Latest / Skin Anarchy / E.311: Fragrance Friday No.2 Ft. Who Is Elijah Perfumes

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E.311: Fragrance Friday No.2 Ft. Who Is Elijah Perfumes · Skin Anarchy

• 0:00
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• 0:48
  SPEAKER_02: Hi guys, welcome back to Skincare Anarchy.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_02: This is another episode in our series, which is called uh Fragrance Fridays.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_02: And I'm very excited because I'm a huge fan of this beautiful perfume line.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_02: It's just such elegant fragrances that are so buildable and so layer layerable.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_02: I guess I don't know if that's a word, but I'm really excited to introduce you guys to the founder of Who is Elijah, uh Raquel Boris.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_02: Welcome to the show, Raquel.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_02: I'm so honored to host you.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_01: Hello and hello, everyone listening.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_01: It's so nice to be here and thank you for the very kind introduction.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, yeah.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_02: No, I I'm a huge fan of the brand.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_02: I'm a huge fan of uh fan of what you've created, sorry.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_02: And um, I would love to start with you and your career and everything that led to the creation of your line.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, so um I wish I could say that I've um started as a perfumer, but I definitely didn't.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_01: Um so I um my career before Who is Elijah, um, I've always been an executive assistant, personal assistant.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_01: Um, prior to starting Who is Elijah, I was an executive assistant for the executives of a hotel group based here in Sydney, Australia.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_01: Um I was there for about three and a half years.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_01: Um it was there that I conceptualized the idea of Who is Elijah in 2017 on a trip actually to Coachella in um California or Palm Spring, sorry.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_01: And it was just um one of the friends that I was traveling with um introduced me to a friend of theirs and she just smelt amazing.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_01: And I think I was 23 at the time, and I mean I liked perfume, but it definitely wasn't something that I was crazy about.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I think being and you know, at 23, your finances aren't, you know, very um allowing to buy expensive perfume.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_01: So um yeah, and I sort of I asked her what she was wearing just because it was so intoxicating, and it was just a small bottle of oil fragrance that she'd found backpacking in India.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and I took a photo of it and when I got back home to Australia, I tracked it down online and I bought about 40 bottles of it at wholesale because that was the only way that I could buy it, and they were very cheap.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_01: And I started wearing it at home in Sydney and around Bondi Beach, and um, I had strangers chasing me down the street asking what perfume I was wearing, and I it didn't really even have a name on it.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_01: It was just a bottle, and I think it I think it had like camel, like pictures of camels on it.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_01: And um yeah, so then I kind of just had a light bulb moment um sitting at my desk one day at work and I started researching how to even make perfume and trying to find perfumers or um manufacturers here, and it took a while to find someone, but I started sending samples of this oil um to a few different manufacturers and perfumers, and they were quite stumped um about what ingredients were in it, and they they made some samples, but nothing smelt like it.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then I kind of I just got hooked, I got hooked on it, and um I ended up going to meet a perfumer in person and he brought sort of like a scent library with him, and we sat for about three hours um and he was explaining to me about scents and um showing me perfumes that he had made before, and um it was yeah, it was really um it was it was amazing and definitely got hooked straight away.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_01: And then I decided to sort of make an a perfume um that wasn't like the oil because it was just something that we couldn't achieve.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_01: And along that journey, um, we created what is now his her.
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_01: Um that's sort of how it all began and where I've come from.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_01: So I came from a, I guess, a very corporate background, um, which has been great, and those transferable skills um have definitely helped um build the company.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but it's I've actually found that I'm more of a creative person than more of that structured person that I used to be, which is which is weird.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like it's like I'm a different person now.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, no, I mean that's such a beautiful story because you know, I am being Indian, I I know that there are so many scents.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_02: Um I think India is known for this, like, you know, this uh I guess realm being a realm of like a lot of different fragrances, you know, colors, flavors, you know, there's just so much.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_02: And being able to track down exactly what you know is in a fragrance or an oil that yeah, I can definitely see that being very difficult.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_01: Very difficult.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I still I still have the oils to this day, and every now and then I'll wear them and I love it so much.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_01: It's so beautiful.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_01: Does that brand have a name that you found or it was just a random like company?
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_01: Uh it's just like a random company, and it was so hard to find online.
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_01: It was um, I'll I'll I'll send you a photo of the bottle because it might be you might know what it is, but it's so beautiful.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah, and I would love to see it.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_02: But I mean, the your line is just beautiful, and I love how subtle the fragrances are.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_02: And you know, maybe this is this makes sense to me because I mean the way that I think you've approached the whole fragrance line is to me just I think that's the way you do it nowadays.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_02: You know, you brought up the idea of a lot of 20-year-olds don't have a lot of money, right?
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_02: For for good perfumes, and you're absolutely right.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_02: I remember being in college and wanting to wear the really nice scent, you know, having my own signature scent.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_02: But it was like, do I want to drop$300 on a bottle of perfume?
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_02: No, I don't have it, you know.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_01: You can't.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_01: I remember for my 21st birthday.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I'm 28 now, and my parents bought me a bottle of Bireto gypsy water.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_01: And I just that became my scent.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_01: But then when I ran out of the bottle, I looked at the price tag and I'm like, my goodness, I cannot buy that.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_01: I think it was uh from memory, I think it's like$280 or something like that.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_01: And then I just didn't buy it again because, you know, back at that age, you're you know, paying off your car loan, and you know, you probably just moved out to your first rented apartment.
