A Woman Unconventional ‘Comportment’. A Non-Aligned Cultural Movement.

The beginning starts with an opposition to the usual ‘this story is a work of fiction;’ ‘any resemblance to real, people, events, locations is purely coincidental.’ On the contrary, Maiada El Khalifa’s story is real, ‘people, events, locations have lived, happened, and/or exist today.’ Another major difference is the nature of Tayshaba’s ‘non-aligned movement’ which radically differs from the nineteen fifties political stances and their slogans ‘Africa must be free’ or ‘down with imperialism and colonialism.’ Non-violent and non-political, her original model of independence is three dimensional. Maiada’s vision of freedom is all at once, totally unconventional, deeply multi-cultural and intensely emotional. Her expression of ‘forward to independence now’ brings hope and gives light in an alternative way. Tayshaba uses fragrances to convey strong liberating messages, and opens a space full of olfactory artistry, where liberty comes through beauty, and a strong identity creates global harmony. A place where impossible has no entry in the dictionary, and when women advocacy is a priority.

A vision of freedom, unconventional, multi-cultural and emotional.

Time for Africa. To go in and out of Africa, following Maiada along her flamboyant journey and rebel way. Her life is so eventful that making a summary is an effortful undertaking. To tell her personal story I decided not to follow a chronology and write a composition in five acts with a tempo full of acceleration and opposition.

Act One. Maiada El Khalifa Saga, The House of Aba.

Maiada میاده is the great great-granddaughter of independence fighters who paved the way for the end of the colonization. Aba, an island on the White Nile, south of Khartoum is the spiritual base of her family and where the first battle of independence took place in 1881. In her family, one does not need to reminisce history as the new generation continue to tell the story. The house of Khalifa, Maiada’s great-grandfather who belonged to a fierce tribe called ‘Taiasha’, is in Omdurman, across the main bridge from the capital and is a public museum. On the opposite side of the street, the Al Mahdi المهدي great great-grandfather tomb is a mausoleum, a precious piece of Sudan’s cultural heritage. Every year, Maiada would go home to Khartoum and her visit would follow a ritual; see the heritage sites, enjoy family traditional reunions, embrace the majesty of the Nile, and indulge extensively in the diversity of the souk’s colours and flavours. Unfortunately, this world has vanished for now*, all her family has fled the country to escape the destruction of the war. She is utterly devastated by the current plight of the Sudanese people and her memory serves as a peaceful haven filled by beauty and humanity. Her great-grandfathers were not the only ones fighting for independence, her own mother decided to divorce and remarry, something unthinkable at the time. The mum’s intrepidity brought major exciting change to the life of Maiada, who as the youngest of four siblings, was the one to experience it the most. When she was only five, the family briefly left Sudan to live in London. On her return, there was no availability in the English primary school, so Maiada attended the French one. She enjoyed the freedom of the absence of uniforms, and of speaking French, a language that nobody understood at home. From Khartoum, the family moved again to another country, by then Maiada had become an expert in the art of adapting swiftly. In reality, she found out that acceleration in her studies would give her additional freedom. While acknowledging her talent, the family temporarily put aside Maiada’s desire to study art, and recommended a business curriculum first, but as she was too young to attend university, she was granted a French language course in Vichy, France, simply to ‘fill in the gap’.

* The current war has tragically destroyed a large part of the public museum and mausoleum.

Maiada. A Confident Woman and A Cosmopolitan African.

In summary, during her childhood, Maiada was influenced by the charisma of her family members, she experienced intense cultural diversity, learned to adapt quickly and was able to be herself freely. Noticeably, France seemed to be her destination for creative expression.

Act Two. Rebellion Against the Perfume Tradition.

In Sudan, perfume is an old tradition going back to the time of the ‘black pharaohs’, emperors of the Kingdom of Kush, who, like the Egyptians, had built hundreds of pyramids. The country was rich in natural ingredients such as myrrh and incense and was a major destination in the African journey towards the Levant along the Silk Road itinerary. Fragrances were already connecting cultures and crossing over borders. In the culture, men do not wear the traditional perfumes, only women and not before they were married. Perfumes are a remembrance of the ‘God of Fertility’, an ancient ritual and belong to today’s wedding experience. Their bold intent is unapologetically to attract men, during an aphrodisiac dance ritual, the ‘Ahmar Danse’*. Brides perform the dance wearing a red dress and a special perfume, both equally daring. Weeks before the celebration, the perfume is carefully prepared by women who maintain the tradition of making scent from a prepared black paste called ‘khumra’ made from Sudanese fruits, aromatic plants, resins and woods from the Acacia trees. Upon acceptance of the invitation to the bride’s house, the ‘perfume women’ carry at a slow pace an ancestral tradition and an expert preparation of the fragrance. The dilution of the soft paste is made with high diligence as well as the intense burning of incense. Once married, women in Sudan create their fragrance at home using the same khumra base. As a child, Maiada was mesmerized by her mum making her own perfume, as a teenager she disapproved of not being able to wear it and as a woman she rebelled against the norm, Ahmar Danse was to be for all and gender neutral too.

*The iconic perfume of the Tayshaba collection.

Maiada. Truly Traditional and Really Unconventional.

In one way, Maiada is a ‘run-away’ bride. She will always refuse to conform and continue to be stubborn in her desire for the ‘Ahmar Danse’ scent. From this strong determination comes the original idea of creation of her fragrance house.

Act Three. From Corporation Work to Art Exhibition.

