All about: Trilogy's new Raha Natural Perfume

Around this time last year, Trilogy launched their first ever fragrance – the all-natural Jua. The natural fragrance was created in partnership with So They Can, and was a very special, limited edition product developed to benefit the not-for-profit organisation, which works to educate and empower communities in Africa.

The natural perfume oil had hand-harvested, cold-pressed Tanzanian sunflower oil as its base, produced from one of So They Can’s social business projects. So They Can invests in communities in severe need in Kenya and Tanzania, focusing on education and building the local economy through enterprise, not aid. Their projects are designed to build self-sufficiency in these communities, with the aim of ensuring sustainable poverty alleviation.

Anyway, fast-forward to 2015 and the New Zealand beauty company have released a second fragrance offering in the form of the beautiful Raha Natural Perfume.

The proceeds from Jua raised $20,000 - enough to provide an annual income for 50 women sunflower farmers and harvesters in Tanzania – and with Raha they are aiming to raise $30,000, which will again provide income for 50 Tanzanian women and will also support a full year’s education for 500 children. One of So They Can’s projects in Babati, Tanzania, teaches women efficient farming practices to help turn their sunflower seeds into a sustainable business. In this land-rich area, the project represents education in enterprise and self-sufficiency at its very best.  As a social business, all profits are channelled back into the project to keep the cycle of education and empowerment going. When you buy Raha, you create a connection to these amazingly determined women and their families.

So how does it smell? Well Raha apparently means ‘joy’ in Swahili (I love that) and the inspiration for the fragrance was “the warm African rain which brings joy, growth and survival. It cools the thirsty land, sharpens the crisp aromas of the bush, and brings life to plants, animals and people.” It is an absolute joy to wear that’s for sure; as crisp citrus top notes are balanced with floral blue iris, warm vanilla and subtle spice undertones. I love that like Jua, it comes with a roll-on applicator that makes it ideal for handbag duty and travel. When I first got Jua last year I took it to Bali with me and it was the perfect travel companion, especially as its natural composition meant that it was sun-friendly too and the scent really thrived in the heat.

Trilogy worked again with New Zealand-based French perfumer Yves Dombrowsky on Raha, and have talked about the key challenges for a perfumer in creating a totally natural fragrance. Achieving a high enough concentration to retain the fragrance in the bottle and longevity on the skin is one; and having far fewer natural ingredients to work with is possibly the greatest. Synthetic perfumes are simpler; the vastly greater range of non-natural fragrance notes enables easier manipulation of the scent, and synthetic ingredients and alcohol ‘fix’ the perfume so it lasts longer.

Lastly, Raha has an RRP of $24.90 for a 7.5ml bottle, with NZ$2 from every bottle sold donated to So They Can. It is available now and at that price you can definitely afford to buy one for yourself and one for a friend!