Scents of Asia

Maison de L'Asie

- Amanda Chai

A new generation of Singapore-born niche perfume brands is redefining what Asian fragrance looks and smells like in the increasingly saturated world of scent. The one thing they have in common? Turning up their noses at mass-appeal scents, to prioritize artistry over profits.

The Straits Times sniffs out three of them. [e-mail]

Singapore is not a country that comes to mind when people talk about perfume. But now, it may have a worthy representative.

Home-grown Maison de L'Asie (maisondelasie.sg) is on a mission to play with the big boys. Since its launch in end-2020, the brand snowballed in global distribution and is now available in more than 16 markets.

Founder Elizabeth Liau does not take that responsibility lightly. With the aim of being an authentically Asian voice in perfume, she devises her fragrances ($298 for 50ml) in chapters, each one an ode to an Asian country: Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand and India.

Comprising a fresh, floral and amber scent in each, the chapters are her nuanced take on what each country represents. No overly Oriental stereotypes here.

"For the Singapore chapter, you'll never see a batik design on any of my products, because there's so much more to what can represent Singapore," she says.

Fragrance is the 43-year-old's third act. With a background in quantitative finance, her first job was in the stock exchange, before she worked in private equity in Dubai for the next four years.

Passionate about the arts since young, she left her finance career behind in 2009 for a summer programme at fine art broker Sotheby's in New York. It was a defining experience that fuelled her desire to bring the arts to the people.

She started an art advisory practice in London, before returning to Singapore to do visual arts policy and international relations at the then Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts.