Diffar is a brand new Japanese hair model making fragrance oil on the foot of Mount Fuji

Diffar is a brand new hair perfume oil model hailing from Japan.

‘Totally different experiences take you far. The impression you get from the identical factor can differ from each day, in accordance with your method. That is the thought behind the coined phrase Diffar,’ says Makoto Arii, its 38-year-old founder. With its fully pure composition of important oils and plant extracts, developed and produced at its laboratory on the foot of Mount Fuji, Diffar not solely smells nice however nourishes the hair, too.

Diffar

Crafted in collaboration with Tokyo-based hair salon Scent, Diffar’s merchandise are gentle in texture, together with a mix of argan, jojoba, camellia and night primrose oil, mixed with shea butter. As well as, rapeseed helps to restore the cuticle and pressed rice oil protects hair from UV injury. The model’s first assortment presents six fragrances: ‘Tokyo Steadiness’, ‘Woody Earthy’, ‘Natural Floral’, ‘Japanese Citrus’, ‘Spicy Wooden’ and ‘Floral Floral’. ‘Tokyo Steadiness’ is impressed by the ambiance of town on a wet day and accentuated by vetiver, whereas the others could be guessed from their names.

Arii had travelled all through Japan, to supply the important thing elements from particular locations: Hinoki from Yoshino, Hiba from Aomori, Yuzu from Shimanto and Sansho (Japanese pepper) from Wakayama. These had been blended with different valuable elements from all around the world, reminiscent of galbanum from the Center East, wild armoire from Morocco and agarwood from India. (A single Diffar scent accommodates a mix of 15 to 18 elements).

‘When extracted throughout the first quarter-hour of distillation, ylang-ylang presents a surprisingly contemporary scent, in comparison with its regular heady word’, Arii explains, of a discovery he made throughout Diffar’s meticulous improvement course of. (His background in scientific analysis, together with on pure phenomena reminiscent of tsunamis and icebergs, dictates a methodical manner of working). That is additionally demonstrated on the final three digits marked on every Diffar bottle, which point out the variety of samples earlier than the finalisation of the notes. For ‘Spicy Wooden’, maybe essentially the most advanced accord composed of agarwood, sandalwood, nutmeg, patchouli and oakwood, the pattern was renewed 823 occasions till Arii lastly mentioned: ‘That’s it!’

However the place does Arii’s sensitivity to the subtlety of nature’s refined scents originate? The reply comes from his childhood. ‘Born and raised in Minami Alps Metropolis close to Mount Fuji, which is flourishing with agriculture, I at all times breathed the scent of freshly harvested ripe fruit, straight from farmers’ fingers,’ he remembers. ‘After I moved to Tokyo as a college scholar, I purchased plastic-wrapped fruits in a grocery store for the primary time and was so shocked by the absence of scent. It was then I realised the impact of scent on our physique and thoughts is so large.’

This explicit expertise led him to persistently analysis till he tracked down the most effective meals preservation firm in Japan, ensuing within the launch of Fruitest, a pre-cursor to Diffar, a model of semi-dried ripe fruit which stays mushy, juicy and smells extremely contemporary, which he launched along with his artistic model improvement company Unsungs&internet. (He’s additionally at the moment engaged on a brand new flavoured tea assortment).

Diffar’s robust visible id was developed alongside Arii’s companion in crime, the artwork director Kenzo Shibata. The minimal design of its bottles turns into a canvas for color blocking. On the identical time, they evoke the colors seen in conventional kimonos. However, additionally they really feel decidedly modern.

For the model’s marketing campaign imagery, he collaborated with London-based photographer Yuichiro Noda. In a nod to the complexity and deepness of every scent, Noda, who was born in Japan, photographed core elements of their authentic type earlier than layering them collectively in a single black-and-white picture, contrasting with the brightly colored bottles. As well as, he shot six black-and-white portraits of individuals with varied hairstyles, utilizing lengthy publicity.

Alongside the hair oil getting used and offered on the Scent salon in Tokyo, Diffar has been showcased over the previous 12 months at varied collaborative pop-up shops, such because the Shibuya-based flower store Voice and impartial retailer Fujin Tree 355, in Taipei. It made its debut in Europe earlier this 12 months (September 2024) in Paris on the artwork gallery Galerie 3m2, which is nestled beside the Serge Lutens retailer within the Palais Royal Gardens.