Harlem Perfume Company
a celebration of black excellence through fragrance, inspired by important figures of the Harlem Renaissance and Jazz
(Disclaimer: While this might come off as a big long advertisement, this post is NOT sponsored and is based off of my impressions of a discovery set I purchased with my own money. Images used here are courtesy of the Harlem Perfume Co. website. All opinions are my own.)
I stumbled across Harlem Perfume Co. recently, while searching for black owned & operated independent fragrance brands as I’ve specifically been seeking out black & POC-owned brands to expand my perspectives on fragrance in general.
Founded in 2014 by Teri Johnson and starting as a candle company, the brand expanded into personal fragrances in 2022 due to consumer demand, launching a line with scents themed around important figures in the Harlem Renaissance and early Jazz music, many based off of candle scents they already offered. As a lover of Jazz and fragrance, the brand sparked my interest so I picked up a discovery set of their current five offerings and received them recently.
Overall as a house, I enjoyed most of these offerings. While none are particularly daring or experimental, that isn’t really what they are going for at all. If you are looking for beautiful, crowd-pleasing, unisex, and sexy scents with a great overarching house theme, check these out!
Josephine
This is a beautiful floral-amber-patchouli fragrance that I’d probably categorize as the most ‘sexy’ of the line, fitting for one named for Josephine Baker. For those unacquainted with Josephine, she is considered to be the ‘first black superstar’ and was the first black woman to star in a major film. Most of her career was in France, where she also aided the French resistance during WW2, eventually revoking her US citizenship. She also made contributions toward the civil rights movement in the United States and refused to perform for segregated audiences whenever she was in the States. She was a controversial trailblazer, a beauty, and an incredible performer with a legacy that continues to live on to today.
The notes of Josephine focus on recreating what it might smell like in her boudoir. Supposedly she loved wearing ‘Joy’ by Jean Patou, so floral notes like Jasmine are prominent in this fragrance. It opens with a burst of bergamot and amyris - fresh and slightly woody with a hint of sweetened benzoin. As it dries down, the sharpness of the bergamot dissipates, letting the jasmine, tonka, and (light) patchouli shine through. While this is a floral fragrance, it’s fairly resinous and smoky. This fragrance was crafted by perfumer Catherin Selig, who also created ‘Billie’ and ‘Speakeasy’ from this line as well.
While this might lean slightly feminine, I think this is perfectly unisex. It worked really nicely on my skin and is one of my favorites from the line (along with Duke and Speakeasy). I’d probably recommend this for cooler weather as it might get cloying in heat and humidity.
Duke
Crafted by the same perfumer that worked on acclaimed fragrances such as Althair, Layton, Pacific Rock Moss and Ingenious Ginger, Hamid Merati-Kashani crafted another winner for Harlem Perfume Co. with Duke, an ode to the great Duke Ellington. Hamid also is the nose behind ‘Langston’ from this house.
Duke was a pivotal figure in Jazz history, composing or co-composing more than a thousand compositions, many of which are still regularly played and recorded today. His band regularly played at the Cotton Club, which was notorious for not allowing any POC in the audience and forcing black musicians to enter through the kitchen. The Cotton Club also treated black artists like zoo animals, putting on a show for wealthy white patrons who came to see ‘jungle music’ and ‘savagery’ on display. Despite the deeply racist environment of the club, performers were paid handsomely and artists such as Ellington received widespread recognition due to his performances there.
This scent is in a loose fougère style, opening with a burst of bergamot, pepper, and ginger before drying down to a lovely lavender and tobacco with a sweet, resinous base. There’s a hint of pepper that remains even in the dry down that is really addicting to me. This fragrance is probably the most overtly traditionally masculine-leaning fragrance in the line, and while it’s a bit ‘safe’ it’s really lovely. A great evening event or date scent, I think!
Speakeasy
This fragrance is a little bit more self-explanatory than the others in the line, looking to capture the essence of prohibition-era speakeasies. This fragrance was based off of a candle of the same name that the brand offered prior to doing fragrances, and is now their best seller.
It is a boozy-tobacco fragrance, similar to many others on the market like Replica Jazz Club, but has some interesting distinctions that make it fairly unique for an offering in a rather saturated class. The cardamom and floral notes add some interesting levity to the blend, keeping it from getting too thick and heavy like some of these can be. This is the speakeasy early in the night when everyone arrives freshly perfumed, with fresh poured drinks.
Billie
Billie Holiday is a legendary Jazz vocalist with an immensely tragic life that ended far too soon at 44 from cirrhosis and heart failure from severe alcohol and narcotics abuse. Despite an overwhelming amount of abuse she suffered throughout her life, she funneled the raw emotion into her singing, leaving an enormously influential mark on Jazz as a whole. Even today, she is considered one of the greatest vocalists of all time, regardless of genre.
A musky, soft, gardenia skin scent is a perfect homage to Billie Holiday, who frequently wore gardenia blooms when performing. This fragrance is the most ‘traditionally feminine’ of the line and ends up being more of a skin scent. It is floral without being heady, which is quite nice. There is a very light sandalwood that gives it a bit more depth in the dry down.
I like the smell of this one, though it’s not something I’d personally wear. I’d probably put it in the category of ‘clean girl scents,’ if I had to group it somewhere, so if that is your cup of tea, check this one out!
Langston
For the challenging undertaking of capturing the essence of the famed poet, novelist, playwright, and activist Langston Hughes, Hamid crafted a scent meant to evoke Langston’s writing office, complete with cinnamon spiced brandy, wood furniture, and worn leather chairs. While I’m not sure it quite hits the mark on the brief, it smells wonderful. I personally think a bit less sweetness and a leather note would have made this a bit closer to the concept, but then it would be a near carbon copy of Sugar Leather. Or, if going more avant garde, leather, ink, brandy, cinnamon, tobacco (he was a chain-smoker)…
The scent profile here is one that has been explored many times in recent years: boozy spiced apple. Well-known scents such as Angel’s Share, Sugar Leather, and Oajan all explore similar ideas (though all with slight differences). While this is probably closest to Angel’s Share to my nose, that scent leans heavily into the boozy aspect of the scent (which, considering it’s a Killian fragrance makes sense), while Langston dries down with a pronounced caramel note, as well as a muskier and woodier base.
I personally love the scent profile as a gourmand since it reminds me of the fall/winter seasons and the holidays. This is a cool weather, holiday fragrance that is delicious and perfectly unisex, however if you already own any of the fragrances listed above, you may want to sample this and make sure you think it is worth having something so similar. The caramel note here is quite nice, and the price point makes it a much better deal than Angel’s Share or Oajan. Sugar Leather is probably the closest to this at a similar price point.
In summary, I enjoyed this discovery set quite a bit, love the concept and briefs behind the line so far and look forward to smelling what they release in the future. Lines like this or Zernell Gillie that celebrate the contributions of black musicians, entertainers, authors, intellectuals, etc., etc., are important. At the end of the day, crafting a great fragrance is the goal, creating in a way that also pays homage is a wonderful gesture of love and appreciation.
For now, the ones I’d like to eventually pick up in full sized bottles for my own collection are:
Billie is beautiful, though a little too traditionally feminine white floral for my personal taste. On a mature woman, it’s probably a show-stopper! The price point of these bottles is quite good for a small independent brand with really nice branding and packaging. I’ve paid more for 30ml from small brands before!
Beyond the fragrances and briefs, I also think it’s important to take a moment to acknowledge the branding and packaging. The bottles are quite beautiful and the branding is really classy, conveying an old school apothecary vibe to me - quite nice!
Which one(s) from the line sounds like something you’d enjoy for yourself?