LES SOEURS DE NOÉ: Fragrances of Memory Born from Love, Family Bonds, and the Loss of Loved Ones

“Fragrance is never simply a scent. It is a way of silently revealing who you are, of telling a story differently, and of connecting to something greater: something deeper, more delicate, and more true.”

— Nadia Benaisa, founder​

Basic Information

Founded: 2019​

Founder: Nadia Benaisa​

Official website: https://www.lessoeursdenoe.com​

(Pronounced roughly “lay sur duh no-ay.” The name means “Noé’s sisters” in French.)

The Founder and the Origins of the Brand

Growing Up Between Brussels and Morocco

Nadia Benaisa was born and raised in Brussels, the capital of Belgium. Yet her spiritual home was always Morocco. From childhood, she spent every summer visiting her grandfather’s house in Tangier, a port city in northern Morocco.

The garden was surrounded by olive and fig trees, with jasmine in bloom, while the house was filled with the scent of orange blossom.​

“Morocco’s intense colors and sweet scents forged an indelible bond between memory, emotion, and fragrance. This was my entry into fragrance and the beginning of my fascination.”

— Nadia Benaisa​

Raised between Belgian and Moroccan cultures, Nadia grew into someone who understood multicultural richness through lived experience. For her, fragrance was not merely a matter of taste; it was an archive of memories.

After university, Nadia followed what might be called the conventional route. She graduated from a prestigious business school and built a career in the pharmaceutical industry.​

“Business school, then a career in pharmaceuticals. It was a fulfilling, rational path… until my parents’ deaths shook every certainty I had.”

— Nadia Benaisa​

A Turning Point: Losing Her Parents and Returning to Fragrance

Some time after graduating from university, Nadia lost her parents in an accident. This profound loss changed her outlook on life at its foundations.​

“After that loss, I returned to Morocco again and again, feeling connected to my parents through familiar scents and finding emotional balance and healing.”

— Nadia Benaisa​

The jasmine and orange blossom she had smelled as a child in Tangier, the chergui wind that blew through her grandfather’s garden: these scents softened the pain of loss and became a bridge between past and present. Nadia came to see perfume as a way of “giving form to the invisible.”​

The Birth of the Brand: A Dedication to Her Children

Drawing strength from that turning point, Nadia began working to realize her dream of starting a perfume brand. Her three children, her daughters Yara and Nahla and her son Noé, were the driving force.

“My children gave me the strength to make my dream a reality. That is why I dedicated the brand’s name to them.”

— Nadia Benaisa​

The name Les Sœurs de Noé refers to her son Noé’s older sisters while also symbolizing the bonds within the family. The brand launched in 2019 at the luxury retailer Liberty London.

“Les Sœurs de Noé was born from a need to give form to the invisible: love, legacy, hope. I realized just how deeply fragrance could heal, connect, and awaken.”

— Nadia Benaisa​

A Meeting in New York Gave It Shape

As the brand’s concept took shape, a decisive encounter followed. Parisian designer Pierre Dinand, whom Nadia had commissioned to design the bottles, introduced her to his friend, the perfumer Pierre Wulff. At a dinner in New York, she also met Jérôme Epinette. A dialogue developed among the three, and their collaboration began.​

“With Jérôme and Pierre, there is dialogue and mutual understanding. We sit down together, and I try to help them feel my emotions. The brief may be visual, or it may be based on words, materials, music, places, poems, or images.”

— Nadia Benaisa​

What Defines the Brand

A Philosophy of “Emotional Art”

Les Sœurs de Noé’s perfumes are conceived not merely as products but as “chapters in an emotional story.” Every fragrance is inspired by places, journeys, and encounters Nadia has experienced herself, with those personal memories bottled as universal emotions.

The brand currently offers 17 unisex eaux de parfum, all formulated at high concentrations of 20–25%. An independent, self-financed business, it is represented in approximately 400 stores across around 20 countries.​

The Perfumer: Jérôme Epinette

The principal perfumer behind the brand’s fragrances is Jérôme Epinette, a senior perfumer at Robertet.

Epinette comes from Burgundy, France. His mother worked in a luxury perfume shop, giving him an early familiarity with the world of fragrance. After earning a master’s degree in biochemistry at the University of Dijon, he graduated from the Grasse Institute of Perfumery and joined Robertet’s Paris office in 2003. In 2006, he began helping establish its New York Creative Center, and he remains based in New York. He is known for collaborations with many niche brands, including Atelier Cologne, Byredo (in Japanese), Frapin (in Japanese), and Floral Street.

Pierre Wulff also worked alongside Epinette on the early collections. Wulff is a New York-based perfumer known for his work with Byredo.

Bottle Design: The Legacy of Pierre Dinand

The bottles were designed by the legendary Paris-born designer Pierre Dinand. Born in 1931, Dinand studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris before founding Ateliers Dinand in 1968. Known as “the man of a thousand bottles,” he has designed at least 1,000, including YSL Opium, Calvin Klein Obsession, and Givenchy Amarige.

