Student creates organic perfume with calming effects

Sonakshi Roy, a Year 10 student at the Aga Khan Academy Mombasa, has created a natural and organic perfume titled ‘Serene: Power of Scent’, which has a calming effect and provides anxiety relief. The perfume project is inspired by Sonakshi’s growing interest in psychology and addressing mental health issues.

“My project explores how we can use developments in psychology to positively impact and improve our mental health and our life,” Sonakshi said. “I focused on the prevalent issue of anxiety and developed a product that could help those that have to deal with it daily. It’s an issue that affects everyone across the board but is not discussed within our communities.”

Sonakshi said she applied her knowledge of dilution and mixtures from her classes in Chemistry into creating her product, especially in the planning stages when deciding what ingredients to use and the concentrations required in the perfume-making process.

“The perfume consists of three main notes of lavender, rose, and vetiver essential oils, which are scents that are scientifically-proven to have relaxing properties and to be beneficial for anxiety relief,” Sonakshi explained. “Using these ingredients I developed a prototype which the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) tested for safety. The results were positive as the perfume passed when tested for both pH and stability of smell. I also tested the product on 10 people, the majority of whom responded with a consensus of the perfume being relaxing and calming.”

Having received positive feedback and approval on her project, Sonaskhi now hopes to launch her product officially in the near future and make it accessible to everyone.