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Translating Artistic Vision into Unique Fragrances: A Deep Dive with ANDREA MAACK · Skin Anarchy

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Hi guys, welcome back to another episode of Kincare Anarchy.
• 0:03
  SPEAKER_00: This is your host, Ecta, and this is a Fragrance Friday special.
• 0:07
  SPEAKER_00: I am so, so excited because I have been absolutely loving this brand.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_00: I think you guys might have seen it.
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_00: If you do follow my socials, I posted about the brand um as well as Kincare Anarchy.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_00: We posted about it.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_00: But um without further ado, I want to introduce you guys to Andrea Mack, who is the founder of her self-named uh fragrance line.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the show, Andrea.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_00: I'm so excited to be hosting you.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you so much.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm very excited as well.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks for having me.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, no, it's a pleasure, and I can't wait to learn all about you because I know you're an artist and I know you have all these amazing things that, you know, led to the vision of creating this beautiful brand.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_00: So if you could tell us a little bit about yourself and get us started, you know, with the background, that'd be great.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_00: Sure.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_01: Uh it's a bit of a different story for sure.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_01: Um, yes, I am a visual artist and the brand was sort of born accidentally through my art exhibitions.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I like to say that, you know, people started stealing samples of their shows.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, and that's kind of how people just, like I said, they were created as artwork, but actually people wanted to wear them, uh, which was surprising to me.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_01: Um, not because they weren't great, but I was just surprised that like people would come to the shows and they kept asking me, is it gonna be available?
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then I just decided to launch the brand because I think there was a need for something a little bit different.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_01: Um and I think because I came from a totally different angle from somebody in that starting up brand, it just became like a thing.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, no, I I can understand that.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_00: I know that sometimes when we transition um different genres of I think, you know, creativity and we merge them together, things just come together.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_00: I've noticed that, you know, artists uh always seem to cross those, you know, lines and borders and cross over into very interesting uh niches, you know, especially for bands.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_00: So I I found it to be interesting when I was reading about your background that you are an artist, and you know, um, I think that's so intriguing, you know, because when it comes to fragrance, I won't lie, as a consumer, I'm always uh more intrigued by the beautiful artistic components of a perfume and a scent, you know.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_00: I I think those things draw me in, they help me tell a story.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_00: So I want to ask you, you know, when you were creating the vision and the blueprint for the collection, what were some of the things that you pulled from your artistry background that you wanted to bring forward um, you know, in terms of the expression of the fragrance brand and all of that kind of stuff?
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I mean, like I said, it sort of started as actual art store, you know.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_01: So I think that's kind of um, you know, because basically when I started working with the perfumers, you know, we it was a very abstract idea.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_01: You know, we were our idea was to try to translate um basically a drawing into a fragrance.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_01: Um that was an important idea, and that's sort of where the first ever set came from.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_01: And then it just developed over time.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, in the beginning, we were we were literally trying to translate drawings and art scripts and paintings into fragrances.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_01: You know, it was a very abstract idea at the time, and because I think there was no pressure in launching it, and at that time it wasn't a brand.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_01: So I never thought like who's gonna be wearing it or where we're gonna sell it and what we're gonna do.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_01: It was just an experimental project um that that turned into something that people wanted to wear.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_01: And then as time, you know, went on, I did pull a little bit, you know, more from my background and from Iceland.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_01: And so it kind of emerged.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_01: We like to say it's a bit of Iceland, it's a bit of art-inspired.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_01: Um, like I said, started out experimental, but you know, now that I've learned more about fragrances, of course, I kind of draw more into what I like in fragrances as well, not just the art.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_00: Right, that makes sense.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_00: That makes sense.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it does, absolutely.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and one of my questions then as a follow-up is, you know, oftentimes when we are looking at a painting, right, or a drawing or um something like that, um, I I won't lie, you know, it does um kind of evoke certain emotion that might be linked to scent and memory and these wonderful things that come up, right?
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_00: So um, from your viewpoint, what were some of the things that maybe um you you noticed, you know, looking at your art and then trying to put that into fragrance that you had to kind of think outside of the box of how am I going to translate this, you know, from art into a a full fragrance, you know, with the all of the notes and all of the different layers to it.