In 2021, Maiada enacted her calculated rebellion. She was working in Qatar, holding a high position in a leading oil & gas company. She realised her career did not align with her values, she did not understand the meaning of ‘managing people’, in her opinion one ‘leads people’ with no strict hierarchy rules. In essence, the corporation world did not make sense to her, so she took the decision to send her resignation. She had a clear intention to become an independent entrepreneur and oversee her own company. Maiada decided to start a consulting company advising start-ups on business strategy. To the people who said ‘impossible’, she quickly thrived and demonstrated it could be done successfully. For her, ‘impossible’ should be altogether removed from the dictionary, it only triggers a ring of ‘why’ questions and actions to make it possible. With her newly acquired freedom, Maiada returned to Paris and enrolled in summer programs at the Ecole des Beaux Arts. She subsequently joined the Salon des Indépendants and exhibited at the prestigious Grand Palais. Art became her therapy, a space of creative expression and open horizon. Paris was an ideal place, full of artistic incandescence, beautiful elegance and cultural heritage permanence.

Art and Fragrance Fusion. A celebration of freedom.

Maiada found solace for her aspiration of creative freedom not only in her art but increasingly more in perfume composition. Her attraction to art embraced the visual appeal of mixing pigments, as well as the inspiring feelings derived when mixing perfume ingredients.

According to Maiada, ‘The process of perfume creation mirrors the composition of a painting. With the mixing of top, middle, and base notes, a perfumer creates layers and adds depth, similar to a painter using distinct colour pigments and brushstrokes. To me, a perfumer is like a painter, a pure creator of emotions.’

The Art of Mixing Oil Pigments & Scent Ingredients.

Perfume became her daily ritual, combining top, middle and base notes, she would feel a strong connection to her tradition as well as an exhilarating feeling of creation. The idea to make fragrances as a profession became real, Maiada only needed to set in motion a plan.

Act Four. Perfecting the Composition of Fragrances.

Maiada decides to learn intensely. Education will be twofold, an EMBA at HEC Paris where perfume is her entrepreneurship thesis and a comprehensive olfactive design course at Cinquième Sens. Between her work and her studies, she finds herself very busy, absolutely thrilled by her new activity. Gradually but surely, she dedicates more and more time to the creation of her fragrance house. She carefully appoints external suppliers for each specialty, creative agency, ingredients sourcing laboratory, production company, never compromising on quality, as expensive as it may be...

Maiada brushes aside her initial hesitation for the name of the brand ‘Tayshaba’, possibly too exotic, but incredibly authentic; a metaphor combining the ‘Taiasha’ fierce tribe’s ancestors and the ‘Aba’ island’s beauty into one ‘Fierce Beauty’. In addition to French elegance, she confirms her determination to give an African style to the overall design, the perfume bottles, the logo, the colours. Her brand configuration is a translation of her decision to meticulously choose and use only very high-quality, costly and rare ingredients. Perfection was Maiada’s relentless aim during the three years used for the finalization of her fragrances. Marc-Antoine Corticchiato, a master perfumer and expert in naturals, generously allowed her to extensively practice in his lab and provided advice and mentorship.

A brand identity made of luxury and authenticity.

To no surprise, myrrh is in every fragrance of the collection, only with a different interpretation. The curves and waves of the fragrance ‘character’ represent the majestic flow of the Nile River. Colours were a complicated matter, a plain pantone number would not do, so Maiada invented her coloured combinations. Similar to the inspiration of a painting she made, each perfume results into a labyrinth of colours. Naturally, the environment is added to the equation with a vegan collection, focused on minimal waste, with a preference for Co2 extractions, biodegradable musks and recyclable packaging.

Act Five. A Rebel With African Culture. In a Bottle.

Tayshaba fragrances are full of complexity, their story is made of contradictions that trigger a feeling of harmony. The tension turns into fusion, between respect of tradition and freedom of expression, between cultural connections and original distinctions, bold statements and balanced elements, formula complexity and olfactive clarity. Logically, Maiada’s original formulas are complex with forty ingredients on average, including the unusual broom flower, raspberry leaf and fir balsam.

She is happy to be the world’s first Sudanese French perfumer to exhibit at Pitti in Florence this year. The brand five perfumes are like a kaleidoscopic mosaic, a music mixing specific notes and distinct rhythms that ultimately create a feeling of beauty. Flambois is a flamboyant rainbow, with zesty, flowery, woody notes over a base of amber and musk. Asfar A Way is a warming and illuminating Southern sun with notes of tuberose, ylang-ylang, jasmine, and neroli. All Nile Long, combines water freshness with a woody-spicy amber ‘caresse.’ Cachemyrrhe is a daring new Chypre, with soft blooms, silky woods, and fiery spices. Finally, Ahmar Danse, the traditional bridal dance, immediately captures all the attention with its mysterious and seductive leathery and spicy notes.

With Tayshaba, Maiada has a dream ‘My aim is to infuse harmony within cultures and societies. Tayshaba is a universal expression of freedom, forceful and daring, yearning for a beautiful feeling of peace. Tayshaba is not just fragrance, it’s a movement’.

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Maiada. A Rebellious and Generous Diva.

She is a ‘diva’, a lead character, a person with high ambition and vision. Her jubilance is irresistible, her intelligence formidable, and her benevolence considerable. She is determined to help her country without any ambivalence. One can imagine her forcefully making a speech ‘I have a dream’ as a perfume activist and artist. Her dream of harmonious freedom will unify and rally people around the world. This is the story of Tayshaba.

With Fierce Beauty, proclaim your liberty!

Photo Credit: the Sudanese bridal gear picture of Yassir HamDi©