Ritual has always been a gateway to grounding—a way to return to ourselves through simple, intentional acts—and today, it has become a powerful form of self-care. Enter Leverden: a brand born not just from aesthetic intention, but from a deep belief in the healing potential of daily practice. Created by longtime friends Helen Lee and Soyoung Cho during the stillness of the pandemic, Leverden translates global wellness traditions into sensory rituals that help reconnect us to ourselves. Drawing on their own journeys of emotional restoration, they’ve built a brand where scent, texture, and design come together in service of slowing down, breathing deeply, and transforming the everyday into something sacred. We sat down with Helen and Soyoung to explore the deeper meaning behind their brand—and where it’s headed next.
How was Leverden created, and why now?
Helen Lee & Soyoung Cho: Leverden was born from our deep friendship—one that has spanned more than two decades. While our professional paths were different, we shared a common desire to create something meaningful. Helen’s experience in the fast-paced fashion industry eventually led to anxiety and burnout, prompting her to step away and begin exploring traditional healing practices around the world. During the pandemic, as so many were feeling emotionally drained and isolated, we felt called to create something positive. We realized that what people needed wasn’t just more products, but meaningful rituals. Leverden emerged from that intention: to translate the experience of healing into scent, texture, and daily ritual.
How did your background in fashion and interior design influence the creation of the brand?
Helen Lee and Soyoung Cho
SY: Just like when designing a space, I created this brand with all the senses in mind. Texture, light, scent, atmosphere—everything matters. Leverden was built with that same philosophy. It’s not just about beautiful products, but about offering immersive experiences that nourish both the senses and emotions.
HL: Everything from the packaging and fragrance to materials and even curated music playlists was intentionally designed.
What does the name Leverden mean and how was it chosen?
HL: Leverden is derived from Nordic and means “world.” We felt the name best expressed our brand philosophy: that nature, humans, the body, emotions, scents, and memories are all interconnected. Our symbol—the vertical line in our logo—represents a “portal,” as we call it. It symbolizes the ability to transport you to another world.
How are your brand values of nature and healing reflected in your operations?
SY: Every decision we make at Leverden begins with the theme of nature and healing. From ingredient selection to storytelling, everything revolves around emotional and spiritual intention. We use ingredients like bamboo salt, which is roasted for up to three years with care, Palo Santo used in Amazonian shamanic rituals, and sustainably sourced aromatic ingredients. Everything we use is infused with living energy.
“It’s not just about beautiful products, but about offering immersive experiences that nourish both the senses and emotions.”
You’ve said the Bamboo Forest collection was inspired by Korean traditional healing—can you tell us more?
SY: As a child, whenever I caught a cold, my mother would have me gargle with bamboo salt dissolved in water. We would sprinkle it on our toothpaste or soak in it for long baths when our bodies felt heavy. Bamboo salt was used as a remedy in many Korean households. The Bamboo Forest collection draws from these familiar wellness practices. Perfumer Christophe Laudamiel created a scent that evokes the freshness of walking through a bamboo forest after the rain.
What’s special about bamboo salt?
SY: Bamboo salt is made by sealing sea salt in bamboo and baking it with pine resin at over 1,500°C, up to nine times over the course of three years. This process transforms it into an alkaline mineral-rich salt known for its detoxifying and spiritual cleansing qualities. We wanted to introduce this incredible Korean ingredient to the world.
What impact did your conversations with bamboo salt master Monk Choi Kyudong have on the brand?
Bamboo Forest
SY: He told us that salt absorbs energy easily, which is why it must be roasted in clean, unpolluted environments. Before roasting, he would always purify himself and meditate. From him, we learned that great ingredients carry great energy—and that level of care and intention matters.
How have the rituals you experienced as a child been reflected in your current products?
SY: Using bamboo salt to gargle or bathe, meditating, receiving massages after hard workouts—these weren’t special to me, they were just daily life. What Leverden is doing now is reinterpreting those everyday rituals in a modern, emotionally resonant way.
People say Leverden stimulates all five senses. How do you integrate them?
HL: Each collection features scents crafted by master perfumers for a specific emotional purpose, prints inspired by local ingredients and culture, Spotify playlists tailored to the mood, luxurious product textures, and even sound and meditative cues—all designed to heighten sensory immersion and emotional clarity.
What was it like working with perfumer Christophe Laudamiel?
SY: He’s a true artist. I shared the emotional themes of bamboo salt and Korean spirituality, and he translated them into a “scent sculpture.” For Bamboo Forest, he captured the smell of wet earth, fresh greenery, and mystical calm with moss and coriander accords. It’s a scent that evokes emotion, not just fragrance.
Why did you include music as part of the brand experience?
HL: Music moves emotions and energy. I always listen to music when I bathe, meditate, or unwind. For each Leverden collection, we curated playlists that matched the mood of the scent. Music and fragrance fill the space together, helping organize emotions and create presence.
Why did you focus on candles and body lotion rather than perfume?
SY: We view scent not as something to wear, but as something that exists in the air you live in. Candles and lotions gently infuse the space and body, naturally shifting the mood of your day. It’s subtle but deeply influential. That said, we are working on perfumes and perfumed balms due to customer requests.
How is sustainability implemented at Leverden?
