Not Frankie started the way most obsessions do — quietly, then all at once.
I’m Leanna. I’ve always chased scent. Not the polite kind, but the kind that shifts the air.
The kind you notice before you realise you’ve noticed it.
The kind that stains a memory and won’t let go.
In 2017, in the strange stillness before my son Leo was born, I walked away from a life that no longer felt like mine and began experimenting with fragrance. Long nights. Melted wax. Failed pours. Burn tests. More burn tests. A ritual that became a fixation.
The name? Frankie was the girl I never had.
Leo arrived — loud, wild, fully himself — but the name stayed.
It became the brand.
A reminder that things don’t always become what you expect, but sometimes they become something better.
Based in Palmerston North, New Zealand — but not really of anywhere — Not Frankie exists for people who feel deeply, burn deliberately, and crave something a little darker than ordinary.
This isn’t a candle brand.
It’s an atmosphere you can strike a match to.
Ritual. Memory. Heat.
Moments that don’t fade quietly.
Welcome to NOT FRANKIE.