Latest / Skin Anarchy / First Look At Marlena Stell’s Fragrance Line, Marsté

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First Look At Marlena Stell’s Fragrance Line, Marsté · Skin Anarchy

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_02: Hey guys, welcome back to another episode of Skin Anarchy.
• 0:02
  SPEAKER_02: This is Ekka and I have the best guest back with us today.
• 0:06
  SPEAKER_02: I'm so excited because she has a new launch and um is kind of venturing into this new world of fragrance.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_02: So um without further ado, I know all of you recognize Marlena.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_02: So please welcome back Marlena Stell, who is here to talk about her new brand, Marste.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_02: Welcome to the show, Marlena.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_02: I'm so excited to host you.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much for having me.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: I'm so grateful to be here.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_02: I'm excited, shocked, like curious that you went into fragrance.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_02: I'd love to learn about what made you want to go into this category.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, and just if you can walk us through that, like what led to this decision?
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so I, you know, obviously I've been in cosmetics for a really long time, but I think what a lot of people didn't realize over the years, I've I've always loved fragrance as well, just you know, for personal reasons.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_00: And then after COVID hit, I found myself not wearing makeup as much because we were inside a lot.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_00: And I was um, you know, I gave birth to my daughter and I was dealing with postpartum depression a little bit.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_00: I just I wanted something as a mood booster.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_00: So somehow during that time, I really, really got into fragrance.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_00: And so as a hobby, I started studying fragrance development because I just wanted to understand how fragrance are made, what are the raw materials, how do you blend them together?
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_00: And I just started as a hobby as far as learning, kept taking classes, and then when Makeup Geek had closed in 2022, I my solace in that difficult time was to just really dive into fragrance, honestly, still at a hobby at that point.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_00: I ended up meeting Michael Nordström, who is now the perfumer for the line, and I took classes with him, and he had told me, he said, You really are doing really well at this.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_00: I could definitely tell you we're passionate about this.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_00: You should take um private lessons and really deep dive into that.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_00: So I was actually going to go to France and study for a full-year program to get certified in perfumery.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: And I ended up taking classes with Michael instead just because you know, I'm a mom, it's hard for me to just uproot my whole family when I have a small child to France.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: So I ended up taking classes with him.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_00: I fell in love with it.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_00: More so than makeup, which sounds crazy.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_00: So I ended up doing 60 hours of education.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_00: I it took the um, I took a course for six to nine months or so, studying about 300 raw materials, memorizing them all, studying them.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_00: It was a huge process, but I loved it.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_00: It made my soul so happy.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_00: So that's when I knew that okay, this is what the next stage is for me is fragrance because I obviously love this.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_00: I'm passionate about it.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_00: It is, it just fuels my soul.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_02: Person who's been a fan of yours for quite a while, like it makes sense, you know, why you would want to go into this direction.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_02: That's very cool.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's such a mood booster.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, for me, I think in the darkest times of my life, you know, around COVID and then when Makeup Geek, you know, had closed, perfume was the one thing I would wake up and be like, okay, I just I just want to smell pretty today, or I just want to feel confident.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: So I got to try these different styles of perfumes, and it was an instant mood lifter for me, and it really did get me through some dark times.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that's where my attachment to it began.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_00: I just wanted others to feel that way too, of just how it makes you feel and how it how you want to represent yourself through scent.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_02: Now, one thing, Marlene, I feel like is so closely tied to fragrance that I think a lot of us can relate to is like memories, right?
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_02: Like good memories or or something that did uplift us.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, did you have any of that component come in when you were crafting, you know, what you wanted to be like the first, you know, uh parts of the line, the first pieces in the line?
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_00: The fragrances are specifically centered around core memories I had when living in Paris and studying there.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_00: And it was a time that has a lot of emotional connection for me because that's when I that was a place that I grieved and tried to heal from me losing my dad.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_00: So there's a lot of like emotional triggers, but in a good way, of those places in Paris that have special memories for me.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, no, that makes sense.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, I feel like that's that's always gonna stay with you, you know, that especially if you healed and you transformed in such a place.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_02: That's so interesting.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, I think the the I think the line is very unique.
