Gozdava 1590

GOZDAVA is not a continuation of an old perfume house. It is a continuation of a family name. 1590 marks the earliest documented chapter of the Gozdava lineage — a history spanning more than four centuries, built on dedication, service and excellence.
The House itself is contemporary; the values behind it are not.
Every fragrance is an extension of that legacy: a commitment to lasting quality and respect for the places and people that make each one possible.

Perfumes that take you places. South Africa, Madagascar, France, Italy, Mozambique, TChad… where shall your journey to begin?

A celebration of natural isolates, best enjoyed with a cork already flying? Oh, Darling!

Inspired by the foothills of Tulbagh Valley, South Africa.

Available in store and online.

Trips to the sea, Sardinia.

Not everyone knows that the iconic iris note in perfumery doesn’t actually come from the iris flower.

It’s the rhizome — the underground, root-like stem of the iris plant, pictured here at a market in Chad.

For perfumery, species such as the iris are cultivated specifically for their rhizomes. Once harvested, they are cleaned, dried and aged for several years. This ageing process is essential: it allows the formation and development of irones, the naturally occurring molecules largely responsible for the characteristic powdery, violet-like scent of orris.

Only after this long maturation period is the rhizome processed for extraction, so that delicate note in a perfume? It begins underground, and can take years before it is ready to meet the nose.

There’s a table in the boutique where we encourage a little mischief.

Raw materials, fragrance oils, botanicals, shells — the components of an olfactory adventure, laid out for exploration.

With fragrance strips in hand and Timothy as your guide, a little bit of this meets a touch of that. Layer, sniff, reconsider. Follow your nose.

A feeling of apothecary. A little mad scientist. A whole lot of play.

Open from 10am - 2pm on Saturdays.

72 Loop Street, CBD, Cape Town.

Oh, Darling! with scent notes of Peach, Gardenia, Mimosa, Tonka Bean Absolute, Vanilla Olessence (Madagascar), Cape May (South Africa), Vetiveryl Acetate Extract and Labdanum (India).

But, is not just about smell; it’s about the ever blissful feeling of friendship on balmy summer nights, spent outside admiring pink skies, bellini’s in hand, frivolous fun and endless cheekiness.

Often the tiniest details bring the most beauty. Light falling through stained glass of a chapel in Chios, Greece.

Relief of Gargoyles on the external pillars of the Basilica of the Holy Trinity of Saccargia, Sardegna, Italy.