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_01: Or um, yeah.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_01: So I definitely took the approach of um creating fragrances that are accessible, you know, to my age demographic, especially.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_01: And um, you know, for everyone.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_01: And uh you looking at my ingredients that I use and comparing it to those um, you know, those luxury the I guess yeah, high-end luxury fragrance brands, we use the exact same ingredients.
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_01: So um, you know, I think you're paying for the brand a lot of the time.
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_01: And um, I mean, I a lot of people um, especially at the beginning and when I get new customers, that a lot of their comments are that they they say, are your perfumes really made in Australia?
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_01: They're you know, they're they're quite well priced and they smell beautiful.
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_01: And um, you know, I've replaced it with so-and-so fragrance, or I used to wear so-and-so fragrance and now I wear only who is Elijah.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_01: So um I think it's you know a good thing that people should know that you know you don't have to spend all your money on the big brands all the time.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I'm I like luxury items myself and um, you know, I have my eye on many handbags at one time, but um, I think some things that you can find that are you know exactly the same and you don't have to spend that ridiculous amount of money.
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_02: Absolutely, and without making it fall into the dupe category as well.
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_02: I think that's the drum.
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_02: It's like you you've created a brand that is unique, it is its own thing, and it's a beautiful, beautiful range of fragrances.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_02: And I really love how you named everything.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_02: So for everyone listening, um, if you you know um are listening to this, I really urge you, you know, to go onto the website and check out the different names because the names are very cool to me.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_02: I I love that you've made this a unisex line, and that's something I really wanted you to talk to us about was the challenges or the hurdles that came with that, because you know, creating fragrances is one, you know, mountain to climb, right?
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_02: As you know, but then also creating something that everyone can really get behind.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, that must have been very difficult.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_02: So I'd love for you to talk to us about that.
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_01: Um at the beginning, you know, I guess it was more of a I don't I don't know how to say it.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_01: Like it's just I was always I created a one fragrance at a time, so I didn't create the full collection and launch it.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I guess that was probably a smart decision or maybe an easy decision, I'm not sure.
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but I just created fragrances that I wanted to wear.
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I love every one of the fragrances that I've worn.
• 9:15
  SPEAKER_01: And um at the time of well, I and still to this day, I definitely gravitate more towards a masculine scent.
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, I'm not really one to wear, you know, Chanel number five or um very girly-girly fragrances, and I've I've always gravitated towards those more masculine scents.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_01: Um her her, um, as I know that you love, um, definitely is our most feminine, um, in my opinion.
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_01: Um, at the time of creating her her, um, I was pregnant and then I had just, and then at the time of launch, I just had my firstborn son, George.
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_01: And I guess I was, you know, feeling my most feminine that I have ever felt.
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_01: And um for our baby moon, just a bit before we had George, um my husband and I went and stayed in a hotel in Melbourne, and they had these beautiful um soaps um at the hotel.
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_01: And I ended up, I took one home and it smelt so beautiful and it was so floral.
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_01: And I've never really picked something up and really loved it like that.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_01: And um we sort of I took it to my perfumer and we started to pick apart what ingredients were in there and you know what we could what we could add to it and mix with it to sort of make it into a perfume of our own.
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_01: And um, along the way it made her her, and it's a beautiful bergamot citrus um fragrance, um, which was followed, which followed uh my first fragrance, his her.
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_01: So the names are very similar.
• 10:40
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_01: Um and then um Haze was, yeah, I I don't know, I can't Haze was, I probably shouldn't say it, but Hayes, I had named it and was ready to launch it at the time of the really bad bushfires here in Australia.
• 10:59
  SPEAKER_01: So I actually almost didn't launch it because I I didn't want people here in Australia to think that it at all referenced um the the bushfires that were happening here because it does have that very smoky smell to it, like a fireplace.
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_01: Um I was only going to ask you about that because it's so it's so unique.
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_02: It's such a unique fragrance.
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 11:21
  unknown: Yeah.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_01: And yes, it was, you know, um, but um, I guess you're always thinking the worst, and you, you know, you don't want to get any backlash from anywhere, but um it in no way reference to the um bushfires that we did have here um those two years ago.
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but yeah, it's very beautiful.
• 11:38
  SPEAKER_01: It's actually that was inspired by one of my friends.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_01: Um, we were out one night and she she had she had like a few different perfumes on.
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_01: I can't remember which ones that they were, but the the three of them mixed together, she just smelt like just smoky with um, but she, you know, some were sweet and a little bit floral.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_01: And I was like, that is just such a beautiful mixture.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and I kind of forgot about it, and then I remembered it a month later.
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_01: And um, I was explaining to my perfumer, like, you know, can we what's what can we use?
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_01: It's you know, gives off that smoky smell, but also has a sweetness to it, maybe a floral.
• 12:14
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then yeah, we I think we did about two iterations of it, um, and then tweaked it one more time, and then we we signed off on what is now haze.
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_01: Um, haze is very popular at the moment, being winter here in Australia.
• 12:30
  SPEAKER_01: It's such a warm, um, warm scent, and it really does, um, in my opinion, it smells exactly like a fireplace.
• 12:37
  SPEAKER_01: Um, it really transport you, transports you um, you know, most people have sat by a fireplace in their lifetime.
• 12:43
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and I think, you know, you can it really sparks those memories instantly.
