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Pia Long

@perfumer.pia

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Head Perfumer @olfictionlimited co-founder @eau_de_boujee member of @sipcperfumercreators & ISPC-IFRA committee, author www.demoaccords.com

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𝑶𝑳𝑭𝑰𝑪𝑻𝑰𝑶𝑵 — 𝑨 𝑽𝑬𝑹𝒀 𝑼𝑵𝑬𝑿𝑷𝑬𝑪𝑻𝑬𝑫 𝑪𝑹𝑼𝑺𝑯

Yesterday at the opening of Émigré in Amsterdam, I finally got to smell Pia Long’s Olfiction creations in person. I’d spent enough time reading about them to have a pretty clear idea of which ones would be my favourites. Or so I thought.

PETROLHEAD was an obvious attraction. The industrial, mechanical side of perfumery is very much my territory, and I’m not ready to draw conclusions from this first encounter.

SALMIAKKI made me grin. That peculiar liquorice character! Exactly the sort of thing that reminds me why I love exploring scents beyond the obvious.

LIBRIDO intrigued me for a different reason: the idea of books, paper and ink translated into perfume. I find that kind of imagination irresistible.

I also tried COLOGNE: ORANGE and THÉ TEA. Beautifully different directions, but neither quite grabbed me the way the others did. And that’s fine. Discovering what doesn't move me is part of the fun too.

Then there was 𝑰𝑪𝑶𝑵𝑰𝑪.

I kept coming back to it. There was something about those 1980s and 1990s cosmetic memories, that powdery, almost feminine glamour, mixed with a strangely futuristic feeling. Familiar and unfamiliar at once. I wanted to smell it again, then again. Almost an obsession within minutes.

The funny thing? I went in expecting petrol and strange materials to be the stars. Instead I was completely distracted by a perfume that reminded me of vintage beauty counters and some imagined future.

I've never cared whether a scent is marketed to men or women. I care whether it does something to me. ICONIC certainly did.

These are first impressions, not reviews. I still want to spend real time with them on skin. But that unexpected encounter with Iconic? I’m still thinking about it.

𝑶𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝑻𝒐𝒏𝒚

#OnlyTony #Olfiction #PiaLong #Iconic #NichePerfumery

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Having to cut down a 10 minute yap to 3ish minutes (so rude instagram) was a feat, but come with me while I vaguely dive into Demo Accords by @perfumer.pia

I’ve had this set for about a month and I can’t stop thinking about it, and more people should join me in this feeling.
Have you tried Demo Accords?
Do you want me to dive deeper into each fragrance?

@olfictionlimited @nickrgilbert

#nichefragrance #perfumereview #perfumereccomendations #demoaccords #perfumelover

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Iconic… @olfictionlimited This is one of the treasures that had been held against its will in the UK😂 But after 3 attempts at posting in different directions, taking the scenic route to me via @annestringerstylist it made it into my hands. Let me tell you the 45 ways it was worth the wait😻
Like thick rich white face cream, in all its buttery iris powdery perfection. Shiny counter Cosmetics before we decided everything had to be fragrance free… It has density yet isnt heavy. It feels outrageously modern, but also deeply nostalgic. Floral, waxy, buttery and a dry down that has you wishing your skin “just smelt like this”
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Perfumer @perfumer.pia
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#perfume #fragrance#iconic#perfumelover #nicheperfumes

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Slow Sunday, coffee and some new scents to discover. ☕️

Getting to know @olfictionlimited by Pia Long and Nick Gilbert. Just some relaxed, unscripted first impressions!

#olfiction #pialong #nicheperfumes #fragrancediscovery #perfumereels

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Now, would you wear this? A rare creation by @perfumer.pia which I got a sample of thanks to @scentsmellers

It’s really nice but I’m sure I would have put some of you off.

#flawedfoolishandfragrance #nichefragrance #fragrancereview

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𝗨𝗡𝗨𝗦𝗨𝗔𝗟 𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗙𝗨𝗠𝗘𝗦 | 𝗦𝗔𝗟𝗠𝗜𝗔𝗞𝗞𝗜 🇫🇮🖤

After putting Petrolhead in the spotlight recently, I had to return to Finnish-born perfumer Pia Long and Olfiction, the independent British fragrance house she founded with Nick Gilbert.

