Behind the shelves of pickles and fridges of milk and yoghurt, Sydney’s viral fragrance master is mixing bespoke perfumes in the back of a grocery shop.
Ali Jalloul’s loyal customers travel from across Sydney to visit Nobby’s Discount Store in Rockdale where the 33-year-old has gone TikTok viral for his impressive ability to recreate any perfume or scent.
Ali Jalloul of Jalu Fragrances creates a bespoke fragrance in the rear of the family mixed business in Rockdale, NSW.Credit: Kate Geraghty
His lab is impressive – Jalloul has every fragrance note you can think of from bubblegum to tobacco – and the ex-tiler can recreate most niche and designer perfumes for a fraction of the cost.
“I discovered I could find and download formulas, and then it just became fun and addicting once I made my first niche fragrances three years ago,” Jalloul said.
His hobby started with just one shelf behind the counter of the shop, which he works in with his father, then the pickle shelf was replaced with fragrance oils, then the counter top, and “like an infection” he had taken over half of the store.
His most popular service is recreating luxury perfumes for a fraction of the cost, but his ability to produce scents based on discontinued perfumes and personalised scents is some of his most rewarding work.
Jalloul’s business has boomed from his Tiktok fame.Credit: Kate Geraghty
His first customer of the day at 8am on a Friday buys three perfumes based on luxury fragrances which Jalloul mixes on the spot, and another discontinued scent which Ali promises to figure out in about a week.
“Scent is very important to people, it takes them back and reminds them of someone,” Jalloul said.
“I had someone message me on TikTok asking me to recreate their ex’s scent – I told them to move on, I’m not cloning your ex!”
His bestseller is a re-creation of the Maison Francis Baccarat Rouge which retails for over $400 for 70ml. Jalloul sells his for $70 each, and parts with around 20 bottles each day. No request seems too obscure or difficult for him, even if it takes a while to crack.
“Once a customer brought me his dad’s meat smoker and made me make it into a fragrance for him. I did it – I wouldn’t wear it myself but he was very happy.”
While he has to be careful in his wording – his scents are “inspired by” luxury brands and do not use any of those brand’s logos or bottles – his service is proving popular as his customers look to save money on luxuries as the cost of living bites.
TikTok has become a haven for perfume geeks, with the platform’s most popular fragrance creator Jeremy Fragrance amassing 9.3 million followers. Jalloul’s most popular video has over 650,000 views.
Jalloul serves customers Huey Nguyen (centre) and Yahya Alghamdi (right).Credit: Kate Geraghty
One of Ali’s loyal customers, 23-year-old marketing professional Yahya Alghamdi, travels around an hour and a half to visit the shop every few weeks. He’s a fellow fragrance fan and has bought around 18 bottles from Jalloul.
“My first impression was why is it in the back of some random shop … but to see somebody else know what they are talking about and also be very passionate about it, for me at least, it’s very refreshing,” he said.
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