Maya Njie Perfumes

Thank you Sebastian for your wonderful way with your lens and your words.

“Maya Njie crafts perfumes recollecting memories from her Gambian and Swedish heritage, inspired by an old family photo album. Nordic Cedar is based on a 1969 photograph of Maya’s older sister, Anette, chatting with the family outside their grandfather’s allotment cabin in Västerås, looking onto open fields and boreal forests.

It is predominantly a cardamom scent, albeit with a lot more body than most interpretations I have smelled, where it is merely a top note. Dusted with cinnamon, it dominates throughout on my skin, from the warm, sweetish opening to the slightly cooler, green floral dry-out, adding to the autumn-fresh cedar base. The cedar variety used in Nordic Cedar has pronounced ambery and dry, woody incense tonalities, while lesser earthy facets get enhanced by musky, leather-nuanced patchouli.

Many Scandinavian-themed fragrances are built upon well-known modern aroma chemicals to achieve a clean, minimalist profile, and I think there is absolutely a place for that. They can, however, come across as a bit clichéd or stereotypical to me.

Maya’s approach is much more rustic and unpretentious. In fact, Nordic Cedar does not evoke the newly built, sterile kind of cabin managed by a large corporation and equipped with way too many smart home items to charge foreign tourists a few extra bucks. Instead, Maya captured a remote, cosy place filled with character that you always love visiting after months of being gone. Perhaps it did not get aired out in some time, and the old wooden furniture may have collected dust, but this place will forever be home, even if you do not live there. Nordic Cedar conveys this feeling and sense of nostalgia so well, making it soulful perfumery at its very best in my opinion.”

May and June Bespoke Perfume Workshops dates are now live. Come to a morning or afternoon session where I will teach you the magic of bespoke perfume. We will talk about common structures and smell many different materials that allow you to blend your own unique formula to take home.

This is suitable to all genders and no previous experience is needed. You can attend on your own or book with friends or family.

I am spending National Fragrance Day in Paris and brought with me a box fresh bottle of Vo**ur Verde, it was an easy choice!

If you’re curious what others might have chosen to wear today have a look at this years ‘s via .

Through workshops, gatherings, and carefully designed scent objects, creates a space where fragrance becomes a bridge to memory, emotion, and shared experience.

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Chimie, a sensory project based in Montreal, is dedicated to deepening our relationship with scent through curated experiences that cultivate curiosity .

The Chimie Discovery Set is a carefully curated exploration of scent, uniting five international niche perfumers in one collection. Each fragrance is an expression of its creator’s vision, shaped by unique inspirations and artistic approaches to perfumery. It’s an honor to have my perfumes included in this journey, and I’m grateful to Heather for bringing this project to life.

If you’re looking to experience scent through multiple creative perspectives, this is a beautiful place to start.

Thank you for your beautiful work 📷

Place your last UK orders by 4pm on the 20th December in order for it to arrive in time for Christmas. A popular gift this year has also been the Bespoke Perfume gift vouchers. We can send you a physical card and gift box in the post upon request. What’s not to love!

Photography and set design by and

This weekend we’ll be at the Monocle Christmas Market at 1 Midori House. There you’ll find a great selection of curated brands selling their wares alongside the .monocle store. You’ll also have Chiltern street with all that it brings right at your doorstep.

10am to 6pm Saturday & Sunday. See you there for our final event this year! 🎄🐿️

You can now find my perfumes at - an excellent purveyor of niche perfume located on Södermalm. I am very pleased. Tackar! 🇸🇪

This coming Saturday I’ll be at the . Join me and many other artisan brands between 10am and 5pm. I’m looking forward to tucking in to my annual cheese platter and of course seeing you all.

The £2 entry fee and a percentage of our takings are donated to local outreach projects.