Perfumery’s new wave uses neuroscience, aromatherapy and psychic healing to boost energy, lower stress and mend your heart, as these scent-makers explain
Yasmin Sewell, Vyrao
If you’re ever unsure that good vibes are ‘a thing’, speak to Yasmin Sewell. It’s not just that she’ll make chakra pathways, meditation retreats and energetic healing sound as sensible as putting one foot in front of the other, she’ll make you feel (even via Zoom) as if you’re the smartest, funniest and most intriguing being you’ve ever deep-down hoped you are.
Yasmin is in the business of perfume (Vyrao launched in May 2021 and is now sold in more than 50 locations in 11 countries worldwide), but she trades in energy; buy one of her gloriously prismatic bottles and what you’re really getting is, as Yasmin puts it, ‘lots of love, positive intention and a hell of a lot of goodness’. In fact, perfume had never been part of Yasmin’s plan, and Vyrao could have been almost anything. ‘I originally wanted to create something in the wellbeing world; that’s what I’ve been drawn to my whole life,’ she says. Born into a Lebanese family in Sydney, Australia, Yasmin grew up in an environment where psychic dreams were just something you discussed at breakfast. ‘Holistic therapies, alternative thought and talking about your intuition were absolutely accepted,’ she says. Moving to London at the age of 19, Yasmin fast made her name in fashion, eventually leading the buying team for Browns boutiques and relaunching the iconic London department store Liberty. To offset stress, she trained in reiki and a form of healing known as integrative quantum medicine. Then, searching for a new purpose during lockdown, her first thought was, ‘How can I create a brand that, at its source, is all about channelling good energy?’ The idea of scent, she says, appeared from nowhere – but it had to be done differently. (‘Could I make fragrances that are first and foremost healing tools, but make them absolutely beautiful, too?’)
To find out, Yasmin enlisted master perfumer Lyn Harris. ‘Plants and flowers have incredible healing qualities, so every perfumer is already working with magic,’ says Yasmin. ‘What was different about this project was me asking Lyn to be led by that. We talked about the emotions I wanted to evoke, then we’d look at the ingredients on that basis – you know, this flower opens up the heart, this plant helps you to feel protected. Then I left her to create.’
For an additional kick, each Vyrao fragrance – from the dreamily rosy Georgette (to encourage self-love) to the swirling, smokey Witchy Woo (for courage and creativity) – comes with a Herkimer diamond crystal, e
