The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
The Empress arrived in 2024 from the house of Maison Yusif, described as a Ghanaian perfume brand. This one isn't abstract. It was composed as a tribute, inspired by the strength of the perfumer's mother and wife. A celebration of feminine strength, resilience, and timeless beauty, translated through a modern floral-woody architecture rather than something gauzy or old-fashioned. Yusif Meizongo Jnr composed this one himself, which matters because The Empress carries his personal fingerprints. It's a private dedication made public, a scent that treats strength as something floral can hold.
The composition does something unusual with its structure. Calabrian bergamot and blackcurrant lead, sharp and almost edible, but the heart pulls toward a creamy honeyed density where gardenia and jasmine sambac thicken the air. The base of leather, sandalwood, cedar, ambergris, and vanilla isn't there to ground the florals. It's there to crown them, adding a quiet authority that lingers.
The evolution
The opening of The Empress is bright and almost sharp, with Calabrian bergamot and lemon arriving first, cut by blackcurrant and softened by rose and iris threading underneath like a ribbon through the citrus. There's nothing demure about it. The top notes announce themselves with intention before the heart takes over and the composition shifts. Gardenia, jasmine sambac, and lily arrive together, and the honey underneath them turns everything golden, almost edible. Rosemary adds an herbal edge that keeps the sweetness from tipping into something syrupy. This is the warmest, most generous phase of the scent, the part that smells like late afternoon light through a window, rich and inviting without becoming heavy. The base eventually takes hold as the florals thin: leather arrives first, not aggressive, more like the lining of a worn bag, while sandalwood and cedar give the drydown shape.
Cultural impact
The Empress arrives as a personal tribute made public. Composed by Yusif Meizongo Jnr himself and inspired by the strength of the perfumer's mother and wife, the fragrance fits a house that treats personal narrative as worthy material for serious perfumery. A floral-woody composition that translates feminine strength and resilience into scent, The Empress avoids the gauzy or old-fashioned register florals sometimes fall into and instead builds something warm, golden, and structurally modern. Gardenia and jasmine sambac thicken the heart, while leather, sandalwood, and ambergris in the base crown the florals with quiet authority.
