NOW Perfume: Fragrance as a state of mind

Five scents, five moods, one invitation to live in the moment

More than a perfume brand, NOW Perfume is built around the idea that scent can shape emotions, enhance experiences, and reconnect us with the present moment. Created in collaboration with Maison Robertet, its collection of genderless fragrances translates moods and energies into olfactory experiences. From desire and happiness to power, love, and comfort, each scent is designed to be worn as an emotional expression. We spoke with the team behind NOW Perfume about their philosophy, creative process, and vision for the future of fragrance.

IRK: What does “NOW” represent in the identity of NOW Perfume, beyond being just a name?

For us, NOW is much more than a name. It is a philosophy.

We live in a world that constantly pulls our attention toward the next thing: the next meeting, the next notification, the next destination. Fragrance has a unique ability to bring us back to the present moment. NOW Perfume was created around that idea. Each fragrance is designed as an emotional trigger, a way to reconnect with a specific state of mind in the moment you choose to wear it. NOW also stands for “New Optimistic World.” We wanted to create a brand that celebrates positivity, emotion, color and human connection through scent.

IRK: How do you translate an emotion or an energy into a fragrance during the creative process?

We never start with ingredients. We start with a feeling.

Before creating each fragrance, we defined the emotion we wanted people to experience. We worked with colors, memories, atmospheres, textures, music and visual inspirations before discussing olfactory notes. We built each fragrance around a specific emotional territory, allowing us to create perfumes that people experience emotionally rather than simply recognize through traditional fragrance categories.

IRK: NOW Perfume emphasizes unisex fragrances that evolve with mood. How do you design scents that remain open and adaptable to the wearer?

We believe emotions are universal.

Traditionally, people have often divided fragrances between masculine and feminine codes. We wanted to move beyond those categories and focus instead on states of mind. We built our collection around five emotional moods: Desire, Happiness, Power, Cocooning, Love. Each fragrance was designed to embody one of these energies: Ginger Aphrodisiac expresses Desire. Maracuja Samba embodies Happiness. Matcha Star represents Power. Vanilla Chill captures Cocooning. Rosa Boom celebrates Love.

Rather than telling people who they are, we invite them to choose how they want to feel. Someone may wear Matcha Star before an important meeting, Vanilla Chill on a quiet Sunday morning, or Rosa Boom before a memorable night out. The same person can move between all five moods depending on the moment. Our fragrances are intentionally unisex because emotions do not belong to a gender. They belong to everyone.

At NOW Perfume, fragrance becomes a wearable mood.

IRK: What role do natural and responsibly sourced ingredients play in shaping your formulations and creative choices?

They are at the heart of our creative approach. We work with ingredients not only for their olfactory qualities, but also for the story, authenticity, and emotional resonance they carry.

At NOW Perfume, we draw inspiration from natural elements that people already associate with positive rituals and moments of well-being: ginger, matcha, passion fruit, vanilla, rose, and many others. These ingredients help us create fragrances that feel familiar, uplifting, and emotionally accessible.

Responsible sourcing is equally important because we believe modern luxury should be conscious. Partnering with Maison Robertet allows us to access high-quality natural raw materials while benefiting from their expertise in sustainable sourcing and ingredient traceability. Ultimately, our goal is to create fragrances that are not only beautiful to wear, but also meaningful, transparent, and connected to a more optimistic vision of the world.

IRK: You collaborate with Maison Robertet in your creation process. How does this partnership influence the final expression of each fragrance?

Our collaboration with Maison Robertet has been essential in transforming the vision of NOW Perfume into a tangible olfactory collection.

Rather than starting with fragrance formulas, we began with emotions. For each perfume, we defined a specific mood and built a complete creative universe around it. To bring these emotional worlds to life, we based each fragrance on a healthy beverage that reflects its unique energy and mood. Ginger Aphrodisiac captures the vibrant intensity of a ginger shot, while Maracuja Samba evokes the freshness and uplifting energy of a tropical smoothie. Matcha Star draws on the ritualistic focus and balance of matcha tea, whereas Vanilla Chill is inspired by the comforting warmth of a vanilla latte. Completing the collection, Rosa Boomreflects the delicate elegance of a rose and lychee floral infusion. Together, these inspirations helped shape a multisensory approach in which scent, taste, emotion, and atmosphere are closely intertwined.

IRK: How did you expand the creative process beyond fragrance creation?

Beyond fragrance itself, we explored textures, flavors, colors and emotional responses through dedicated tasting sessions. The objective was to understand how different sensory stimuli could influence mood and create a richer emotional experience. This multisensory approach became a central part of the creative process. We also created dedicated mood boards for each fragrance to define the emotional territory, visual universe and sensory experience we wanted to build. Working alongside Alexis Dadier, the perfumer behind the NOW Perfume collection, with the support of Majid Ej Jennane and the teams at Maison Robertet, we translated these emotional territories into fragrance compositions.

The process was highly collaborative and iterative. We conducted numerous olfactory sessions with multiple trials, evaluations and refinements. Each fragrance evolved through discussions around emotion, memorability, balance and sensory impact until we reached the final expression of the collection. We designed the collection not only to smell beautiful but also to evoke a specific emotional state and create a memorable multisensory experience. We draw inspiration from the healthy lifestyle universe for each fragrance, and we conceive each one to deliver both an olfactory signature and an emotional benefit.

IRK: NOW Perfume introduces fragrance in specific environments like clubs, hotels, or wellness spaces. Why is context so important in the way people experience scent?

Scent never exists in isolation.

The same fragrance can feel completely different depending on where, when, and how you experience it. We believe people should not only discover fragrance in a retail environment, but also in moments that already carry strong emotions. This idea led us to develop the NOW Perfume machine, an experiential fragrance discovery device that allows people to explore our collection in clubs, studios of sport, hotels, lounges, spas, etc.

Instead of testing a fragrance on a paper strip inside a store, people encounter our scents while they are already living a moment: celebrating with friends, relaxing after a workout, enjoying a hotel stay or discovering a new place. The machine allows users to discover and test different fragrances and find the mood that resonates with them in that specific moment. Someone may feel drawn to Happiness during a social evening, Power before an important event, Cocooning after a long day, or Love before a memorable night out. For us, fragrance is not only about choosing a scent. It is about choosing an emotion.

By placing fragrance within emotionally rich environments, we create a more authentic and memorable discovery process. People don’t simply smell a perfume — they connect it to a feeling, a place and a moment they will remember. This transforms fragrance from a product into an experience.

IRK: How do you see the relationship between fragrance and memory or emotion evolving in today’s sensory culture?

We believe fragrance is becoming increasingly relevant.

Today’s culture is highly visual. We consume thousands of images every day. As a result, truly memorable experiences often come from senses that remain underexplored. Scent is directly connected to emotion and memory in a way few other mediums are. We think the future of fragrance is not only about smelling good. It is about creating emotional moments, enhancing experiences and helping people reconnect with themselves. People increasingly seek authenticity, emotion and presence. Fragrance is uniquely positioned to provide all three.

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