The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
Some fragrances arrive dressed up in convention. This one arrived stripped of it. Margot Elena launched And Soul No. 01 in 2016 as part of the Tokyo Milk Parfumerie Curiosite collection. Elena answered with pressed tea leaves, bamboo reed, orchid, and white musk. The brand's own copy describes the composition as crisp and refreshing, and notes that it breaks tradition and challenges convention. That's not wrong. But it's not the whole picture either. The And Soul series carries Elena's sensibility across each release. Elena designs with intention behind every pause. The And Soul series explores what lies beneath the visible. Where other houses reach for oud or leather to signal depth, Elena reaches for air and quiet. There is something deliberate about the way And Soul No.
The interesting thing about And Soul No. 01 is what it leaves out. Oolong tea and ozonic notes do the structural work, which is unusual. Here the tea sits at the center of the composition, unsweetened and slightly vegetal, like a cup that steeped a minute too long. Bamboo adds a green, almost papery dryness that cuts through any sweetness before it has a chance to settle. The orchid contributes a waxy creaminess that keeps the composition from feeling skeletal, lending a softness to the sharper green edges.
The evolution
The opening minutes are the freshest expression of the fragrance. Bamboo and ozonic notes arrive almost simultaneously, giving the first impression a wet, green quality that reads more like morning fog than any specific plant. The oolong tea surfaces quickly, not as a hot beverage but as the dry, tannic smell of leaves still on the stem. There is nothing fruity here, nothing gourmand. The composition stays in the temperate zone. The orchid begins to assert itself as the wear progresses. The waxy, slightly cool floral quality rounds out the sharper green edges. White musk starts its slow rise from the base, threading through the composition like humidity. This is among the more balanced phases, where the fragrance feels like a single thought rather than a sequence of notes. The drydown is where And Soul No. 01 reveals its quiet stubbornness.
Cultural impact
And Soul No. 01 sits within the brand's catalog of scent-as-storytelling, a collection that treats fragrance as a vessel for personal narrative rather than a showcase for raw materials. Within Tokyo Milk's arc, this composition earns attention for the restraint of its construction. The five-note formula reads as a deliberate choice, an exercise in editing where other houses might have layered in more. It suits the wearer who wants atmosphere rather than announcement, the kind of person who prefers window seats and walks home instead of taking the car. The fragrance has carved out a niche among fans of clean, ozonic compositions.
