The Scent of Home

Drawing from her mother’s recipe book filled with botanical skincare and floral extracts, the couple knew they had to keep her legacy alive.

(All photos courtesy Ua Hawai‘i.)

In the dry uplands of Waimea, rain transforms the earth, bringing with it new life. Ferns rise through lava rock, unfurling towards the sun, while pakalana blossoms release their sweetest perfume just after dusk.

It was here that Leala Humbert learned the language of flowers, their scents shaping her childhood alongside her mother Alice, a gardener and lei maker. “She loved learning about plants and their healing properties more than anything,” Humbert recalls. Alice crafted plant-infused creams for lei makers battling arthritis and sold her coveted skincare at local farmers markets.

While she was pursuing a sommelier certification in Napa Valley, her mother fell ill and Humbert returned to Hawai‘i to care for her. When Alice passed away, Humbert faced a choice. She and her husband Blaine Kusler could let those treasured recipes fade or reimagine them for a new generation. Drawing from her mother’s recipe book filled with botanical skincare and floral extracts, the couple knew they had to keep her legacy alive.

Relaunched in 2020, the company’s name Ua, which means rain, reflects the feeling of renewal and abundance found throughout Hawai‘i. Drawing from her sommelier experience, Humbert understands the elegant nuance of scent and memory. “Ua’s pikake isn’t simply pikake, it’s true to the flower.” This artistry also informs their exquisite candle line, infusing products with an experiential feeling that customers return to again and again.

From the beginning, Humbert wanted products that resonated locally. “We wanted to make products for people from here, not just for tourists,” she says. Orders arrive from around the world, many with notes saying simply, “I love this because it smells like home.”

This past August, Ua Hawai‘i opened its first O‘ahu boutique at Ala Moana Center. Led by a majority women and Native Hawaiian team, Ua Hawai‘i ensures its operations and products are as authentically rooted in their sense of place as the ingredients themselves. For those who discover it, each bottle offers the essence of place, captured by someone trained to understand that the most meaningful luxuries are the ones that transport us home.

Founder Leala Humbert learned the language of flowers alongside her mother Alice, a gardener and lei maker.