Sail to distant shores
The story of Scandinavia has always been a story of the sea. This is a region connected by water roads and trading routes, ferries and longboats, pleasure cruisers and paddleboards. The Baltic Sea, dotted with islands, flows around the coast of Sweden, while the Skagerrak and Kattegat ford the space between Denmark and Sweden, historical toll points where ships paid their dues to Denmark marking the entrance to the sea. The water gets wilder and saltier as it reaches the north, becoming the Norwegian Sea around Norway and then up to the Arctic Ocean, playground of orca, walrus and beluga whales.
Things get wilder under the surface. World War II warships and planes lie at the bottom next to the remains of Viking ships, treasure dropped in the sea to appease the gods and beg for good weather, while herds of seals and schools of cod swim above them. Long-legged starfish clamber over the rocks and scallops grow in the deep, shaded by waving kelp.
Even the largest hubs, the capital cities of Scandinavia, have a deep and lasting connection with the sea, facing them and embracing them as trade routes, natural harbours and deep undersea larders. Life in Scandinavia is all about the water.
A sense of the sea
We combine natural essential oils with safe synthetic ingredients to create unique fragrance impressions of Scandinavia, inspired by our experiences and unique scent tours of the region. HAV has four key fragrance notes: salt spray and sea kelp, hawthorn and beach rose.
Salt has been harvested by coastal dwellers for centuries, and is naturally a key ingredient in our marine-led fragrance. A direct product of the sea, it is one of the oldest gifts of mother nature with a tangy, fresh scent, and is essential to life. We pair it with sea kelp, the large algae seaweeds growing in the cold, shallow waters of northern seas. Kelp is often used for skin treatments thanks to its antioxidant properties, and it comes with a tangy, marine fragrance.
But the scent of the sea doesn’t just come from the water, it is influenced by all of its surroundings. Hawthorn is often found along the shoreline in Scandinavia, shrubs or small trees with a small, red berry-like fruit and a strong floral, honeysweet aroma. Beach rose adds colour and a sweet and delicate fragrance to the mix, a species of rose native to colder climes where it is seen in the sand dunes and along the coast blooming all summer long. Together these four key notes combine to create a unique scent of coastal life in Scandinavia.
Always sustainably produced
As a certified B Corporation, it’s important that our products are responsible and made with sustainable processes. Our personal care collection is vegan and cruelty-free, we prioritise certified organic ingredients and we describe the exact amounts on every label.
Packaging for our 450 ml pump bottle and 225 ml tube are made from renewable-sourced and recyclable bioplastics; the cardboard used in our boxes is sourced from managed Swedish forests, is FSC-certified and uses natural colour dyes.
Our candle wax comes from Swedish rapeseed oil that is traceable, sustainably farmed and non-GMO, and our candle glass is produced in the EU with up to 30% recycled materials. It’s glass for keeps, designed for reuse long after the candle wick has burned down.
