Long years, slow moments: Why Troye Sivan takes a piece of home with him wherever he goes

The Australian star shares his self-care rituals 

As Tsu Lange Yor becomes the first Australian fragrance brand to be stocked at Mecca, we caught up with founder Troye Sivan about romance and rituals on the road, reclaiming a scent from an ex-love, and why he feels “so excited to be alive.” 

Sitting in a quiet recording studio in his meticulously-designed home in Carlton North, Troye Sivan is at ease. 

Despite Australia battling its coldest winter in recorded history – which has east coasters grumbling into their flat whites as they try to dodge gale-force winds and dwindling temperatures – Sivan is cheerful and seemingly warm; dressed in a millennial pink Acne Studios tee and a pair of gunmetal grey over-ear headphones. 

Weather aside, the singer’s sunny disposition speaks volumes of his attitude towards time spent in his favourite place: there’s no place like it, and no place he’d rather be. 

It’s this love of home that led Sivan to launch his beauty and homewares brand Tsu Lange Yor in August last year. 

Meaning ‘to good years’ or ‘to long years’ in Yiddish, Sivan independently created the collection alongside his brother, Steele Mellet, as an homage to his heritage – from the streets of north Melbourne to his Jewish ancestry, and the inexplicable parfum de chez moi. Comprising a tight capsule of home and personal fragrance and design pieces – nine products which are categorised as either ‘self’ or ‘sanctuary’ – the brand is undeniably Australian. 

The brothers collaborated with homegrown experts, including artist Joel Adler and perfumer Craig Andrade, to create their final products, and photographers Joe Brennan, Lauren Bamford, Sarah Pritchard and Byron Spencer who crafted the visual identity.

Tsu Lange Yor is about self and sanctuary. Image: Supplied

But Tsu Lange Yor was also a product of Sivan’s desire to carry a piece of home with him, wherever he goes. “I used to travel with candles,” he tells Body+Soul, of deliberately planting seeds of nostalgia in his suitcase when he heads out the door. 

Hopping between hotels and capital cities, as he records, performs, acts and attends, it’s no wonder the 29-year-old star craves olfactory reminders of the city streets in which he was raised. 

As founder-creative director of the brand, Sivan was intimately involved in crafting the three hero fragrances, which serve as a love letter to his very own Suburbia.

Inspired by the likes of Fitzroy Pool, where he spent the sticky summers of his youth, his Hebrew birth year (5755), and the more nebulous concept of “seduction, heartbreak, healing”, the scents are draped in memories. But it’s these moments of “romance and slowing down, even just to be yourself” which Sivan says make all the difference. 

And then of course, “I was like, ‘I would like unlimited candles’, so let me make my own,” he jokes. “Now, of course, I travel with Tsu Lange Yor.”

It’s fitting then that Tsu Lange Yor, the brainchild of one of our most successful and culturally significant exports, is the first Australian fragrance brand to line the shelves in Mecca. 

Known for their meticulous curation of the most innovative and original beauty brands, Tsu Lange Yor joins the ranks of like-minded fragrance houses, but none which represent the unique beauty of Australia quite so well. 

As the brand officially launches in-store and online at Mecca, we spoke to Sivan about romance and rituals on the road, reclaiming a scent from an ex, and why he feels “so excited to be alive.” 

TLY 5755 EDP by Tsu Lange Yor. Image: Supplied

Body+Soul: Tsu Lange Yor focuses on notions of self and sanctuary, when you’re moving from place to place so often how do you cultivate a sense of home? 

Troye Sivan: It's funny that you ask that because ultimately one of the genesis points for Tsu Lange Yor was I used to travel with candles. I used to put them in my suitcase, and I would light a candle and then sometimes I would take a scarf and drape it over one of the bedside lamps to kind of give a bit of a softer light. 

So scent, yes, but then also people. I've got really amazing people around me and I'm really lucky. I brought my best friend to, like, the whole Europe tour. My parents came to half the shows. I think keeping good people around and then using scent as well is a really powerful way to kind of bring home with you wherever you go.

