A twist of orange. A tumble of jasmine. Scent tells a story like no other sense can, capturing memory, emotion and meaning in a moment as vivid as breath itself.

At Heirloom, we obsess over creating unique and innovative unisex luxury fragrances for your skin, space and soul, using only the finest ingredients sourced from around the world. Each creation is a love letter to the moments that shape us, and the people who make them unforgettable. Our signature launch range – arriving in April 2026 – celebrates the spirit of summer: radiant skies, salt-kissed skin, sunlight caught in glass.

We are also proud to donate 5% of every online purchase to Project Flamingo, a non-profit organisation that supports vulnerable women on their journeys with breast cancer in the South African Public Health sector. The cause is deeply personal to our founder, Ails, whose personal journey with breast cancer reshaped her life and reignited a lifelong dream.

Ails’ story (and our origin story)

After 25 years of leadership in the fast-paced world of corporate media – navigating change, crisis and the constant hum of ambition – Ails was unstoppable. An MBA graduate, a high-stress hustler, always moving forward. Until something stopped her.

On 9 August 2024, Women's Day, Ails was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 49 – the same age her mother had been when she was diagnosed. The shock forced her to rethink everything and – together with the Japanese philosophy of Ikigai – led her back to a dream that she had carried since childhood.

As a young girl, Ails sat at her mother’s dressing table in Glasgow, Scotland, mesmerised by a shiny compact that read, “Whoever opens this must have a kiss”. Of course, she opened it, and inhaled the heady amber scent of Estée Lauder’s 1971 Youth Dew solid perfume. She immediately ran into the garden to pick as many rose petals as her tiny hands could carry, inspired to make her own perfume. Just like mum’s.

From that moment, scent became the soundtrack to our founder’s life.
The smell of freshly ironed clothes and wax crayons on her first day of school.
The pine resin and damp moss of the New Forest, where they rode horses on weekends.
The floral heather and wild ferns of Loch Lomond.
The baked pastries, sweet champagne and (overzealously applied) 90s body spray of her 21st birthday.
The mandarin and jasmine glow of Dior’s Sweet Sun, worn the summer she fell in love with her husband, Gary.
The soft, sugared warmth of her newborn twins, Noah and Logan, asleep on her chest.

Every memory a fragrance.
Every fragrance a story.

Every story paving the way for Ails to start her own perfumery.

And the name? Heirloom, after the compact that still holds pride of place on Ails’ desk. It serves as her daily “why”, representing a physical connection to her mum, a symbol of their shared love of perfume, and a testament to the reality of the illness they both faced. It was, in every sense, an heirloom. And Heirloom is her gift to you.