This time: SALMIAKKI.

I haven’t smelled it yet, so this isn’t a review. But sometimes you see a perfume, read the concept and the notes, and immediately think: this could be very, very me.

Salmiakki is Pia’s interpretation of that unmistakably Nordic obsession: salty liquorice. Not transformed into a cute sugary gourmand, but taken somewhere darker, stranger and far more textured.

𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗲 • 𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗺𝗶𝗮𝗸 𝘀𝗮𝗹𝘁 • 𝗕𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗽𝗲𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗿
𝗟𝗶𝗾𝘂𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗲 • 𝗜𝗺𝗺𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲 • 𝗖𝗲𝗱𝗮𝗿𝘄𝗼𝗼𝗱
𝗠𝘆𝗿𝗿𝗵 • 𝗚𝘂𝗮𝗶𝗮𝗰 • 𝗩𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿 • 𝗖𝗮𝗱𝗲 • 𝗕𝗶𝗿𝗰𝗵

Salty. Bitter-sweet. Resinous. Woody. Smoky. Aniseed. Slightly leathery.

Basically, looking at that list, Salmiakki walks straight into my territory.

What makes me even more curious is the idea behind it. Taking something so culturally specific and familiar to Finland and translating it into perfume without polishing away all its strange edges. That is exactly what I find exciting about niche fragrance. Not simply smelling “nice”, but smelling like an actual idea.

And soon I won’t even have to travel very far to discover it. Olfiction will be available at the new émigré perfumery on Amsterdam’s Middenweg, practically around the corner from me.

Petrolhead already had my attention. Salmiakki may be even more dangerous.

I seriously cannot wait to smell this entire line.

𝑶𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝑻𝒐𝒏𝒚

#Olfiction #Salmiakki #PiaLong #ExperimentalPerfume #NichePerfumery

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𝐏𝐄𝐓𝐑𝐎𝐋𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐃

𝑶𝒍𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 • 𝑷𝒊𝒂 𝑳𝒐𝒏𝒈

The moment a perfumer takes the classical bones of a fougère and runs them through petrol fumes, hot rubber, leather, cypriol and synthetic castoreum, I’m listening. Petrolhead doesn’t interest me simply because it sounds provocative. What interests me is that Pia Long has built a real perfume underneath the machinery. Lavender and oakmoss give it the recognisable structure of a fougère, while rubber, blue ginger, Timut pepper, leather, Ambrocenide, patchouli, smoky cypriol, synthetic castoreum and the brilliantly named Horsepower Accord pull it into much stranger territory.

𝑹𝑼𝑩𝑩𝑬𝑹 • 𝑷𝑬𝑻𝑹𝑶𝑳 • 𝑳𝑬𝑨𝑻𝑯𝑬𝑹 • 𝑺𝑴𝑶𝑲𝑬

The inspiration comes from Pia’s memories of summer nights, open-air car parks, revving engines, tyres screaming against tarmac, leather jackets and old car interiors. An earlier version was connected to the Goodwood Festival of Speed, and when she returned to the formula for this edition, she deliberately pushed the petrol effect further. Obviously, that got my attention.

I’ve always liked perfume most when beauty starts to distort a little. Rubber, smoke, leather, petrol, metal, ink, plastic, mineral textures and unusual synthetics can give fragrance something almost physical. I don’t need weirdness for shock value; I want texture, tension and that brief moment when your brain asks: what exactly am I smelling?

𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑵𝑶𝑺𝑬 𝑩𝑬𝑯𝑰𝑵𝑫 𝑰𝑻

Pia Long, born in Finland and based in the UK, is the perfumer and co-founder of independent studio Olfiction. Her background also includes writing, languages and translation, and that narrative side shows in the way she treats scent as communication, memory, art, design and science.
I haven’t smelled Petrolhead yet, so this is not a review. But on paper, this sounds dangerously close to my world.
𝑺𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒖𝒎𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒚, 𝑰’𝒍𝒍 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒃𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒚 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍 𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒐𝒎𝒆.

