James Koroma's Experience Through Scent

Every bottle of perfume and cologne is marketed with its own story or intention as a way to connect its scent and associate it with a feeling before smelling it. Creed’s Aventis is famously inspired by Napoleon. Gabrielle Chanel sought out “a woman’s perfume, with a woman’s scent,” and found this in her own N॰5.

Koroma’s Aromas takes a more personal approach to perfuming. Every scent is left open to be interpreted by the wearer.

James Koroma is Harlem’s only auteur perfumer. I had the opportunity to discuss his coming to love the perfume business, his philosophy on scent, and to get his perspective on each of the five fragrances included in his collection.

James’ grandfather Aloysius Koroma would make perfume as a hobby while living in Liberia. When civil war broke out, he sent his family to safety in America. As he moved around the conflict, he exposed himself to a rich variety of fragrant raw materials all through Northwest Africa before reuniting with his family in the U.S. where he continued making perfume.

By then, James was five and already had an incredible sense of smell. He spent countless hours absorbing his grandfather’s experience. “The scents coming through the basement engaged my curiosity.” This curiosity led James Koroma to Stonybrook University. “I started [the business] in my dorm room. I’d make a scent, go to the library to let people react to it. That’s how I started using scent to connect with people.”

The curation of the top, middle and base notes, as well as their sequencing are all a result of Koroma’s years of dedication to developing both skill and taste. “It’s an experience on skin, because it develops on skin over time,” said Koroma.

Catalyst is the scent Koroma decided to establish his brand with during the summer of 2023. This is why it’s the first bottle in his discovery set. “A lot of the fragrances I was creating felt like phases. I wanted to create a fragrance for myself that felt timeless.” Koroma decided to make a fragrance inspired by his mother.

“To me, Catalyst is comfort, tranquility and safety. Saffron is known to promote happiness and increase mood.” Catalyst begins with Saffron and Bergamot in the top notes, sweet lavender and honey notes at the heart, and finishes with warm, soft amber tones.

Vanilla Bourbon is made with a rich vanilla bean paired with an aphrodisiacal Tunisian patchouli. This simple, yet effective combination is Koroma’s Aromas bestseller.

Koroma described how he went about creating a scent that he made for his girlfriend: “I feel like it came from an extremely intimate place. They can feel the emotion and the intention within the composition.”

The inspiration for Evada Vanillé: came to Koroma as he was praying at his Mosque. That same day, he blended sweet cinnamon, vanilla and tonka bean with dry, spicy tobacco, leather and patchouli. He called it Evada Vanillé: the word Evada deriving from the Sanskrit that translates to “Gift from God.”

Each of these fragrances came from one man blending scents in a way that has personal meaning to him, but James Koroma wants to know: what do they mean to you? “Growing up in Harlem made me aspire to seek human perspectives in every aspect of life. I think connecting with people is what makes life vibrant.” It’s this outlook that has put Koroma’s Aromas among the modern unisex fragrance movement. “Every time I approach creating something either masculine or feminine, I create a balance... Perception isn’t always reality. There are so many different ways we experience and utilize scent.”

Montmorensy was intended to be a feminine fragrance, but after Koroma made a mistake in his home/fragrance lab, it became something utterly unique. “I put together some smooth smelling notes, and let it macerate, but a heat reaction turned the scent red. It became something I would want to wear myself, and it became our second bestselling fragrance.”

This is a very sweet fragrance containing strong floral notes of rose, honeysuckle and jasmine on top, then settling into a rich cherry vanilla scent that then dives further into sandalwood and ginger at the base.

Koroma set out to make Trance a masculine fragrance. He again found a balance he thought was better. Starting with a cooling mint and grapefruit combination on top, but a healthy Haitian vetiver and bergamot at the base. It’s the heart of lavender and Tunisian patchouli that make it loved by all. “I spent some time in Dallas, and so many women couldn’t get their hands off trance... It showed that fragrance had no gender.”

All five of these scents are in the Koroma Collection and sampled Discovery Set. They can all be found on the Koroma’s Aromas website, or at Capsule NYC in Harlem. In celebration of this collaboration, Koroma released Sugar Hill and Strivers Row in a Harlem Collection. Koroma is also set to release a new fragrance alongside the Evisu popup happening on September 12th.