Sifr Aromatics
Founded 2010
Independent perfume house on Arab Street, opened in 2010 by Johari Kazura, a third-generation perfumer from the Jamal Kazura family. It blends small-batch perfumes and oils in a 19th century shophouse and makes bespoke scents to order. Sifr means zero in Arabic.
Hours and prices change, so check with the shop before you go.
A third-generation perfumer's shophouse on Arab Street
Sifr Aromatics was founded in Singapore in 2010 by Johari Kazura, a third-generation perfumer. His grandfather Hanifa Kazura opened a small shop near Arab Street in 1933, and his father, Jamal Kazura, later turned the family business toward perfume as Jamal Kazura Aromatics. Johari worked there, studied in the USA, then opened Sifr. The name is the Arabic word for zero, a state of nothing from which all things are made.
The shop is in a 19th century shophouse in Kampong Glam. Its perfumers keep more than 200 small-batch aromatic oils and blend perfume oils, eaux de parfum, candles and essential oil blends locally. Bottles are labelled made in Singapore and can be refilled in store in about five minutes. Roots, Singapore's heritage site, notes that Johari uses both natural and synthetic ingredients.
Sifr Aromatics has its own shop at 42 Arab Street, open for walk-ins from 10am to 5pm and by appointment from 5pm to 8pm. A 15 ml oil perfume costs from S$55, and a 1.5-hour private workshop, where you blend your own 50 ml eau de parfum, costs S$275. Try Jasmine Dragon first. Made with three jasmines over Mysore sandalwood, it received an honourable mention at the 2025 Art and Olfaction Awards, and you can smell the first batch in the shop.
- Jasmine DragonNamed after the Year of the Dragon, built on three kinds of jasmine from Madurai over Indian sandalwood and benzoin.
- RajawaliMalay for eagle, after the Garuda of Hindu-Buddhist myth, a nod to Johari's Indonesian heritage.
- Tobacco SeaA day at Tanjong Beach Club, whose initials TBC turned into the name, with spiced tobacco and sea breeze.
- BaudelaireNamed for the poet of The Flowers of Evil, with peach, apricot, rose and jasmine.
- AinurArabic for moonlight, a lingering scent of lily of the valley, carnation, tea rose and musk.
Where to buy
- 42 Arab Street, Kampong Glam
In our city guides
- Sifr Aromatics premium perfume workshop (Workshop, Singapore)
- Sifr Aromatics (Boutique, Singapore)