Ghanaian fragrance house Scent of Africa unveiled the Akua’ba collection at TFWA World Exhibition & Conference in Cannes, ahead of an official Accra launch in December.
The new range comprises six fragrances: Anidaso, Ifamora, Mayele, Soyayya, Upendo and Simunye.
The brand noted, “Their names draw from six African languages, while the collection traces six stages of love: hope, attraction, intelligence, passion, devotion and we are one.”
Akua’ba takes its name from the traditional Akan fertility doll, a Ghanaian cultural symbol associated with hope, beauty and new beginnings.
Its sculptural form informs the design of the collection’s 115ml bottle, including the disc-shaped head, ringed neck and open-arm silhouette.
The fragrances also draw inspiration from thiouraye, the incense tradition found in Senegal and other parts of West Africa. Traditionally made with aromatic woods, resins, spices and roots including gowé and vetiver, the blends are used to fragrance the body, clothing and home.
Scent of Africa Founder Tanal Ghandour, who spent more than a decade in Senegal, said his experience of thiouraye during that period provided the starting point for the collection. Scent of Africa worked with perfumers from several fragrance houses to interpret the tradition across the six compositions.
Anidaso, named after the Akan word for hope, combines roasted South African sesame with Tunisian orange blossom, jasmine, rose and cocoa. It was created by Dominique Preyssas.
Ifamora takes its name from the Yoruba expression for attraction and blends Comorian ylang-ylang, Madagascar bourbon vanilla, Namibian myrrh and labdanum. The fragrance was created by Cécile Matton.
Mayele, named after the Lingala word associated with intelligence and wisdom, features bergamot, orange blossom, Somali frankincense and myrrh alongside leather, amber and cedar accords. It was created by Élise Pierre.
Soyayya, created by Jordi Fernández, combines rose and Egyptian geranium with oud and patchouli. Upendo, also by Fernández, features Madagascan black and pink pepper with Somali frankincense, cocoa, vanilla and tonka bean.
The collection concludes with Simunye, created by Dominique Preyssas. Named after the Zulu expression for ‘we are one’, it combines Somali frankincense and myrrh with oud, vanilla and amber tobacco.
Ghandour said: “Scent of Africa was born in Ghana, so it felt right that this collection should carry a Ghanaian name. The Akua’ba is a figure carried close to the body as a promise of love to come, and in a way that is what a fragrance is too.
“We wanted to tell a story of love that feels universal, in languages from across Africa, from its first hope to becoming one. Revealing Akua’ba in Cannes opens a new chapter for Scent of Africa.” ✈
