Fragrances of Aotearoa is a range of exclusive cream perfumes with an arresting variety of quality scents, each one chosen for their essential resonance to the beauty, landscape and cultures that make Aotearoa the Pacific haven it is.

Our range of fragranced natural soaps are enriched with Tamanu oil and come in a beautifully designed package made with 100% recycled card.

Aotearoa, 'the land of the long white cloud' is the Maori name for New Zealand It's origin is attributed to Hine-te-aparangi, wife of the Maori navigator Kupe, on sighting land at the time of the first canoe arriving from the legendary land of Hawaiiki. She is said to have called out "He ao! He aotea!, He aotearoa!" (A cloud. A white cloud. A long white cloud!).

Perfume manufacture is a highly skilled craft and the most important aspect in creating quality cream perfumes and fragranced soaps is selection of quality fragrances. Pacific Perfumes perfume types cover the spectrum of floral, spicy, musky, sweet, ozonic, fruity and woody.

Delightfully and simply elegant in design, the cream perfume wooden containers were inspired by the flora of the South Pacific. They are compact, transportable and beautiful to touch. A clever snap-to system carved in the wood keeps the lid secure. As we do not support the logging of New Zealand native timber, we searched for some time to find an eco-friendly alternative. Rubberwood is the perfect solution. Otherwise discarded after the rubber has been extracted from the trees, rubberwood is lightweight yet strong and resilient.

The pots come in one of three different colours that celebrate our 'Land of the Long White Cloud': White Sand, Vibrant Earth and Volcanic Red, and are sealed with a lacquer certified by the European Standards Authority. All 3 colours are used for all fragrances.

Pacific Perfumes products contain no animal ingredients and we are strongly against products that have been tested on animals.

How it started

In 1983 when visiting Santorini, that most beautiful of Greek isles, Kate JasonSmith found in a souvenir shop a tiny ceramic pot containing the most exquisite cream perfume. It was a surprisingly affordable souvenir and no trouble to carry even though she was backpacking. Kate eked out that perfume because she liked it so much, and even when it had finished kept the pot because it was so beautiful.

		Ten years later in New Zealand Kate met Francesca Brice, who had lived 20 years in Greece. She had, she told Kate, had a very successful business in the tourist souvenir gift market creating cream perfumes in ceramic pots. "Do you mean these?" Kate said, showing her the treasured item.

Yes, it was her product. Francesca Brice's company "Flowers of Greece" introduced Cream Perfumes to the Greek souvenir gift market in 1979. This rapidly became a very successful business and operated for fourteen years, until Francesca returned to her native New Zealand.

Kate urged Francesca to create a similar cream perfume product for the Pacific market. In 2002 they came up with their unique packaging concept, and Fragrances of Aotearoa was born. It was launched on the New Zealand market in August 2003. Pacific Perfumes now exports to Fiji, Hawaii, Tahiti, Rarotonga and Nuie.

In 2005 Pacific Perfumes were recipients of a prestigious NZ Trade & Enterprise Market Development Grant. In 2007 Pacific Perfumes were finalists in the Export NZ Openside Emerging Exporter of the Year award.

Personal Profiles

Francesca Brice was the designer and creator of the company "Flowers of Greece" that introduced cream perfumes to the Greek tourist souvenir market in 1979. "Flowers of Greece" rapidly became a very successful business and operated until Francesca left Greece in 1993. For several years she also exported wholesale quantities to Hawaii as well as having several outlets in the United States. After returning to her native New Zealand Francesca started up "The Mermaid Guesthouse for Women" in Wellington to cater to the growing women travellers market, which has now been operating for over 10 years.		Kate JasonSmith has spent most of her working life in theatre & film, as an actor, designer and producer. She was the originator and producer of the highly successful Hens' Teeth Women's Comedy Company which entertained NZ audiences for over 12 years. Kate received an NZFTV Best Drama award in 1993 for directing the film "Xmas for Lou." She was foremost in NZ in developing a method of teaching screen acting, and taught at the NZ Drama School Toi Whakaari and at the Wellington Performing Arts Centre.
		We sponsor the following charities
		• Life Helicopters • World Vision • SPCA • St John Ambulance • Sonja Davies Peace Award • OXFAM