A short but sweet blog post from me today. I am trying to make sure when I mention something on Instagram you can find it easily either on my grid, highlights or on the blog as I know it can be super frustrating when you look at can’t find what you’re after. I have had so many questions about this perfume brand since I shared it, so I wanted to give it a bit more dedicated room on the blog.

Perfume is such a personal thing isn’t it, and I am sure you’ve heard before now, that smell evokes the strongest memory recall in us. If you gave me an aerosol of Charlie sunshine, I could tell you exactly where my 14-year-old self was. Coco mademoiselle, was me in my late teens, early twenties, mixed with JD and coke in many indie clubs. And I also have a scent from my wedding day, that takes me straight back to one of my favourite ever days.

As I continue to switch up as many products up as I can, to be purchased from independent brands, there are certain things that are a little harder to find. In this case, I followed my nose and ended up in the most wonderful place, the world of Maya Njie perfumes.

Maya Njie (pronounced 'Maia N-Jai’) is both the person and the brand and manufactures the perfume, which is vegan and cruelty-free, in London. Inspired by her Swedish and West African heritage, all the images that you see online, and that come with your purchase, are all from the family archive, I absolutely adore looking at old photos, so this for me feels like such a treat. Especially, when such nostalgic details are used as inspiration, to bring the scents to life. such as the summer house where Maya spent many summer holidays, which was set at the foot of the Swedish forest. The location of the earthy red tabernacle is the inspiration for the Nordic Cedar scent, which includes key notes of ‘Cardamom, Patchouli, Musk, Cedarwood and Ambergris’. Whilst I am no perfume expert, I have been lucky enough to speak to a fragrance expert at two London design houses when I worked there. Fondly known as ‘The Nose’ - explained to me about top notes, bottom notes and the heart which is everything else in between. The scents from Maya are so unique and complex, they really stirred something in me. My two favourite scents are Les Fleurs, and Tropica, when I first smelt Tropica, I swooned at how the scent just reminded me of holidays, I’ve never even been on. There are notes of ‘Citrus, Pineapple, Mediterranean Fig, Iris, Coconut, Ambergris, Sandalwood’ and it’s an intoxicating combination.

Buying perfume online is obviously a bit of a gamble, and whilst Liberty stocks the full signature collection, your best bet is to take a look at the Discovery Set which includes all five blends for you to try. All the perfumes are 50 ml of Parfum, there is also a refill service and a smaller size of the pocket perfume. I haven’t even begun to explore layering the perfumes, but I know there’s a scent combination that I’m going to love, thank you Maya for letting us into your beautiful smiling world.

Follow Maya Njie on Instagram here.

Maya Njie Perfume