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_02: Absolutely, you know, and I I I just want to say, you know, when I first smelled the whole collection, I mean, it was first of all, every scent I fell in love with.
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_02: It would, there wasn't, there's not one scent in your collection that I think is um overpowering or like too much because I'm very, very sensitive to fragrances.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_02: I'm not gonna lie.
• 13:07
  SPEAKER_02: Like I am one of those people that I think my sense of smell is just incredibly just one of the more dominant senses, you know, compared to like everything else.
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_02: And um I remember when I first smelled the entire collection, I was like, this is so beautifully crafted because every single scent, like I said, you can be, you can easily layer together.
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_02: And when you do that, um, one of my favorite memories, or you know, there are many memories, but one of the favorite type is being on a beach, you know, and having a uh a fire, you know, going a bonfire.
• 13:41
  SPEAKER_02: I I lived in the Caribbean for like, you know, seven years and just traveling and stuff.
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_02: And that those were always my favorite moments.
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_02: And exactly what you described with Hayes is how it takes me back to that place.
• 13:52
  SPEAKER_02: You know what I mean?
• 13:53
  SPEAKER_02: Just sitting on a beach with some friends at night by a fire and enjoying good company, you know, and good wine or something.
• 14:01
  SPEAKER_02: And that's, I mean, I feel like when you can create that for anybody, right?
• 14:05
  SPEAKER_02: It's it's the like epitome of self-care because, you know, in the world we live in now, we're all trapped in our little microenvironments and we're always surrounded by work or stress or family.
• 14:16
  SPEAKER_02: And that's why I even, you know, have so much, such an interest in creating this fragrance Fridays for the podcast, because it's like, you know, scents are such so crucial to us when it comes to self-care.
• 14:27
  SPEAKER_02: We have to, you know, have things that remind us of the the good moments in life.
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_02: So I completely you know understand what you're where you're coming from, you know, when you when you were telling us about haze, it definitely makes sense.
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, thank you.
• 14:39
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, it's nice to have that sort of instant escape sometimes as well.
• 14:43
  SPEAKER_01: Like, um, I know I feel almost suddenly uh immediately better when I put on some perfume in the morning, or if I've had a rough day and I'm you know out of my shower, I might put something, you know, spray one of my perfumes on and you just feel instantly mood lifting, I feel.
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, it's it kind of like it charges you for the day ahead or whatever event you're going to.
• 15:06
  SPEAKER_02: So I completely agree.
• 15:07
  SPEAKER_02: And actually, um, for everyone listening, before um Raquel and I started recording, I was telling her that, you know, some of my favorite scents, right?
• 15:15
  SPEAKER_02: We all have our like staples that we always buy.
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_02: And some for me, some of them are are Joe Malone.
• 15:20
  SPEAKER_02: And I think it's very similar what you're doing here.
• 15:23
  SPEAKER_02: Um, I think both companies, because you you're creating truly layered scents and a layered experience when you're using the perfume.
• 15:30
  SPEAKER_02: So who is Elijah?
• 15:31
  SPEAKER_02: Um, you know, you can pair these scents with any of the other brands that you love.
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_02: You know, if you've got your favorite scent and you absolutely love it, you wear it every day, that's okay.
• 15:41
  SPEAKER_02: Because the the creation that you've uh given us here is like, you know, every single, like for example, Hayes or Muse or Nomad, any of them can be spritz it, you know, you can spritz it on and it's not going to interfere with that main base fragrance that you have.
• 15:56
  SPEAKER_02: It's going to just elevate.
• 15:57
  SPEAKER_02: So um I think that's a very difficult thing to do because I've definitely experimented and it's very few brands can do that.
• 16:04
  SPEAKER_02: So I actually wanted to ask you because you know, with um with the more masculine scents, one of my biggest kind of I think hurdles, and I don't know if there are many like me, but I hate that musk smell, if you know what I mean, like the overpowering, like cologne smell.
• 16:24
  SPEAKER_02: And you um definitely have created a unisex line, but you don't have that in any of your fragrances.
• 16:30
  SPEAKER_02: So is that something you did intentionally, or was it just um, you know, how did that kind of go?
• 16:36
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I mean, the minute as soon as you said that, I instantly thought of um my dad's cologne that he wears.
• 16:43
  SPEAKER_01: And it is so overpowering.
• 16:45
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and I I, you know, I wouldn't wear something like that.
• 16:49
  SPEAKER_01: So I think it really just goes back to, you know, what Who's Eliza is all about, and that is just creating fragrances that I would only personally wear and love.
• 16:57
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so you know, I I I'm sorry if you know some of your listeners are definitely looking for something like that, but I don't think it's a fragrance type that we would um create.
• 17:09
  SPEAKER_01: When we were creating Nomad, um Nomad was really um tough to create.
• 17:15
  SPEAKER_01: It was starting at one point it did start to get a little bit too overpowering, um, but we brought it back and um made it what it is today.
• 17:24
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and Nomad has um, you know, captured the hearts of many people um and they love it.
• 17:31
  SPEAKER_01: They are a lot of the males are loving it.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but it's nice that it does have that sort of feminine touch to it as well.
• 17:38
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and I actually Muse, it to me is quite feminine, um, but it's almost more popular with the males at the moment.
• 17:47
  SPEAKER_01: Um, they love it.
• 17:48
  SPEAKER_01: It's just, and it all comes down to, as you would know, um, like the skin chemistry of the wearer.