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_02: You have three fragrances and you also have essences.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_02: So I'd love for you to walk us through each one if you don't mind, because I really want to learn about it from you.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_00: So the three fine fragrances, they're all fine fragrances.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_00: So they're all eau de parfum.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_00: So they all can be worn completely on their own.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_00: They're made with amazing ingredients.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_00: I did not skimp at all on the quality of ingredients that we use, making sure that everything from start to finish, even how the raw materials are sourced, that everything is ethically done.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_00: There's no, you know, poor labor practices and things like that.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_00: That was really important for me.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so the fine fragrances, the first one I have is Jardin de Luxembourg.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_00: And this is based off of my memories of that beautiful garden in in Paris.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_00: It's this huge garden with beautiful like rose plants and trees.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_00: And this is where I would go every weekend when I had a break from school and I would just sit and have a croissant.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_00: I would just soak in the view, people watch.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_00: It was my place of like solace.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_00: And so this fragrance is very fresh and light.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_00: It's a light green floral that just reminds me so much of actually sitting in Jardin de Luxembourg and just seeing this gorgeous garden and being surrounded by flowers.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_00: So that one's kind of yeah, it's just a beautiful, like light, fresh floral scent that's just very elegant and chic.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_00: And that's the one I wear for every day.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_00: If I'm just I just want to put together green mandarin in there.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's a it's like a fresh, light floral.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_00: So if you don't like anything too heavy and you just want to feel just pretty and just smell you know, elegant and put together, that's the one.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's definitely my everyday fragrance.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_02: All right, so this is probably good for layering too, right?
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_02: Like to layer it with all their suns, especially.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, yes.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_00: I have some favorite combos that I'll tell you too that are my go-to's.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, okay, perfect.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_00: And that's the whole thing of the line, too.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_00: I wanted something that people could customize.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, even if you have a fragrance you love at home, I'll get to the essences in a second, but I wanted people to feel comfortable branching out of their one safe perfume that they wear all the time and be like, okay, how can I branch out and be able to experience other perfumes without being afraid of it smelling bad or anything like that?
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_00: So the essences were created, you know, to wear on its own, but you can layer it on something that you already have at home that you love, but you just want to mix it up a little bit and make it like a little sexier for nighttime, or you want it to be a little zestier and fresher for maybe when you get out of the shower.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_00: There's so many different moods that you can have that these can transform the scent profile to be something different based on like the mood or the occasion that you're wearing that fragrance that you already love.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_02: So that's interesting.
• 7:13
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, that's really cool to me because I feel like with fragrance, a lot of times you might fall in love with one scent, but then you want to like kind of, I guess, juice it up a little bit for lack of a better term.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_02: You know, you want something different, something more, you know, just unique that comes in and you want to change things up, right?
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_02: So that's really cool that you designed the line like that.
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I just want people to feel comfortable and and not be afraid to set up their comfort zone, but in a safe way.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_00: It's like, okay, I love this, you know, Valentina born in Roma.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_00: A lot of people love that one, but maybe you get tired of smelling the same every day.
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_00: We'll just add essence sun-tal.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_00: It makes it a little woodier, and now you've got something that has this, you know, a similar scent profile, but now it's a little bit woodier and sexier for the nighttime, but it still smells like something you're familiar with that you love.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_00: So it's just fun to mix and blend and layer and create something that is really unique for you.
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, so Montmart Medie, this is based off of my time.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_00: So Montmartre is a neighborhood in France, and that's where my apartment was.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_00: So it's kind of this really it's where the artistic area is.
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_00: So there's lots of quaint cafes.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_00: There's a little trolley you can take up to the top of Montmartre.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_00: Um, Moulin Rouge is in that area.
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_00: So I remember um it's kind of a fun, like gritty and artistic area.
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_00: So the grittiness is because it's the Moulin Rouge, it's kind of like the red light district at the bottom.
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_00: Take this trolley up to the top and it takes you to the really quaint area where it has all the cute, like artistic places, little like parks and things like that.
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_00: So this is based off of my time of where I actually had stayed and studied in Paris was in Montmartre.
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_00: And this is more of a creamy, a little bit denser floral with a hint of spice to it.
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_00: So if you love like florals, but you want something a little bit, a hint of sexiness, a hint of an edge with it, but still floral and creamy and like um glamorous, then then Montmart would be that style.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_02: Interesting.
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_02: So I know you have like the the honey and the orange blossom in the in this one.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_02: So that's is that what I mean, what contributes to like the I guess the more robust nature of it?
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_00: So uh it has the uh the creamy white florals in it, and that would that quick is it kind of the depth?
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_00: And then you have the hint of spice in there with the cardamom, and then the honey is what's gonna give it the sweetness, and then you've got them the honey orange blossom, which is giving you that floral in there, so it's just very well-rounded floral, but not in your face flowers.
