Tucked away on a lane off a lane between Monmouth and the Brecon Beacons, lies the magical wonderworld of Wales Perfumery, Wales’ only perfume house (please write in if I’m wrong). If you’ve been there, you’ll know I’m not exaggerating. Set among rolling green acres and under skies so clear they are part of The National Dark Skies reserve, Wales Perfumery consists of a selection of beautiful log cabins. One is a retail space, and as cosy as you can ever imagine, and the other is where founder Louise makes her perfumes and home fragrances, and teaches others to make their own too.
Wales Perfumery is the brainchild of Louise Smith, born in Wales and raised in beautiful Pembrokeshire. I’ve been to her base a few times now, and I last saw her at the Barnes Fragrance Fair in 2024, where she was surrounded by eager new fans, much to my delight and satisfaction.
So what do I recommend? Well, I recommend all four of them. My personal favourite is Coast, aka Arfordir. With splashes of seaweed, salt, and citrus, this really evokes getting your feet wet on a sunny day on one of Wales’ hundreds of beautiful beaches. An accord of salt, moss and driftwood follows you home. This always makes me think of Freshwater East, near Tenby where I spent many happy times as a child, as did Louise, before we met.
Outdoorsy types, wood nymphs and anyone who enjoys forest bathing will adore Country, aka Gwlad. With my beloved petitgrain in the lead, followed by neroli, fig, and of course, daffodil (well narcissus, but they’re relatives), this greener than green beauty is a deeply satisfying trip away from the bustle and traffic. Just add birdsong.
Forest, aka Coedwig, brings you into a dark green canopy of trees above your head and pine needles underfoot. With woods, grass and trees represented bu cedar, vetiver and patchouli, this velvety green eau de parfum takes you so deep into the woods that it will make you look for fairies again.
Now we come to Star, aka Seren, which is also a beloved first name here in Wales. I still don’t know quite how Louise has managed it, but this really does smell like a hundred acres of sky. It has a mineral, fresh air accord that amazes me and if you smelled it blind, without knowing its name, you would swear it smells like stars in the sky. Some kind of alchemy has taken places here, where water lily, yuzu, green tea and ambrette make a pact to pull together and smell of sky. Seren is a beautiful moment of stillness, captured in a bottle.
Where to buy it
Everything I’ve mentioned is available to buy from Wales Perfumery. The website will also give you details of how you can book classes and make bespoke products with Louise.
Disclosure
Louise has kindly gifted me a trio of samples consisting of Coast, Country and Forest. She also gave me a 7.5ml travel size spray of Seren when I attended the launch, which was aptly, held under a beautiful night sky. Opinions are my own.
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