• 17:55
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and muse can, you know, smell like hardly anything on someone's skin, but then on someone else's, it's just the most beautiful scent I've ever smelled.
• 18:03
  SPEAKER_01: So it is Muse is our most subtle and it can be quite subtle on some people's skin, but on other people's skin, it's um not overpowering, but it really meshes well with their skin and it's um gives off gives off the most amazing scent.
• 18:17
  SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.
• 18:18
  SPEAKER_02: No, I was gonna actually say that Muse and Nomad pair so yes.
• 18:24
  SPEAKER_02: It's like, you know, the scent that um, and a lot of you listening, I know you you're gonna relate with this, is that you know, when a guy sprays on a cologne and then you let it go for a few hours, right?
• 18:34
  SPEAKER_02: And then you'll see him at like a party or something, or you'll be like, oh, that that lingering scent, you know, that you actually really like not the overpowering.
• 18:43
  SPEAKER_02: That's what you're accomplishing here with these two together, because that's literally like it's it's one of the best scents in the world when you combine them.
• 18:49
  SPEAKER_02: Like it's literally like just you know, hot boy.
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, I love that.
• 18:57
  SPEAKER_01: No, they are very beautiful together, and they're so different as well, which is um, which is great.
• 19:01
  SPEAKER_01: And and I think what um I really strived for, and a lot of great feedback that we do get is that our fragrances really do last on the skin, which is amazing.
• 19:11
  SPEAKER_01: Because I think there's nothing better than um, like just as an example, I was putting on some little bit of makeup and bronzer before coming on the call.
• 19:19
  SPEAKER_01: And um I we got our new fragrance yesterday that we are launching, which we can discuss um today.
• 19:26
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but it is called Nightcap.
• 19:28
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and I had was wearing it yesterday when I put makeup on, and just when I was putting my bronzer on them with my my makeup brush, I could smell the fragrance on it, and it was just instantly um, it's just that wow factor that you know when you put on a jacket that you wore a few weeks ago and you can still smell your fragrance.
• 19:48
  SPEAKER_01: Um, it's just it's instant memories, um, isn't it?
• 19:53
  SPEAKER_02: Yes, yes.
• 19:54
  SPEAKER_02: Oh my gosh, I love that.
• 19:55
  SPEAKER_02: And by the way, you're gonna have to send me a sample of that.
• 19:57
  SPEAKER_02: I can't wait to try it.
• 19:58
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, it's so good.
• 20:01
  SPEAKER_02: It's no, every single one is so good.
• 20:03
  SPEAKER_02: And this isn't something that I um really love that you've created a very tight collection and you're very um particular about what you release because I'm not gonna lie, there are these huge brands out there, and no shade.
• 20:14
  SPEAKER_02: I love all, you know, everyone who's an entrepreneur, you know, more power to you.
• 20:18
  SPEAKER_02: But I think the day we live in now and you know, the how consumerism is, it's important to stick to like certain principles, right?
• 20:26
  SPEAKER_02: As like luxury rent and like, you know, who is Elijah?
• 20:29
  SPEAKER_02: I definitely look at you as you know, this perfume range is a truly luxury range because you know, it's very, very um, it's compact in the sense that there's not too many options where you get lost, but just enough to where there's something for everyone here.
• 20:45
  SPEAKER_02: And it's very gift.
• 20:47
  SPEAKER_02: I love how you've made it very giftable because even the, you know, the uh the packaging and the way the bottles look and the way the aesthetic is, it's like so great for like wedding presents or like, you know what I mean, or something like that.
• 20:59
  SPEAKER_02: Like I I really, really like that.
• 21:01
  SPEAKER_02: And I admire that that you've created something that is at an accessible price point, but it's still delivering quality and it's still luxury and it's you know hitting all of these big check marks, right?
• 21:12
  SPEAKER_02: So um that's something I actually want you to speak on as an entrepreneur is like, you know, what are some of the things you had to go through to make sure that you, you know, you would weren't losing out on any of these aspects, but still creating what you wanted, like some, I guess, war stories, uh, if you could share with us.
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_01: Um well, um, when I first launched Who is Elijah, um, we definitely didn't have the packaging that we have now.
• 21:37
  SPEAKER_01: Um, the bottles have always been the same.
• 21:39
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but um, you know, we've had silver lids and silver pumps and um a brown box that I just bought from a box company online that was, you know, a dollar or a few dollars, sorry.
• 21:53
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, we'd stamp the lid of the box and I just put tissue paper in it.
• 21:57
  SPEAKER_01: So that's how I launched Who is Elijah?
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, it took, I think it took about the first 18 months when, and then I started looking into getting custom proper perfume boxes um manufactured.
• 22:10
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so I think we're on to now our like fourth version of packaging.
• 22:15
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and I I really like the packaging that we have now.
• 22:18
  SPEAKER_01: The bottles are nice and secure in the box.
• 22:20
  SPEAKER_01: Um, we've remained plastic free.
• 22:23
  SPEAKER_01: Um, when we launched into some of their department stores, they did want us to um sort of wrap and seal the boxes in plastic, but um we kind of politely refused.
• 22:33
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and they were they were fine with that actually.
• 22:36
  SPEAKER_01: And um, you know, I look when I walk into a department store where my perfume is stocked, and you know, our packaging really stands out and it's the only one that's not shiny from the plastic, and it's you know, it's black and it's um it's yeah, it's black, but it's loud, and um, it's always so nice seeing people gravitate towards it.
