FEATURED ARTIST:
NANCY MEILAND
Conversation with
a FRAGRANCE ARTIST
IN THE MAKINGMeeting her feels like stepping into a world where scent becomes memory, emotion, and architecture at once. Her work is not simply about creating perfumes, but about shaping invisible landscapes that people can inhabit and recognise as part of themselves. From early sensory memories to deeply transformative encounters with raw materials, her journey reveals a practice rooted in intuition, nature, and storytelling. Each fragrance she creates becomes a character in its own right—alive, expressive, and quietly powerful.
Q: Can you tell us about your journey? What were you doing before creating your brand?
A: Before creating my brand, I had just had my children, so I was starting from a very busy and personal stage of life. I began slowly, working in small moments, sending a few emails and blending oils whenever I had free time. My background included collaborating with various perfume brands, which gave me valuable experience, but I also carried many personal fragrance ideas that I felt compelled to bring to life. This led me to create scents inspired by nature, which has always been my main source of inspiration. Early creations included concepts centered on oud, fresh light after rain, and delicate natural details like water droplets on petals, ideas that became some of the brand’s most meaningful and successful fragrances.
Q: How do you think about representing different personalities or characters through your scents?
A: For me, fragrance is deeply connected to storytelling, identity, and self-expression. With a background in acting, I naturally approach scent creation as a way of telling stories, often inspired by nature, but interpreted through individual perspectives. Each person connects with different elements of nature, and this can be translated into distinct personalities or “muses” within the fragrance collection. By creating scents with strong, contrasting identities, I aim to give people a range of expressive options, allowing them to choose fragrances that truly reflect who they are. Within Muse Studio, this approach is further refined through a carefully selected collection of fragrances that highlight distinct profiles, helping each person find the scent that resonates most deeply with their own sense of identity.
Q: What selection did you choose for Muse Studio? You chose 4 different scents, can you explain why, and what is behind it?
A: I wanted to offer a bold and varied selection to allow for maximum self-expression through fragrance. The first scent, Aquilaria, created with perfumer Mathieu Nardin, was the starting point. It evokes a sacred firekeeper energy, primordial, grounding, and earthy, with a warm, woody chypre character that feels smouldering and fireside.
Then there is Eglantier, meaning rosehip, which opens onto a Nordic seascape. It is more enigmatic and inviting, drawing people in rather than projecting outward. It unfolds in layers and will particularly resonate with those who feel connected to the sea.
The third, Iris Nebula, is the celestial, intimate fragrance. It is a cosmic interpretation of iris, blending spicy gourmand facets with a soft caramel and crème brûlée-like base, while the floral heart of Florentine iris and violet adds elegance, mystery, and depth.
Finally, Sous Bois represents a sacred keeper of the pines. It evokes forest bathing and deep grounding in nature, with mossy, earthy, and woody pine notes inspired by the highlands. It has a calm, zen-like, and poetic quality.
Together, these 4 scents form a collection of distinct identities designed to reflect different moods, elements, and ways people connect with nature and themselves.
“Fragrance can move us through emotional thresholds
and reframe how we experience life in an instant.”
-Nancy Meiland
Q: Do you remember your very first perfume as a child, or any stories or gifts that inspired you?
A: One of my earliest and happiest scent memories is visiting The Body Shop with my best friend. We loved exploring the bath bombs and fragrance oils, and we each had our own signature scent, she was “Dewberry” and I was “White Musk,” which became part of our shared identity. That experience was very meaningful to me, and I’ve also always been inspired by the story behind the brand and its founder, Anita Roddick.
Q: What are your dreams for the brand?
A: My vision for the brand is to move beyond the challenging early stages and focus on building a meaningful, lasting legacy. Rather than prioritizing growth purely in financial terms, I want the brand to stay deeply connected to its values, especially its relationship with nature. This means celebrating natural inspiration while also respecting and protecting it through sustainable practices. Looking ahead, I hope to become more actively involved in regenerative initiatives and environmental work, particularly rewilding projects and collaborations with organizations like Knepp Wildland Project, ensuring the brand contributes positively to both nature and the wider community.
Q: Do you have any anecdotes or memorable experiences related to perfumes you would like to share with us?
A: One of my most memorable experiences with perfume was when I first encountered genuine oud while working for another perfumer in St James’s, London. The material had a distinctive whitish consistency, and from the very first inhalation, it had a profound effect on me. I genuinely felt changed by it. It made me realise how powerful scent can be, not just as a sensory experience but as something transformative that can shift perspective and help us move through emotional or personal transitions in an instant. That moment stayed with me and fundamentally changed how I think about fragrance and its ability to fill emotional space and reshape how we experience life.
Q: Is there a particular moment with a perfume that changed the way you see your work?
A: Yes, I often return to the first time I encountered genuine oud while working in St James’s, London. The material itself had a distinct whitish texture, but what stayed with me was the impact of the scent. From the very first inhale, I felt completely altered by it. It was as if something inside me had shifted permanently.
That experience made me understand, in a very physical way, that fragrance is not just aesthetic—it is transformative. It can move us through emotional thresholds, reframe how we perceive ourselves, and create an immediate sense of transition. I realised that we often carry an internal emptiness we try to fill in many ways, and in that moment, oud filled something profound for me. After that, I was never quite the same again.
Film Realisation, Photos & Interview by Clementine Rovere
Film Edit & Montage by Lenny Hartstein
