Mihan Aromatics is a gender-neutral fragrance company by Fitzroy couple Joshua and Jules Mihan, who met 11 years ago at Parklife music festival.

Designed and made in Australia using all natural ingredients and launched in July, the perfumes are inspired by places of significance – locally and overseas – to the pair.

“I grew up in the country and spent a lot of time outdoors,” says Joshua. “In our travels we were always seeking out beautiful aromas, whether it was in nature, in the bush, cutting flowers or travelling abroad in Sri Lanka, South or Central America.”

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“[The perfumes] are our own little memory lane,” adds Jules.

Joshua worked as a hairstylist at London’s Murdock Soho Salon, which has a suite of signature colognes.

“At the end of a haircut I would escort clients through the range of scents, which was a really good way to connect with people,” he says. “[It] made the experience so much more special when they walked out.”

Returning to Melbourne, Josh opened his own hair salon, The Bearded Man, before the duo started Mihan Aromatics. Working with native flora and spices, such as Australian sandalwood, as well as ingredients sourced from overseas (Calabrian bergamot, Sri Lankan cinnamon) the aim was to create a range that was relatable and all encompassing.

“It was also important to us to be gender neutral,” says Josh. “[We] created an androgynous website displaying sensual areas of the human figure: the clavicle, the scapular, and the inviting ‘v’ of the neck.”

The website and perfume bottles are by Collingwood-based designer Peter Deering. As each batch is completed, Jules and Joshua fill the minimalist decanters by hand.

There are three scents in the range; Mikado Bark’s aroma is cedar, dried cinnamon and green pepper, inspired by the inner-city Melbourne suburbs of Carlton, Fitzroy and East Melbourne in autumn.

“We got married in the Fitzroy Gardens and ride our bikes along the Yarra,” says Jules. “The [inspiration for the packaging] is an abstract image of resting on a park bench, leaves wafting in the wind.”

Sienna Brume is coconut, cucumber and juniper berry – conjuring up images of “poolside daydreaming, athletic leisure at the Fitzy pools, or sunbaking at Bondi.”

Richer, and heavy with cinnamon and black pepper, Jules says Guilty Story is “an extravagant party, sociable characters wearing amazing outfits, and all of your sinful pleasures.”

mihanaromatics.com

This article was updated on November 28, 2018.