“I wanted the bottle’s rounded form to reflect cultural diversity, softness, and the generosity of Les Sœurs de Noé.”

— Nadia Benaisa​

The bottle’s geometric pattern was designed to tell a visual story of the intricate craft of perfume blending and the narratives behind each collection. Its most symbolic feature is the round blue cap.

This blue, pearl-like cap has a remarkable origin. When Pierre Dinand visited Nadia in Brussels, his wife Danielle was wearing a necklace of blue pearls. Nadia was captivated by the color. She later learned from Dinand that the necklace had been one of the pieces of jewelry proposed for the 1977 YSL Opium project but had ultimately not been selected by YSL.​

“At least 40 years later, Les Sœurs de Noé brought it into the light of day.”

— Nadia Benaisa​

The color blue itself also carries meaning. The Moroccan horizon, Tangier’s azure skies, and the indigo blue of Villa Majorelle in Marrakech are all condensed into this single hue. Graphic designer Thierry Fétiveau created the logo.

A Commitment to Sustainability: Seed to Scent™

Robertet, the company employing the brand’s collaborating perfumer Epinette, is a family business originating in Grasse, founded in 1850 and specializing in natural raw materials. Through Robertet’s proprietary Seed to Scent™ program, Les Sœurs de Noé ensures complete traceability from the cultivation of ingredients to perfume creation.

Its specific initiatives include the following:​

• No phthalates or other unnecessary components
• Recyclable Bakelite caps, high-quality glass bottles, and eco-friendly cardboard boxes
• Eliminating overproduction and promotional waste
• Manufacturing in France (Made in France)

“For us, sustainability is not a marketing pretext; it is at the heart of everything we do.”

— Nadia Benaisa​

The Fragrance Lineup

Les Sœurs de Noé’s perfumes are organized around three collections. Each has its own theme and can be distinguished visually by its bottle color.

Blue Collection: The Brand’s Origins

The brand’s first collection is distinguished by deep-blue bottles symbolizing Moroccan skies and the horizon of Tangier. It forms the foundation of the brand’s world, most strongly expressing its theme of a meeting between East and West.​

One of its best-known signature fragrances is Oud Rose. Combining the Middle Eastern fragrant wood oud with rose from Grasse, an emblem of Western luxury perfumery, it seems to embody the brand’s philosophy itself.​

“Oud Rose is a true bridge where East meets West. The richness of rose from Grasse becomes one with the depth of Middle Eastern oud.”

— Nadia Benaisa​

Mitsio Vanille, launched alongside the brand in 2019, was inspired by a journey to Madagascar. Its starting point was the natural scent of vanilla surrounding a village where Nadia played with children when she and her husband joined an association building a school there. Opening with bergamot, white freesia, and ambrette, it develops into a heart of vanilla orchid and lilac before settling on a warm base of vanilla, musk, and driftwood.

Citrus Poetry takes memories of Italy as its starting point, capturing moments of joy and discovery in fragrance.

Principal Blue Collection fragrances: Oud Rose, Mitsio Vanille, Citrus Poetry, Cuir Noir, Call Me Iris, Midnight Call, Bohemian Absinthe, Saffron Flower, and Clandestine Rendez-Vous.​

Ruby Collection: Passion and Joy

With its striking vivid-red bottles, the Ruby Collection takes the passion and joy of Moroccan summers as its theme. It is known to be founder Nadia’s personal favorite group of fragrances within the collections.​

“The Ruby Collection stands out. It embodies the passion and joy of Moroccan summers through its deep-crimson color and rich, vivid notes of red fruits.”

— Nadia Benaisa​

Representative fragrances: Red Berries Elixir, Forbidden Nectar, and Cherry Blush.​

Gold Collection: Launched in 2024

The newest collection, introduced in 2024, is inspired by the golden sands of Morocco’s desert and its radiant art. Gold is seen as a symbol of the light, warmth, and vitality that kindle creativity and emotion.

“The Gold Collection is a manifesto of my artistic and cultural identity. Inspired by the golden sands and radiant art I experienced on visits to Morocco, I chose sun-like fruits such as pear and citrus to embody the essence of sunlight.”

— Nadia Benaisa​

Representative fragrances: Pear Addiction, a fresh composition of pear, lychee, and vanilla wood; and Neon Splash, a summery fragrance with top notes of grapefruit and blood orange, a heart of mango and vanilla, and a base of cedarwood, white musk, and amber.

By the Way…

• Pierre Dinand has a close connection with Liberty London. In 2017, he held a retrospective of his work at Liberty itself, and two years later Les Sœurs de Noé chose the same store for its debut. Whether coincidence or a natural result of the connection with Dinand cannot be established from the available information, but it is an intriguing parallel.
• Nadia’s personal favorite perfume is said to be Serge Lutens Chergui. Chergui is the name of a dry easterly wind that blows in Morocco and Algeria. “It reminds me of the chergui wind blowing through my grandfather’s garden when I was a child, carrying all those smells with it.” That recollection may be said to capture the essence of the brand’s world.​