Founder and CEO of Sana Jardin, Amy Christiansen, shares what it takes to build a sustainable fragrance brand that’s gentle on the skin.
What do the first 30 minutes of your day look like, your morning routine?
I usually wake up, make my sons breakfast and scoot them out of the door in about 20 minutes. I then exhale, meditate with “Terrence the Teachers” recordings, make my coffee with almond milk and start replying to (what feels like) an endless number of emails.
What inspired you to launch Sana Jardin?
My experience within the non-profit sector, as well as my passion for fragrance sparked the concept behind the brand. I saw a unique opportunity to help these rural women through the mystical medium of perfume. In the traditional fragrance supply chain, Moroccan floral harvesters don’t have access to consistent employment, typically only working three harvests a year. They live in rural communities and have limited job skills. I wanted to create a programme for women that would help to increase their income, in addition to teaching them new skillsets. I strongly believe that the next iteration of social change can be through commerce and not limited to traditional philanthropy. Sana Jardin illustrates that luxury business can be used to drive social change through commerce, not charity.
“All of our fragrances are designed to be layered with each other on the body and hair to enhance one’s olfactive signature.”
Talk us through the creative process behind creating these formulations.
We are honoured to work with Master Perfumer Carlos Benaim from IFF to create our award-winning fragrances. Carlos grew up in Morocco and resonated with our brand vision and ethos. When briefing Carlos on a new scent, I tend to focus on places and moments rather than actual ingredients. We set the scene, but Carlos uses his expert nose and imagination to fill in the details.
Founder and CEO of Sana Jardin, Amy Christiansen
What are the key ingredients infused in these scents and how are they gentle on the skin?
The key ingredients have to be rose, jasmine and orange blossom. All of which are handpicked by the floral harvesters in the Sana Jardin co-operative. Each perfume is as naturally leaning as possible and harnesses the healing life force of plants with a concentration of 15-20 percent perfumed essential oils. The entire collection is vegan, and free from parabens, formaldehydes, artificial colourants, BHT, polycyclic musks and phthalates. All of our products are approved under the Cruelty Free International Leaping Bunny programme.
Each formulation is vegan, where are the ingredients sourced from?
We partner with International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) to source the beautiful ingredients in our fragrances. IFF work with local producers around the world, to provide perfumers with pure, natural, transparent, sustainable ingredients. The company has a strict ethos of complete transparency and is committed to environmental management and sustainable development.
The brand up-cycles flower waste into products. How is sustainability at the forefront of these fragrances?
We are an award-winning vegan perfume brand that builds financial resiliency for rural Moroccan women through a unique social enterprise model. We pioneered the ‘Beyond Sustainability™’ movement, which in addition to sustainable sourcing and packaging, is a vehicle for the economic development of women. The Sana Jardin co-operative trains indigenous women from Morocco to become micro-entrepreneurs by upcycling the agricultural waste from the local harvests. The harvesters receive 100 percent of the proceeds from the products they develop and sell (orange blossom water, orange blossom candles and lavender sachets.) In 2022, the women saw a 128 percent increase to their annual income. In the co-operative, we provide supplementary training in sales, marketing, financial literacy and branding, in addition to access to distribution channels, essentially incubating their small businesses. Through this business model, we contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals for 2030, to empower women (goal 5), promote sustainable economic growth with full, productive employment (goal 8), and ensure sustainable production practices (goal 12).
Layering is an art in the fragrance world. What are your top tips for a long-lasting scent?
Several factors determine how long a perfume can last on the skin including heat, gender and skin type. Each of our fragrances are an Eau de Parfum strength. Eau de Parfum’s traditionally last longer on the skin as they contain a higher concentration of oils (12-15 percent). Fragrance notes can play a role too – deep base notes including woods, resins, leather and tobacco are heavier in structure and evaporate slower in comparison to lighter top notes such as citrus. Application is key when it comes to increasing a perfume’s longevity. I recommend concentrating on the pulse points which exude body heat (where the blood is closest to the surface of the skin), as this can strengthen the scent and subsequently its lasting power, which includes the wrist, neck, inner elbow, or behind your ears and knees. We’re huge fans of fragrance layering at Sana Jardin. All of our fragrances are designed to be layered with each other on the body and hair to enhance one’s olfactive signature. My current go-to is a spritz of Savage Jasmine on the hair, which is arresting and warm when combined with Sandalwood Temple on the body.
The brand has had many collaborations in the past. Which ones have stood out?
I couldn’t choose one. We’ve partnered with some amazing brands including Ilia, Tata Harper, Flowerbx, Hurr, 111Skin, Ruuby and Zyne. We always ensure we partner with brands who are aligned with us in terms of ethos and key values. This is essential to build brand awareness and reach a new target audience, thus engaging with consumers in a new and exciting way.
What piece of advice would you give to your younger self?
To try to not be afraid and have the wisdom and comfort that everything will work out in divine order.
This is ‘The Skin Issue’ – what do you do to feel comfortable in your skin?
All I need to do to feel comfortable in my own skin is feel grateful for all that life has given me and smile.
June’s – The Skin Issue with Instytutum – Download Now
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