Every fragrance house has an origin story. Most of them involve a laboratory, a brief, a marketing budget, and a launch strategy. Maison Nikoui's origin story involves two old friends, a long conversation, and a shared conviction that something was missing from niche perfumery.
The founders
Maison Nikoui was co-founded by Marshoud Dababneh and Jesper Shirzad Holm in Copenhagen, Denmark in 2024. Marshoud brings a background in brand development and a lifelong passion for fragrance. Jesper, Co-founder and CCO, brings creative vision and a deep understanding of how scent connects to identity and emotion. The two have been friends for over 20 years — and Maison Nikoui is, in many ways, the natural result of two decades of shared taste, argument, and refinement.
The question that started everything
The founding question was simple: what would Scandinavian design look like if applied to niche perfumery? Not the romanticised version of Scandinavia — pine forests, sea air, Nordic mythology. The real thing. The design tradition that produced some of the world's most enduring chairs, typefaces, and buildings. The tradition that values restraint as confidence, specificity over breadth, and the idea that everything should have a clear reason to exist.
Applied to fragrance, this produced a deceptively straightforward brief: make ten compositions, each with a specific character, each committed completely to what it is, each available to anyone willing to sample before they commit.
New Nordic Niche
The phrase Maison Nikoui coined for this approach — New Nordic Niche — is not a marketing concept. It is a description of a working method. Every fragrance in the collection is the result of following that method: defining a character, finding the notes that embody it precisely, and resisting the temptation to add anything that doesn't serve the composition.
The result is a collection of ten Eau de Parfum compositions that are, collectively, an argument for a specific way of thinking about fragrance. Bold enough to have a point of view. Restrained enough to let the wearer find their own meaning in it.
The Beauty Oscar 2025
In 2025, Maison Nikoui's fragrance Cheeky Cherry was awarded Best Niche Fragrance at the Beauty Oscars 2025. It was, in its way, a confirmation that the method works — that a fragrance can be specific, uncompromising, and still resonate deeply with a broad audience.
Where to find us
Maison Nikoui is based in Copenhagen with a flagship showroom at Istedgade 124 in Vesterbro. The full collection of ten Eau de Parfum compositions is available worldwide at maisonnikoui.com, with free international shipping on orders over a certain threshold. Every fragrance is available in a 2ml sample for 60 DKK — because we believe you should always try before you commit.