B+S: How does that extend to creating safe spaces in your mind, too? 

TS: I think often when you're on the go, go, go, the instinct is to keep that up in your breaks as well. And so if I’ve got an hour in the day or whatever, I have to really, really take a conscious moment to maybe put my phone down and read or, go have a bath or, maybe exercise. Things that I really know are good for me, that I kind of require. 

I really, really, really prioritised sleep on this Europe tour, and that was super important. I didn't get sick, which is like the first time on the tour that I've haven't got sick. So getting even a 20 minute nap in really, really, really can turn my day around. 

I think it’s something that I want to keep working on, but creating those spaces for yourself and those moments for yourself are really important. 

B+S: You also speak of rituals being a big part of the Tsu Lange Yor philosophy. 

TS: It’s something that’s really important to us, this idea of ritual – especially ritual for the self. In the morning, I will light a little tealight candle and place it under my oil burner. Taking that little moment for myself and then, even if I'm not in my room and I'm going up and down, when I walk back into my room, my bed is made (that's another ritual that I really prioritise), my room smells really nice and I see the little candle flickering. It’s creating those moments of romance and slowing down even just for yourself – something as simple as lighting a little tealight candle. 

And that oil is going to last me forever. That's another thing I think people should realise about the oil burners is it's actually so economically friendly because the oil just lasts and lasts. I’ve lit that same couple drops of oil probably 10 times now, you know.

I think taking the moment to just light that tealight candle, and having that little ritual, is really, really important. 

B+S: LA is often said to have many similarities to Australia, in terms of lifestyle and climate. What is it about Australia that really makes it feel like home? 

TS: I think culturally I actually think it's pretty different. I find for me at least, socially I can kind of relax here in a way that I sometimes have a harder time with in the US. I've got my really, really, really good friends that I feel like I can relax with, but just in general, I think, there’s kind of different social cues or etiquette, between the two places. 

I find the walkability of Melbourne to be something that really makes me feel at home instantly. Being able to get on my bike and tackle what feels like the whole city, is really freeing and liberating to me. I think getting away from the fuss of what my life looks like a lot of the time and being able to just hop on my bike and go, that's really, really nice to me.  

Troye Sivan for Tsu Lange Yor. Image: Supplied

B+S: We know that fragrance and memory are really closely associated – is there any one person in your life that has a style or a signature scent that you love? 

TS: Actually the first thing that comes to mind is using eucalyptus oil when mopping the floors. When I first started going to my manager's house, he does that on his floors, so there's always this kind of like, faint smell of eucalyptus in his house. 

And, to me, it now is completely associated with cleanliness and freshness and just kind of like looking after yourself. And so I think for some reason, that's the first one that came to mind. 

B+S: Are there any fragrance notes you can’t stand because of the nostalgia they bring?

I'm currently in the process of reclaiming a scent that I love, from an ex. I'm slowly but surely working it back into my life – wearing it occasionally, and slowly incorporating it back in and trying to create new memories. 

I got double whammied with it, though, because the next guy that I also had a crush on also wore it. So it's a tough one for me. I don't know that I'll ever fully get back to where I could wear it and, you know, just go about my day. But I do want to be able to at least enjoy it occasionally and be around people who are wearing it and not be like, ‘Oh my god, I need to leave’.

[Another scent] that I can’t stand – I think it's just a personal preference – I don't really love lemon, because I associate it with cleanliness. Not in the same way that I do eucalyptus. When I think about lemon, it's like the sort of artificial lemon that was maybe in the stuff that they would clean the desks with at school. It smells kind of sterile to me in a way that I don't like. 

B+S: What does your routine look like when you’re travelling so often? 

TS: So I don't really have a routine, I would say. But I've obviously got my little “things”. I rarely unpack because I'm not really in places for very long, but I do live out of those packing cubes, so my life feels quite organised, even though it's still in a suitcase. It's almost like a travelling wardrobe, like with drawers, everything is in its pocket. 

