LIiis Fragrances

Key Takeaways

• Liis was founded in California by two women who grew up minutes apart, met abroad, and bonded over a shared obsession with fragrance.
• Co-founder Alissa trained at ISIPCA in Versailles. Co-founder Leslie brings a designer's eye and the instincts of a self-taught perfumer.
• Select Liis fragrances are created in collaboration with Jérôme Epinette, the perfumer behind some of the most beloved work from Diptyque and Vilhelm Parfumerie.
• Every fragrance is formulated with consciously sourced ingredients, organic sugarcane alcohol, and no preservatives, dyes, phthalates or sulfates.
• These are everyday fragrances for people who want something that feels considered, personal and wearable without fatigue.

Some of the best fragrance houses come from people who were never supposed to be in the industry. No legacy family name, no massive lab, no decades of corporate infrastructure. Just two people who loved perfume so much they eventually had to make their own. That is the story of Liis.

Two Women, One Obsession

Alissa and Leslie grew up minutes apart from each other and never once crossed paths. Both of them were quietly collecting perfume as kids, drawn to the jewel-like quality of small bottles and the way a single scent could shift how a room or a moment felt. They did not meet until years later, when they were both living abroad, and when they did, the friendship found its footing over a shared fixation on fragrance. From there, Liis felt inevitable.

Alissa brought formal training from ISIPCA, the classical perfumery school in Versailles and one of the most respected institutions in the fragrance world. Leslie brought the eye of a designer and artist alongside the instincts of a self-taught perfumer. Together they founded Liis in California as a creative project where scent is the medium and personal experience is the starting point. Every composition draws on something real, a memory, an emotion, a specific quality of light or atmosphere, and then leaves the rest open for the wearer to interpret. That is a harder thing to pull off than it sounds.

What Minimalism Actually Means in Fragrance

Minimalism in perfume gets used loosely. Often it just means a clean, inoffensive scent with good packaging. Liis does something more specific. Their compositions are genuinely restrained, built around a point of view rather than a pile of notes, and designed to settle close to the skin and become something personal rather than projecting into a room.

Wearing a Liis fragrance tends to feel less like announcing yourself and more like carrying something private. There is real skill in that, and it is worth knowing that select Liis scents are created in collaboration with Jérôme Epinette, the perfumer behind some of the most quietly beloved work to come out of Diptyque and Vilhelm Parfumerie. His fingerprints are easy to recognise once you know what to look for: precise, elegant, never overwrought.

Made With Intention

Liis is formulated with high quality, consciously sourced ingredients from around the world and organic sugarcane alcohol. No preservatives, no dyes, no phthalates, no sulfates. The range is cruelty-free, vegan and allergy-tested, made in California. That combination of ethical formulation and genuine perfumery craft is increasingly what separates thoughtful independent houses from the noise. Liis sits comfortably in the former category.

Shop Liis at Connection Parfumerie

If you gravitate toward fragrances that feel considered rather than loud, that reward closeness rather than distance, and that you can reach for every single day without fatigue, Liis is worth exploring. These are not statement fragrances in the traditional sense. They are the kind you choose because they feel like yours.