Back in June, I wondered whether we’d see any independent perfumers responding to the events of 2020 through their fragrance work. Yes, as it turns out: Dawn Spencer Hurwitz has been creating a series of fragrance “sketches” inspired by her home surroundings (see my review of Hot Masala), and now Laurie Stern of Velvet & Sweet Pea’s Purrfumery has released Luminous Lemurs. Laurie writes, “COVID-19 has made it even more clear to me that the purpose of my work is to help animals and indigenous communities,” and Luminous Lemurs is a tribute to these endangered creatures and their human neighbors.

I’m a longtime fan of Velvet & Sweet Pea’s Black Cat, Honey and Moonlight, so I would have been curious about Luminous Lemurs if I hadn’t known that it’s being launched for a good cause. Laurie is donating portion of its profits to Centre ValBio…

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