Winder Ton RD, MSc. is Anatomē’s head dietician behind our formulations. A multidisciplinary scientist and creative, he is the founder of genderfluid high perfumery brand Urania’s Children, a provocatively ethereal line that boasts aphrodisiac ingredients.
What’s the story behind Urania’s Children? What does the concept mean to you?
Aphrodite Urania differentiates Aphrodite from her earthly aspect, which was Aphrodite Pandemus. Aphrodite means beauty, love, and lust. But Aphrodite Urania, they believed this was more spiritual, heavenly.
And the Greeks believed that from her was born the universe. So that's why I called the brand Urania’s Children— because the people who believe they're free to be who they are, they’re part of this community. That was the whole idea.
That’s a beautiful concept.
It was interesting because once I created the brand, someone told me that this would be reminiscent of the Aphrodite Urania temple in Athens, which was a place for those who congregated to help vulnerable people, outcasts of society.
I was like, okay, that's actually super cool, because that's what I wanted with the brand, to embrace that, to defend our outcasts, you know?
Then I created three perfumes and one of them was called Queer Magic. The brand has this whole take on creating our own mythology because in a way, I feel like Urania’s Children is made for people that are different from the norm. And that could be anything. Not only gender. People can feel misplaced and that they don't fit in on any level, in the whole sense of human existence.
Can you tell me about your scientific background?
I am a dietician. I did a master's in Nutrition and Dietetics. In Brazil, I had my own private practice and was teaching at university because I thought I wanted to be a scientist. I thought I wanted to pursue a PhD. But then when I actually got the job, I felt happy, but not fulfilled.
So then I came to London to have a two-year sabbatical, and I stayed.
And when I joined anatomē I was like, this is a good opportunity for me to learn because I knew that I wanted to create something that was not strictly nutrition related.
But it's amazing that you've been able to bring a very tangible scientific background to something that's quite creative.
Yeah, true. You have that underlying science of how essential oils can make you feel and interact. But I also have this layer of creativity and imagination that brings the theory of queerness into the material world.
We’ve talked about how powerful scent can be. What would you say to someone who wants to incorporate scent into their wellbeing practices, but doesn’t know where to start?
It’s like how people dress– some people when they are not feeling really well, they don't really dress well.
And so with scents, it's kind of the same. Incorporating scents in your life, in your house, to make you feel better, or enhance the enjoyment that you're already feeling, it’s a place to start.
One clear example for me was during lockdown. You know, I'm a gemini, I love being social and then all of a sudden I couldn't go out and I had to work and live entirely in my living room. It was really hard at first.
But I had this perfume— it’s bergamot, palo santo, iris, the ingredients I loved the most. And I started spraying it every morning before starting work.
And it changed my days. It changed my life, because it made me feel much less sad. It gave me energy, it gave me motivation.
I had my perfume on, so it felt like I was starting a normal day. Your relationship with your world, in that moment, is changed by scent.
You can find Winder’s genderfluid fragrances at www.uraniaschildren.com.