Tony

#Petrolhead #Olfiction #PiaLong #NichePerfume #OnlyTony

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WE ARE DOING IT AGAIN: @thepopupperfumery is running from Tuesday 10th of November to Saturday 14th of November 2026, and we can’t wait to welcome you! This third edition sees the return of some previous participants and introduces a few new ones! We’ll have an exciting selection of extras, too, including Japanese tea and evening events.

There are two spots remaining for participating brands so if you are interested, DM @thepopupperfumery for a link to an application form.

The Pop-Up Perfumery was founded to give independent, small perfume businesses direct access to their customers and to build a positive, inclusive space.

#perfumery #london #indieperfume

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Olfiction’s Salmiakki Eau de Parfum review — a salted liquorice fragrance from perfumer Pia Long’s Lab Editions collection, marking Olfiction’s 10th anniversary.

If you’ve ever wondered what actual Finnish salmiakki candy smells like translated into perfume, this is the closest thing niche fragrance has to it. Notes include salmiak salt, green anise, black pepper, liquorice, immortelle, myrrh, guaiac wood, vetiver, cade, birch, and rectified cedarwood — a smoky, animalic, gourmand build that leans closer to Slumberhouse-style dark gourmands than anything mainstream.

Cade and birch were chosen specifically because they read as distinctly Finnish materials, tying back to the fragrance’s roots. Salmiakki began as an accord in Pia Long’s book Demo Accords before becoming its own fragrance, bottled in the same submission vials Olfiction sends to development clients.

Is Olfiction Salmiakki polarizing? Yes, intentionally — this is a sample-first fragrance if there ever was one. Part of a four-fragrance Lab Editions debut alongside Cologne: Orange, Iconic, and Petrolhead.

@perfumer.pia @nickrgilbert @olfictionlimited

#nichefragrance #saltedliquorice #indieperfumery #gourmandperfume #FinnishPerfume

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Five samples from one superb British perfume house

The lovely @perfumer.pia and @nickrgilbert sent me these from Eau de Boujee, a house that treats fragrance like theatre.

First, Infleurno, a charred grapefruit and yuzu meet creamy white florals, incense, woods and leather. It’s bright, smoky and unexpected.

Verdant blends watery cactus and leafy greens with a mineral concrete accord, before sandalwood and vetiver add a smooth, woody depth. Crisp, futuristic and distinctive.

Gilded feels like liquid gold, with saffron and frankincense melting into beeswax, myrrh and warm resins.

Queen is rose jam at a surreal Victorian tea party. Tart rhubarb, iris and black tea over an earthy, powdery base.

Then Quir, my absolute standout. Pink pepper, tobacco, rose and polished leather sit over a warm, animalic dry-down. Confident, seductive and completely addictive.

All five impressed me, but Quir stole the show.

Thank you, Pia and Nick. Eau de Boujee is a house I’ve very quickly become obsessed with. Also, thank you to twinny aka @peepbeepscollection for the heads up on this wondeful house 🤝

#fragrance #fragrances #perfume #perfumes #eaudedoujee

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The rain started sometime before morning.
I don’t remember hearing it begin.
Just the sound of it against the window
when I opened my eyes,
and that pale Zurich light that makes it difficult
to tell whether the day has started at all.

Coffee.
A book left open where I stopped reading it.
Keys where they always are.
Strange how quickly things return to their places.
Even us.
Or at least, we think we do.

Librido.
Sandalwood, mostly.
But not the polished, immaculate kind.
This one feels older.
Warm wood in a cold room.
Torn pages from an old book, left in the attic of the house you grew up in.
Skin beneath yesterday’s clothes.
Something quietly intimate that refuses to explain
why it feels familiar.

I’ve been looking for something like this for years.
I think..but it feels right.

Outside, footsteps disappear into wet pavement.
Trams pass.
Doors open. Doors close.
The city resumes exactly where I left it.
As if nothing happened.
As if I never left.

I close the book.
Finish the coffee.
Put on my coat.
The sandalwood is still there.
So why does everything familiar
feel slightly out of place?

@olfictionlimited @perfumer.pia @cdtangels

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