The essence of heritage.
Take a single whiff, and your mind will be visually transported to a particular moment in time–that’s the strength of perfumes. Enter Malay Perfumery, a captivating artisan fragrance house nestled in the heart of Malaysia. Founded by the visionary Fazzillah Noordin, this brand intertwines the essence of the Malay Archipelago into its vibrant creations.
Noordin developed a fond love for fragrances, thanks to her childhood memories of growing up in her grandmother’s village, an heirloom in Rembau, Malaysia. With a treasure trove of local ingredients like aromatic pandan, zesty lime, ethereal rose syrup, and comforting vanilla, each perfume encapsulates a nostalgic embrace.
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Infused with the rich tapestry of Malay culture, history, and beloved traditional treats, every scent narrates a story waiting to be discovered. As you indulge in a few spritzes, immerse yourself in a fragrant journey that promises to not only dazzle others but also spark conversations. The heart of Malaysian heritage is a celebration of timeless beauty, and Noordin embodies that through each of its fragrances. A tribute to the past, yet appropriately essential to the modern woman with a unique flair.
To delve deeper into the world of Malay Perfumery, we spoke with Fazzillah Noordin about her first creation, techniques, and personal favourites. Read on to see what she has to say.
Fazzillah Noordin
A quick chat with Fazzillah Noordin of Malay Perfumery:
What inspired the creation of Malay Perfumery and the distinctive fragrance profiles it offers?
Fazzillah Noordin: Malay Perfumery began as a response to the void in perfumes that were available in the market. Many perfumes make one think of a café in Maastricht, a jazz bar in Roppongi, fresh laundry fluttering overhead in Lisbon, and so on… but where is the scent of my home? Where are the smells of our childhood?
Once I had this question in my head, I began to pay attention to the smells around me—my quiet home, my parents’ garden, my friend’s lively kitchen, our fruit orchard, our favourite childhood kuih, sweets, and biscuits, museums, art galleries, libraries, and so on. I began to look at illustrations of ancient Malay palaces and imagined what it must have smelled like.
I looked at it from an outsider’s perspective. Magellan, sailing into the Malacca Straits, would have smelled the fragrant spices from across the harbour. He would have embarked and entered the Malacca Sultanate’s palace and been wowed by the glitter and gold in the palace. He would be overwhelmed by the fragrance of our tropical plants—oud, sandalwood, pandan leaves, limes, jasmine, tuberose, mango, and so on; all these scents emanating from not only the gold-threaded songket-clad Sultan of Malacca but also his subjects. Thinking about scents as an art form helps me ‘paint pictures’ with fragrances and tell elaborate, rich stories of our history and our collective home.
Can you share the story behind the first perfume you ever created for the brand?
FN: Fleur de Rampai is the first of its kind in Malay Perfumery. The name means ‘Bunga Rampai’, and it has been ubiquitous in many Malay events and traditions for hundreds of years, including weddings, birth celebrations, and even funerals, making it a fitting choice for the brand’s flagship perfume. It remains my most challenging creation to date because it was intended as an exact imitation of fresh ‘Bunga Rampai’, a potpourri composed of fresh pandan and patchouli leaves, as well as fragrant flowers such as jasmine buds.
The pandan leaf is waxy, which is the reason why its scent can last up to two weeks in a fresh Bunga Rampai. The opposite happens when recreating the scent in perfume format, where the pandan scent disappears almost as soon as it is sprayed. The challenge was figuring out how to lengthen the smell of pandan as the base of Fleur de Rampai, but once I got that right, Fleur de Rampai is the keystone of Malay Perfumery. Every perfume I make thereafter for the brand falls around this epicentre.
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How do you select the ingredients for your perfumes, and what role do they play in defining your brand’s identity?
FN: My selection of materials depends very much on the idea that needs to be conveyed. When telling a story that is grounded in reality, for example, Mahsuri, I would pick natural materials that were available very close to her, such as camphor, lime, and benzoin. However, when it is a story of a prince or princess of ‘kayangan’, then the choice of materials is expanded to those beyond what was available in the Malay realm, such as lavender.
This lends an artistic contrast so that a person who smells my creations can sense whether I am conveying realism or a dream. In dreams and surrealism, a perfume can be as fantastical as we like it to be. Still, in realism, there is a strictness to adhere to naturalness and harmony, especially when the storytelling is steeped in actual history. Inadvertently, I think this is how Malay Perfumery’s brand grew in its unique identity—where I moved away from the singular approach of Western and Middle Eastern perfumes. Instead of fixating on synthetics, or one or two materials or accords only, I chose natural materials based on the overall effect that I wanted to achieve.
Are there any specific techniques or practices that distinguish your perfumes from others in the industry?
FN: In general, many of the techniques are similar because the medium is the same worldwide. That being said, Malay Perfumery is designed and compounded by me, and there are moments when I prefer certain materials to ‘behave’ in a way that it cannot if I were to use usual techniques. This is the point where I get creative and use tinctures of scented materials. Sometimes, I combine several materials that make sense to the perfume that is being designed into a tincture. This creates a one-of-a-kind material that adds to the dimension of the perfume. I like control over the art direction of my perfumes, and this pushes me to explore natural materials and its myriad combinations further.
Do you have a personal favourite scent from your collection? If so, what makes it special to you?
FN: My personal favourite changes every week! Currently, I find myself wearing Sungai Palas a lot. I did not get to wear it much during the design period because I was concentrating on completing my doctoral thesis at the time. Sungai Palas is one that I designed in my mind while being caught in a traffic congestion, rather than at my perfume studio. I remember thinking how nice it would be to relax and have a cup of tea on top of a highland, where in front of me there was nothing but rolling hills and cool mountain breezes.
You could say I was world-weary at that particular point. As I drove, I mentally sketched out the materials and direction, so when I finally sat down at the studio to work on it. I did not have the luxury of time to linger over it the way I did with my other creations, but after receiving so much positive feedback from fans after its release, I am finally taking some time to enjoy Sungai Palas, which I couldn’t do back then.
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Can you walk us through three of your top creations and explain how they fit for every occasion?
FN: Fleur de Rampai, as the flagship perfume of Malay Perfumery, is the go-to choice for special occasions, such as attending weddings or Hari Raya (Eid) open houses, where it complements the theme rather than stands out. That is not to say it cannot stand out—I think if it is worn at a corporate office, or at certain functions, it can stand out quite well, owing to its unique fragrance. It is slightly gourmand, with some flowers that balance it out.
Winstedt has been a bestseller ever since its release five years ago. It is very popular, possibly due to its prominent tobacco note and the way it seamlessly blends with a subtle hint of smokiness and rose, as well as a hint of woodiness. It exudes a kind of quiet strength, with undercurrents of energy and hushed power. This makes it a masculine-leaning and extremely versatile option, suitable for wearing on any day of the week, both day and night.
Manisan is also one of the brand’s top creations, but the new release, Sungai Palas, is fast catching up. Both are gourmand and very versatile. Manisan is sweet, but its sweetness is akin to ‘kuih lapis’, with an undertone of coconut and caramel notes. It makes you think of high tea with friends, laughter, and happiness–definitely a good pick-me-up perfume.
What do you hope people feel when they wear a Malay Perfumery scent?
FN: My dearest wish is for people to be able to express themselves, their background, their history, and their homeland when they wear one of my perfumes. I want people to feel proud of who we are and how far we have come, and in a world where everyone is chasing uniform tastes and trends, I hope that when people wear Malay Perfumery, they feel a sense of unique identity that differentiates the wearer and provides a sense of belonging in a global world.
Discover your next scent here.
All images credited to Malay Perfumery
