How a Touching Ritual and a
In 2015, my mom faced a scary medical ordeal. A small cancerous growth in her colon led to a life-threatening emergency and a 10-hour surgery.
My mom was always quite small and petite, but she had a certain stature. The cancer treatment was crushing and reduced her to a frail little slip of a thing. She had always had beautiful thick curly dark hair. Her hair just hung limp and lifeless.
Growing up in the 1940s, my mom always cherished the simple pleasures. Her mantra was, “If you’re having a tough time, get up in the morning, brush your hair, put on lipstick, and spritz on your favourite perfume. The world will look so much better.”
She would get up, run a brush through her limp hair, watching as much of it ended up on the brush, put on her lipstick and a spray of perfume. It was an amazing transformation to watch. That simple ritual, and in particular the perfume, would bring her back to life. She would gain colour in her cheeks, and a slight spring in her step. For her, it’s what made the ordeal bearable.
Thankfully, her treatment was successful, and she has been cancer-free for nearly a decade.
Watching how much she valued the simple ritual of putting on perfume, how that perfume was like a scented armor that gave her the strength to face another treatment was deeply touching.
Around that time, I missed a connecting flight and was left stranded at Hong Kong airport for a day.
As someone who always liked perfumes and colognes and doing quite a bit of travelling I would always make a point of spending time at the Duty Free of whichever airport I was passing through to see what fragrant offerings were on offer. On this occasion I was specifically looking for the perfume my mom used.
Over the years I had noticed that perfume bottles were becoming more and more elaborate, whilst often holding less perfume, and celebrity endorsement more widespread. Add in the crashing Rand and the perfume I was after just felt like a grudge purchase despite having seen the profound effect it had on my mom.
After having spent my usual hour or so in the duty free and coming away feeling somewhat disillusioned I thought I would do some research on the perfume market. In the back of my mind was how much my mom had valued her perfume in her time of need and how perfume was fast becoming out of reach for most people.
It was a fascinating day spent understanding how the market worked, and what the challenges were.
On returning to South Africa, I shared the experience with my wife. She said jokingly, “We should go into the perfume business”. A-ha moment.
We have two kids at school and our priorities have changed. We enjoy perfume and colognes, but inside the bounds of what we see as value; the prices had risen to the point that we could not justify the value. One was not getting more product or a better product. Just a more expensive one.
We figured that if it was a problem for us, it was likely a problem for others too and The Perfumery was born.
Quality was always going to be a cornerstone. Coming from a technical background, I delved into the chemistry and made sure that the perfume we produce is as good as the best out there. Every decision that we have made from the oils we use, the bottle we chose, the atomizer we use and the packaging is to make sure that the quality of the product is as good as we can make it.
We hope we have been successful. A good range of perfumes, presented in a way that makes it easier to choose.
BEST QUALITY. WELL PRICED. DELIVERED TO YOUR DOOR.
HOW OUR FRAGRANCES ARE ARRANGED
Choosing a fragrance can be a challenging & intimidating experience especially if you are not sure exactly what you are looking for.
Our aim is to make it easy for you.
We give you details on the branded fragrance that is closest to that scent.
Further than that the perfumes are grouped into 8 scent families:
4 for women – Citrus, Floral, Chypre, Oriental
4 for men – Citrus, Aromatic, Woody, Oriental
The scent families give you a good starting point for the structure of the fragrance. Added to this we have added a simple style to each fragrance – sweet, fresh, clean, etc.
Each fragrance has a detailed description & a breakdown of the key notes or scents, making it simple for you to select the fragrance that appeals to you.
OUR APPROACH
The shift towards fancier bottles, glitzy packaging, celebrity endorsement, and expensive retail outlets has driven prices to the point that high street perfumes just don’t represent value any longer.
It’s impossible to buy one without feeling guilty & suffering from a great deal of buyer’s remorse which ruins the whole experience.
Our approach is somewhat different; our focus is on what’s in the bottle – the perfume.
From us, you get gorgeous, beautifully crafted perfumes and fragrances at the most pleasing price.
Does this mean you have to compromise on the experience? Absolutely not!
We still package our perfumes, scents, and fragrances attractively & give you that “Yay, I’m getting a gift!” experience which is so much part of spoiling oneself or someone else with a little fragrant indulgence.