In the House is a feature on EauMG. I’m collecting my experiences from years of perfume sampling and putting together a quick brand overview. There are so many perfume lines out there that it can be overwhelming. My goal with this is to quickly introduce people to niche and indie lines that may be of interest to them.
Who’s in The House? INeKe
The Perfumer: Ineke Rühland, a classically trained perfumer.
Here’s a great interview with Ineke at Fragrant Moments.
The History: This indie brand is founded by the perfumer in the early 2000s. After many years of studying perfumery, this Canadian-born student decided to formally study perfumery in Versailles (studying at ISIPCA) and later Grasse. After apprenticing in Paris, Ineke moved to San Francisco and started her own perfume brand that focuses on stories and flowers from her garden.
The brand currently consists of two collections, “The Alphabetical Collection” and “Floral Curiosities”.
My impressions of the brand: Since I started EauMG in 2008, I’ve enjoyed wearing many Ineke perfumes. The first thing I noticed was the delightful packaging. After wearing the perfumes, I realized they were even better than their packaging. The line is polished, sophisticated, and this isn’t an attack on any other indies, but these smell really professional. There’s a wide variety of perfumes; yet, Ineke’s style is present in all of them. I love a cohesive line.
*As always, I disclose my biases¹ 🙂 I’ve met Ineke at perfume events before and she is amazing. She always has a smile on her face and is a joy to talk to. Perfume really is her passion. She’s incredibly knowledgeable but always remains approachable. She and her husband pour it all into this brand and in my opinion, are doing a fantastic job. Ineke has an eye for design and beauty. This really shows through with her perfumes.
Brand’s Strengths: The line is cohesive and in my opinion, have a broad appeal. The packaging of the perfumes are wonderful and the Deluxe Sample sets are genius. I also think prices are incredibly reasonable for this line. All the perfumes in the line are very pretty without being overly delicate. They’re sheer but actually last on the skin.
Also, customer service with this brand has been phenomenal in my experience. They are quick to answer any questions and packages arrive quickly. I’ve also heard that when they launch a new perfume, they send samples to anyone that had bought the Deluxe Sample sets.
Brands Weaknesses: I honestly can’t think of any. Being that there is a “style” to this line, it’s possible that you won’t like that style. That’s not a weakness; that’s personal preference. You won’t find heavy, animalic or “noir” scents in this line. Well, at least not yet and I don’t see that happening. That doesn’t appear to be the brand’s aesthetic 🙂
I have tried all of the except for: I’ve tried them all!
My favorites from the line (that I’ve tried): Poet’s Jasmine, Field Notes From Paris, Sweet William (it’s like spicy baked peaches) and Gilded Lily. I was surprised by how much I really like the Floral Curiosities Collection. And Evening Edged in Gold wears so wonderfully with leather jackets.
My least favorite from the line: Chemical Bonding. I don’t do well with perfumes like this and this one left me with a headache. It’s not a bad perfume, but these sort of perfumes don’t work for me.
Comparable brands in style: Jo Malone London, Estee Lauder, Arquiste and Ormonde Jayne.
You may like some of the perfumes in this brand if you like perfumes like: pretty florals, perfumes with a gauze-like sheerness but with the texture of silk, citrus with a twist or perfumes that easily transition from day to evening.
Does the brand offer samples or a discovery set? Yes! This is my favorite thing about the line. The Deluxe Sample Collection has samples of the entire Alphabetical Collection and retails for $25. The packaging is amazing, perfect for gift giving. AND you get a $15 coupon with purchase to use on a full-size bottle from the collection. The Scent Library is amazing and you can watch me go on and on about here. It has the entire Floral Curiosities Collection housed in an adorable book. You also get a $15 coupon with this one to use on a full-size bottle.
Available products from this line: Full-size and travel-size EDPs. Discovery sets.
Price range: Discovery sets retail for $25. The set of Botanist’s Travel Sprays retail for $75. Full-Size Floral Curiosities retail for $78. Alphabetical Collection full-size bottles retail for $95.
Where to buy: At INeKe’s online boutique. They also have a store locator and can be found at many locations nationally and internationally. They’re also available online at Beautyhabit.
My 5 “Must-Try” Picks
After My Heart – Because lilacs aren’t easy to find in the modern perfume world.
Gilded Lily – A modern chypre.
Field Notes from Paris – A sheer unisex leather.
Poet’s Jasmine – An herbal jasmine over a smoky tea.
Scarlet Larkspur – Perfume equivalent of sangria.
