In Astra is a celestial niche fragrance brand hailing from Italy. Founded in 2020 by Sofia Bardelli, the nose behind the scents, and her sister Fabiola, creative director, it explores the line between ephemerality and eternity; the fleeting nature of perfume meets the perpetuity of the cosmos. The name itself, translating to Among the Stars, evokes a journey through time and space, reflecting how powerful an olfactive experience can be. We were lucky enough to chat with Fabiola and learn a bit more about the brand, the inspiration, and the sisterly connection behind it all.
Could you walk us through your academic and professional journeys?
Sofia comes from a more scientific background: after graduating in Italy, she studied to become a perfumer at the GIP and has worked for international fragrance houses ever since. She is now based in Dubai.
I, on the other hand, came from a career outside the perfumery world, though I have always been deeply fascinated by fragrance: its ability to translate emotion, memory, and beauty into something intangible.
Whose idea was it to start a fragrance company?
I had the initial idea, but it quickly became a shared dream that gradually took shape. I always knew I would create something with Sofia, something that would unite our love for the world of scent with our vision of perfume as an art form.
What was the process like?
It wasn’t as easy as one might imagine. We launched the brand during the pandemic, a challenging time for everyone. Yet, despite the difficulties, we pushed through, guided by the optimistic and hopeful message that stars and the universe embody. In a way, it was both cathartic and deeply inspiring to translate our perception of celestial beauty into scent.
Wega: Marshmallow, Sakura, Centifolia Rose
What is it like working as a team of sisters?
Communication is direct as we both know exactly what we want to express through fragrance. There’s a deep understanding between us, and we enjoy challenging each other to keep pushing the project forward. It’s a healthy, constructive kind of challenge, something essential in an industry that can often be difficult or unbalanced.
Did you both love fragrance from a young age?
Scent has always held great importance for us. We still remember our mother spraying her perfume before leaving for work; that gesture felt almost like a ritual. And the familiar fragrance of our grandparents’ home remains etched in memory. Perfume has always played a meaningful role in our lives, a quiet but powerful presence that accompanied us since childhood.
What was your first scent memory?
I remember the fresh mountain air on a crisp summer night, the scent of freshly cut hay, and linen perfumed with lavender. Those simple yet vivid aromas are deeply rooted in my memory.
Antares: Pink Pepper, Tuberose, Frangipani
Where did the idea for the brand come from – the idea of the sky and stars?
In Astra was born from a passion that has accompanied us since childhood: a fascination with the stars, the universe, and everything that holds the mystery of the sky.
The name, which in Latin means “among the stars,” captures a luminous intuition: the desire to unite the vastness of the cosmos with the intimate, sensory world of fragrance.
The idea came from a simple gesture: looking up at the sky and listening to its silent secrets. For me, the universe is an endless source of inspiration: Nature, in its most boundless form, is the purest expression of art.
In Astra represents the union between artistic perfumery and the science of astronomy; though this connection can also be read in reverse. Perfume is, indeed, poetry, but also chemistry and precision; and astronomy, while a science, is also a poetic gaze into the infinite. Both, in their own way, seek to bring light to mystery.
What parallels can be drawn between fragrance/perfumery and the sky/stars?
What unites stars and perfumes is their secret language: a language of transformation. Though they seem still, stars live in constant metamorphosis: they are born, they explode, they dissolve, and are reborn from dust.
So does a fragrance: it reveals itself gradually, evolves, moves through accords in sequence until it merges into a single symphony.
Both are journeys through time: invisible dances between science and art.
Mismar: Juniper, Ginger, Cypress
What is your favorite scent profile?
I don’t have a single favorite scent profile. What I truly appreciate in a fragrance is when contrasting elements are combined, notes that might not seem to belong together, yet when united, create unexpected harmonies and olfactory symphonies.
What is the power of scent, to you?
Perfume is above all emotion: it is emotion for both creators and those who wear it. That is the true power of scent.
It awakens a primordial memory, one that lets us travel through time and space, soaring between distant recollections, symbolic places, or visions of the future.
It’s like gazing at the night sky: every fragrance can become a star, an imaginary trajectory, or a fragment of infinity.