• 22:54
  SPEAKER_01: And um, and and also when you walk into a department store and you know, your you know, your usual say you've got your Hermes, your um Chanel, all your high-end luxury names, and then you kind of see the little indie brand that is who is Eliza, and that's always nice.
• 23:10
  SPEAKER_01: Um but to go back to your question, we you know, it having custom anything costs money because then you are always um, you always have to um understand what the minimums are, and a lot of manufacturers it's 5,000 or 10,000 units minimums, which is, you know, for a startup in my position and anyway, um, I wasn't in a position to do that.
• 23:35
  SPEAKER_01: Um so it got, yeah, about 18 months in, I started looking, and then I think it was our maybe our two-year anniversary was when I launched the new packaging, um, similar to what it is now.
• 23:47
  SPEAKER_01: Um, it was a bit bigger and chunkier.
• 23:49
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and now we've refined it and made it a bit more compact and smaller, which is which is good.
• 23:55
  SPEAKER_01: But I mean, we're still learning and I still look at my packaging every day, and it's every day I could make a change.
• 24:00
  SPEAKER_01: But um, I think it's like a website.
• 24:01
  SPEAKER_01: You can make a change to your website every day, which is a lot easier than changing packaging.
• 24:06
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I absolutely love your packaging.
• 24:09
  SPEAKER_02: I love the um the whole collection, like the sample um of the whole collection, the packaging that comes in.
• 24:15
  SPEAKER_02: It's so beautiful.
• 24:15
  SPEAKER_02: And like the box, I I think I um, you know, it's funny because I have uh friends and they have, you know, children and stuff.
• 24:22
  SPEAKER_02: And I was going through and I I had it in my bag actually because I was trying um on the go.
• 24:28
  SPEAKER_02: And one of uh my friend's daughters, she was like, Can I have that box?
• 24:32
  SPEAKER_02: And I was like, Yeah, sweetheart, here you go.
• 24:34
  SPEAKER_02: And she put her little like toys in there, you know, like it reminded me of like polypotty, but I was like, This is so cute and such a fun thing to like, you know, do with packaging, right?
• 24:43
  SPEAKER_02: It's like we always think about where does the packaging go for things?
• 24:46
  SPEAKER_02: Well, here you go, you know, little kids can play with that.
• 24:48
  SPEAKER_02: I remember being a little kid and playing with like the really sturdy and nicer, you know, so I like what you did.
• 24:55
  SPEAKER_02: I think that every single aspect of it, you know, like I said, it's it's a luxury brand, but you've made it to where the accessibility and the sustainability component is truly it shines through, you know, in a very subtle and beautiful way.
• 25:08
  SPEAKER_02: And I I really applaud you for that.
• 25:10
  SPEAKER_02: You know, I think that with perfume brands and fragrance brands, we are so used to this luxury component that we overlook so many of like the, you know, um, the little things, right?
• 25:21
  SPEAKER_02: That were like, well, you didn't have to do it like that.
• 25:23
  SPEAKER_02: You don't need the plastic in there, you know, you could remove that.
• 25:25
  SPEAKER_02: But I love that you've you've kind of from the beginning been like, no, I'm not gonna have that plastic.
• 25:30
  SPEAKER_02: I'm not gonna have all this a fluff, you know, in my brand.
• 25:33
  SPEAKER_02: And I can still make it just as beautiful without that.
• 25:36
  SPEAKER_02: So that's really, really cool.
• 25:37
  SPEAKER_01: I like yeah, no, absolutely.
• 25:40
  SPEAKER_01: And um, I think especially nowadays, like people are starting to not want the fluff, and sometimes they actually get annoyed with the fluff and they just want, you know, even to now I sometimes still see comments on um like on our socials saying that um, you know, it's a lot of packaging, but you know, it's like I it has to be in a box.
• 26:00
  SPEAKER_01: Um, one element that we are removing is the sleeve um that you would have seen on the um the 50 mil and above sizes.
• 26:09
  SPEAKER_01: Um so we're actually going to start doing the printing directly onto the box and then we're sealing it with a sticker, um, like a yeah, like a nice sturdy um sticker.
• 26:18
  SPEAKER_01: So that's removing one element of the packaging um to look the same.
• 26:22
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but other than that, I mean you can't please everyone.
• 26:27
  SPEAKER_01: Um but we try to yeah, we try we try and simplify everything as much as we can.
• 26:33
  SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.
• 26:33
  SPEAKER_02: No, absolutely.
• 26:34
  SPEAKER_02: I think you're doing a great job.
• 26:35
  SPEAKER_02: I think you're doing doing a fantastic job.
• 26:37
  SPEAKER_02: And as a consumer, I'm very, I'm very happy.
• 26:39
  SPEAKER_02: I feel very um comfortable knowing that, you know, like I your brand is not something I would ever flag as like not, you know, you're wasting material like this.
• 26:48
  SPEAKER_02: So yeah, I think you're doing a great job.
• 26:49
  SPEAKER_02: Now, I want to actually ask you about the name because the name is awesome.
• 26:52
  SPEAKER_02: I love it.
• 26:55
  SPEAKER_02: Your PR team reached out to me, I was immediately in love with the name.
• 26:59
  SPEAKER_02: I was like, absolutely, they're coming on my show just so I can have this name.