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_00: Um, can you give us some examples maybe of some ingredients, some you know, certain scents that you use?
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_01: Sure.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_01: I think what happens is like you sort of you take the artwork, but then you know, when you work on the scent creation, um, it's kind of like weaving a little bit, you know, you weave um notes.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_01: Well, that's sort of how always always how I've seen it, that you're kind of weaving notes into a fragrance.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_01: But I mean, I think what happens is, you know, when you work with the raw materials, they also take a life of its own.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_01: And for me, even if they are drawn from the artwork, it's not a literal, you know, interpretation into a fragrance, because of course fragrance for me is very and the raw materials are very much lifelike, you know, so they totally take a life on its own.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_01: So that's actually the journey that I uh really enjoy, you know, is that when we I have an idea, then translating that into a scent, and then I usually sort of leave the visuals behind, which might sound strange when I start creating the fragrance because I want the fragrance to have uh its own life, and then actually when the fragrance is finished, we will start looking at the visuals again.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, I think that's what what makes it so interesting.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_01: It doesn't have to be so literal when you translate it, you know, it is a feeling.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_01: Um you start with a feeling and then you take that feeling into the raw materials, and then I mean, for example, with Smart, which was based on uh on our gallery space, you know, we were working with the white notes, you know, that's how it started.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_01: Um with the mask and the feeling of being in a white gallery space and just like a blank uh feeling, and then with a little bit of charcoal, we have a little bit of dark notes in there.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_01: So yes, we do pull from the artwork, but I do like the sense to kind of become their own artwork in a way.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_00: That makes sense.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_00: So I really love that uh that image, you know, that visual imagery of you know, you are creating something from something that is visual that is meant for old factory, but then you're cr also interpreting visual from the old factory experience as well.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_00: That's really cool.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_00: You know, it's like a it's a really nice loop, you know, it kind of comes full circle.
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_00: And that's very interesting to me.
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, I as a consumer, I won't lie, you know, that's really the appeal about fragrance, you know, it's so um, it's so open-ended, you know what I mean?
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_00: Like I I remember, you know, yeah, just to share with you, like there were so many fragrances that, you know, growing up my friends would love, or you know, somebody would recommend them to me, and I would be like, I don't understand why you like these, you know, that's for me.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_00: It didn't, it didn't invoke, you know, it didn't invoke anything, it didn't create that magic.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so one of the questions, one of the questions I have for you is that, you know, yours, I love your fragrances, and I um one thing that I noticed is there's a uh summer, I think it's called Solstice.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_00: Um, it's a wonderful fragrance, and it actually brings me back to like uh, for example, like going to concerts in the summer, like when, you know, when I was very young, like after high school, you know, like college days, and it really did back there.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_00: You know what I mean?
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_00: Like of that feeling.
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_00: And so I want to ask you about that fragrance specifically.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_00: Is that what was the process of you creating that one?
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_00: Solstice.
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_01: Well, uh, it's it's a bit of a it's a bit of an interesting story because um it's the first time ever that I brought the perfumer I was working with, which is somebody that I've known for a very long time, Julian Ruskin.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_01: He actually came to Iceland and I just wanted him to because we I was trying to exactly get that bit of a maybe a bit of a festival feeling, um, but a very luxury luxurious because in Iceland we go camping and you you always think that the weather is gonna be amazing, but it's always raining, but he don't care because there's no I mean in Iceland we have the endless summer night, you know, and I that was sort of what I was trying to capture.
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_01: And he spent a day in Iceland with me just trying to get that feeling.
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then we came up with this watermelon idea for me at the time was like, really?
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_01: Like, why would we do like a watermelon?
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_01: But it just made so much sense because uh summers in Iceland are wet but happy, and the skies are pink, and you just wanna be out all the time.
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_01: And it just I don't know, it just yeah, it just became like a happy, happy memory.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_01: And I think we just managed to translate it together somehow, but with a sort of etchy, watery vibe, because uh there's a different feeling in Iceland with because it is quite cold here all the time.
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_01: So um it you know, when you're working with a perfumer that's based in France, you know, they're they're using the beautiful summers with the you know the Mediterranean feeling, like the Nordic vibe is just so different.
