Nigerian Perfume Brands: Five Niche Houses To Know

Key points

• Five niche houses founded by Nigerians, with the name of the person behind each one and what they currently make.
• The Street Scent is the cheapest way in. Oud Desire and Edelweiss are ₦143,786 for 100ml.
• Toke Makinwa Beauty is the easiest way to test one, because it sells 10ml bottles from ₦37,167. We stock it as the exclusive partner.
• Catherine Omai sits at the top of the group. Contagious Gold is ₦966,000 for 100ml.
• Most of these houses use perfumers and laboratories abroad. That is normal practice in niche perfumery, and it is worth understanding before you judge them on it.
  

 

Nigerian perfume brands used to mean oil blends sold in stalls. That is no longer the whole story. Over the past few years a handful of Nigerians have launched proper niche houses, with their own briefs, their own bottles and prices that sit alongside the European names on our shelves.

We stock five of them. Below is who founded each one, what is in the range, what it costs today, and who we would put it in front of. Prices were checked on 20 October 2026 and they move.

What counts as a Nigerian perfume brand?

A Nigerian perfume brand is a house founded and owned by a Nigerian, with the creative brief set in Nigeria. Most do not distil or compound here, because the laboratories and the raw material supply sit in France and Dubai. The Nigerian part is the idea, the ownership and the direction. That is also how most European niche houses work, since almost nobody owns their own factory.

So the useful question is not where a bottle was filled. It is whose taste decided what went in it.

Which Nigerian perfume brands should you try first?

Start with The Street Scent for the lowest entry price and the widest choice, or Toke Makinwa Beauty if you want to test a 10ml before committing. Akintha Parfums is the one built around Lagos. Catherine Omai is where to go for a gift at the top of the range, and Chandos Signatures is a house with one bottle and nowhere to hide.

1. Catherine Omai, the founder is also the perfumer

Catherine Omai was founded by the Nigerian perfumer Catherine Tope Omai, and it is the one house on this list where the founder is also the nose. Contagious Green, launched in 2023, names her as the perfumer. The house draws on African culture and landscape rather than borrowing a European reference.

Three fragrances, three clear jobs. Contagious Green is the daytime one, bergamot and grapefruit over incense and nagarmotha, landing on Haitian vetiver and Texas cedar, and at ₦531,300 it is where we would start you. Contagious Rose is the evening, built on Bulgarian, Turkish and May rose with cinnamon and honey, sweet and velvety rather than sharp, also ₦531,300. Contagious Gold is the serious one at ₦966,000, with oud, oakmoss, labdanum, ambergris and civet. That last one is meant to be noticed, so wear it on skin before you commit to a bottle.

2. Akintha Parfums, made in Lagos with outside perfumers

Akintha Parfums was founded by Akingbohungbe Bayode, and it is open about its method. The house sets the brief in Lagos and works with established perfumers abroad to execute it. Five scents so far: Bright Pulse, Carte Blanche, Magnetic Emotions, Enchanted Night and Luxeon, each ₦322,500.

One price across the whole line is a deliberate decision and we rate it, because it means you choose on the smell rather than on the number. Bright Pulse is the one to start with if you wear fragrance to work. Luxeon is the one for an evening, and it might be too much for a hot afternoon.

3. The Street Scent, street culture bottled in France

The Street Scent was founded by Asukwo Monday Esin. The brand was born in Dubai and the fragrances are made in France. Its references come from street culture, music and fashion rather than from heritage perfumery. Eight fragrances are in stock. Oud Desire and Edelweiss are the entry point at ₦143,786, and Art, Last Last, En Vogue, Anti Muse and Oud Texas run from ₦177,772 to ₦202,607. Coffee in Paris is the dearest at ₦326,786. There is also an Essence hair and body mist at ₦65,357.

This is the broadest and the most reachable of the five. Last Last is the one people ask for by name. Coffee in Paris is the better fragrance, and it is also the one most likely to be too sweet for you, so smell it before you buy it. We have written more on the house in our Street Scent piece.

4. Toke Makinwa Beauty, the easiest one to try

We stock Toke Makinwa Beauty as the exclusive partner in Nigeria. Founded by the broadcaster and entrepreneur Toke Makinwa, it launched with three fragrances and now runs to five: Vogue, Dive, Intense, Faya and Oud Rush, all unisex.

The 10ml bottles make this the sensible first purchase for anyone on this page. Vogue, Dive and Intense are ₦37,167 at that size, and Faya and Oud Rush are ₦45,193. You can live with one for a fortnight before spending on a full bottle. Full 100ml runs from ₦212,850, with Faya and Oud Rush at ₦354,750. Oud Rush holds longest in heat.

5. Chandos Signatures, a house of exactly one bottle

Chandos Signatures has released a single fragrance, Opulence by Chandos, a 100ml eau de parfum at ₦200,000. The house is built around personal expression rather than a theme, and one bottle is the whole collection for now.

A one-fragrance house is a real commitment, because there is nowhere to hide. We like it for that reason. If Opulence is not for you there is no second option to be steered towards.

What do Nigerian perfume brands cost?

Two bands. Between ₦140,000 and ₦330,000 covers all eight Street Scent fragrances, the whole Akintha line, Opulence by Chandos and the 100ml Toke Makinwa bottles. Above ₦500,000 is Catherine Omai, and Contagious Gold alone is ₦966,000.

That puts these houses level with European niche rather than below it, which surprises people. The honest reason is that the cost sits in the materials and the French or Emirati production, not in the country on the label. If you want to see where the category starts, our under ₦200,000 collection is the place to look.

Are Nigerian perfume brands as good as the European houses?

The best of them compete, and we would not stock them otherwise. What they do not yet have is twenty years of back catalogue, which is what lets a house like Clive Christian point at a record. What they do have is a brief nobody else is writing. An Akintha built around Lagos is not a scent a Paris house would have commissioned.

Where we would hold back is longevity. A few of these wear closer and fade sooner than an extrait from an older house. If all-day performance is your first concern, say so to the consultant and we will tell you which ones clear that bar. We would rather lose a sale than have you blame the category.

Frequently asked questions

Which Nigerian perfume brands does Seinde Signature stock?

Five: Catherine Omai, Akintha Parfums, The Street Scent, Toke Makinwa Beauty and Chandos Signatures. Four have their own collection pages on the shop and Chandos is listed as a single product. We stock Toke Makinwa Beauty as the exclusive partner in Nigeria, so it is not available elsewhere here.

Are Nigerian perfume brands actually made in Nigeria?

The creative decision is Nigerian. The production usually is not. The Street Scent is made in France, and most of the others work with perfumers and laboratories abroad. This is standard across niche perfumery worldwide, and almost no independent house owns its own production, so it is not a mark against them.

What is the cheapest way to try a Nigerian perfume brand?

A 10ml of Toke Makinwa Beauty at ₦37,167, or the Street Scent Essence hair and body mist at ₦65,357. For a full bottle, Oud Desire and Edelweiss from The Street Scent are ₦143,786 for 100ml, which is the lowest entry price of the five houses.

Which Nigerian perfume brand is best for a gift?

Catherine Omai if the occasion is a big one, because three fragrances make the choice simple and Contagious Gold reads as a serious present. Toke Makinwa Beauty if you are not certain of the person's taste, since the gift boxes are ₦266,100 and the 10ml sizes let them try before they settle.

Come and smell them

Five houses, around thirty bottles between them, and no two of them are chasing the same idea. Reading about a fragrance tells you almost nothing about how it sits on your skin in this climate.

Browse the houses online, or come into our stores in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt or Warri for a scent experience and we will put the five in front of you.