• 27:03
  SPEAKER_01: It's a funny story.
• 27:05
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so when I so my friend that I mentioned earlier um at Coachella, um, he who he was the one that introduced me to his friend that was wearing the oil fragrance.
• 27:17
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so when I sort of sparked the idea of creating a fragrance, um, I said it to him and I said, Do you want to, you know, do you want to try and do it together?
• 27:26
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, we became sort of business partners and you know, we'd go out for wines and sort of talk about it and what we were going to do.
• 27:33
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but then I started getting really, you know, serious about it and hooked on it.
• 27:37
  SPEAKER_01: And when we were coming down to sort of thinking of a name, um he wanted to call it Raquel and Elijah.
• 27:46
  SPEAKER_01: Um, his name wasn't Elijah, his name was Matthew.
• 27:49
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but he just always really loved the name Elijah and he just really loved Raquel.
• 27:54
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and I wasn't sold on the name.
• 27:57
  SPEAKER_01: I never wanted to use my name in it.
• 27:59
  SPEAKER_01: Um, long story short, we had some creative differences and he wasn't um, I don't think he was um believed in it as much as what I did.
• 28:09
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so we we parted ways amicably, he's still my best friend.
• 28:12
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and I was sort of just at work one day and I'm like, gosh, what am I gonna call it?
• 28:17
  SPEAKER_01: And then I just literally just said, Who the F is Elijah?
• 28:21
  SPEAKER_01: And I was like, that sounds pretty cool.
• 28:22
  SPEAKER_01: So I just removed the profanity and um stuck with who is Elijah.
• 28:27
  SPEAKER_01: I think it's the coolest.
• 28:31
  SPEAKER_02: You know, honestly, like uh this is something I wanted to bring up because with fragrances, I feel like you kind of like get into a vibe, you know, based on the name of the fragrance brand, right?
• 28:42
  SPEAKER_02: I don't know if that's just me.
• 28:43
  SPEAKER_02: I'm maybe I'm just a geek and like I I overthink it.
• 28:46
  SPEAKER_02: But like when I when I name, I was like, this is the coolest name ever.
• 28:50
  SPEAKER_02: It reminds me of my favorite rock bands that I never discovered.
• 28:54
  SPEAKER_01: I love that.
• 28:56
  SPEAKER_01: I've always secretly wanted to be a rock star, so that's nice.
• 29:01
  SPEAKER_02: It's like you know, I grew up grew up on classic rock, and it just reminds me of like the like I had gone to this like velvet revolver concert, you know, after high school, and it was like one of those bands, and it's like it reminds me of those kind of like summer nights where you just go on a cool trip and see a cool rock band, you know, and that's what I don't know, just that's just my take on it, you know.
• 29:22
  SPEAKER_02: So I was immediately in love and I thought the name was very clever, and it's just it's very cool, you know.
• 29:27
  SPEAKER_02: The mystery around it, I think, is the really intriguing part.
• 29:30
  SPEAKER_02: And I think that all plays such a role in the storytelling of a perfume brand, right?
• 29:35
  SPEAKER_02: It's like, you know, perfumery is so, you know, we host so many beauty brands on here, and it's like the perfumery is so different.
• 29:42
  SPEAKER_02: It's a totally different realm of um, I guess, like experience overall, not just self-care, but your whole experience.
• 29:50
  SPEAKER_02: And there's so many things that tie in.
• 29:52
  SPEAKER_02: The name, the obviously the scent, um, the packaging, the way that it sits on your you know, actual skin, all those things.
• 29:58
  SPEAKER_02: But the name definitely, I think, is a huge hook.
• 30:01
  SPEAKER_02: So you really nailed it.
• 30:03
  SPEAKER_02: I would say.
• 30:05
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, I definitely didn't um I didn't want it to sound like a sort of cliche perfume name.
• 30:11
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, I think a lot of people instantly gravitate towards those like sort of French names.
• 30:18
  SPEAKER_01: And um, you know, I live in Sydney, Australia, so I'm definitely no any friends, and um, I just wanted to be cool.
• 30:25
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, I guess it's it's got that, I guess, that modern twist on it.
• 30:30
  SPEAKER_01: I think it's definitely not a traditional, um, you know, pretty perfume name.
• 30:34
  SPEAKER_01: But um, and it's yeah, it really suits who who I am.
• 30:38
  SPEAKER_01: I think I'm I'm definitely um not a tomboy, but I'm I'm more of that sort of like edgy sort of person.
• 30:44
  SPEAKER_01: I love wearing black and um yeah.
• 30:47
  SPEAKER_02: No, I'm I my whole feed is black for skincare anarchy.
• 30:50
  SPEAKER_02: That may be thing, you know.
• 30:53
  SPEAKER_02: But if anyone from Rolling Stone is listening, please let's feature this brand because no, I I mean I love it.
• 31:02
  SPEAKER_02: I think you did a great job.
• 31:04
  SPEAKER_02: And I actually want to ask you because this is a question that I think um is definitely, you know, I we need to discuss more in this industry, which is this um we have an emergence of you know new founders and especially with Gen Z and the and the newer generations, they're coming up, you know, you guys are coming up with amazing, amazing concepts, right?
• 31:22
  SPEAKER_02: And like we are bombarded with just luxury brands in this space of fragrance.
• 31:27
  SPEAKER_02: And I I mean, no shade.