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_00: That honey sweetens it up and makes it a little bit denser and um creamier in there.
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_02: That sounds like a really fun, like holiday fragrance.
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_02: I feel like I feel you can do a lot with the holidays coming around, you know, with that one.
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, yeah.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_00: This I wear this one uh day to day too.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_00: Like if I'm going out, you know, on a brunch during the day or have a business meeting or something like that.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_00: This is when I I want to feel like a little bit more confident, but still feminine and just a little bit sexy.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_00: That's the one that I picked.
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_01: Like a boss, like a boss, like a boss, yep.
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_00: And then Unouit Parisian.
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_00: This is based off of my memories of nighttime in Paris.
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_00: I freaking love nights in Paris.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_00: It's so glamorous with the beautiful lights, the amber, like kind of golden lamps, um, but still like slightly gritty just because it's nighttime, you know, in a major city.
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_00: So there's this cool vibe of this having amber in it, but it has hazelnut in there, which it gives it the gourmand facet.
• 10:51
  SPEAKER_00: So if you love ambers and like gourmands where it's like delectable, but then it has a hint of the chai spices in there, which makes it a little bit sexy.
• 11:00
  SPEAKER_00: So this to me is like sexy, glamorous, uh nighttime in Paris type vibe.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_00: So this is what I wear when I go on dates out.
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_00: Um also a bus fragrance.
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_00: If I have a really important meeting and I just want to feel like confident and put together and sexy, then this is the one I need.
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_02: I love that you did a gourmand because last year I remember everyone had like vanilla overload, I feel like, with fragrance.
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_02: And it was just like I love vanilla scents, I love them so much, but it was everywhere, like on TikTok, social media, and I was like, can we please have like more depth to the gourmand fragrances?
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_02: You know what I mean?
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_02: So it I'm excited that you made a gourmand.
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_02: That's cool.
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, yeah.
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_00: And the next fragrances we're we're already working on are in the gourmand family that are are different, they aren't vanilla-based.
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm really excited to try to get those out the door by next year because um they'll be centered around like cacao and coffee and things like that that'll be like interesting and unique and not just vanilla, but still gourmand.
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_02: So wow, that's really exciting.
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_02: So, in terms of the the combinations, I want you to walk us through some of your favorite like combinations and how to layer.
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_00: Oh my gosh.
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, so I personally love so Unnuit Prezian because it's an amber and a little bit denser and sweeter and spicier.
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_00: I love if I want to brighten it up a little bit, I'll take Essence Mandarine, which is a citrus forward one.
• 12:24
  SPEAKER_00: And the citrus, along with the amber, gives it this very glamorous, well-rounded fragrance that I think makes it more wearable for day because that citrus kind of brightens it up a little bit.
• 12:35
  SPEAKER_00: So if I want to wear unuit during the day, I'll add a spritz of essence mandarin.
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_00: And then if I want to wear it at night, I just wear unuit on its own.
• 12:43
  SPEAKER_00: So I love that combination.
• 12:46
  SPEAKER_00: Um and then we have Essence Vanille, which is a vanilla fragrance, but it's not a boring uh vanilla, like it's definitely vanilla centered, but it has a hint of lime in there, so it almost smells like an orange creamsicle.
• 13:01
  unknown: I don't know.
• 13:02
  SPEAKER_02: Wow, I love orange creamsicle, so you shouldn't have told me that.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_00: I know it's my favorite as a kid.
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_00: It's so nostalgic.
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_00: That was my favorite ice cream as a kid.
• 13:14
  SPEAKER_00: It kind of reminds me of that where it's decadent.
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_00: It is a gourmand, but it has a hit of um lime in there.
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_00: But if you mix the essence mandarin with it, very much it's like citrus and vanilla together.
• 13:27
  SPEAKER_00: It smells like a luxurious, delicious orange cream sickle.
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_02: Oh my gosh.
• 13:33
  SPEAKER_02: You're I'm like, my mouth is literally watering.
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_02: Like this is this is so cool.
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_02: I love that you did like it's so unique how you made the brand.
• 13:42
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, the fact that we can like combine and just explore and you know, just kind of it's like a chemistry lab in a way, you know?
• 13:49
  SPEAKER_02: It's really cool.
• 13:50
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it is, yes.
• 13:52
  SPEAKER_00: So we'll have on the site soon.
• 13:55
  SPEAKER_00: I was hoping to get it done by launch, but I really want to do it well on the site.