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_01: So I actually have had a lot of people come up to me and they're really getting that festival vibe.
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_01: So that's super funny that you were thinking about that.
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and also, I mean, just to talk about festivals.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I think Europe has some of the best festivals I've ever been to.
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I think a lot of people can relate.
• 9:25
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, it is there's a whole culture around it, you know what I mean, and concerts and stuff, as you know, you know, but but I you know, it did, it brought me back to those those memories.
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_00: And also one thing I wanted to say was you you you had mentioned watermelon, right?
• 9:40
  SPEAKER_00: And I remember when I read the box and I realized it was watermelon that I was smelling.
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_00: I can't just I was surprised because to me it didn't smell like watermelon, it smelled like just you know, like you know, that that really fresh, like maybe you have a fresh drink or like the lingering scent of like the beach or something on you, you know what I mean, in the summer.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_00: And that's what I kept smelling, and I was like, what is this magic?
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I don't know how many things she had to put together.
• 10:06
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_00: But you said watermelon.
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_01: So I think as an artist, you take something that's quite kitschy.
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I think people wouldn't necessarily connect me to like a watermelon fragrance, but I also in art you're always pushing yourself.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_01: And I think with fragrance, sometimes people I don't want to say get lazy, but it just you have to take ingredients that like I I love that I get a total kick out of taking ingredients that they're just kind of banal or just seem like just are associated with a certain age or a gender or whatever, and just create something totally different.
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_01: I think that's kind of what gets me going with the raw ingredients, is just taking something like that.
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_01: And then I'm so happy when we're able to take something and then create something that I really love and I would wear and like, but with an ingredient you would never think about.
• 10:55
  SPEAKER_00: Right, right, absolutely.
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_00: No, I can I can definitely see that, especially with your line.
• 11:00
  SPEAKER_00: I can definitely see some very some ingredients that maybe, you know, and just for everyone listening, like some ingredients you might think, oh, I usually don't like this enough fragrance, or you know, what I'm not used to it.
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_00: But then I think the way that you've meshed things together so beautifully, it just it really resonates on different levels, you know.
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that's the beauty of, in my mind, good fragrance, good perfumery, you know, it's this like being able to give your, you know, whoever it is that's uh smelling it a unique experience, right?
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, it it goes beyond sort of these notes and you know what I mean, all this uh this jargon.
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_00: It's more about how does it really mesh together?
• 11:38
  SPEAKER_00: And with that, I want to ask you, you know, what are some of your favorite notes to actually incorporate into a lot of your sense, if you could name a few.
• 11:48
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, at the moment, I think it's just the mood that I'm in.
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, at the moment I'm into more like a gourmand.
• 11:55
  SPEAKER_01: Um, usually I would go for like a darker, uh, you know, like a veti ver or an ood or a patchouli base, you know, an amber, something like that.
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_01: And of course, like the woods, you know, like the cedar woods.
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but it's actually interesting that I don't really, I mean, the notes are great to think about, but what I want to touch on what you said before about the emotion, because I think that's so infraged today.
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_01: I just think it's so interesting to dive a little bit deeper.
• 12:26
  SPEAKER_01: And I mean, I just went on a tour now, I was in LA and San Francisco just to meet uh the stores and we have some events, and I just love meeting the people.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, that kind of that's kind of what I get a kick out of because you telling me that story, and then I met so many people that like haven't changed their life because it like got them booked on a niche.
• 12:45
  SPEAKER_01: And like these are the stories that I love.
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_01: And like you said, like create creating an emotion rather than trying to wear something that you think you're gonna like because somebody else likes it, or like I think that for me is like I love that about fragrance and like the luxury fragrances and like you working with all these notes, um, is just that the story continues, you know, it starts with me and my story, but that's not the end, you know.
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_01: And I love the for me, the purpose is the stories that I create with people that wear them, and that's what I love.
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I love that.
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_00: I love that.
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_00: And I I think that you're absolutely right with the emotions part.
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's it can go as deep as you know you really want to go.
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_00: I think right now we're we're in a very interesting time for fragrance, you know.