• 31:29
  SPEAKER_02: Once again, I love you know Dior, love hats off, you know, love Armani, but you know, we need to make space for this kind of discovery where we can really discover, you know, new perfume lines, right?
• 31:42
  SPEAKER_02: And so I want to get your take on it as an entrepreneur.
• 31:44
  SPEAKER_02: Like, how has that been for you in terms of getting the name out there, getting people to really kind of put their faith in the brand and you know, kind of let go maybe a little bit of that, you know, tight grasp that we have on these like super fan favorite brands for you know, yeah.
• 32:01
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I mean, definitely at the start it was hard.
• 32:04
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, I I launched um Who Was Elijah through Instagram and um had no followers and I, you know, um I it was it was slow at the start.
• 32:13
  SPEAKER_01: So um my sort of instant thought was to, well, I need to get my fragrance into stores because we're not a clothing brand.
• 32:20
  SPEAKER_01: People need to smell it.
• 32:21
  SPEAKER_01: They, you know, they're not they're not really gonna buy a perfume just because it looks pretty in a picture.
• 32:26
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and you can be so descriptive with wordings, but I think, you know, fragrance is a very personal um choice um and you know, a personal affair.
• 32:36
  SPEAKER_01: I think people want to smell it.
• 32:38
  SPEAKER_01: So I started reaching out to little boutiques that um, you know, here in Sydney, I was just walking into stores basically with samples, introducing myself, um, you know, and once people smelled, you know, his, her and then her, her, um, which were my first two, they really loved them.
• 32:54
  SPEAKER_01: And I, you know, I could see it in their faces that they were really taken aback by like, wow, these smell really, really good.
• 33:00
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and I think, you know, they wanted to support a female founder, um, you know, as launching in Australia as an Australian-made product.
• 33:09
  SPEAKER_01: That, you know, that definitely helped me um sort of get people's attention, I would say.
• 33:14
  SPEAKER_01: So that's sort of what I did for the first 18 months.
• 33:17
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and I built up the stores probably to about 40, I would say, at that point.
• 33:23
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then in 2020, I was still working my full-time job, and this is when COVID hit.
• 33:29
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but I I I kept my job, but we um being in a hotel company, we um were put on reduced hours.
• 33:38
  SPEAKER_01: So I was spending a lot of time at home, and it was the first time that I had really had almost full time to spend on Who Was Elijah?
• 33:45
  SPEAKER_01: And I started to get really creative with um the imagery, and I redid my website and um I started sending fragrances out to some influencers that you know would write back to me and give me their addresses.
• 33:57
  SPEAKER_01: And um I sort of and at that point I had launched my new um my new packaging.
• 34:03
  SPEAKER_01: So I was feeling definitely a lot more confident that you know I was uh you know, a serious brand that could sort of sit next to these big name brands in the department stores and other stores.
• 34:13
  SPEAKER_01: And I sort of gave myself a goal.
• 34:15
  SPEAKER_01: I said, if I can, if I can get um my fragrances stocked in David Jones, which is our sort of major retailer department store here in Australia, um, I'll quit my job.
• 34:27
  SPEAKER_01: And I did some LinkedIn um digging and I found one of the David Jones beauty buyers.
• 34:33
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I DM'd her through via LinkedIn and she wrote back almost instantly and she sent me her email and said to send over some further information.
• 34:42
  SPEAKER_01: And I just couldn't believe my eyes.
• 34:44
  SPEAKER_01: I got so excited, I jumped out of bed and I reached out to some, you know, marketing friend and my graphic designer, and I said, I think that I need to blow them away straight away, um, you know, instantly.
• 34:56
  SPEAKER_01: So we we started working for about a week together and we put together um a beautiful like brand deck, which you would have received um recently.
• 35:06
  SPEAKER_01: It definitely didn't look as beautiful as is today, but it was still really good back then.
• 35:10
  SPEAKER_01: Um and yeah, and I sent it to her and she emailed me back about a day later and she said um that that was the best, one of the best brand decks that she's seen in a long time.
• 35:22
  SPEAKER_01: And she said yes to stocking um our fragrances in David Jones without even smelling them, um, which was quite wild.
• 35:30
  SPEAKER_01: So I was like, can I please send you my fragrances?
• 35:32
  SPEAKER_01: And so I did, I sent them and they loved them.
• 35:34
  SPEAKER_01: And um, you know, so that really, and then being able to sort of say that um who was a library stocked in David Jones, that sort of put us on the map at that point.
• 35:44
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but again, that took, you know, that was sort of in year two that that happened.
• 35:49
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then after that, um, you know, I really honed in on doing influencer marketing.
• 35:56
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I think just after that, we'd started doing Facebook ads.
• 36:00
  SPEAKER_01: That really helped.
• 36:01
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then we did a lot of um like gifting um for our online customers as well.
• 36:07
  SPEAKER_01: Like we would gift our discovery sets, you know, we might do a 200 giveaway and you know, giving you had to purchase basically purchase online but put in a code and you'd receive it for free.
• 36:18
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so you know, we did collect the company um the customers' data, and then they, you know, I think majority, 90% of people came and bought one or more fragrances after receiving um their free discovery set.
• 36:30
  SPEAKER_01: So that really quickly built our customer base.
• 36:33
  SPEAKER_01: And um, I mean, we just need to get perfume into people's hands.
• 36:36
  SPEAKER_01: So we're always coming up with sort of new ways to do that.
