Contradictions in ILK

Contradictions in ILK is a British niche fragrance house, co-founded in 2020 by Annabella Fasano-Leslie and Holly Hutchinson. Its idea is simple and unusual: perfumes that come in pairs, each built to be worn alone or layered with its opposite.

Fasano-Leslie, the creative director, came to perfume from a psychology degree and eight years in advertising, and built the concept around human nature, memory and identity. Hutchinson brought ten years of experience in fragrance production and development, and had already helped launch other perfume brands, including her own, Memoize London. The name takes ilk, an old Scottish word the founders read as the essence of who you are, so the contradictions in the title are the contradictions in each of us. The first eight scents arrived as four pairs, and more followed in 2022. The perfumers behind the range are Elodie Durande and Tristan Badard.

The pairs play on opposing traits: Fantasist and Realist, Infatuated and Nonchalant, Devious and Sincere, Libertine and Virtuous, with Human and Nature as a later pairing. Each one is a complete extrait de parfum on its own, and the range runs from warm, milky gourmands to boozy, spicy and woody compositions. Worn together, each pair is designed so that one scent lifts some qualities of the other and quietens others, and the layered result reads as a third scent. Every scent is unisex.

ILK sits in the premium, independent end of British niche perfumery. It leans on small British suppliers, from artisan wooden caps made in Yorkshire to boxes from Leicestershire and a filling house in the Lincolnshire Wolds. It suits wearers who like to build their own combinations and want a perfume with a concept behind it.