State of Mind

State of Mind is a French niche perfume and tea house created by Katia Balandina, a beauty industry professional also known as Catherine Laskine-Rostovsky. The concept debuted in 2017 with a collection of ten fragrances, each paired with a matching tea, and accompanied by candles and diffusers. All scents are produced in France, and the brand reports distribution in more than 50 countries.

Balandina built the line around the idea that perfume and tea both influence mood. In interviews on the brand’s site she describes State of Mind as an “olfactive tea room,” where visitors experience fragrance and tea together as a kind of personal ritual that can shift their state of mind, elevate energy, or encourage introspection. To ensure a coherent style, the brand entrusted its compositions to perfumer Karine Dubreuil (also credited as Karine Dubreuil-Sereni), while tea expert Olivier Scala worked on the flavor side of the concept.

Several fragrances illustrate how tightly the perfumes and teas are intertwined. Natural Elegance, described as a modern chypre, combines Yunnan green tea and apricot over jasmine, osmanthus, patchouli, and oakmoss, with a tea blend built from similar notes. Aesthetic Turbulence uses oolong tea, mandarin, jasmine, immortelle, licorice, and labdanum in both fragrance and tea forms. Butterfly Mind focuses on Bai Mu Dan white tea with sakura and feijoa, paired with a white tea blend that mirrors the composition.

The collection has expanded beyond the original ten scents, with releases such as Secret of Success, Spontaneous Generosity, L’Ame Slave, French Gallantry, and Open Mind. Each name corresponds to a particular psychological or emotional theme, reinforcing the brand’s focus on mood and introspection rather than traditional gender or occasion categories.