Ortir Apothecari

Ortir Apothecari is an independent perfume house in West Wales, founded in 2022 by Lisa Howarth. She is a one-woman operation who grows, distils, formulates, blends, bottles, packages and ships, and she began by growing and distilling aromatic crops on a farm, with acres of lavender. The name means "of the land" in Welsh, and the house has been described as Wales' first fine fragrance perfumery.

There are four perfumes, all launched in 2022. Aer is a coastal breeze built on peppermint, lavender, orange, rose and cedar, a literal take on weather crossing the bay. Dôl reworks the classic fougère through a pastoral lens, with lemon, geranium rose, hay, lavender and vetiver. Haf is Welsh for summer: bergamot, grapefruit and blackcurrant over rose, magnolia, jasmine and sandalwood. Hiraeth, a word for a longing that is uniquely Welsh, is petitgrain, lavender, neroli, rose, frankincense, jasmine and nutmeg. In 2023 the house won Fashion and Beauty StartUp of the Year at the Wales Startup Awards and was nominated for Best Newcomer at the Fragrance Foundation Awards.

The style is green, herbal and floral, quiet and built on a less-is-more idea, with clean white labels and handwritten names on clear glass. The house calls its work landscape-driven functional fragrance and sums it up as love letters to Wales, and the four perfumes are listed as unisex.

Ortir Apothecari sits in independent British niche perfumery. It is sold on its own website and through Bloom Perfumery in London and Stéle in New York, and it suits wearers who like herbal and aromatic perfume with a clear sense of place.