• 13:30
  SPEAKER_00: I uh when I was growing up, and um perhaps you can relate, Andrea, is that things were I think a little bit more set in stone, rigid, you know, there were a lot of like not boundaries, but there wasn't as much, or it's still felt it felt like there wasn't so much room to play.
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_00: And now I feel like fragrance has taken a turn, you know, where we are talking about things like, you know, um the neur neurological implications of like, you know, selling something that you love, you know, and what we were talking about earlier, you know, with memory, like tying things to memory.
• 14:01
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, these are really powerful things.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, I want to ask you, you know, as an entrepreneur, were there ever like maybe if you were working on a specific fragrance, were there any um, you know, big memories of yours that you really wanted to bring forth, you know, in the creation of any specific scents?
• 14:20
  SPEAKER_01: I did.
• 14:20
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I think as as an example, like cabin, which has become our kind of like cult favorite, um, was based on a memory of me um taking up potatoes from the dirt uh at my grandfather's house, uh cabin in the Highlands in Iceland, uh, with rain dripping.
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, it was so specific to me, that memory, and it just took forever to create that fragrance.
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_01: And when I decided to launch it, um, I was told that it would never sell.
• 14:50
  SPEAKER_01: Um, distribution, partner shops, everybody was like, it's just a fun little project.
• 14:54
  SPEAKER_01: Um, it's never gonna sell.
• 14:56
  SPEAKER_01: And I was like, I kind of like that as a, you know, I like a good challenge, and it's still the top seller in our collection.
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I love presenting it to people because it's a very much of a love it or hate it kind of situation, but I created something from my memory that um people can wear, but for me, I don't I can't really wear it because it just makes me too emotional.
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_01: Um but I love that other people wear it.
• 15:19
  SPEAKER_01: So I think like I said, I created a story that I was very vulnerable, but then somebody else wears it.
• 15:25
  SPEAKER_01: And I think with Covent because I was so vulnerable when I created it.
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_01: It's like when I met so many people now, they came to my my um opening in San Francisco and they were all like Covent, Covent, Covenant.
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_01: I was like, what's going on?
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, it is my life, I wore it because it kind of got me hooped on this, and it just got me through a rough time.
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_01: Like it's so strange that I almost feel like when you put your emotions into something, it's almost like it translated somehow.
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_01: Obviously, some of them are more personal to me than ours, but I don't really necessarily tell the story, but I think it just the story is in the set.
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_00: I love that.
• 16:01
  SPEAKER_00: I love that you, you know, that that you had that experience with someone saying that because I know what you mean.
• 16:07
  SPEAKER_00: I think, you know, what's interesting is I kind of relate it to um, you know, when people say whenever you walk into someone's house, it smells different, every house smells different.
• 16:16
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, like for example, I remember growing up, I grew up in an Indian household, and my mother was always lighting, you know, incense and uh certain candles and stuff.
• 16:24
  SPEAKER_00: So we had a very unique scent in our house.
• 16:26
  SPEAKER_00: And I remember the same, you know, going to my friends' houses, but all the different backgrounds they're from, different cultures.
• 16:34
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and it felt like, you know, when I started exploring perfumery, it's kind of like walking into someone's house, you know, when you experience a brand.
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_00: Like, what is that brand about?
• 16:44
  SPEAKER_00: You know, like what is the vibe?
• 16:45
  SPEAKER_00: What is the energy?
• 16:46
  SPEAKER_00: And um that yeah, like your like your brand's energy to me is just it's very freeing, you know.
• 16:54
  SPEAKER_00: I think the sense that I've smelled and I've experienced, you know, they're very like open, you know, that's how I can describe them, you know, like they're just very open, free.
• 17:03
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I mean, I think it's just the the um the emotion part of it is so important because um it's like I said, it's your your memory and then it's going somewhere else.
• 17:14
  unknown: Yeah.
• 17:14
  SPEAKER_01: To someone else.
• 17:15
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 17:16
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly, exactly.
• 17:17
  SPEAKER_00: And then, you know, I I want to know, like, um, you know, what were some of the things like I guess that you had to face like as an entrepreneur in terms of you know bringing this whole collection to life?
• 17:29
  SPEAKER_00: Obviously, you know, it can't be you know easy in today's realm with just the industry the way it is.
• 17:35
  SPEAKER_00: There's so many products, especially with beauty in general.
