Patience Is A Virtue - Vyrao Perfumes Showcase Review

Those who bemoan the current state of the publishing world often say that in the past, things were better because authors were given time to grow. If their first novel wasn’t a great success, they didn’t have to worry unduly. Their agent and editor gave them the encouragement they needed to keep going, refine their voice and, hopefully, thrive and develop as creators. The hope was that patience would be rewarded with success and recognition. Apparently, this forward-thinking attitude no longer exists. If a writer doesn’t make a splash with their debut, the pressure’s on them to deliver the goods with their follow-up. But after that, if various targets haven’t been achieved, they’re off the roster and they can pretty much consider their career to be over.

A comparable situation certainly exists in the perfume world, but perhaps not in all sectors of it. Indeed, in its more independent corners, it does still appear to be possible for brands to take several years to try out a few styles and ideas, and gauge how they chime with their audience. A case in point is Vyrao. Founded in 2021, it currently has no fewer than eight perfumes in its catalogue, all of which have just been released in a green, heart-shaped discovery set, making this the perfect time to track the arc of the brand’s development so far.

Brought to life by Yasmin Sewell — who is, admittedly, no stranger to the fashion and beauty milieu and perhaps doesn’t count as ‘independent’ in all senses of the word — — Vyrao arrived very much as that most depressing of creatures, a ‘wellness boosting’ brand. Each bottle contained an “energetically charged Herkimer crystal to promote the intention within”. The marketing blurb emphasised notions of ‘grounding’, ‘awareness’ and ‘mindfulness’. And the bottles looked like they could have been hewn out of the walls of some luminescent hippie cave trapped in an Austin Powers rendition of the 60s. To serious perfume connoisseurs, it was all rather dubious.

And yet, Vyrao are still with us. Indeed, they’ve picked up awards for some of their more recent releases. And although they haven’t ditched the crystals or the affirmatory mantras, their publicity is now placing more emphasis on the actual scented oils within those gleaming bottles. What’s more, the brand’s perfumery style appears to be growing in confidence. Back in 2021, the debut quintet, composed by Lyn Harris, was certainly interesting, but it didn’t possess a sufficiently strong personality to suggest this was a house we’d still be talking about five years later. Part of the reason for this may have been a discrepancy between Harris’ style (restrained, muted, well-behaved) and the aesthetic being pushed by the brand (free-spirited, unconventional, impetuous).