5 LGBTQ+ Owned Fragrance Brands to Support This Pride Month and Beyond
Because big rainbow-washed corporations already have your money.
Welcome to the tenth issue of Black Girl Perfume Club! Let’s dive right in.
We all know what happens on June 1st. Nearly every public company changes its logo to a rainbow and puts on a display of performative activism. Some may actually take it a step further and donate proceeds (typically a really tiny amount) to support LGBTQ-related causes.
Let’s avoid rainbow-washing and rather than support companies that treat queer lives like another cut-and-dry marketing group, let’s actually patronize queer, trans, and LGBTQ+ owned companies and brands this June and all year round.
If you’d like to put your money in the hands of queer individuals, read on for our list of openly LGBTQ-owned fragrance brands, and please write to me if there are others that you like to be included.
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This Week’s Fragrance Diary
Lattafa ‘Yara’ - Worn to a graduation.
Memoire Archives ‘Wish You Were Here’ - Worn while recording a special project.
Kilian Paris ‘Love Don’t Be Shy’ - Worn during a chance encounter.
New Releases
D.S. & Durga ‘Mahogany Kora’ - A limited edition collaboration with West African designer Armando Cabral.
Montale ‘Oud Island’ - Released exclusively with Harrods, Montale takes classic oud to new heights.
Guess ‘Uomo Acqua’ - A soft aquatic scent made for the sailor in your life.
Queer-Owned Fragrance Companies
Arquiste - A perfume and home scent brand developed by queer architect Carlos Huber. (Try ‘Indigo Smoke’)
Boy Smells - Known for their cheeky candles, this queer-owned brand also released a line of “Genderful” genderless fragrances. (Try ‘Suede Pony’)
Malin + Goetz - Popular for their amazing-smelling bath goods, M+G makes unisex perfume blends of their fragrances you know and love. (Try ‘Strawberry’)
Snif - Genderless, affordable fragrances and candles that smell even more expensive than they are. (Try ‘Sweet Ash’)
Tanaïs - Queer, non-binary, BIPOC-owned beauty brand focused on scent memory and self-adornment. (Try ‘In Sensorium’)
On the ‘Gram
Don’t forget to enter our giveaway for a chance to win a Ganiyu fragrance and $50 for use at Twisted Lily.
What We’re Reading
Perfumes That Conjure the American Desert (New York Times)
Barneys New York Beauty Debuts First-Ever Fragrance Collection (V Magazine)
Scentiment: The Rising Star in the Hotel Inspired Fragrance Industry, Redefining Luxury at Home (Miami Herald)