• 17:38
  SPEAKER_00: So what were some of the hurdles, you know, to bring the brand forward?
• 17:41
  SPEAKER_01: It's I think it's in it's it's it's been an interesting journey for sure.
• 17:45
  SPEAKER_01: And I think like with fragrance, because um, as an artist, you know, it's it's not an easy thing to create a scent um and just release it.
• 17:54
  SPEAKER_01: You know, you it's just such a like I said, I kind of pour myself into the product like completely, not just the scents, but the whole vision of the bottle.
• 18:03
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, we went to Italy.
• 18:04
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, most niche brands don't have a custom bottle, but I just wanted to do for me, I just I was doing it for myself, to be perfectly honest with you.
• 18:12
  SPEAKER_01: And I wasn't in a massive hurry.
• 18:15
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I think just having that pressure of like having to launch this and that.
• 18:19
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I had an art career, like I was fine, you know.
• 18:22
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I wanted to launch the brand and it it sort of launched for me accidentally, really, um uh through the through the show.
• 18:31
  SPEAKER_01: But I think maybe because I wasn't so pressured in a way, and I think as an entrepreneur, that's probably one of the biggest hurdles you can have is when you are pressured with time and money and everything.
• 18:42
  SPEAKER_01: And I think I just knew that I was making something and I just always believed in it.
• 18:47
  SPEAKER_01: And now we're kind of blowing up, and it doesn't surprise me.
• 18:50
  SPEAKER_01: It might sound strange to say that, but I it it doesn't surprise me because I know the work behind it.
• 18:57
  SPEAKER_01: You know, we've been doing this for a long time, and like I said, I put put my heart and soul into each fragrance and it just getting the right match of the perfumer.
• 19:05
  SPEAKER_01: And I mean, it can take up to like 18, 20 months for just make one fragrance.
• 19:09
  SPEAKER_01: It's like so many samples.
• 19:11
  SPEAKER_01: You have you test on other people, it's just a whole, and because my name is on the bottle, and I think that's also quite bold to do that, you know, you are very vulnerable in a way.
• 19:20
  SPEAKER_01: You push, I put my name on the brand, and I stand behind it, like every cent and everything we've done.
• 19:26
  SPEAKER_01: And I think because we took such the time, even creating the packaging, which is totally sustainable and like no plastic and all the stuff that we're doing.
• 19:34
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I don't think I've had a single return.
• 19:37
  SPEAKER_01: Just because I spent so much time and because I'm creating a product for myself, you know, that show something that I would wear, a bottle that I would use.
• 19:47
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and I wasn't in a hurry, in a way.
• 19:49
  SPEAKER_01: I think people are just so stressed.
• 19:51
  SPEAKER_01: It just, you know, I wanted to make something that I want, you know, I could stand behind.
• 19:56
  SPEAKER_01: I would stand the test of time, you know.
• 19:58
  SPEAKER_01: And just to have that freedom of having to do that, and then, you know, for us to blow up, which is great.
• 20:04
  SPEAKER_01: Um, because I just love people wearing the fragrances.
• 20:06
  SPEAKER_01: That's the kick that I get out of it.
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 20:09
  SPEAKER_00: I love that.
• 20:10
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, I want to ask you though, um, since it is an Icelandic brand, you know, originally, uh, what were some uh cultural things or maybe some like endemic uh you know sense that and fragrances from Iceland that you wanted to bring forward into the line?
• 20:25
  SPEAKER_01: It that's also quite interesting because you know people have sort of asked me about that, like what's the Iceland angle and all that, and I think we I was I think I was just so scared of creating some sort of a tourist brand because Iceland is of course huge with tourism.
• 20:43
  SPEAKER_01: And now, I mean, I literally live next to a volcano.
• 20:46
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, no joke.
• 20:46
  SPEAKER_01: I had like crazy earthquakes at the studio and my house, like the town next to us was evacuated like two weeks ago.
• 20:54
  SPEAKER_01: Um, it's all over the news, you know.
• 20:55
  SPEAKER_01: So this is like basically our reality.
• 20:58
  SPEAKER_01: I live on a volcanic island, but for me, instead of like the literal interpretation, it's just me.
