"Well-Being" brand Pearl+ born in Portland, re-launches with bar soap and incense made in Japan with a focus on natural and made-in-Japan products

“Elevating the daily ritual of Well-Being”
心身ともに良い状態であるための日々のリチュアルの探求

Pearl+ is pleased to announce the launch of a line of new bar soap and incense made with utmost care to use natural ingredients whilst searching for ways to shape a ritual in daily life and bring "Well-Being" to mind and body.

Over the past few years, we have entered a new era where we have taken a deep look at our daily lives and reaffirmed the top priorities. The concept of "Well-Being" is more relevant than ever, and maintaining our mind and body in a “good state” is now considered essential.

Pearl+, founded in 2008 in Portland, Oregon, by Janet Jay, seeks to continue the ancient traditions of Eastern culture and beauty regimens while optimizing them for modern life. With the cross-cultural, genderless, and ageless fragrance and the iconic designs of black rope and black & white swirls on the bar, our product has been the favorite soap of ACE HOTEL for many years.

When ACE HOTEL KYOTO opened in 2020, Pearl+ moved its production base to Japan to provide amenity soaps to the hotel and bring "Well-Being" to the ever-changing world. The brand has continued to design and develop our products with a new team and partners across Japan and worldwide.

To embody the concept of the brand, which is to respect Eastern traditions and cultures that value harmony with nature, and to propose daily rituals for a “Well-being” of body and mind in this day and age, we developed a new essential oil with the long-established Kyoto-based Yamadamatsu Incense-wood Co., Ltd. To bring universal modernity to the traditional Japanese fragrance, the fragrance was directed by Soran Nomura, a bar and beverage consultant based in Tokyo who has trained in London.

The newly developed soaps are made by Botanical Factory in Kagoshima, Japan, which uses natural ingredients and is chemical-free. The incense is made by Kyoto-based Yamadamatsu Incense-wood Co., Ltd., which respects the traditional method of incense making while minimizing environmental impacts as much as possible.To celebrate the brand's relaunch, soap dishes and incense holders, developed with Keigo Kamide of Kutani Choemon in Ishikawa, will also be available in limited quantities.

Pearl+ Detox Whole Body Bar Soap ＜Cold process soap 100g＞ 2,900 JPY(excl. tax)

Made with essential oils developed in collaboration with Kyoto Yamadamatsu Incense-wood Co., Ltd. and produced using naturally derived ingredients at Botanical Factory in Kagoshima, Japan. The original soap created in Portland with ACE HOTEL in 2008 has been updated with ancient Japanese fragrances and ingredients. Aroma oils, herbal water, extracts, and other ingredients are extracted from our raw materials and slowly aged for 30 days in a handmade process called "cold process manufacturing," which maximizes the benefits of the ingredients. With its soothing aroma and fine lather for the mind, this soap purifies and cares for the body and skin at the same time.

Pearl+ Detox Incense approx. 50 sticks/box 3,800 JPY (excl. tax)

Original "purifying incense" developed in collaboration with Kyoto Yamadamatsu Incense-wood Co., Ltd, with the theme to calm, sharpen, and purify the mind. It burns for approximately 25 minutes. We hope that this incense will bring out a good state of mind and body on a daily basis.

Limited edition items
Pearl+ “Kamide” soap dish ＜Limited to 50 items＞ 8,000JPY(excl. tax)

Collaboration with Keigo Kamide, the sixth generation of the Kamide Choemon, a long-established Kutani pottery in Ishikawa. Based on a traditional sashimi serving plate and other dishes, the Pearl+ "+" motif is added in gold leaf.

Pearl+ “Kamide” Incense holder　＜Limited to 50 items＞ 5,000JPY(excl. tax)

Also designed and crafted by Keiko Kamide, the traditional sake cup vessel is decorated with the + motif of Pearl+ in gold leaf.

Project partners

Founder: Janet Jay

Janet Jay was born in New York City. She learned and inherited the benefits of pearls for beautiful skin from her grandmother, who was born in China. Based in Portland, Oregon in the U.S., Janet continues to use her experience developing products for global cosmetics and beauty brands to help celebrate in mind, body, and soul, the daily ceremony of health, beauty, and balance, while leading Golden Hour, a Wellness studio that believes in continuous care.
Website: https://goldenhourpdx.com/

Fragrance development: Kyoto Yamadamatsu Incense-wood Co., Ltd.

Located in Kyoto, Yamadamatss is a long-established incense wood maker that has been in business since the Edo period (1603-1868). All of the ingredients used in their fragrances are derived from medicinal species, and the company has been studying to carry on the "Japanese incense culture," which has been centered on incense woods since the Heian period (794-1192), in the place where the culture originated and developed. While the use of chemical fragrances is, which can be hazardous to the natural environment, continues to increase, the company uses only natural fragrances in our fragrance preparations whenever possible.
Website: https://www.yamadamatsu.co.jp/

Soap development & production： Botanical Factory

With its concept of "100% natural ingredients, alcohol-free, and chemical-free", Botanical Factory locates in an environment overlooking the sea in Kagoshima, the southernmost tip of Japan's main island. The company is engaged in integrated production, from raw material production to finished products.
Website: https://botanical.co.jp/

Fragrance direction：Soran Nomura

After working as a bartender in London for about seven years, he returned to Japan and received numerous awards at Fuglen Tokyo, then launched a bar and drink consulting company ABV+. He has been a brand ambassador for foreign spirits, a bar producer for K5 Hotel in Kabuto-Cho, Nihonbashi, and a producer of various products such as domestically produced spirits and bottled cocktails. In May 2022, he opened his first shop, "NOMURA SHOTEN."
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/passarinho_in_the_sky

Soap dish & incense holder creation: Keigo Kamide of Kutani Choemon

As the sixth generation of the Kutaniyaki potter KAMIDE CHOEMON, established in 1879, Keigo has been involved in many projects, presentations, and designs with craftsmen, and as an individual artist, he produces works using porcelain as a material and actively holds solo exhibitions. His works include "Fuefuki," an arrangement of traditional patterns, the "JAIME HAYON x KUTANI CHOEMON" series that invited a Spanish designer Jaime Hayon, and "KUTANI SEAL," which utilizes Kutani Yaki transfer techniques and has received high acclaim for both in Japan and abroad.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kamidekeigo/