Israeli start-up pioneers world's first visual perfume

Amkiri combines perfume with body art to create a unique statement.

rainbow smoke swirl (photo credit: CREATIVE COMMONS)
rainbow smoke swirl
(photo credit: CREATIVE COMMONS)
Another world first from the start-up nation: Israel is home to a pioneering “visual fragrance” that is making waves globally.
“If our fragrance is our signature, why can’t it be seen?” Shoval Shavit Shapiro, the Tel-Aviv based founder and creator of the brand, asked herself. Her answer was Amkiri, an innovative ink that combines body art with fragrance and lets people wear their perfume with pride in a visually pleasing way.
The vegan-friendly ink comes in two colors, charcoal and ivory, and is infused with a unisex fragrance that blends notes of ginger oil, juniper berry, spearmint, musk and cedarwood.
“We wanted to blend the most desirable scent characteristics so that it would be loved by all,” Shapiro said, according to Vogue.
Scent collaborator Chiaki Nomura, of IFF Perfumer, added: “The Amkiri ink is very earthy, which conjured my past while inspiring me to add a modern twist to create a new story.”

It is also water- and sweat-proof, has an elasticity that allows it to move naturally with skin and is durable enough to last up to 12 hours. But it can be washed off with soap at the end of a night out.
The company sells two types of applicators, a freehand wand and a paintbrush style for stencil work, with a range of stencils that allow wearers to mix and match to create unique patterns and let their imagination flow.
“There’s no better way to express your individuality than by using your body as your most personal piece of art,” Shapiro said. “We want to empower individuals with this multisensory form of self-expression.”
The product has taken the fashion world by storm. Within days of launching, it was featured in Vogue and was named by Wired magazine as one of the essential innovative products for updating your look in 2020. The success has led to an investment by New York-based IFF, which also has acquired Israeli company Frutarom.

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“Some of the most disruptive innovations come from the start-up community,” said IFF Group president Nicolas Mirzayantz, Globes has reported. “This is as true in beauty care as it is in technology... This extremely emotionally engaging technology brings a very timely category innovation to the marketplace.”
IFF chairman and CEO Andreas Fibig said: “This is a significant innovation in the fragrance category, merging strong and deeply personal visuals with the resonance and emotion of fragrance. The Visual Fragrance technology creates a new platform from which IFF can showcase our capabilities, including naturals, molecules and cosmetic actives. The potential for innovative applications are nearly endless, and our teams are truly inspired by the possibilities.”