Neandertal
Where do we come from? Where are we going? Neandertal approaches perfume from the perspective of human origins. The emergence of humanity, the past, and the future are not explained through words, but translated into scent – enclosed within archaic, artifact-like flacons.
Perfume by Neandertal: Fragrance as Human DNA
Neandertal is not a traditional perfume brand – and that is exactly how it was conceived. Behind the project is Japanese artist Kentaro Yamada, who decided in London in 2015 to stop viewing fragrance as an accessory and instead treat it as a medium. His inspiration: Neanderthals. He became fascinated by the idea that traces of our extinct relatives still live on within our DNA – a connection to the past far deeper than we often realize. And it led him to ask an enormous question: what actually makes us human? Instead of answering with words, he chose scent – leaving the interpretation entirely up to you.
Neandertal deliberately focuses on Eau de Parfum: dense, present, and spacious enough for complex structures to unfold. Developed together with perfumers such as Chris Maurice and Euan McCall, the fragrances combine natural and synthetic materials in unexpected ways. Rather than leaning into floral familiarity, the compositions revolve around metallic, mineral, and skin-like accords. The result: fragrances that feel radically different from the mainstream – unusual, challenging, and all the more intriguing because of it. These are scents that do not reveal themselves immediately, but evolve layer by layer over time.
Neandertal Perfumes: Flacons Like Artifacts
And then there are the flacons – perhaps the purest expression of the entire Neandertal concept. Their shapes resemble prehistoric hand axes: intentionally raw, imperfect, almost primitive in appearance. Not by accident. The designs are based on real hand-carved stone tools discovered in Norfolk, England – objects that have existed for over a million years and belong to humanity’s earliest inventions.
For Neandertal, these forms are reinterpreted in ceramic, produced through a casting process and fired at temperatures above 1400 degrees Celsius. Every 90ml stone bottle is individually numbered and fitted with an NFC chip that digitally traces its origin. One quick scan, and you are holding not just a fragrance, but a piece of conceptual history. Glass versions are created through 3D scanning and advanced printing technology – where the past quite literally meets the present.
Even the labeling reveals that Neandertal sees its creations as more than products: they are statements. The fragrance names are intentionally generic – and precisely for that reason trademarked, turning them into conceptual spaces of their own. Kentaro Yamada often works with fragrance pairs or conceptual duos: philosophical opposites designed in dialogue with one another, though not necessarily meant to be worn together. If you want, Neandertal fragrances are ideal for layering – but the core focus always remains the idea itself.
- Light™ vs. Dark™: The impermanence of the world around us – the rise and fall of species, cultures, and civilizations. Bright and airy through hinoki, orris, and amber versus dark and animalic with notes of fallen leaves, incense, and vetiver.
- Us™ vs. Them™: Identity and belonging. “Us” unfolds through deep notes of sandalwood, oud, and musk, while “Them” is translated through grapefruit, lavender, and neroli.
- Is™ vs. Was™: Humanity and digital existence. Is™ explores nutmeg, myrtle, and galbanum, while Was™ leans into amber and clove. Final challenge: one of the two fragrances was created by a human, the other by AI – without revealing which is which. Any guesses?
