FAQ

Liyema is more than just a name; it’s a commitment to reclaiming the African heritage that belongs to us. We’ve taken the traditions and memories that were often pushed to the side and refined them into modern luxury. When you wear a Liyema fragrance, you’re wearing a story of excellence that has been four centuries in the making.

Yes. We don’t water down our compositions. We use high concentrations of perfume oils (Eau de Parfum and Extrait de Parfum) so that the fragrance stays with you from morning to night. It’s designed to be an enduring presence, not a fleeting one.

We don’t believe in labels for scents. If a fragrance resonates with who you are, it’s for you. Our collection is built for individuals who appreciate the architecture of a good scent, regardless of gender.

Fragrance is alive. Heat and sunlight will kill the delicate notes. Keep your bottle in a cool, dark place, the box it came in is actually the perfect home for it. If you keep it away from the bathroom steam and the windowsill, it will stay perfect for years.

We value rest as much as we value excellence. In honour of the Sabbath, we close our shop from Friday sunset until Saturday sunset. We don’t pack or ship during this time. Any orders placed over the weekend are handled first thing on Sunday morning with a fresh set of eyes.

We work with the most reliable couriers in South Africa (the ones we trust with our own heritage).

Standard: Usually 3 to 5 business days.

Express: Usually 1 to 2 business days if you’re in a major city like JHB, CPT, or DBN.

We do. Because international shipping is a bit of a moving target, we don’t have a one-size-fits-all rate. If you’re abroad, email us at orders@kwa-liyema.co.za. We’ll chat with you directly to figure out the best and safest way to get your bottle to you.

Because of the nature of perfume and the high hygiene standards we keep, we can only take returns if the box is still sealed in its original plastic. If you’ve opened it and sprayed it, we can’t take it back. If you’re unsure, we highly recommend getting our Discovery Set first. It’s the best way to live with the scents before you commit to a full bottle.

Absolutely. We don’t just “wrap” things; we present them. Every Liyema order is packaged to reflect the luxury of the brand. It’s ready to be handed over as a gift the moment it arrives at your door.

Completely. We use the same secure, encrypted payment systems used by the biggest retailers in the country. Your card info never actually touches our servers, it’s handled by the experts.

If you’re a tech-head and you find a security gap, please let us know at info@kwa-liyema.co.za before telling the world. We appreciate the heads-up and will work with you to fix it quietly.

We are an online fragrance house operating from Johannesburg, South Africa. While we don’t have a physical walk-in storefront yet, every bottle is handled and dispatched from our home base in JHB. Being online allows us to focus entirely on the quality of our compositions and ship them directly to your door, wherever you are in the country.

We know that buying a scent online is a leap of faith. That’s exactly why we created the Discovery Set. It’s a curated collection of our signatures in smaller sizes. It gives you the chance to wear the scents, see how they react with your skin over a few days, and decide which one truly belongs to you before you invest in a 100ml bottle.

The heart of the House of Liyema is African heritage. We use high-quality botanicals and oils, and wherever possible, we source ingredients that celebrate the botanical certainty of our continent. Our goal is to blend these traditional notes with modern perfumery techniques to create something that feels both ancient and entirely new.

Yes, we do. Fragrance is one of the most powerful ways to mark a memory. If you’re looking to gift the House of Liyema for a wedding, corporate event, or a private function, please get in touch with us at orders@kwa-liyema.co.za. We’d love to help you choose something that fits the occasion.

We take great care in how we pack our bottles, they are designed to travel. However, if the courier has a rough journey and your order arrives damaged, please take a photo and email it to orders@kwa-liyema.co.za within 24 hours. We’ll make it right. Since we use trusted SA couriers, we can usually track down any “missing” parcels very quickly.

If you’ve made a mistake, tell us as soon as possible. If we haven’t dispatched the parcel yet, we can easily change or cancel it for you. Just remember that once the courier has collected it, we can’t pull it back. Also, keep in mind our Sabbath closure, if you email us on Friday night, we will only be able to process that change on Sunday morning.

Excellence shouldn’t come at the cost of the environment. We keep our packaging as intentional as possible, avoiding unnecessary plastics where we can. We believe in “slow luxury”, making things that last and aren’t meant to be thrown away.