Fragrance house

Dark Tales

Dark Tales began as a home-based fragrance hobby in Moscow in July 2019. After its founder opened an Etsy shop in October that year, the brand was officially registered in 2020 and moved to Uppsala, Sweden. Founded by Arina P. Franzén, it is an independent perfume house run by Franzén with her husband, Tim Franzén. Franzén serves as founder, perfumer, and creative director; her background includes history, psychology, and biographical writing, and she began as a self-taught perfumer before studying and becoming certified through the Natural Perfume Academy. Dark Tales develops gothic and alternative perfumes inspired by dark history, old literature, forgotten rooms, legends, rituals, and the past, treating each fragrance’s name, image, mood, packaging, and scent as parts of a single world. Arina Franzén Botanical Perfumery was introduced in 2023, followed by Villaniflōr in 2025 and Scent Rewind, a music-inspired house, in 2026. Dark Tales identifies itself as the original house and mother company behind these brands.