International Maisons Of Fine Fragrance February 18-20, 2026

It felt hard to shake the sense of deja-vu upon attending the first International Maisons Of Fine Fragrance that took place at the Frieze gallery in London last week; mainly considering that it was in the same venue and followed pretty much the same format as last September’s Niche Show (which I reported on here).

But whilst the setup was indeed similar, the major difference proved to be the array of brands that were exhibiting and the fact that this event took place over three days, meaning that – during my visit, on the last day – it was relaxed enough for me to properly converse with and learn all about the majority of brands present.

Sultan Pasha’s Quintessentially Amber proves to be very aptly named, reflecting as it does all the possible facets of an amber perfume.  a major draw for me was to catch up with Sultan Pasha and smell his new range of four parfums, something that I told him was long overdue during one of several lingering embraces. Full disclosure: we used to work together way back when, so this was more of a surprise, drop-in and congratulate your friend on a job well done sort of visit because, well… I already know what he’s about. As Ida has already pointed out forÇaFleureBon here, his EDP work is just as layered and bracing and as memorable as his attars are. I’ve worn his multi-faceted fougere tribute, Joyeux, every day since… it’s amazing. I adore it. Joyeux was a Best of 2025 Scent for Ida

 

Cor Serpentis is Nos Republic’s newest perfume + the brand’s Queer de Russie,  the Art  & Olfaction Golden Pear for 2024 Best Newcomer

His stand neighbour, Nos Republic was proudly displaying an array of colourful bottles alongside the golden pear statue they were awarded at 2024’s Art & Olfaction awards. The brand’s latest, a Stephanie Bakouche composition called Cor Serpentis should definitely be sought out. It’s a truly memorable, seething blackcurrant and it’s absolutely wild – an olfactive alien that conceptually illustrates the idea of a jungle in space. Nicoleta has written about this one for Cafleurebon here. It was also one of Nicoleta’s Best of 2025

The bold, stylish offerings of Raconteur

From my primary, casual glance, it wasn’t at all surprising to me that the Australian brand Raconteur’s fragrances proved to be so bold and confident. Sometimes you just know from the way a perfumer-owned brand is put together that there are going to be ideas that – provided they’re executed well – will be fantastic. Raconteur has that in spades. From the perfume names to the colourful packaging and his bespoke caps it’s clear Craig Andrade knows exactly what he’s doing and is having fun with it. Killr Vanilla, Lord Lamington, No-Tell Motel, Ms. Macadamia, Religious Guilt Spritz, Dirty Gold Digger… all of them hit the stylistic briefs that he lovingly recounted and, after finding patches of clean skin on my elbows, I can confirm they wear wonderfully too.

 The MACALLAN x Kingdom of Scotland at International Maisons Of Fine Fragrance 

I’ve gushed about Kingdom Scotland in the past and I thoroughly enjoyed Imogen Russon-Taylor, who was presenting her core range of four fragrances alongside two candles which were made in collaboration with the Macallan whiskey distillery. Learning that she used to be a nose in the world of Scottish whiskey made total sense as she recounted the rich, wooded inspirations for the candles but I was also reminded at just how brilliant her Kingdom Botanica perfume really is. Made in collaboration with Edinburgh’s Royal Botanical Gardens who opened their doors for her in terms of researching rare and wanton flowers, it’s a modern take on lush florals made, in part, to recreate the smell of the vireya rhododendron. It’s a gorgeously pretty, modernist bouquet that rushes at you and duly envelops.

Heaven is a highlight from the Ascetic Aesthete brand

Across the way was the indie London brand Ascetic Aesthete whose pared back, clean presentation stood out. It felt confident in its restraint set in and amongst the other brands on the top floor that were doing more to compete for attention. I’m super happy I stopped to smell their five offerings. Heaven in particular is a potent floral composition that smells super high quality in its own right and that’s before the founder and perfumer Asma Sharapova revealed her personal motivations behind it. What at first is a deft and natural smelling bouquet of Turkish rose, ylang-ylang and gardenia proves to be the visceral smell of heartbreak itself. Learning that really enabled the perfume’s tenderness and fragility to take on a whole new meaning.

Castle Forbes Special Reserve: Sandalwood+ a pair of stand out citruses from Farmacia SS. Annunziata

The Italian brand Farmacia SS. Annunziata presented an extensive range of fragrances which – on the strength of the five or so experienced in person – I’m excited to get to dig down into. Their citrus offerings in particular, the lime forward Bergamundi and the fig adjacent Citrus Paradisi are exceptional.

A collection that oozes thoughtfulness and class from Angela Flanders

Something of an English perfumery icon that I’d never properly explored, Angela Flanders calmly presented a wealth of wonderful things at this first edition of IMFF – from the dirty, ambery depths of Ambre Noir to the brace of Mandarin & Mint and the aspirational chypre Caspian in particular. Alongside the forthcoming Special Reserve: Sandalwood and the already widely lauded Neroli from Castle Forbes, it was a timely reminder that amongst all the novelty and newness of the day that English niche perfumery already has its own heritage to live up to, seek out and properly explore.

– Oli Marlow, Senior Contributor

Disclaimer: Oli was gifted bottles from Sultan Pasha, Nos Republic, Kingdom Scotland and Raconteur and received samples from other brands. The opinions expressed are entirely his own.

All photos by Oli, unless otherwise stated.

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