• 21:04
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I grew up here.
• 21:05
  SPEAKER_01: I am Icelandic, I am the lava, I am the moss, I am all these things.
• 21:09
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so I think it just and I think for I think it's for other people to say.
• 21:14
  SPEAKER_01: And like when I was in Milan working with the designers when we did the the bottle and the packaging and everything, and they were like, it's so Icelandic.
• 21:22
  SPEAKER_01: I was like, I don't think so.
• 21:23
  SPEAKER_01: They were like, Yeah, it's just like it looks like snow, it looks like lava, no, and I just I didn't even see it.
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_01: I think when it's so close to you, um, and of course then I just have a second preference because I grew up here and um I don't like anything too sweet or too cutesy, or like I just it's just kind of like my aesthetic and my style.
• 21:43
  SPEAKER_01: Um again creating for myself.
• 21:45
  SPEAKER_01: Um so I think that's sort of very cold, um, maybe a little bit ironic, you know, sense of humor, I think is important as well.
• 21:54
  SPEAKER_01: Um, not to take things too seriously.
• 21:56
  SPEAKER_01: But I think that's just sort of the Iceland, the Icelander in me for sure.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 22:01
  SPEAKER_00: That makes sense.
• 22:02
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, and you know, it's interesting how you said that because I I can relate to that.
• 22:05
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like um a lot of times when you have that cultural tie, you know, people assume that you only like one type of thing, you know, or one type of sink or whatever that is, and it's just not true.
• 22:19
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and I don't feel the pressure that I have to just work with like ingredients that we have in Iceland.
• 22:24
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, for um I recently released Supernova, I wanted to work with lavender, which just seems again a kitschy raw ingredient that I wanted to make cool, you know.
• 22:35
  SPEAKER_01: So I don't really feel the pressure that I have to use only Icelandic inspired ingredients, but it just kind of comes out that it is quite nordic and quite cool, and it just has that kind of wipe to it.
• 22:46
  SPEAKER_00: I love it.
• 22:47
  SPEAKER_00: No, I like you know, I like all of the scents that I've tried um in wine, and I think that there's also an underlying, very bold statement, you know, in the line itself, and not in an aggressive way from what I've noticed, but it's very bold.
• 23:00
  SPEAKER_00: Like the scents stand out, you know.
• 23:02
  SPEAKER_00: I think a lot of times what I've noticed uh over the years is fragrance brands fall into this, you know, um place where a lot of times things start to smell very similar, right?
• 23:12
  SPEAKER_00: Within the collection.
• 23:13
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 23:13
  SPEAKER_00: And I have I I always feel like that's like, you know, I don't know, you run out of ideas or something, but with your online, I I noticed that everything is very unique.
• 23:23
  SPEAKER_00: And that's something that I absolutely love as a consumer because all of the fragrances are very layerable, you know.
• 23:29
  SPEAKER_00: And I and I really want you to talk about that a little bit in terms of just layering fragrances.
• 23:33
  SPEAKER_00: Is there um has there ever been a preference for you, you know, in terms of layering?
• 23:38
  SPEAKER_00: Is the like is there really a technique to it, or is it just kind of like you do what you want to do?
• 23:43
  SPEAKER_01: I mean you do essentially do what you want to do, but I I think definitely you have to start light.
• 23:48
  SPEAKER_01: Um I think it's just for me also, I love kind of, you know, mapping out your day.
• 23:54
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, today, you know, people talk about journaling, you know, meditating and all that great stuff.
• 24:00
  SPEAKER_01: And I think like fragrance be can be a part of that, you know, when you are it's so important because like I would start my day maybe going to the gym or meditating, or you know, and then I would put on like a ceramic or a soft tension because I'm I like to start my day easy.
• 24:16
  SPEAKER_01: I'm easing myself into the day.
• 24:18
  SPEAKER_01: And then maybe at noon I have a meeting and I wanna, you know, I wanna feel a certain type of way, and then I would put on a like a pavilion or a supernova, and then maybe I'm going out for dinner, so I would end the night with an entrance, you know.
• 24:31
  SPEAKER_01: I think it just it's it's I think it's just an interesting concept to take fragrance into your daily routine, because maybe you would like add on a bit of a skincare or a bit on a make bit of makeup, you know, and I think with fragrance you should do the same.