But I do pretty much live out of suitcases – two suitcases, sometimes three if it's like a cold place that I'm going to. But I live out of my two toiletry bags that I have, so that when I do need to pack, it's just as easy as putting them back into my suitcase. 

I've got little routines like that and then I’ve got my shower routine and stuff like that, but honestly, one of the things I love so much about my job is that every day does actually look really different. 

Besides the things I can put in place, like exercise as much as I can, walk as much as I can, go out for dinners, see friends, stuff like that, I kind of just surrender to [it]. I get kind of carted around a little bit.  

B+S: What other types of exercise do you enjoy while you’re on the move?

TS: Riding my bike and walking, like incidental exercise, I think is a great way to get your exercise in. But then I've done all kinds of things. At the gym, the thing that I kind of come back to, is just doing my own thing. Which is not, obviously, the most effective way, if you're looking for aesthetic results or anything like that. But that is not really my goal with exercise. I think for me it's much more about clearing my head, doing something for me, something that just feels good. 

I started to really, really crave it, especially on tour, because we were doing so many shows per week and it's such intense cardio – I really, really, really love that feeling now. So I think for me, just getting a bit of a sweat and feeling that kind of adrenaline is something that I really look forward to. 

Tsu Lange Yor eau de parfum. Image: Supplied

B+S: You’ve spoken out about your experiences with mental health challenges, how do you take care of your mental health amidst this crazy, high-pressure environment? 

I think having good friends is really important for me. I can definitely naturally isolate a little bit, so for me, it's important that I keep up with people. And I always just feel better when I'm connected to other people. 

Exercise, genuine connection with friends or family, and time off. I think that's one of the cultural differences between the US and Australia – I'm pretty firm about weekends and work hours and things like that. I really try and prioritise time off as well.  

B+S: It must be hard to safeguard time like that 

TS: It is, yeah. What ends up happening most of the time is I work in really intense chunks. For example, the Europe tour, we were putting together the show before that. So let's say I was working for two months really intensely before the first show, and then we had a month worth of shows. 

But then everyone knows that in July, I’m in Australia with my nephew, like Do Not Disturb kind of vibe. So that’s kind of how we achieve the balance at the moment. But I would like to get it to the point where it flows a little bit better, where it's five days a week I’m working and then two days a week I’m not. 

B+S: It’s been a year since you released your first single from Something to Give Each Other, Rush. Did you learn anything about your own sexuality and identity through creating that album? 

TS: So much. I feel like the whole album was really my learnings of myself and connection with other people. It was coming out of Covid lockdowns that I really just felt this unbelievable desire to connect with people. The experiences that I had coming out of that really informed the whole project for me and kind of changed the way that I see the whole world. 

I don't want to use the album title in the answer, but realising that there are just a lot of people in the world, and there are a lot of experiences and possibilities and love. I cherish so much the idea of like connection, whether it's with a friend or someone that you just met that day, or someone that you're in a long term romantic relationship with. I feel so excited to be alive because of that. Not to sound too lofty or huge, but it's just the truth.  

B+S: You’ve had one hell of a past decade. What would you tell your teenage self about growing up?

TS: I think I would just say ‘Trust yourself’. Something that I really, really believe is that there's no right or wrong answer when it comes to your perspective. I never really feel the pressure to look over my shoulder and compare myself to anyone else because I'm just doing what feels right to me, and what feels exciting to me and what’s true to me. And I think people will respond to that. 

So I would just say, listen to yourself, and everything else kind of falls into place after that.

Tsu Lange Yor's oil burner. Image: Supplied

B+S: It’s officially a Brat summer – or winter if you’re in Australia. As a friend and collaborator, what is the best thing about Charli XCX that no one knows? 

TS: I feel like people know this, but she is wickedly funny. I love laughing with Charli. That's pretty much my favourite thing.

Tsu Lange Yor is available exclusively at Mecca, in-store and online at mecca.com.

Originally published as Long years, slow moments: Why Troye Sivan takes a piece of home with him wherever he goes