Leverden is featured in Rolls Royce’s 120th anniversary book
HL: We don’t just want to be a clean beauty brand—we want to be a truly responsible one. Our packaging incorporates PCR recycled plastic, glass, FSC-certified paper, and soy-based ink. We use food-grade, sustainable coconut and apricot kernel wax in our candles, along with lead-free organic cotton wicks. Each candle jar includes a seed packet, encouraging reuse by allowing customers to plant something new. Our diffusers are also designed to be compatible with our empty candle jars, giving them a second life.
Leverden is certified by Positive Luxury and has earned the Butterfly Mark after rigorous sustainability review. We were also selected by Rolls-Royce as a featured brand in their 120th anniversary sustainability publication.
What traditional rituals inspired your future collections?
SY: Each collection draws from the healing traditions of different cultures—for example, the Valley of Roses collection was inspired by Moroccan rose villages and the journey of self-love; the Bushman candle collection is rooted in the Himba tribe women’s cleansing rituals using aromatic bark smoke in Namibia; and the Shaman collection reflects the spiritual cleansing ceremonies of Amazonian shamans who use Palo Santo.
Each scent is not just a product, but a cultural and emotional story.
You mentioned travel was the beginning of healing. What experiences influenced you?
HL: Yes, for me, travel was truly the beginning of healing. In 2015, after spending nearly a decade working in high fashion at Michael Kors, I reached a point of emotional and physical burnout. I was struggling with anxiety and depression, but I didn’t know how to name it at the time. What I did know was that I needed to step away from everything I had built to reconnect with myself.
So I left New York and traveled to South America alone—something I had never done before. In Peru, I spent time in the Amazon rainforest and took part in an ayahuasca ceremony guided by indigenous healers. It was one of the most powerful, confronting, and transformative experiences of my life. It cracked me open emotionally and spiritually, and began the long process of healing wounds I had ignored for years.
But the journey didn’t end when I left the jungle. I began to see how healing doesn’t have to be dramatic or far away—it can live in the smallest of rituals. Lighting a candle, breathing deeply, taking a bath, connecting with nature… these became my tools for grounding. That realization is what eventually led to the birth of Leverden: a brand that curates global healing wisdom into everyday rituals people can do at home.
So yes, travel was the portal. It gave me distance, perspective, and an invitation to come back to myself.
Why did you launch the brand during the pandemic?
HL: Lockdowns brought waves of anxiety and depression. We wanted to create something positive and emotionally supportive. People needed not just products but a way to emotionally reconnect—and Leverden became a tool for that healing.
Leverden feels more like a lifestyle than just a brand. What’s next?
Leverden diffusers
SY: Thank you—that’s exactly what we hope people feel. Leverden isn’t just a brand; it’s a portal into a more intentional, grounded way of living. What’s next? We’re continuing to evolve Leverden as a lifestyle rooted in emotional wellbeing and ritual. That includes: expanding our range of ritual tools—like travel kits, body oils, and sensory wellness accessories; collaborating with luxury hotels and spas to create immersive amenity and healing experience; and one day, building a Leverden wellness hotel—a sanctuary where guests can fully immerse themselves in curated rituals for rest, reflection, and renewal.
Our vision is to be a lifelong companion in the quiet, meaningful moments of life. Whether you’re winding down at home or seeking healing during life’s transitions, we want Leverden to offer more than scent—we want to create spaces, experiences, and emotions that bring people back to themselves.
How are you collaborating with hotels and resorts?
SY: We currently partner with premium hotels and resorts to offer yoga and meditation classes that incorporate Leverden candles. Each collection is designed with a distinct emotional purpose. Our Valley of Rose collection supports self-discovery and is paired with book club gatherings and meditation sessions. Bamboo Forest promotes relaxation and is used during yoga and stretch classes. Bushman is intended to boost energy and complements movement-focused sessions. Shaman is centered on spiritual cleansing, with Palo Santo rituals and guided meditation.
We’ve also collaborated with a leading Korean meditation app for guided pairings, and hosted VIP events combining scent, tea blending, and meditation rituals—all designed to engage the senses and emotions.
What feeling do you hope people experience through Leverden?
SY: “Reconnecting with yourself.” We hope people feel like they’ve rediscovered themselves. That moment when scent opens the senses and emotion settles—that’s the healing we aim for.
What upcoming collections or projects can we expect from Leverden?
SY: We are currently preparing two upcoming collections. One is inspired by Joshua Tree, the iconic tree symbolizing resilience in the American desert—this collection reflects the strength and groundedness found in nature. The other draws from Kama, the Indian philosophy of desire and joy—celebrating emotional richness and the beauty of spiritual pleasure through daily rituals.
Mary Bemis
Mary Bemis is Founder & Editorial Director of InsidersGuidetoSpas.com. An advocate for all things spa, Mary forged a vocabulary for spa reportage that is widely used by those who cover the issues today. Recently honored as a Top 30 Influential Voice Transforming Wellness by Medika Life, Mary is an inaugural honoree of Folio’s Top Women in Media Award. Her spa media roots run deep—in 1997, she launched American Spa magazine, in 2007, she co-founded Organic Spa magazine, and in between serving on the ISPA and NYSPA Board of Directors, she was on the launch teams of Luxury SpaFinder and New Beauty magazines. Named a "Wonder Woman of Wellness" by American Spa magazine, Mary was honored by the International Spa Association with the distinguished ISPA Dedicated Contributor Award. She is a special advisor to the non-profit Global Wellness Day.
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