A couple of days ago, I received an email from INeKE Perfumer San Francisco with a subject “Last Call for Ineke Perfumes.” Ineke Ruhland, the owner of and the nose behind this niche brand, wrote the following:

Hello fragrant friends,

After 20 years of making perfumes, I’ve reached a new chapter in my life and will wind down my business over the next few months. As many of you know, I co-founded Ministry of Scent with Antonia Kohl in 2018. We sell niche and indie brands from around the world in our two San Francisco stores, as well as online at ministryofscent.com. This year we’ll also be opening a Perfumery Studio in San Francisco and selling raw materials to perfume makers online. We’ve been growing in leaps and bounds, and it’s more than a full-time job, so I’ll be focusing my efforts on Ministry of Scent.

She also mentioned that there were some remaining bottles of her perfumes produced in the last small batches, samples and sample packs for some of them. There is no sale going on, whatever is available can be purchased now. Some online retailers also have the remaining stock, but I’m sure it’ll disappear quickly once the brand closes.

Saturday Question #290:

Are You Buying Any INeKE Perfumes Before They Are Gone Forever?

Do you have any favorites from this brand? Will you miss any of them?

My Answer

When three years ago I featured the brand in my Brand Appreciation: INEKE post, I ended it saying that I was looking forward to their next letter – K. I am sad that it will never happen.

I have 3 favorite perfumes from the brand – Field Notes From Paris (its story is in the post linked above), Hothouse Flower (“H” for Hothouse Flower by Ineke) and Idyllwild (Light and Shadows: Ineke Idyllwild). I still have enough of FNFP and Hothouse Flower. My Idyllwild bottle is still 1/3 full, but if feels like not enough. I enjoy this perfume very much. Recently, before I learned the news of the brand’s closing, I wore Idyllwild and thought how great it was and how much I liked it. Besides, this perfume holds a special place in my heart because of the picture I took for the post (a shadow of Rusty “smelling” a shadow of Idyllwild).

Considering that, I wanted to get a backup bottle. It was sold out on the site, so I ordered a pack of 10 samples thinking that 15 ml in addition to what I have in my original bottle would be enough. And only after I started putting together this post, I thought of checking Ineke’s new enterprise – The Ministry Of Scent. They still have a bottle of Idyllwild. I wrote to the brand’s sales to see if I could cancel the samples order and buy a bottle instead. I hope they’ll agree, I’ll get that backup bottle.

How about you?

Are You Buying Any INeKE Perfumes Before They Are Gone Forever?