Ireland’s premier fragrance and candle brand La Bougie has launched in the UK.

Following 12 years of success in its homeland, the West Cork-based artisan perfumery has made its entry into the UK via a luxury boutique in Lymington, Hampshire. The move gives La Bougie in-store and online platforms for its range of eaux de parfum, candles and scent diffusers “using prized aromatics and botanical oils from around the world”.

Having already established high-performance sales in Ireland’s luxury stores Brown Thomas, Avoca and Kilkenny Design, La Bougie said its bestselling scent, Mission Fig (featuring “Parched Earth, Fig Leaves and Blond Wood”) is regularly sold out across the country.

Other top-selling scents include Honeysuckle & Sea Salt (Seagrass, Honeysuckle, White Musk); Pomelo 1830 (Gin, Grapefruit and Coriander); Tuscan Bergamot (Bergamot, Sage and Lavender); and Desert Rose (Rose Maroc, Teak and Oud).

Although the move across the Irish Sea follows a significant (“and growing”) online customer base in the UK, it noted that “Brexit made it increasingly difficult to service them direct from Ireland so we saw an opportunity to expand with our own boutique an a permanent presence in the UK”.

The aim now is to develop its boutique as a destination, continue to build online sales, and recruit a network of independent stockists.

La Bougie also said it has a “significant” online customer base throughout the US, but a physical launch there has yet to be decided.

Founder, owner and perfumer Lucy Hagerty said: “As an English woman married to an Irishman I am delighted to have opened a boutique in one of my favourite places, Lymington on the south coast. The UK was the obvious place to start our international expansion and it gives me plenty of excuses to come home.  I love visiting our beautiful boutique on the hight street.”