Vyrao Founder Yasmin Sewell On Staying Ahead Of The Wellness Fragrance Curve
“I’ve always been quite intuitive in my life, and I could not have predicted it,” said Sewell.
With a background in flower essence remedies and reiki, Yasmin Sewell considers herself fairly intuitive. But when she launched her wellness-infused perfume line Vyrao in London in 2021, she could not have foreseen that she was on the precipice of a category shift in the fragrance market.
“My concern was that no one would actually understand it before I launched. And I thought people would think we were weird,” said Sewell. She didn’t necessarily envision Vyrao as a fragrance brand first and foremost, but simply considered scent a medium to deliver emotional benefits. And many other brands have discovered the same. “It just sort of certifies that this is where things are moving, and hopefully people realize that we were at the forefront and pioneers in this.”
On Tuesday, Sewell launched Mamajuju, Vyrao’s eighth scent. Inspired by the soil of her native Australia, Mamajuju promises a grounding effect through a sandalwood and cumin scent created by IFF perfumer Meabh McCurtin. McCurtin is also the nose behind Vyrao’s 2023 launch Sun Rae, a spicy citrus scent that promises happiness and won the Best Independent Fragrance at the 2024 Fragrance Foundation Awards.
Stocked at the likes of high-end, fashion-forward retailers Violet Grey and Ssense, Vyrao sits somewhere in the middle between wellness and luxury — a natural fit given Sewell’s background in fashion. Prior to launching Vyrao, Sewell had a hand in the determining the creative direction for retailers like Liberty, Browns and Farfetch. Sewell does not put scientific claims at the forefront of Vyrao’s branding; scents are built around broad emotional states like liberation and self-love, with aspects like eye-catching bottle design doing some of the work of attracting customers rather than solely concrete promises.
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