Fragrance house

Libertine Fragrance

Libertine Fragrance was founded in 2014 by Joshua Smith while he was studying at the University of Alberta. He began by experimenting with essential-oil mixtures and selling fragrances at a university pop-up market. Based in Edmonton, Alberta, the brand had its fragrances made there by Smith, and by the end of 2014 they were stocked in more than 15 Edmonton stores and internationally. Smith’s background in forestry and industrial design informed a perfume practice connecting scent with objects, memory, emotion, and sensory experience. From its early identity, Libertine emphasized unisex fragrance and resisted gendered marketing. In January 2025, after a four-year process involving legal problems and trademark issues, the brand changed its name to Paraphrase Perfume. Under that identity, Smith remains its founder and perfumer, while the independent North American perfume house centers storytelling, self-exploration, and scents intended for any body. Sweet Grass received particular attention in 2016, when it was called the line’s “most original” and “memorably inventive” scent, with Luca Turin specifically highlighting it.