Vallense

Vallense is a London fragrance house created by William Borrell, a former craft-spirits distiller, with two co-founders from magazine publishing and luxury brand management. Its debut collection of three eau de parfum came out in 2024, and every scent shares a base of holy grass, a sweet, earthy plant also known as sweetgrass or bison grass.

Borrell founded the craft spirit brand Vestal in 2010 and sold it in 2020, then began collecting ingredients and distilling them himself. Ideas begin aboard a floating laboratory, a boat moored near King's Cross, and the house says its fragrances are distilled in London, made in Grasse and hand-painted in Milan. The first batch of bottles was painted by Borrell himself. The house names him as its master perfumer and says the perfumes are macerated at length.

The three scents are different in mood. Source is warm and smoky, with mandarin, black pepper, frankincense, cypriol, oud and praline. Spirit is green and woody, with Mitcham mint, geranium, fir balsam, cedar and patchouli. Sun is a bright tropical floral of mandarin, passion fruit, frangipani, tuberose and ylang ylang. Each rests on holy grass, amber, benzoin and a house musk accord.

Vallense describes its work as modern alchemy and treats scent as energy. It sits at the niche end of British perfume, with a distiller's approach to materials and a strong story behind each bottle. It suits wearers who like a concept-led house with a clear signature base.