When French beauty entrepreneur Coco Chanel famously stated, "No elegance is possible without perfume, it is the unseen, unforgettable, ultimate accessory," she wasn't wrong.

In Nakuru, the fragrance trade has recently surged in popularity, not just in the city centre, where beauty shops are flourishing, but also in local estate shops.

At nearly every corner in town, you'll find refill shops offering doses of knock-off scents starting at just Sh100.

Gone are the days when shoppers had to save up for expensive branded perfumes with signature scents. Now, with just a few coins, anyone can afford a fragrance.

Carol Wairimu shares that since switching to perfume refills, she's never looked back, emphasizing the importance of wearing a scent to lift one’s spirits.

Carol Wairimu, a customer of perfume refills in Nakuru city during an interview on August 27, 2024.

Photo credit: MUTHONI WANJIKU/MTAA WANGU

"I used to buy branded perfumes, with the cheapest costing Sh1,200, but refills are much more economical. For as little as Sh100, I can get the scent I want," she says.

Wairimu adds that the accessibility of these shops has made perfumes more readily available, drawing in more customers and creating a booming market.

"Almost six years ago, there were only two refill shops, but as the customer base has grown, so has the number of shops—now there are more than two on a single street," she notes.

These refill shops offer a variety of scents, allowing customers to choose or even mix fragrances. Wairimu prefers a combination that lasts her about a week.

"If I use it daily, the 100ml bottle lasts a week. The scent lingers for a few hours, which is fine with me since I can afford to smell nice for most of the day," she says.

Refill perfumes are seen as a great equalizer, enabling even those with modest incomes to smell like a multinational CEO.

With increasing attention to grooming and higher spending on personal and beauty care products, the trend of new perfume refill shops opening in Nakuru is unlikely to slow down anytime soon.

The rapid rise of perfume refill shops in Nakuru city

Author Spotlight

Muthoni Wanjiku