• 24:47
  SPEAKER_01: And I think this myth of like one set for the rest of your life, I mean, the amount of people that I meet that are stuck in some sort of an 80s, 90s bubble of they bought a you know, some sort of a fragrance back then because I'm an ad or something, and they just don't know what to do.
• 25:02
  SPEAKER_01: So the education part to me, I didn't even know that I would become like an educator, but it just happened, like because we we are telling people to try at home and take their time and test one a day, and like I think people feel a little bit relieved and then to know that they can later.
• 25:18
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, maybe when you're buying clothing, you would buy like you know, a suit jacket.
• 25:23
  SPEAKER_01: When you're doing styling, you get one suit jacket, one teaser, and then you get a you start with an easy fragrance and you go into something a little bit heavier.
• 25:30
  SPEAKER_01: So it's an education for sure.
• 25:33
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, and I think there's still a lot of education to be done with fragrance because there's so many people that they want to do something, but they just don't know where to start.
• 25:43
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 25:44
  SPEAKER_00: No, I completely agree with you.
• 25:45
  SPEAKER_00: I like the you know, and I actually like the analogy of you know, growing up, our mothers always told us this is many, how many outfits you need for this trip, you know, or for this event or whatever.
• 25:56
  SPEAKER_00: Like we had this like protocol for how many like wardrobe pieces we take with us wherever we go, but then when you think about fragrance, for some reason it's always like, oh, this is my go-to fragrance.
• 26:08
  SPEAKER_00: And I've never understood that because it's like as your food changes, you know, your fragrance should change, I think.
• 26:13
  SPEAKER_00: You know, it just kind of goes with the norm of you know, if I'm feeling you know what I mean?
• 26:19
  SPEAKER_00: Like it's just it's natural to do that.
• 26:21
  SPEAKER_01: So and also just with age and maturity and like I mean, even with women that are like my age, you know, they're like, Why am I still putting on like something that I wore in my teasers, like a teenager?
• 26:33
  SPEAKER_01: I just it doesn't fit me anymore.
• 26:34
  SPEAKER_01: And they're like, what should I wear?
• 26:36
  SPEAKER_01: What should I try?
• 26:37
  SPEAKER_01: How do I, you know?
• 26:38
  SPEAKER_01: So absolutely, I think it's like your mood, and then also just you know, where you are now.
• 26:45
  SPEAKER_01: You know, not even just about your age or whatever, it's also just like where are you, where do you live, what do you do, how do you wanna feel, where do you want to go?
• 26:53
  SPEAKER_01: And I always love the idea that fragrance can take you somewhere because like I said, I think my part is yes, I have sort of poured myself into the sense, but um it's more about the journey of the fragrance, it's not so much about me, you know, even if I created them, but I it's where they go.
• 27:12
  SPEAKER_01: And that for me, that's like my purpose.
• 27:15
  SPEAKER_00: I love that.
• 27:16
  SPEAKER_00: That's beautiful.
• 27:17
  SPEAKER_00: I absolutely love that.
• 27:18
  SPEAKER_00: And I uh, you know, one last question I do have for you, Andrea, is the packaging because I am a huge archer, like architectural, like just geek.
• 27:27
  SPEAKER_00: I love architecture, I think that you know, lines and um the way that we you know look at symmetry and stuff is everything, you know, and uh especially when it comes to beauty products because there's a whole you know career in uh packaging, right?
• 27:41
  SPEAKER_00: Uh when it comes to this thing.
• 27:43
  SPEAKER_00: So when you were designing the packaging, I mean I love it.
• 27:46
  SPEAKER_00: I absolutely love it.
• 27:47
  SPEAKER_00: It just I think it for me it really resonates.
• 27:50
  SPEAKER_00: So what was the story behind the packaging?
• 27:53
  SPEAKER_01: Well, the story was that I, you know, I wanted the bottle to be the star, you know, and unfortunately most brands just have to buy bottles, you know, because you know, you have to have so much quantity, but I was just that set on like getting my own bottle.
• 28:08
  SPEAKER_01: So I went to Italy, you know, the Mecca of you know design.
