Fragrance art: The creation of balance through contrast

Fragrance 221B is inspired by the character of Sherlock Holmes, whom Rei has cherished since childhood for his chivalry, dedication to justice, and protection of the vulnerable. It is a scent crafted with the contrasting ingredients she remembers most vividly.

For Rei, Sherlock Holmes is not just a sharp, quick-witted, and detached detective but also a romantic and deeply introspective figure. Gifted in music, he plays the violin beautifully, and despite the occasional lapse—such as hiding cigarette butts under the sole of his shoe—he has moments of reflection that make him worthy of being considered an artist. It is for this reason that she calls Sherlock a “reckless dreamer.”

In choosing leather and rose—both familiar in the world of perfumery—Rei set herself a challenge: how to combine them in a way that transcends their individual characteristics? She selected a clean, slightly green facet of leather to evoke the image of an elegant and enigmatic British gentleman, while the rich, honeyed depth of rose brings a warmth reminiscent of whisky. This was the answer she arrived at after hours of deliberation, giving rise to 221B—a scent that surprises many customers, prompting them to say, “This really is Sherlock Holmes!”

For Rei, fragrance art, in creating a balanced scent, follows no fixed formula. Nor can it be broken down into precise steps.

“Look at the colours of the sky above the sea. At six o’clock, twilight casts a soft glow; then, a faint streak of light appears. By eight, the moon gradually brightens, and as night deepens, it becomes full and round. The first watch, the second, the third… then dawn breaks, the moon fades, and by noon, the sun is radiant. The transformation of a beautiful, seamless scent is much the same. It lies in the imperceptible shifts of hundreds of thousands of ingredients, so subtle they go unnoticed, blending into one another in perfect harmony.”

Rei can spend an entire day in her studio, immersed in the fragrance art of perfume-making. Some might see her as too reserved, but that would be a misperception. In that quiet space, she engages in lively conversations—not with people, but with the “characters” that make up her fragrances. Carefully placing each note in its rightful place to elevate the final composition is, for her, a meticulous yet deeply rewarding process.

“The rule is to never have more than one star. The other characters must take a step back to allow the lead to shine. No matter how many ingredients go into a fragrance—whether two, three, four, or a hundred—each must have its moment,” Rei explains. Much like a conductor guiding an orchestra, every new addition shifts the balance, demanding a keen sense of harmony. And of course, “there are no shortcuts; the only way to shorten the time it takes to create a fragrance is through experience.”

But what about life itself? How has Rei navigated and reconciled the contrasts and contradictions she has encountered?

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The pivotal moment came when Rei decided to become a mother.

She had always believed herself to be an introvert, someone who needed little from the outside world but sought refinement and tranquillity within. No scent, no light, and, above all, no noise in the bedroom. But a child can overturn every rule in an instant. For this reason, Rei hesitated before taking the leap into motherhood. Would she still be herself after having a child?

All those doubts melted away the moment she saw her happy, radiant baby boy who shared her love for the coolness of water. Suddenly, she knew exactly how to bring order to this newfound chaos.

“I found myself shouting with excitement the first time my baby rolled over,” she admitted, laughing. “And I realised I could be a noisy mum as we kept discovering new things together.”

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To conclude our conversation, I asked Rei, “What makes you most proud of your work, even when no one else but you sees it?”

“I think it’s perseverance,” she reflected. “Ten years is a journey from nothing to something. When my friends were working, I chose to keep studying, despite all the doubts and discouragement. But I followed my intuition relentlessly, until my belief became something others could finally see…”

She paused. “But no. What lies beneath that? What makes me so resilient?”

I didn’t have an answer, so I waited in silence.

“...I think what I’m most proud of is that I can touch people’s emotions through scent. When someone tells me a fragrance brings back memories of the past, that means more to me than anything else. Because emotions don’t simply surface on their own, and memories of the past aren’t always easy to retrieve. But a scent—so private, so understated—can do exactly that.”

So, in the end, does balance truly exist, in life and in the art of perfumery?

“There is no eternal balance,” Rei replied. “Only fleeting moments of it.”

Rather than focusing on the balance between opposites, she spoke about the way opposites coexist within one another, shifting and evolving every day. Like a sine wave, every peak is followed by a trough. A perfumer’s work, she mused, is much like that of a tightrope walker—seeking equilibrium in each fleeting moment of brilliance.

For Rei, rain is like a melody that stills the noise of the world, a quiet interlude in the ceaseless rhythm of life. Perhaps that is why she is so reserved—those who love the rain often carry a shade of deep blue within them, a sea of memories, a reservoir of unspoken emotions. This is why the scents she creates often feel timeless, imbued with echoes of the past.

A story may fade from memory, a silhouette may blur at the edge of one’s vision, but scent remains.

Sometimes,
Just open a bottle of scent,
enough to bring us back to the balance of the moment
has always existed as if it were eternal.

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