• 36:39
  SPEAKER_01: And um, yeah, it I mean, it gets easier as your marketing budget grows.
• 36:44
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I can imagine.
• 36:45
  SPEAKER_02: And I think that, you know, anyone who really um, you know, sees the line, I think you'll instantly fall in love.
• 36:52
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, I did, you know, when you when you open the packaging, you smell the scents, you've experienced the whole experience.
• 36:58
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, that's what I in my heart, what perfumery is all about.
• 37:02
  SPEAKER_02: And I think, you know, by doing that, you either know if you like something or you don't immediately.
• 37:08
  SPEAKER_02: And you have definitely created a brand that, you know, I would love to see in every retailer.
• 37:13
  SPEAKER_02: You know, Saks, if you're listening, please, you know, reach out to Raphael, you know, anyone um that, you know, really is kind of up there, you know, for perfume uh, you know, retail stores, because I I think the the problem that I've always run into as a consumer is I'll go into like a Nordstroms or I'll go into, you know, wherever I go into, and I'm like, okay, it's the same big labels, you know what I mean?
• 37:37
  SPEAKER_02: It's like I don't want to wear the same perfume as everybody's wearing, you know, there just needs to be more options.
• 37:43
  SPEAKER_02: And I always run into that problem.
• 37:45
  SPEAKER_02: So I think that, you know, seeing brands like this more and more and more, not just in boutiques, but in like massive retailers, I think we're definitely at that point now.
• 37:54
  SPEAKER_02: And we did we deserve that as consumers, you know, to have a nice price point.
• 37:58
  SPEAKER_02: Because I mean, you know, we were talking about being teenagers and in college.
• 38:02
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, I remember one of the first things my mother ever taught me, like she was never big into makeup.
• 38:06
  SPEAKER_02: She was never big into like, you know, those kind of things.
• 38:09
  SPEAKER_02: But one thing she always told me is every person should have their scent, you know, something that is bigger for you.
• 38:16
  SPEAKER_02: And it's like this, it was one of the it was one of the beauty, uh, I guess, lessons that I learned from my mom.
• 38:22
  SPEAKER_02: And I that's why for me, perfumery is very close to my heart, you know.
• 38:25
  SPEAKER_02: So it's like I really believe that.
• 38:28
  SPEAKER_02: I think we all deserve that.
• 38:29
  SPEAKER_02: And to be able to buy um great scents at a good price that really you can stick to, I mean, that's huge.
• 38:36
  SPEAKER_02: So, you know, hats off to you.
• 38:38
  SPEAKER_02: And I I'm a truly a lifelong fan.
• 38:41
  SPEAKER_02: I can't telling everybody about it, by the way.
• 38:45
  SPEAKER_02: Who is like every all my friends know about who is Elijah?
• 38:47
  SPEAKER_02: So um your way.
• 38:50
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, I'm um, I'm actually flying to um America on Tuesday.
• 38:54
  SPEAKER_01: I'm coming, um, I'm spending a about four about five days in um Los Angeles.
• 39:02
  SPEAKER_02: Actually, I wish I could meet up with you.
• 39:03
  SPEAKER_02: I'm actually not on the West Coast, but I I have some um I actually have some uh beauty editors that I know that I would love for you to like talk to because I mean the brand really deserves recognition.
• 39:14
  SPEAKER_02: Like it's it's truly truly cool.
• 39:16
  SPEAKER_01: So I would love that we can talk about that off air.
• 39:20
  SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.
• 39:21
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so everyone listening, I want you to go check out Who is Elijah right now, please.
• 39:25
  SPEAKER_02: Um if you love fragrances, if you're always looking for that new um scent that you can really kind of like lock on to and just love, this is definitely the brand.
• 39:35
  SPEAKER_02: Um, you know, most of the scents are just, you know, actually all of the scents are very, very um well priced.
• 39:42
  SPEAKER_02: That's the best way I can put it.
• 39:43
  SPEAKER_02: They're very well priced.
• 39:44
  SPEAKER_02: And um, you know, just the the amount of like quality you're getting is I mean, it's astronomical compared to what you're paying for it.
• 39:52
  SPEAKER_02: So um definitely check them out.
• 39:54
  SPEAKER_02: I'm gonna tag everything in the concept art for this episode.
• 39:56
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and if you're interested in the website, it is who is elija all one word.com dot AU for Australia.
• 40:04
  SPEAKER_02: So check it out.
• 40:06
  SPEAKER_02: Let me know what you guys think and stay tuned for more information.
• 40:09
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you so much, Raquel.
• 40:11
  SPEAKER_02: This has been so great.
• 40:12
  SPEAKER_02: Have a good day.
• 40:13
  SPEAKER_02: You too.
• 40:16
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• 40:18
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• 40:23
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• 40:26
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• 40:40
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• 40:57
  SPEAKER_02: So if you're a reader and you love Medium blogs, check us out on Medium.
• 41:01
  SPEAKER_02: We publish some really great articles on there that do deeper dives than just what's available on the podcast.
• 41:06
  SPEAKER_02: And it's really a great place for all of you science geeks out there that want to learn a little bit more.
• 41:11
  SPEAKER_02: We go above and beyond with our research and making sure we're bringing you information that you usually probably won't hear about in other outlets.
• 41:18
  SPEAKER_02: So check us out, leave us a comment, leave us a review, and we'll be back next time with another episode.
• 41:23
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you.