Aesop bottles the sublime shooting star in its new scent ‘Above Us, Steorra’
When you look up at the sky at night, have you ever wondered what a shooting star smells like? Aesop’s new fragrance, titled Above Us, Steorra, which launched this September, ventures an answer through a masterful reinvention of amber.
The nose behind this creation, Céline Barel, started from the most ethereal of briefs: a poem, a photo of the night sky and imagery of hues of amber. This deliberate minimalism posed an intriguing challenge: how to bottle something as fleeting and sublime as a shooting star?
As a long-time Aesop collaborator, Barel found inspiration in the brand’s very origins—its Collins Street store in Melbourne. Like each Aesop space uniquely reflecting its locale, the Melbourne store features a celestial ceiling where crushed Aesop bottles are embedded in concrete, evoking a subtle sense of stardust.
Aesop‘s Collins Street store in Melbourne
Echoing this quiet radiance, her composition opens with bright, citrusy cardamom tracing a luminous arc across the senses before settling into a deep, tender amber warmth—a celestial journey captured in the fragrance’s name, which pairs “Above Us” with “Steorra,” the Old English word for stars.
Just when you think developing such a complex scent requires years of formal studies, Barel’s story suggests otherwise. Growing up in Grasse—the fragrance capital of the world—her path to perfumery was almost predestined. Self-taught through her childhood collection of miniature perfume bottles and influenced by the sophisticated women around her, including her mother, a former Balenciaga model, she developed an intuitive understanding of scent composition at an early age. Her journey with Aesop began in 2015 with Tacit Eau de Parfum, which became one of the brand’s global bestsellers. This successful partnership continued with Aurner Eau de Parfum in 2024, and now Above Us, Steorra in 2025.
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Céline Barel, the master perfumer behind Aesop’s ‘Above Us, Steorra’
During her recent visit to Hong Kong for the fragrance launch, Barel sat down withTatler to discuss her creative vision for “Above Us, Steorra”. She shared insights into how the scent reflects her French heritage, and why she believes it will particularly resonate with Hong Kong’s discerning fragrance lovers.
What was your starting point for Above Us, Steorra’s composition?The brief was unmistakably Aesopian—to create an amber fragrance, but with a fresh, nonconformist perspective. Within this creative brief were abstract inspirations from Aesop: a poem by Mayuzumi Madoka titled Shooting Star, a photograph of the night sky, and imagery detailing the various hues of amber.
Rooted in a conceptual depth that immediately brought me back to the brand’s essence: antiquity, Greek philosophers, oracles and astrologers reading the sky. But beyond that, I saw this as a bold expansion of Aesop’s olfactive territory, tapping into a growing desire for warmth and sensuality. Reinventing amber felt like the most Aesopian way to introduce a new kind of opulent fragrance—one that’s reflective, intelligent and deeply sensorial.
The shooting star concept presented an intriguing challenge—how to capture that brief, incandescent moment in olfactory form.
By - Céline Barel
Aesop’s ‘Above Us, Steorra’ traces a celestial arc from bright cardamom to deep amber warmth, capturing the quiet radiance of its namesake.
Could you walk us through your vision for how it unfolds on the skin, and the specific moments or environments you envisioned while composing it?The opening of Above Us, Steorra is fiery and bright, an almost crackling bouquet of spices. You immediately feel the cardamom, cinnamon bark, pepper and a flash of frankincense. It’s not a gentle beginning; it’s charged with energy.
As the fragrance develops, you move into the heart, where the spices remain but deepen. There’s a subtle, skin-like warmth here, an animalic hum that isn’t derived from traditional animalic notes, but something more intuitive and embodied.
Then comes the base, built on a restrained, minimalist amber accord. There are woods, patchouli crystals for clarity, sandalwood for comfort and a touch of vanilla bean. But not to sweeten. This vanilla is leathery, boozy and almost chocolatey. It lends complexity, not softness. The fragrance finishes where it began: not with sweetness, but with a sense of elemental depth.
How did you blend your Grasse background in creating Above Us, Steorra?The use of cistus labdanum brings particular significance to the composition. I know this plant intimately; it grows where I’m from in the south of France. In the fragrance, I used both the resin and the twigs and leaves. The resin brings a crackling, sweet intensity—almost like fire on wood. The twigs and leaves, by contrast, evoke something mystical, almost sacred.
That sense of scale, of something cosmic, ancient, and philosophical, became a central part of the composition. Above Us, Steorra is a fragrance that gestures toward the stars but remains grounded.
It’s a fragrance for those who are looking up—but with both feet on the earth.
By - Céline Barel
Aesop’s Above Us, Steorra is an ambery ode to the boundless night sky and its infinite possibilities
And what elements of this fragrance do you think will particularly speak to Asian/Hong Kong consumers?In a world that often feels overwhelming, shrouded in artificial lights, noise and the relentless routines of modern metropolitan life—especially in bustling Hong Kong—I hope that Above Us, Steorra invites one to take a moment of pause and gaze up at the starry sky.
What drew you to Aesop’s distinctive approach to fragrance, and how does their aromatic philosophy align with or challenge your own creative principles? When developing a fragrance for a brand like Aesop, I strive to bring an edge. I embrace the challenge of interpreting the brief, ever in pursuit of that surprising formulation—the elusive “strange” factor. It should never be something smooth, soft or mainstream.
With Above Us, Steorra, I think of it as a new branch within the amber family: ambery spicy, but radically minimalist. Most amber fragrances are dense, powdery, almost heavy with nostalgia. This one defies gravity. It breathes. It’s airy, celestial. There’s space between the notes—room for light to pass through. This is amber as seen through the lens of Aesop: intelligent, rigorous, luminous.
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How do you personally wear Aesop’s fragrances, and which memories do they evoke for you?I enjoy applying fragrance to my clothes, scarf, and hair. Depending on the scent’s profile—especially with the comforting notes of Above Us, Steorra—I will even spray it on my cushion and sofa, so the space retains a hint of my presence even when I’m not there. The fragrances I love are almost proof of my identity.
From your perspective as a perfumer, how do you see fragrance’s role in daily life – particularly in its ability to shape memory, connect with storytelling, and enhance experience?To me, fragrance connects with emotions, influencing one’s self-confidence. It also captures memories, especially of places and persons.
With Above Us, Steorra, I wanted to create something embodied. Something that speaks to both the celestial and the primal. There’s this duality at its heart—like soul and body, intellect and instinct, starlight and skin.
I hope people feel transported by Above Us, Steorra. But also grounded. It’s a fragrance for those who are looking up—but with both feet on the earth.
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