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PERSONALITY
The Perfume Master
44 | FireFlyz
Local perfumer, Josh Lee talks about his successful perfume brand and how he draws
inspiration fromhis beloved home-state, Penang.
A
local perfumer? That
is almost unheard of in
this part of the world.
We are used to the idea
of wearing international
designer perfumes
possibly as a symbol
of status that anything less than French
or Italian is uninteresting to us. This is
where Josh Lee comes in to fill the void
and introduce his brand of localised scents
that we all can easily identify with. Josh
Lee Fragrances has been around for two
years with two fragrances under the brand
so far. Staying true to its tagline- Heritage
Through Scent, Josh Lee has singlehand-
edly encapsulated the essence of Malaysia
through strong local influence in each of
his fragrance.
Even when Josh Lee was just a little
boy, he had always been intrigued by
different scents that he came across -- all
thanks to his father who used to spray
his cologne on himself every day before
he left the house. Lee also grew up in
a family who operates a shop that sold
cake-ingredients. He remembers how it
was always filled with aroma of comfort
flavours like vanilla, chocolate and straw-
berries as well as spices like cinnamon
and nutmeg.
Lee is very fortunate to have pursued
his dream of becoming a perfumer even-
though there is no programme dedicated
to perfume study available locally. After
completing his first Degree in Chemistry
at Universiti Putra Malaysia, he went on
to further his studies at Institut Supérieur
International du Parfum, de la Cosmétique
et de l’Aromatique Alimentaire (ISIPCA) in
Versailles, France and joined its European
Fragrance and Cosmetic Master (EFCM)
course.
George Town is the first fragrance
released under Lee’s brand. It was inspired
by the listing of George Town, Penang as
UNESCOWorld Heritage Site in 2008 and
as a tribute to his hometown. As for OUD,
it was crafted to represent individuals of
strong personality with subtle elegance.
The unisex EDP captures the scent of
Malaysian rainforest with its rich bio-
diversity of flora and fauna.
“All of my fragrances conform to the
International quality standards set by In-
ternational Fragrance Association (IFRA).
We are also the first premiumbrands to be
certified ‘halal’ by Jakim Malaysia.” says
Lee enthusiastically.
On top of the rich diversity of culture,
food and nature in Malaysia, Lee looks
up for inspiration to international great
perfumers like Jean-Claude Ellena who is
the current exclusive in-house perfumer
for Hermès. Travelling to places with great
diversity of nature, culture and food like
Bali, Thailand, Vietnam, Provence and
Côte d’Azur in France also helps Lee in
getting the source of inspiration for his
fragrances.
“ T h e s e
places have
i n t r i gu i ng
s c e n t s o f
flowers and
herbs such
as l emon-
g ra s s and
f rang ipani
which I love
a lot. They
are good ad-
ditions to my signature ingredient, the
hibiscus flower,” explains Lee.
Lee is currently developing his third
fragrance which is inspired by the exqui-
site beauty and elegance of Peranakan
women. If everything goes according to
plan, the floral fragrance will be released
by mid-year. Josh Lee Fragrances will also
be available at more duty-free outlets and
beauty stores nationwide to cater to the
great demand by local and international
fragrance enthusiasts.
“My ultimate goal is still the same. I
would like to promote Malaysian heri-
tage and nature through the scent of my
fragrances all over the globe,” assures Lee
at the end of our interview.
Josh Lee Fragrances are available at
selected hotels, airport duty free shops,
shopping malls and tourist attractions in
Penang, Langkawi, Kuala Lumpur and
Sabah.
George Town by Josh Lee: World’s first heritage city fragrance
Josh Lee
OUD by
Josh Lee EDP