Perfumer Simon Constantine Launches Ånd Fragrance Amidst Pandemic

Ånd Fragrance founder and perfumer, Simon Constantine, talks products as well as company’s mission and future.
Ånd Fragrance founder and perfumer, Simon Constantine, talks products as well as company’s mission and future.

Ånd Fragrance’s (stylized “ånd fragrance”) mission is to “unstink” the world with ethically sourced oils and essences while supporting indigenous communities in the area.

The company was founded by seasoned perfumer Simon Constantine, whose background includes developing perfumes for Lush Cosmetics, as well as founding Gorilla Perfumes in 2010 to highlight the bond between artistic expression and perfume. 

A decade after Gorilla Perfumes’ launch, Constantine debuted his latest project—Ånd Fragrance. Each of the company’s six fragrances are handmade, vegan and highlight several social causes.

The company’s latest creation is Tåg, a 100% natural solid perfume. Suspended in regenerative butters, the solid perfume is packaged in Ecuadorian tagua nuts with caps made from recycled drink cans. With notes like murumuru, cupuacu and cocoa, Tåg aligns with the brand’s motto of, “Smell good, do good.”

Perfumer & Flavorist+ connected with Constantine to discuss the details of how Ånd came to be, products as well as company’s mission and future.Perfumer & Flavorist+ connected with Constantine to discuss the details of how Ånd came to be, products as well as company’s mission and future.

 

Perfumer & Flavorist+ [P&F+]: From creating perfumes for Lush Cosmetics to launching Gorilla Perfumes, what was the motivation for creating Ånd Fragrance? How does this company differ and what is the company’s mission?

Simon Constantine [SC]: With Gorilla, our aim is to create a strong link between artistic expression and perfume. With Ånd, the aim is very different.

Ånd really is about pushing the boundary for the perfume industry in the light of ecological and climate breakdown. By choosing key materials that partner with communities and ecosystems, we are focused on creating a modern perfume brand with exciting formulas that really are designed to maximize benefit to a healthy planet.

 

P&F+: What was the push for creating solid fragrances? Could you touch on the process and talk about the nuances versus liquid fragrance production?

SC: Our solid perfume presented us with the exciting challenge of finding a way to provide plastic-free perfume. Not only that, but by using the wonderful Tagua nuts we found, we could support further community projects and dispose entirely of manmade packaging, instead using a nut that is both ethical and elegant. 

To create the solid base, we used Amazonian oils, murumuru, cupuacu and cocoa butters that again work to protect forests and provide livelihoods.

 

P&F+: What was the inspiration behind the scents of your solid fragrances?P&F+: What was the inspiration behind the scents of your solid fragrances?

SC: Each fragrance takes an ingredient that shows what’s possible in the perfume world. Sånd uses sandalwood from deadwood trees that are owned by Aboriginal peoples; Beån uses Tonka beans from Kayapō territories in the West Amazon rainforest; Båre uses essential oils from First Nations from the Great Bear Rainforest; Frånk uses frankincense supporting communities in Somaliland and Måd uses vanilla from agroforestry projects in Madagascar.

 

P&F+: The company is outspoken when it comes to addressing social injustice, how do you incorporate those values into your sourcing and production initiatives?

SC: Our opening sales were directly donated to our partners in the Amazon rainforest to benefit the Indigenous community. We donated the first sales of Beån to them to buy PPE for Kayapō community groups.

Over Christmas 2020, 20% of our sales helped fund community held tree nurseries to regrow frankincense trees in Somaliland. These are a community asset that have become endangered in recent years due to climate impacts and overharvesting. We hope to be part of a viable solution for the future by replanting trees for the communities there.

 

P&F+: What does the future look like for Ånd fragrance? Short term/long term goals for the company?

SC: Short term, we are flat out building our first retail shop as we speak! It’s part of a regeneration on Poole High Street where, over the last decade, the retail environment has died off. We are a part of a program of local independent shops who are offered zero rent stores for two years, a great opportunity for a new brand like us!

Long term, our aim is to build sales so as to benefit share our profits with our partners and to regenerate not just high streets, but ecosystems. The UN named this the decade of ecosystem restoration, the time when we have a chance to repair the damage done, and we want to be a part of this movement, the regeneration! So, we are pretty ambitious and looking forward to your help in unstinking the world.

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