Hidden Gems: Meet Navid Sanati of Namisanati Fine Perfumery

Today we’d like to introduce you to Navid.

Navid, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Our story in LA really begins with distance, memory, and my relationship with my brother. While I had been living in the U.S. for many years, he was in Tehran, quietly building something deeply personal. In 2018, he founded NAMISANATI ,under his own name, Nami Sanati, inspired by a desire to create something rooted in Iranian identity at a time when niche, locally made perfumes weren’t widely embraced. His goal was to capture memories through scent and to be part of a new creative movement in Iran that valued craftsmanship and cultural authenticity.

Although I had been living in the U.S. for over a decade by then, the brand became an unexpected bridge between us. We’ve always been close, but distance naturally shaped our lives differently. Through NAMISANATI, we found a way to reconnect creatively and emotionally, even from opposite sides of the world. Eventually, I became more involved in shaping the brand’s direction in the US, its storytelling, and how its essence could translate beyond Iran.

Coming from a film background, I’ve always been drawn to atmosphere and emotion. Scent felt like another form of storytelling. Invisible, but incredibly powerful. Since fragrance can’t be experienced digitally, my role naturally evolved into building the visual and emotional world around each creation, translating feeling, memory, and place into imagery and narrative.

Bringing NAMISANATI to the U.S. in 2024 felt less like an expansion and more like a continuation of a conversation that had been unfolding for years. Today, the brand represents our shared history, our cultural roots, and a way of preserving moments that might otherwise fade. It’s a collaboration built on trust, nostalgia, and the belief that scent can carry stories across time and distance.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It definitely hasn’t been a completely smooth road. One of the biggest challenges has been communication. Working across different time zones means our conversations don’t always happen in real time, and not being able to see each other regularly adds another layer of difficulty. So much of creative collaboration depends on presence, nuance, and energy, and distance can make even simple decisions take longer.

On top of that, the realities of working with a team based in Iran bring their own challenges. Periodic internet shutdowns and instability can suddenly interrupt communications. And there have also been moments when we’ve had to be extremely careful about what we share publicly, making sure that nothing we say or promote puts the team in Iran at risk.

Despite all of this, these challenges have shaped how we work. They’ve forced us to be more intentional, more patient, and more trusting of one another. While the obstacles are real, they’ve also strengthened our collaboration and reinforced why the work matters to us in the first place.

As you know, we’re big fans of Namisanati Fine Perfumery. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
NAMISANATI is a fragrance house centered on memory, place, and storytelling. Our perfumes draw inspiration from various Iranian regions, mythology, and meaningful cities to me and my brother. They are created to evolve gradually, echoing the way memories resurface over time.

Memories often come to us through very specific sensations, something sweet, smoky, floral, fresh, or even slightly bitter. Scent works the same way. Perfume is built in three layers: the top notes you smell first, the heart that develops after a few minutes, and the base that stays with you the longest. That structure naturally mirrors how a memory unfolds. It might begin with one simple detail, then slowly open into something deeper and more complex. We try to capture that feeling by choosing notes that reflect an emotion or a moment we want to evoke. A fragrance might start bright and fresh, then move into something warmer or more nostalgic, just like how certain memories shift as you reconnect with them.

Everyone has experienced that moment when a smell suddenly takes you back in time. For me, jasmine always brings me back to the walk to my elementary school in spring, the jasmine trees would bloom, and that smell felt like the first sign that summer was coming. And the scent of cigar smoke instantly reminds me of my grandfather sitting on his green leather couch. Those small details are powerful, and that’s exactly what we try to recreate in our blends: scents that trigger a feeling or a story the moment you smell them.

Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
My biggest advice is to just start. It’s easy to wait until everything feels perfect, the idea, the timing, the resources, etc… but perfection often becomes a form of hesitation. You learn so much more by doing than by planning. Your work will evolve as you go, and that’s part of the process. Staying curious, open to change, and willing to learn along the way is far more valuable than getting everything right from the beginning.

Pricing:

• 50ml Eau de Parfum $110
• 15ml Ext de Parfum $60
• Disccovery Set $35

Contact Info:

• Website: https://namisanati.us/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/namisanatiparfums.us/