Mono No Aware is a key term in Japanese culture and loosely translated it means something like the appreciation of things/objects due to the realisation of their impermanence. I first came across the term Mono No Aware in the autobiography of Sally Mann. The term immediately resonated with me, as for as long as I can remember I’ve had that feeling of happy/sad when on one hand there is the realisation that all things exist only temporary and at the same time you feel so much at awe that you got to experience them. It’s the ever-repeating circle of attachment and letting go. On a philosophical level I never particularly connected to terms like Memento Mori or Vanitas. The denouncing of the material world to me does not equal enlightening or liberation but mostly fear that I associate with numbness, indifference, and apathy. So, I was over the moon when I discovered Mono No Aware, finally a term that felt natural to me. Yes, loss brings sadness, but don’t we say better to have loved and lost then to have never loved at all, well, et voila! And on a perfume level, isn’t the experience of perfume inherent to Mono No Aware, the moment you spray it, it starts to disappear, and that is part of the beauty of perfume. This perfume is ode to this feeling and to the culture that brought us the term.

MEET THE BRAND

Name: Baruti 物の哀れ / Mono No Aware EDP 50ml
Brand: Baruti
SKU: 22233
Availability: InStock

Baruti

Baruti is an Amsterdam-based niche fragrance house founded in 2015 by Spyros Drosopoulos, a former neuroscientist turned perfumer. The name Baruti comes from the Greek word for “gunpowder,” a nod to its Greek roots and to the sense of explosion, surprise, and intensity that the brand’s creations aim to deliver. Each fragrance is designed to have impact — a spark that ignites imagination and lingers long after the first impression.

With a background in science and a doctorate in neuroscience, Spyros approaches perfumery with a rare blend of precision and creativity. His training informs an understanding of how scent interacts with memory, mood, and perception, while his artistic sensibility pushes him to craft compositions that are bold, unexpected, and emotionally charged. This dual perspective is what gives Baruti its unique edge — at once cerebral and visceral.

Baruti rejects the clichés of commercial perfumery. Rather than creating gendered or trend-driven fragrances, Spyros views perfume as an art form and a storytelling medium. Each scent is treated as a character in its own right, with layers that reveal themselves gradually, much like a narrative unfolding. Inspirations are wide-ranging: paintings, songs, fleeting memories, or even abstract ideas that resist conventional description.

The perfumes themselves are known for their contrasts. Hot Cotton captures the comforting warmth of freshly laundered fabric, wrapping cleanliness in an almost tactile softness, while Perverso toys with dualities, juxtaposing sweetness and spice in a way that feels both playful and subversive. In Mono No Aware, the Japanese concept of impermanence is rendered in scent, blending ephemerality and depth to create a fragrance that feels both fleeting and profoundly moving. Each composition invites surprise, balancing familiarity with invention.

What unites all Baruti creations is an emphasis on experience. Spyros avoids overly detailed note lists and prescriptive marketing language, instead inviting wearers to discover their own associations. In his view, perfume should not tell people what to feel, but create a space where feeling happens — sometimes comforting, sometimes challenging, but always memorable.

Over the years, Baruti has grown into a respected name in the world of niche fragrance, stocked internationally and beloved by those seeking individuality and intensity in scent. Yet despite this reach, production remains intimate, with all compositions and compounding done in-house to ensure authenticity and creative control.

View Baruti Collection