• 28:12
  SPEAKER_01: And I worked with uh Italian architect there, and you know, we wanted to take the typical um perfume bottle, but give it a bit of an edge, which is why we put the line.
• 28:23
  SPEAKER_01: We also made it very slim, so it's easy to hold and very easy to ship for e-commerce, and we were and easy to photograph because it's black, you know.
• 28:34
  SPEAKER_01: And again, I was sort of told like getting a black bottle is crazy, like everybody has a clear, I was like, no, no, no, no, no.
• 28:41
  SPEAKER_01: I think this is definitely the way to go because it's just so stylish and cool, but it just has that edgy vibe to it.
• 28:48
  SPEAKER_01: And it is actually inspired by Icelandic volcanic rock called Obsidian, which is my favorite, favorite, favorite rock in the world.
• 28:56
  SPEAKER_01: Um I used to have them all over the highlands in the 80s, but the tourists all stole them.
• 29:01
  SPEAKER_01: Um I'm sure they're in every home somewhere.
• 29:03
  SPEAKER_01: Beautiful Obsidian rocks.
• 29:05
  SPEAKER_01: Um but yeah, it's just we I mean, we thought about everything, but again, it was a whole process, but it was so worth it to me um to have my own bottle.
• 29:14
  SPEAKER_01: And just it's to me, it's so um mutually pleasing still.
• 29:19
  SPEAKER_01: I'm still happy with it.
• 29:21
  SPEAKER_01: So um just I love it.
• 29:23
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 29:24
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, no, I love it.
• 29:25
  SPEAKER_00: I love it.
• 29:26
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's beautiful packaging, and I think it just I don't know, it just makes the whole line just stand out to me.
• 29:32
  SPEAKER_00: You know, it's it's uh it's like the juice is amazing, but you know, the the bottles are pretty, you know, up there as well, you know, especially when you're like somebody that really enjoys packaging.
• 29:43
  SPEAKER_00: You have for me, I think fragrance is is part packaging as well.
• 29:47
  SPEAKER_00: You know what I mean?
• 29:47
  SPEAKER_01: I love the bottles, I love the beautiful yeah, so you need you have to have the 360 experience, and I think like we really wanted to push the boundaries there also with the outer packaging and everything, just like because there is also a lot of uh perceived value in like totally oversized packaging beauty, and like I think that needs to change um as well.
• 30:08
  SPEAKER_01: So it's just it's the bottless the star, but it's the whole.
• 30:11
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I'm just a nerd when it comes to this.
• 30:13
  SPEAKER_01: I think it's the artist in me, like the amount of hours I spent just creating the box.
• 30:17
  SPEAKER_01: It's like sometimes you say, Okay, you have to just release it now.
• 30:20
  SPEAKER_01: But I just I mean, I love that process as well because it's a whole and the name, just everything from the name to the look, and like it's just a great process.
• 30:29
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 30:30
  SPEAKER_00: Well, Andrea, I love the brand, I love the entire collection.
• 30:33
  SPEAKER_00: And for everyone listening, please definitely check out Andrea Mack fragrances.
• 30:38
  SPEAKER_00: I will link everything in the comments art for this episode, but I really, really urge you guys, you have to try the line.
• 30:45
  SPEAKER_00: And I believe there is a discovery set, right, Andrea?
• 30:47
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 30:48
  SPEAKER_00: Uh yes on the website.
• 30:49
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, yeah, that's a great way to discover it.
• 30:52
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and you also get like a voucher towards a full-size bottle, so it's a great way to know essentially it's free because we actually encourage people to try at home.
• 31:00
  SPEAKER_01: Like, please try at home.
• 31:02
  SPEAKER_01: Like, try one a day, have fun with it.
• 31:04
  SPEAKER_01: And like most people come back and use the voucher because it's a great way to test.
• 31:09
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, exactly.
• 31:10
  SPEAKER_00: No, I I think it's wonderful, and I really, really urge everybody to check out Discovery Kit.
• 31:15
  SPEAKER_00: Let us know what are your favorite scents in the collection.
• 31:18
  SPEAKER_00: I'd love to hear from you.
• 31:19
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• 31:27
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• 31:30
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• 31:36
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