27 87

27 87 is an independent niche perfume house based in Barcelona, founded in 2016 by Romy Kowalewski [6]. It produces a small, curated range of fragrances that the company describes as genderless and built for self-expression, and it remains active, with new releases appearing on its storefront and editorial coverage continuing into the mid-2020s.

The brand's unusual name works on two levels. The numerals point to its bottle sizes — 27 millilitres and 87 millilitres, in place of the industry's standard 30, 50 and 90 millilitre flasks — and they also stand for the founder's date of birth. In a 2019 interview Kowalewski confirmed the personal reference while declining to reveal the month, remarking that people "needn't know my horoscope sign as well" [8].

Kowalewski was born and raised in Germany before relocating to Spain and settling in Barcelona [8]. By her own account, her sense of smell was trained from childhood: she grew up as the child of bakers, and her family would have her taste newly made products without telling her the ingredients, teaching her to pick out subtle nuances of flavour and aroma. After studying in Barcelona, she visited fragrance production facilities in the city, an experience she credits with inspiring her to start her own label. The company launched in 2016 after she spent roughly two years seeking investors while working in marketing [6].

From the outset the house has been tied to its home city. According to the company, its perfumes are "100% made in Barcelona – from A to Z: the juice, the bottle, and the packaging" [3], and the company frames local production partly as a way to keep delivery distances short.

27 87 keeps a deliberately limited catalogue — the company describes a curated collection of twelve fragrances [3] — and works with established perfumers rather than a single in-house nose. Among the noses credited with its scents are Daniela Andrier, Mark Buxton, Shyamala Maisondieu, Jordi Fernández and Gaël Montero.

Its compositions lean toward contrast and unexpected pairings. The house favours what it calls premium raw materials, citing ingredients such as Somali frankincense, Moroccan cedarwood and iris from the Landes region of France, and designs scents intended to "evolve gradually, revealing layers rather than declaring itself all at once" [4]. Several releases recur across press coverage. Genetic Bliss is a molecular fragrance built around the aroma-molecule Akigalawood; Elixir de Bombe, by Mark Buxton, layers tangerine, red pepper and ginger over caramel, leather and amber [8]; and #hashtag, by Daniela Andrier, sets aldehydes and violet leaves against iris, frankincense and musk. The collection's newer entries include Lametta, which the brand calls a linear fragrance made from refined musk molecules.

The fragrances are positioned as vegan and cruelty-free: the company states that all of its perfumes "are compatible with vegan principles" and "are not tested on animals" [3].

27 87 presents fragrance as closer to art than to fashion. Kowalewski has summarised her approach as "chemistry as an art form" and says the house is built on co-creation — "inviting wearers to be part of the process" rather than dictating how a scent should be worn [9]. The brand's stated mission is to celebrate individuality and the personal need to express one's uniqueness [10], and it markets its perfumes as genderless and anchored in the present moment, captured in the tagline "A scent beyond the moment."

That outlook extends to how the company releases its work. As an independent house, it says it brings out new perfumes "when it's time, not when the market requires it" [3] — a slower, less commercially driven cadence that it treats as central to its identity. Editorial reviewers have placed the brand within contemporary niche perfumery, describing its scents as carefree and modern and noting their appeal to a millennial audience drawn to straightforward, here-and-now fragrances [8].

The company is active and independent; its founders or parent ownership beyond Romy Kowalewski are not part of the public record. According to the brand, it now operates in 23 countries [6]. Its live storefront has continued to add releases — recent additions include Lametta and Hakuna Matata — and the founder publicly teased a launch around 27 April, hinting "We might have gone bananas," consistent with the banana-themed Hakuna Matata scent [9]. The brand maintains an active presence on Instagram as @27_87.