I feel these show the “range” of the line. However, I do highly recommend the Sample Sets. They’re the best introduction to the line that you could ever get. And they’re $25 each, that’s practically free in the niche perfume world, right?
You can find INeKe on Twitter and Facebook. This should keep you up to date with new launches, appearances and other relevant brand news.
¹It shouldn’t matter, but let’s be real. This is niche/indie perfume I’m talking about here, we have a choice when buying this stuff. And in my opinion, I like to buy from people that aren’t jerks. This is one of the benefits of buying “small”. My next disclaimer is that I haven’t really had any jerk-y experiences but if I were at an event and the perfumer of a representative of the brand said something like “Get out here!” or something, this would leave a negative, lasting impression on me. (I think it would most people). I try to not let my “biases” get in the way because it’s just perfume but in a brand overview, I feel I can mention if I have met the perfumer, creative director, owner, etc.
Want more in The House?
I look forward to checking out the INeKe collections. Especially the lilac “After My Heart” because your right lilac is hard to find. Right now I have the sampler collection from AERIN that has a lilac scent and the Pacifica lilac. They’re both nice but he Pacifica one is just a little too young for me, while AERIN is a little to mature on me. It smells great on my mom, which may be my problem with it. Anyway, I enjoy your blog and find it very helpful. Great work.
I don’t know why lilac is so hard to find!
I have the Pacifica one (it’s cheap). I like it a lot but I think I prefer the bath/body products in the scent more.
AERIN, I like but it didn’t lure me to buy it or anything. Something felt “off” to me. Not the scent but me and the scent together. Maybe it is that “maturity” thing. I don’t know.
Thanks for reading! I really appreciate it.
The Scent Library was one of the very first things I bought when I just started following you. You recommended it in a youtube video (I love your youtube videos – you should do them again!). I really liked all the perfumes in that cute library book and you have just now inspired me to go spritz on one of the samples** I didn’t know Ineke was in my neck of the woods – I bet I can find a local store that carries her. Now I am curious to try the Alphabet Collection.
** chose Sweet William
Awesome! It’s hard not to resist. The price is right and the packaging is adorable. For me, it’s like “well, if I don’t like this, somebody will be happy to take these off my hands!”. I love Sweet William but I don’t know what it’ll do in this current humidity!
I’d say the range of Alphabet Collection is a little wider. It goes from lilac to more opulent chypres, but they are all cohesive.
I enjoyed Youtube videos but we moved and space was limited. It was hard to keep the pups quiet, lol. It’s possible in the new place that I have some space 😉 But, I don’t know. I’m awfully rusty.
Victoria, I just love this spotlight on Ineke, and am so thankful you posted it. She really is a class act throughout. The whole presence of her product line, her personality, the artistry that goes into the packaging, and thoughtful deliberation in the fragrances themselves…just beautiful, beautiful work. My “love affair” (LOL) with her products began earlier this year at a friend’s boutique who sells her line here in Richmond, VA, and Field Notes from Paris quickly swept me off my feet and became my new signature fragrance. Others soon followed, and I will say that it was YOUR wonderful review of Sweet William on YouTube that prompted me to give that one a try…and lo and behold, it has since become my favorite summer fragrance of late, and have also obtained some others.
Granted, fragrance palettes are very subjective and individual. Whether her fragrances have more finite or widespread appeal, nobody can doubt the sophistication, artistic integrity, careful crafting of the packaging and scents themselves, and collective quality of what she has to offer. Again, thanks so much for posting this well-deserved spotlight on one of niche perfumery’s finest.
[…] – Who’s In the House this month? San Francisco-based INeKe perfumes! Here’s Victoria’s brand overview of this indie perfume line that has adorable […]
[…] – Who’s In the House this month? San Francisco-based INeKe perfumes! Here’s Victoria’s brand overview of this indie perfume line that has adorable […]
[…] In the House this month? San Francisco-based INeKe perfumes! Here’s Victoria’s brand overview of this indie perfume line that has adorable […]
[…] – Who’s In the House this month? San Francisco-based INeKe perfumes! Here’s Victoria’s brand overview of this indie perfume line that has adorable […]
[…] – Who’s In the House this month? San Francisco-based INeKe perfumes! Here’s Victoria’s brand overview of this indie perfume line that has adorable […]
[…] – Who’s In the House this month? San Francisco-based INeKe perfumes! Here’s Victoria’s brand overview of this indie perfume line that has adorable […]