19 Black-Owned Fragrances to Put on Your Radar
At Black Girl Perfume Club, I’m gonna champion Black-owned brands year-round, but Juneteenth holds a special place in my heart – a day I hope every Black person in America reading this took the day off. I’ve curated a list of 19 Black-owned fragrance brands that deserve your attention, many of which I’ve personally tested and fallen in love with. These brands aren’t just creating beautiful fragrances; they are reclaiming a space where, for too long, our unique Black experiences have been overlooked and our contributions have been systematically excluded. Perfumery hasn’t always been a viable career path within our community, which makes the success and innovation of these brands even more remarkable.
Lately, I’ve been reevaluating my own fragrance collection, and I want to place more emphasis on Black and brown perfumers who are consistently pushing boundaries and crafting extraordinary scents.
From the sophisticated elegance of Chris Collins, to the mood-boosting citrus notes of Ganyou, created by my dear friend Nimotalai Ganiyu, to the synesthetic musical notes of Zernell Gillie, each brand tells a compelling story through scent.
The journey of compiling this list has been incredibly rewarding. By supporting Black perfumers, you're investing in a more inclusive and representative fragrance industry, one where Black diasporic creativity and heritage are finally given the recognition they deserve.
World of Chris Collins
The sophisticated elegance of Chris Collins, a former model turned perfumer, creates a variety of fragrances that exude an "uptown vibe."
Ganiyu
A friend of mine, Nimotalia Ganiyu, started this brand off with one amazing mood boosting fragrance, ‘Onto You,’ that I reach for as my go-to citrus scent. I'm looking forward to more offerings from her in the future.
Zernell Gillie
I love Zernell Gillie because all of his fragrances are named after genres of music. He is someone who I would say has true scent synesthesia. He knows how to really envision a music genre and company a scent with it. His latest offering, ‘R&B,’ just smells like pure 90s sex appeal.
MOODEAUX
MOODEAUX is truly a frontrunner to me in the independent fragrance industry. Brianna Arps started MOODEAUX as a sort of passion project after getting laid off, and now it's grown into a six-figure-plus business. I am endlessly proud of her. Her scent, ‘Worthy,’ smells like a Black woman in a bottle, and she only continues to put out amazing scents.
Fenty Beauty
I really miss Rihanna's old fragrances. (Hello, Reb’l Fleur!) But I really want her to delve back into scents more. I think that her signature scent, ‘Fenty,’ is such a grown and sexy fragrance for a woman. I wear it when I especially need girlboss levels of confidence.
Frances Marie Fragrances
Frances Marie Fragrances so graciously gifted me their first scent, ‘True.’ It’s truly a crowd-pleasing floral and I’m excited to see what new scents come next.
Ourside
Ourside is a very unique brand in this bunch. Their fragrances exude this sort of cosmic element that I had been seeking out for a while—and I’m so glad I found it.
Harlem Perfume Co.
You may know Harlem Perfume Co., which started off as Harlem Candle Co. When I first discovered them, I immediately bought their candle, Josephine, inspired by the late-great Josephine Baker. And now I'm absolutely in love with their perfumes, Langston and Billie. They recently launched a fragrance called ‘Eartha,’ in collaboration with Eartha Kitt's daughter, Kitt Shapiro. I love that they’re bringing old Black Hollywood glamour to the scent world.
FORVR Mood
Jackie Aina has been such an influence in bringing more Black women into fragrances, particularly niche, and I'm really proud of her for launching her brand.
Brown Girl Jane
Brown Girl Jane is just effortlessly feminine, and I can’t wait to try their scent ‘High Tea.’ You can find the sweetest, yet daring, yet rebellious, yet kind woman in each of these scents.
The Elemental Fragrances
The Elemental has such dapper branding. My personal favorite, Fantastic F*** Rose has been discontinued. Consider this a petition to bring it back.
The brands below, I haven’t personally sampled, but have heard glowing reviews:
Harlem Perfume Co has amazing scents! I have Billie and just ordered a sample of Langston. My husband loves Duke. They have so many bangers! I need to get Eartha and see what it’s about.