Imagine the smell of your favourite flower. Or freshly-baked cookies. Think about the smell of perfume on the skin of a person you love. The scent of oranges, or pine trees, and salty air.

How does it make you feel? 

Your mind gets flooded with pictures, memories associated with those scents. It not only takes you back to the moment but even evokes feelings; the love you feel for the person, the feeling of being happy, relaxed, at home.

This is the power of fragrance.

“Smell and memory have a deep physiological connection, which makes the smell a deeply intimate sense.”

A deep connection

Our minds can create strong emotional connections between a moment or an experience and a scent that accompanied it. 

The part of our brains responsible for interpreting what our nose detects interacts directly with the part involved in creating new memories. In other words, smell and memory have a deep physiological connection, which makes the smell a deeply intimate sense.

Our experiences in life shape our unique scent identity; the fragrances that attract us and make us feel good, and which evoke unpleasant feelings.

“Scent helps us find »the one«”.

Love goes through the nose

It turns out that scent does even more – like help us find »the one«. Each person has a unique body scent, which is the result of our immune system. And our nose is an expert guide helping us find partners whose scent is as different from our own as possible. Why different? Because in their offspring, this combination results in a strong immune system! 

All of those benefits illustrate the value of perfumes in your life. Far beyond just a beauty accessory, perfumes can be our daily motivator, confidence booster, or create a relaxing aura helping us to unwind.

SECRET CODE: 4125512420 😉

Today, we think of scents and perfumes first and foremost as a beauty accessory. But millennia ago, perfumes served a much deeper purpose, being prized and valued in both medicine and religious rituals.

Any modern perfume maker or chemist agrees that creating a perfume is not just about mixing and matching scents. It requires a deep understanding of chemistry and its processes to strike a delicate balance that creates the perfect synergy of scents.

“Fragrances can reduce stress, improve sleep, self-confidence, and overall performance.”

Scent nurtures the senses

For millennia, humanity has believed in the power of fragrance, using it in physical, mental, and spiritual healing. Aromatherapy was, and still is, a method of using essential oils and scents to naturally alleviate many problems, from depression and anxiety to digestive issues, headaches, pain, insomnia, and skin problems.

And science agrees: scents have an important effect on our mood, stress, and even our work performance. Studies show that fragrances can reduce stress, improve sleep, self-confidence, and overall performance.

Once upon a time, in an era of stone palaces and spicy sand, lived two women. Today, the world would call them scientists or chemists, but back then they were known by other names. They were Tapputi and Ninu, and their art was combining scents into perfumes to serve the royals of Mesopotamia.

Tapputi was a woman held in the highest esteem; historical records speak of her authority and position as an official overseer of perfumery in the royal palace. 

“…their art was combining scents into perfumes to serve the royals of Mesopotamia.”

One of her surviving recipes proves her skill, detailing the making of a scented salve for a Babylonian king. What fascinates the historian is that Tapputi mentions refining the ingredients in a ‘still’ – a chemical apparatus still used today to distil and filter liquids. The perfume master’s recipe is the oldest mention of such a tool in history, marking her as one of the earliest chemical engineers.

Tapputi used other revolutionary techniques, including distillation, cold enfleurage, tincture, and scent extraction. She also developed a method of using solvents (distilled water, alcohol) to alter the scents, making them lighter and longer-lasting than traditional perfume oils. 

Ninu, whose full name is lost to history, would today be called a researcher, likely a member of Tapputi’s household and working alongside her. For their creations, the two women used flowers, oil, calamus, cyperus, myrth, and balsam. 

To celebrate the rich history of perfume-making and to pay homage to early masters of the art, we’ve named our product after one of them. Ninu transports such ideas from the ancient palaces of Mesopotamia to a modern world, which is again learning to discover the beauty and power of fragrances. Back then, she was crucial to Tapputi’s efforts in perfecting the art of scent and, today, she can help you do the same.

Step into the shoes of Tapputi. Become your own perfumer, guided by Ninu. Are you ready to begin your journey?