TANAÏS: The Indie Fragrance House Rewriting the Rules of Scent

There are perfume brands, and then there is TANAÏS. Founded by Tanwi Nandini Islam, a Bangladeshi American author, perfumer, and artist based in Brooklyn, TANAÏS occupies a category of its own: literary fragrance rooted in South Asian heritage, queer identity, and a deep commitment to natural ingredients. Every scent tells a story. Every bottle is a small act of cultural reclamation.

We carry TANAÏS at Nanaka because it meets every standard we hold for the brands in our catalog: ingredient integrity, founder credibility, and a point of view that is genuinely irreplaceable. This is not a brand you can find at a department store counter. It is something rarer.

Who Is Tanaïs?

Tanwi Nandini Islam is the founder, perfumer, and creative director of TANAÏS. She is also the author of In Sensorium: Notes For My People, a memoir that weaves together the history of South Asian fragrance, her family's migration from Bangladesh, and the making of the TANAÏS collection. The book was published to wide critical acclaim and is one of the most compelling accounts of how scent carries memory, identity, and grief.

Her fragrances are not inspired by abstract concepts. They are sourced from lived experience: monsoon clay from the Ganges River, temple flower garlands in New Delhi, the high desert air of Joshua Tree, the salted winds of the Pacific. Each scent is a place, a person, or a moment rendered in botanical form.

The Fragrances

TANAÏS produces extrait de parfum, the most concentrated and long-lasting fragrance format available. A single application typically lasts 8 to 12 hours on skin. The perfume oils offer a softer, more intimate version of each scent at a lower price point.

Start here:

• HEART CHAKRA Extrait de Parfum ($150): the brand's most complex scent. Cannabis terpenes, pink grapefruit, jasmine sambac, tuberose, ginger, and ruh kewda (pandan). Inspired by a wedding ceremony in Hawaii. One of the most distinctive fragrances in the Nanaka catalog.
• MATÍ Extrait de Parfum ($150): a homeland scent built from mitti attar, monsoon-soaked clay distilled in sandalwood and sourced from Kannauj. Rose, sea salt, cocoa, and betel leaf. Featured in Vogue. Each batch is distinct.
• NÅMAKA Extrait de Parfum ($150): the brand's best-selling scent. A tropical floral inspired by the Hawaiian goddess of the sea, with tiare flowers, coconut milk, jasmine sambac, and botanical ambergris.
• COSMIC Extrait de Parfum ($150): jasmine, patchouli, benzoin, and fossilized amber. Inspired by a 1971 Bollywood film. Narcotic and dreamy.
• MOJAVE Extrait de Parfum ($150): palo santo, wild white sage, black copal, eucalypt, leather, mitti attar, and oud. The desert at night.

For a lower entry point:

• HEART CHAKRA Perfume Oil ($75): the same composition in a roll-on oil format. Softer, more skin-close.
• MATÍ Perfume Oil ($75): the homeland scent in oil form. A good starting point before committing to the extrait.
• NÅMAKA Perfume Oil ($75): the cult tropical floral, accessible and wearable.

The Color Cosmetics

TANAÏS also produces a small, precise line of color cosmetics that extends the brand's aesthetic into makeup. All formulas are clean: no phthalates, phenoxyethanol, parabens, or sulfates. Cruelty-free and made in the USA.

• MATÍ Earth Tones Eye & Face Palette ($20): six shades in earthy rose, shimmer, and terracotta. Desert opal, canyon ruby, Bengal bronze, terre rose, and moonglow. Designed for face and eye use.
• MATÍ Red Lipstick ($22): deep henna red, high-pigment matte. Named for the Bengali word for earth, clay, and terracotta.
• HEART CHAKRA Mood Change Lip Stain ($35): green to berry pink on application. Inspired by the colors of the Anahata chakra.
• Vitamin E Lip Balm ($20): an all-natural formulation in a gold embossed vessel. A quiet classic.

The Candles

Each TANAÏS candle is made with 100% US-grown soy and a cotton wick, with a 50-hour burn time. The candle versions of each scent are built from uplifting top notes and differ slightly from the perfumes, which use a broader range of natural ingredients.

• HEART CHAKRA Candle ($54): cannabis, pink grapefruit, wild white pine, rose, and jasmine sambac.
• MOJAVE Candle ($54): desert blossoms, saddle leather, and baked earth.
• BAY OF BENGAL Candle ($54): coastal driftwood and sea salt. Only available as a candle, not as a perfume.
• NÅMAKA Candle ($54): tiare flowers, coconut milk, jasmine sambac, and botanical ambergris.

How to Choose Your First TANAÏS Scent

If you are new to the brand, start with the perfume oils. They offer the same compositions at a lower price point and in a format that is easy to layer and control. NÅMAKA is the most accessible entry point: tropical, warm, and broadly wearable. MATÍ is the most culturally specific and the most emotionally resonant. HEART CHAKRA is the most complex and the most discussed.

If you already know you love natural, botanical fragrance at extrait concentration, go directly to the 30ml extrait. The 50ml is available for the scents you return to most.

Shop TANAÏS at Nanaka

TANAÏS is part of the AAPI Founders collection at Nanaka, a curated group of brands founded by Asian American and Pacific Islander entrepreneurs. Browse the full TANAÏS range and find the scent that is yours.

Frequently Asked Questions

What concentration are TANAÏS fragrances?
The main line is extrait de parfum, the highest concentration available, typically 20 to 40% fragrance oil. Perfume oils are also available at a lower price point.

Are TANAÏS products natural?
TANAÏS uses natural and botanical ingredients throughout the fragrance line. The cosmetics are clean-formulated with no phthalates, phenoxyethanol, parabens, or sulfates.

Who founded TANAÏS?
Tanwi Nandini Islam, a Bangladeshi American author and perfumer based in Brooklyn, New York.

Where can I shop TANAÏS?
The full TANAÏS collection is available at Nanaka.