sandalwood is ably supported with notes of benzoin, amber, cardamom, and pepper. However, the note of banana truly makes this scent unique. The banana note has a boozy aspect, a-la banana flambe. When mixed with the spicier notes and the creamy sandalwood, it’s quite something. But maybe not something I’d wear. However, it had me bringing my nose to my arm multiple times to try and understand its peculiarities.
My favourite from the set is Beån. Perhaps surprisingly. Tonka is not a note that often draws me in. The vanillic hay-like aspects of the tonka bean come to the fore. But it’s framed interestingly – almost like a gourmand fougere. Right off the bat, notes of orange and cocoa combine, giving a chocolate orange effect. Fennel adds a licorice/anise-tinged spin. And the lavender, probably the second most prominent note, brings the scent into the aromatic/fougere fragrance group. Lavender may also be giving Beån its licorice feel. There’s probably some vanilla in the base, making Beån an intriguing hybrid. “Bloomin delicious,” as the brand describes it on its website.
Overall, certainly a fascinating brand with a noble cause at heart. I’m intrigued enough that I’d try out their two other scents should I come across them. Hopefully, the sprayers on their samples are better than the ones I received in the discovery set. It took about fifty attempts to get anything to spray out of a couple. Don’t you hate that? As for pricing, a quick check of their website reveals a 50ml parfum bottle will set you back 125 pounds, and 50ml EdT will set you back 69 pounds. The 10ml travel spray and solid parfum are 35 pounds. The candle is 55 pounds. I bought the 5x2ml discovery set (2ml x 5 parfum) for 35 Australian dollars.
Note: Bottle image of Beån courtesy of Fragrantica. All other images are my own.