In an industry often clouded by glossy billboards, celebrity endorsements, and airbrushed perfection, one Australian fragrance house is doing things differently — and the world is taking notice.
Who Is Elijah is the perfume brand turning heads (and noses) for all the right reasons. Founded by Raquel Bouris in her Sydney apartment in 2018, the brand has quickly gained cult status for its genderless scents, sustainable ethos, and unapologetically raw approach to branding. But what really sets Who Is Elijah apart isn’t just what’s in the bottle — it’s the story behind it.
And as a marketing agency built on storytelling, we can’t help but admire it.
Stripping Back the Fragrance Industry
From the start, Raquel wanted to disrupt. She wasn’t from the world of beauty or fragrance — she came from events and had zero formal training in perfumery. But what she did have was an eye for aesthetics, an obsession with scent, and a relentless belief that the fragrance world needed shaking up.
She launched her first scent, "His | Her," using saved wages and selling bottles at Bondi Markets. The brand name? Inspired by a random encounter with a man named Elijah — a name that lingered, felt mysterious, and perfectly captured the ambiguity she was building into her scents.
Rather than crafting overly feminine or traditionally masculine products, Who Is Elijah leans into individuality, asking the wearer to decide what the scent means to them. It’s bold. It’s personal. It’s intentionally unpolished.
Authenticity As a Marketing Superpower
While many brands try to look authentic, Who Is Elijah is authentic. You can’t fake that. From grainy film photos on social media to behind-the-scenes chaos at shoots, everything is built to feel like a story unfolding in real time — not a production.
And that’s what modern consumers crave: relatability over perfection, substance over polish.
Rather than relying on luxury stock imagery or airbrushed celebrity campaigns, Who Is Elijah creates a brand world that feels like your effortlessly cool friend — the one who throws on an oversized blazer and makes it look iconic. The one who doesn’t follow trends but somehow always starts them.
That’s intentional marketing. The kind that connects. The kind that converts.
Building a Brand That Feels Like You
At Kwento, we believe in building brands that don’t just look good — they feel real. Who Is Elijah embodies that idea to its core.
They’ve managed to:
Tell a story that’s deeply personal yet universally relatable.
Create a product that doesn’t just sit on shelves, but lives on skin and sparks emotion.
Cultivate a community that feels more like a movement than a customer base.
They didn’t wait for the perfect moment, a celebrity plug, or a five-figure budget. They started with a story. And that story grew legs.
The Takeaway for Brand Builders
If you’re a founder, creative, or business owner wondering how to break through the noise — take notes.
Start with your why, not your marketing plan.
Let your story shape your aesthetic, not trends.
And remember: it’s not about being for everyone — it’s about being unforgettable to your people.
Who Is Elijah isn’t just Australia’s hottest perfume brand. It’s a masterclass in building a brand that dares to be different.
And at Kwento, that’s exactly the kind of story we love to tell.
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