10 Black-Owned Fragrance Brands You Won’t Be Able To Stop Spritzing

Gourmand, floral, citrus, woodsy. No matter what fragrance category you gravitate towards, there are countless options at various price points on the market just waiting to become your new signature scent. However, despite all of the options to peruse and sniff, historically, very few of them are created by Black founders and perfumers. While skin care, makeup, and hair care have made strides in becoming more inclusive in the past decade, the fragrance space has always trailed behind. The silver lining is there are a growing number of Black-owned fragrance brands ushering in the change.

These founders are connecting with a whole set of underrepresented consumers through the power of scent. Often pulling inspiration from their various backgrounds and notes significant to their heritages, these brands’ fragrances are personal yet have wide appeal. Instead of writing her memories down in a journal, Maya Njie, the nose behind the namesake line, self-taught herself perfumery to permanently honor her Swedish and Ghanan heritage. Chris Collins is another example of a creative who’s used perfume to pay homage to cities like Paris and New York that have had significance in his life, as they have so so many others. And if you’re looking to set the mood in your home, candle brands like Harlem Candle Company and FORVR Mood have countless varieties.

Get acquainted with 10 Black-founded fragrance brands making waves in perfumery. It’s inevitable you’ll discover a new signature scent (or two).

Brown Girl Jane

Tai Beauchamp, Nia Jones, and Malaika Jones first created Brown Girl Jane’s line of CBD products to encourage Black women to prioritize self-care and wellness. They’ve maintained this ethos since expending into clean fine fragrance. All of the scents in the collection are intended to evoke a specific mental state or mood or take the wearer on a sensorial journey to a far-flung locale. From Lamu, a fresh citrus perfume that transports you to the Kenyan shore and Carnivale, tropical gourmand fragrance that takes you to the Trinidad celebration, the brand offers scent profiles for everyone.

La Boticá

Inspired by architecture, contemporary art, and Afro-Dominican culture, La Boticá’s sleek, minimal perfume bottles and luxury candles essentially double as room decor. Aesthetics aside, founder Dawn Marie West’s creations offer unique sensorial experiences and sustainable options. All of the products are made in small batches in the brand’s Long Island City studio with indigenous ingredients sourced from South America. The brand also gives back to the community through its partnership with The Dream Project. A portion of the proceeds from La Boticá’s sales go towards helping underserved children and youth access resources essential to breaking the cycle of poverty.

Harlem Candle Company

Like its name implies, Harlem Candle Company’s origin story takes place in the historic New York City neighborhood. Founded by Teri Johnson, the collection of luxury home scents and fine fragrances is inspired by her love of “fragrance, jazz, and the vibrant spirit of Harlem.” The line started off with home fragrance, but Johnson solved every candle-lover’s struggle of wishing they could have their favorite scent on them at all times. Many of the candles now come in perfume form.

Kimberly New York

After working in fragrance retail for a decade, Kimberly Walker was inspired to learn the science behind perfumery because she never saw herself represented in the industry. Her education led to founding Kimberly New York and her first fragrance called Artsy, which is still her brand’s best-seller. All of the juices are made with a proprietary blend of 20% fragrance oil and natural solvents that are safe for sensitive skin and offer long wear time.

Ourside

Channeling her experience of feeling like an outsider growing up, Keta Burke-Williams founded Ourside with the desire to create a brand for those who felt left out of the beauty space. Crafted with unconventional combinations of familiar notes, the fragrances are unique and multi-faceted, just like those who wear them. All of the formulas are made “consciously” without controversial ingredients such as formaldehyde synthetic dyes, and nitromusks. They’re also Leaping Bunny-Certified and vegan.

World Of Chris Collins

Pulling references from his travels around the world, Chris Collins’ fragrances are fusions of various notes native to the regions he’s visited. Specifically, the founder pulls inspiration from the neighborhoods of New York and Paris when concocting this collections, which are meant to evoke feelings of adventure, romance, and freedom. Describing his approach to perfume creation as songwriting, none of the scents in his luxury line are one note.

Fenty Beauty

There are countless articles and subreddit threads dedicated to sourcing Rihanna’s signature scent after countless celebrities over the years stated how good she smells. The answer may vary depending on your source, but with the launch of Fenty Beauty’s fragrance, the world has a definitive answer. Like the rest of the releases from Rih’s beauty brand, the unisex perfume quickly sold out, and became a fan-favorite. The rich mahogany bottle was also intended to be noteworthy. “I wanted a rich color that really represented all genders from across all walks of life. Brown is my favorite color. Brown is who I am. Brown is what I come from,” Rihanna said via a press release in 2021. “If I’m going to make a fragrance that represents me, even the body language of the bottles needs to marry that...”

FORVR Mood

OG beauty YouTuber Jackie Aina built up a loyal following with her refreshingly honest reviews, tutorials, and discussions on the lack of diversity in the industry. After collaborating with major brands like Anastasia Beverly Hills, she launched FORVR Mood, a collection of luxury scented candles with her signature tongue-in-cheek humor. Earlier this year, the brand expanded into fine fragrance, all of which quickly sold out.

Moodeaux

Leaning into the connection between scent and emotion, founder Brianna Alps has created a line of perfumes that are accessories to your mood. All of Moodeaux’s fragrances contain 30% fragrance oil for longer wear time and are crafted to minimize the drying effect perfumes can have on skin. The brand also gives back to the Black community through Black in Fragrance, a global network of industry professionals, consumers, buyers, and media outlets created to help support and foster underrepresented entrepreneurs in the perfume space.

Maya Njie Perfumes

Self-taught perfumer Maya Njie turned to scent as a creative means to feel connected to her Scandinavian roots and Gambian heritage. Each fragrance in the line includes a blend of essential oils and synthetic substitutes (like musk) and are named in connection to the elements of Njie’s heritage that inspired them. The sleek, stylish bottles each scent come in are a welcome bonus.