Jouissance is the perfume house blending sexy literature and scent

Before any first date a ritual must be performed. Gutting your closet and laying its remains on your bedroom floor. Manically calling your best friend for words of encouragement. And the last sacrament — a spritz of your favourite scent as you begrudgingly hurry out the door. After all, fragrance is a potent tool of empowerment that helps you to both feel desired and be desired. That’s the promise of up-and-coming perfume house Jouissance — to melt your pre-date jitters away and craft scents that connect you with your inner temptress. 

The London-based brand was founded by Cherry Cheng during lockdown when our emotional connection to scent (and lack thereof) became ever more apparent as we were separated from both one another and the outside world. But it wasn’t the absence of a lover’s eau de toilette, or lamenting the smell of freshly cut grass that inspired Cheng to start Jouissance — with her nose planted firmly between the pages of vintage French literature, she became enamoured by erotic storytelling and the wayward women who penned it. As Cheng dove deeper into the annals, she created fictionalised accounts of these women in her head, even detailing their scent. 

And so Jouissance was born, entitled after Hélène Cixous’ concept that female pleasure is a source of mystical power that transcends the mind and body. As such, each of Jouissance’s existing three fragrances channels the bohemian lifestyles of authors who reclaimed their sexuality through storytelling. Through scent, Cheng wants you to step into their shoes to witness what it feels like to chase desire unashamedly. 

So, if you want to smell like an unassuming art critic on their way to a woodland orgy, this is the right brand for you. Literally. One of the brand’s fragrances, En Plein Air, is inspired by the iconic Catherine Millet who detailed outdoor romps with strangers in the grassy patches of Parisian parks. The sharp citrus fragrance is seductive and carnal, etching itself into your lover’s memory long before you leave the sheets. How, you ask? Although lathered in femininity, each scent has an unexpected underbelly of musk, tapping into the perplexing nature of desire that is always sweet and sometimes dirty (oo-er). And with each bottle sitting in a bed of pink silk reminiscent of an antique jewellery box, they are impossible to resist. 

Now go forth Charlatans, and buy yourself a beguiling bottle of Jouissance. And as you wait for delivery, why not dive into our chat with the brand’s founder — Cherry Cheng herself.

How was Jouissance born?

My venture into the perfume industry was somewhat accidental. I had no background in fragrance or chemistry. I studied art at Goldsmiths. But I discovered my passion for the industry during Covid, ironically, because we weren’t allowed to smell anything. I started learning more about the raw materials that go into it and studied classic scents. I wanted to fuse my passions for literature, art and fragrance together. 

How would you describe the brand’s identity?

It’s very feminine, which is unfashionable today and goes against the grain. I want each scent to feel like a female archetype. It’s my effort to recreate and embody the women I admire. Nowadays, fragrances are unisex or gender-neutral, which is wonderful. But there is also a place for the hyperfeminine aesthetic. It gets boring when there are so many minimalist brands everywhere. I think people crave products that have a little bit more flare and specificity — which is what Jouissance is. 

How do you want people to feel when they wear Jouissance?

We want people to feel beautiful, confident and seductive. I feel like people are the most seductive when they are confident. My scents aren’t based on nostalgia or memory. It’s more of a fantasy. It’s what we wish to smell like. You can use Jouissance as a medium to step into a different version of you every day. 

What scents evoke nostalgia for you?

I grew up in China where every household had Florida Water — a combination of rose, jasmine and orange blossom. My parents would spray it everywhere on themselves and around the house. 

Are your perfumes supposed to smell like sex?

[Laughs]. No. But we do get funny comments all the time. People often think Les Cahiers Secrets, which is inspired by Anaïs Nin, smells interesting. I think it’s because of the cumin note, which can smell reminiscent of body odour sometimes. We’ve had people tell us that it smells like their vagina. 

The packaging is so extravagant in comparison to most perfume brands. Why is that?

I was inspired by old fragrances that used to come in vintage jewellery boxes. So I wanted it to look like your Jouissance perfume was sleeping in a little pink silk bed, because I thought that was beautiful. It makes me feel like a Hollywood star. It’s a shame no one does packaging like this nowadays. You could argue it’s for sustainability, but we create packaging with the intention of actually keeping it, not throwing it away. So that’s a sustainable practice in itself. 

What does sexual empowerment mean to you?

Well, we’re creating a platform to talk about sexual desire without being ashamed. We believe that desire is paradoxical. It’s complicated and sometimes unspeakable. Historically, women have always been shamed for their sexuality. This slut-shaming is prevalent in the fabric of all cultures. We all grew up with internalised shame and that is really damaging to people’s psyches. Empowerment is being outspoken for other people and yourself. It’s believing in everything you do. 

Your scents are inspired by iconic feminist writers, but what women empowered you in your own life?

My mother. She always told me that I should never compromise. She would tell me to always say exactly how I felt and never apologise for that. Culturally, a lot of women feel the need to apologise for things. But not my mother. She was a little ruthless in that way. That really taught me to be strong and pursue my vision. Without that lesson from my mother, I would have never started a business. 

You also sell literature on your fragrance website. Why?

The creative process started with the books. Each book is related to or was the inspiration behind one of the fragrances. Every title explores eroticism, just like the scents. I have always wanted to start a secondhand bookshop, so this lets me do that in a small way. We have a rare book collection in conjunction with our own publication. I’m an avid collector of books and I think second-hand literature gives you a lot more satisfaction because it’s been in somebody else’s collection. It had a previous owner and sometimes you can even find little notes in the margin, which is the history of another person. We have a much larger collection that we will release once we’re finished with the second collection. 

What can we expect from the next collection?

The new collection will also follow three new authors and we have been working on it for several months — but I can’t give away too much. What I can say is that one of the fragrances is inspired by The Lover by Marguerite Duras, which is one of my favourite books. It will be coming out very soon in the autumn. 

Shop Jouissance here.