Onyi Ifeguni
Onyi Ifeguni never set out to become a perfumer. The Nigerian American entrepreneur found her way into fragrance the way many independent creators do: by solving a personal problem. When she could not find scents that felt like her own, she began mixing formulas at home, blending different compositions until something clicked. Those improvised experiments became her signature, and friends and acquaintances started asking for bottles of their own. What began as DIY problem-solving quietly grew into Tabbeau Place, the Black-woman owned perfume house she runs as founder and creative director. Her 2021 debut fragrance, Mixed Feeling, announced a nose unafraid to challenge conventions, offering a floral composition for men at a time when the category still leaned predictable. Ifeguni builds her practice from lived experience rather than formal training, which gives her work an intimacy and directness that larger houses often struggle to manufacture.
The hits
Notable creations
The signature
How Onyi composes
Ifeguni favors floral structures with unexpected clarity. Mixed Feeling, her documented creation, leans into green and botanical facets, using florals in a masculine context to surprising effect. Her self-taught background means she works intuitively with materials, prioritizing emotional resonance over technical demonstration. She gravitates toward compositions that feel clean and personal, scents you can wear habitually rather than occasionally. Without a formal perfumery education, she has developed an unconventional aesthetic that prioritizes wearability and accessibility, producing fragrances that sit close to the skin rather than announcing themselves across a room.
Philosophy
What drives Onyi
For Ifeguni, fragrance is personal before it is commercial. She creates because she needs to wear something that does not yet exist. Her process starts with a gap in her own wardrobe, an absence she feels compelled to fill with her hands in raw materials. This self-directed approach shapes everything at Tabbeau Place: accessible pricing, everyday wearability, and scents designed to layer rather than overwhelm. She does not chase trends. She chases clarity. The name Tabbeau Place itself suggests a space where scent becomes part of daily identity, not special occasion luxury. Ifeguni brings that philosophy into every formulation, treating each fragrance as a tool her clients can use to construct who they want to be.
The houses