The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
Shiso began as an inquiry into an unfamiliar accord, an ancient Japanese geisha incense recipe. Shiso, a kind of mint, combined with pandanus. The combination was foreign in the best sense: not bad or strange, but genuinely unknown. From the first spray, the green, slightly peppery quality of shiso announces itself with unmistakable clarity. There is a brightness here that feels fresh and almost edible, like biting into a young leaf. The pandanus adds a subtle sweetness underneath, a quiet tropical undertone that prevents the minty notes from becoming sharp or medicinal. Together, these two ingredients create a fragrance that feels both familiar in its greenness and completely alien in its specific character.
Here, shiso commands the heart from the first moments it becomes audible. The supporting notes do not diminish it. Cloves lift it, adding a warm, slightly spiced edge that prevents the green notes from feeling too austere. Geranium gives it somewhere green to rest, softening the moreassertive qualities of the shiso without making them disappear. The pandanus, sometimes called kewda in Indian perfumery, adds a tropical dimension that sits quietly beneath the florals, lending a subtle warmth that rounds out the composition.
The evolution
The opening lands bright and almost vegetable, the green bell pepper announcing itself before most people expect anything to have arrived. Within minutes, cloves join, warm, almost medicinal, the kind of spice that feels intentional rather than decorative. This phase does not linger. By the half-hour, shiso asserts itself, minty and tart and unmistakably present, the geranium softening its edges without diluting them. The fragrance shifts from bright to aromatic. From here, the tropical notes emerge quietly: a warmth from the pandanus that sits underneath the florals rather than above them. The oud is not announced, it is felt. By hour two, sandalwood and patchouli ground everything into a warm, slightly resinous drydown that lingers close to the skin. The transition from the sharp green opening to the warmer heart creates a narrative arc that feels organic rather than forced.
Cultural impact
The fragrance performs strongly enough to make that encounter last, giving the composition time to reveal its layers and complexities. Shiso brings a green, herbaceous quality that feels immediately recognizable yet transformed into something entirely new when worn as a perfume rather than experienced as a culinary ingredient. The slightly tart, minty character of the shiso becomes the centerpiece, supported by warm spice notes and a subtle tropical undertone from the pandanus. This creates a fragrance that feels both accessible and challenging, inviting wearers to reconsider what they think they know about green notes.
