One of my favourite fragrance houses, The Virtue is set to launch into the UK

Those that check in here regularly will know I’m a raving fan of The Virtue, an Aotearoa-based fragrance house that never ceases to delight and amaze. I fell instantly in love with the brand after being gifted some of their stellar scents several years ago, and after visiting their Taranaki atelier I was even more enamoured –  its Founder and Creative Director, Brooke Lean (pictured) is a seriously inspiring woman.
The brand can best be described as the glorious love child of life-long creative Brooke and her talent for capturing moments that move the soul, she literally takes memories and bottles them into something that stirs us profoundly on an emotional level, transporting us to a moment in time that has deeply imprinted upon us. Brooke grew up in Taranaki, and after travelling the world with her young family relocated home to New Zealand to pursue her passion as a photographer. It was this work that first sparked her enthusiasm for capturing powerful moments in time, working with women to capture the birth of their child, their wedding day, or the moment they said yes to a forever as their fiancée took a knee. Brooke understood that there was something else at play whilst she was capturing the most special moments of someone’s lifetime, there was more than what the camera was able to capture. She reflected on her own special memories, and explored the connection between moments in time, and our sensory experience, and it was from this artful exploration that The Virtue was born.

Just a few years later, The Virtue is set to make its UK debut via Boots UK’s first-ever fragrance-only boutique – Boots Fragrance. Opening next month in Broadgate Central, London, the new store marks a significant milestone for the retailer, the 2,150 sq. ft. boutique set to showcase a curated collection of over 400 luxury and niche scents, including 20 brands new to Boots, one of which is The Virtue.

Boots Fragrance is designed to offer customers a reimagined, sensory-led retail experience, featuring trend-led discovery zones and immersive experiences that invite customers to engage with fragrance in a completely new way. A team of expert Fragrance Specialists, with advanced training on scent profiling and fragrance matching, will be on hand to provide personalised consultations and tailored advice, supported by a premium concierge service and luxury gift-wrapping. Boots UK estimates that by 2026, 33million people will visit their new Broadgate Boots Fragrance shopping site each year – and with a trip to London planned for this December, I can’t wait to pop in and take a look.

An artists's render of the Boots Fragrance concept

The inimitable Founder and Creative Director is thrilled to be a part of their curated international scent offering, saying: “I was in Milan for the ESXENCE Niche fragrance show where we were connected with the Boots team. From there, samples were sent to London, conversations continued over Zoom, and now we’re preparing to officially launch into their new fragrance boutique offering on October 23rd.”
Boots Fragrance are going to be showcasing The Virtue’s top five best sellers: Holy Smoke, 1987, Castro, Back Beach, and Narcosis, and will also offer a custom-designed boxed sample set so customers can take the full offering home with them.
“The inclusion of The Virtue into Boots Fragrance in the UK means we are stepping into a line-up that places us shoulder to shoulder with the fragrance industry’s heavyweights and cult up-and-comers from around the world,” says Brooke. “Boots have created a curated collection where heritage names like Hermès and Guerlain meet emerging niche brands—and to see our New Zealand-born label included in that conversation us surreal.”
In my humble opinion, The Virtue is simply occupying its rightful space x

Head to thevirtue.co.nz to explore more about the brand - and you must visit their home if you can, it's a whole vibe.