• 13:58
  SPEAKER_00: I will have basically a recipe page that shows all the fragrance fusions when you mix them together in various ways.
• 14:05
  SPEAKER_00: This is kind of the mood you get, the style.
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_00: So if people want to have fun and experiment, then you have all these kind of, for lack of better words, like recipes for these fusions that you can like just have fun playing with it and layering it in different ways that gives you completely different scent profiles, which is so fun.
• 14:23
  SPEAKER_02: That is so cool.
• 14:24
  SPEAKER_02: I would actually love that because I feel like um that's something that as a consumer, I wish fragrance friends did more, is like kind of walk us through how to layer better.
• 14:33
  SPEAKER_02: Because I think, you know, it's we all want to layer our fragrances.
• 14:37
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, I know I wear like three at a time.
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_02: I have to.
• 14:39
  SPEAKER_02: It's like, you know, like it just happened at this point, but I don't know if I'm ever layering them the best I could, you know, the best way I could in terms of like really getting the most out of each one.
• 14:49
  SPEAKER_02: So that's really, really neat if you could do that.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, yeah.
• 14:53
  SPEAKER_00: So that will be on the site soon.
• 14:54
  SPEAKER_00: We're finishing that up and I'll have videos to go along with it just to kind of walk people through it so they can understand kind of the chemistry and behind the scenes of the fragrances, so they understand better.
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_00: Like, oh, that's why like mixing Essence Santal with sandalwood goes really well with like um uh Jardin de Luxembourg because it's so fresh and light in grain.
• 15:16
  SPEAKER_00: So when you add sandalwood to it, it gives it like depth and it makes it very contrasted in a really unique way.
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so there's so many different combinations that you can do.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_02: What they always say, you know, when you spray perfume on your skin, it's different for everybody because of obviously it reacts different, the chemistry is different.
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_02: But in terms of like when we're layering and we're using the essences, and like do you recommend, you know, spraying the the perfume like onto your skin and then layering the essences more like on your clothes or your hair?
• 15:49
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, is there anything like that that you recommend?
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_00: I think wherever you spray the the perfume, then spray the essence in the same so it's layering on top of it.
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_00: But me personally, I spray fragrances on I'll do one spritz on like my upper arm, like right under the crease of my elbow.
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_00: I don't spray it down on my wrist because I wash my hands so much and I feel like that's gonna just make it disappear.
• 16:11
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 16:12
  SPEAKER_00: So I spray it like up closer to my elbow area, and then I spray uh one spray on my clothes and one in my hair.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_00: Like I do usually do three, and then the essences you really just need one, maybe two sprays.
• 16:26
  SPEAKER_00: So I'll just do it once on my clothes, once on my hair, and it makes it last longer because clothes and hair um keep that scent longer than if you do it on skin.
• 16:36
  SPEAKER_00: It's just the nature of how the chemistry of it is.
• 16:39
  SPEAKER_00: So that's how I do it.
• 16:41
  SPEAKER_02: Interesting.
• 16:41
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, no, I gotta do that because I'm glad you mentioned the um you spritz it a little further up your arm because I think I do what you just mentioned where I wash it off because I'm always washing my hands because I'm at the hospital all the time.
• 16:54
  SPEAKER_02: So I need to do that.
• 16:57
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, yeah, because that was my when I first started getting into fragrance, I'd always spray it on the wrist, and then I'd notice I wash my hands and then the scent would be gone.
• 17:05
  SPEAKER_00: So that's when I get rid of longevity.
• 17:07
  SPEAKER_00: But if you spray it on different parts of your body, I mean you can even do like a leg, you can do like, you know, on your chest or something where that you're not gonna be washing it so it lasts longer.
• 17:18
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, absolutely.
• 17:19
  SPEAKER_02: Now I want to know, um, you know, this is more of an entrepreneurial question, but I really want to like know in terms of like how difficult was this for you in terms of like getting it right?
• 17:29
  SPEAKER_02: Like how many renditions did you have to go through and um you know, really kind of come back to the working bench and be like, no, we got to do it again.
• 17:36
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, how how is the whole process of creating the sense?
• 17:39
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it definitely took a long time.
• 17:41
  SPEAKER_00: So we've been working on it for three years.
• 17:44
  SPEAKER_00: And the the first part was a lot of training just studying the raw materials.
• 17:48
  SPEAKER_00: So I knew I would make notes.
• 17:50
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, I love, you know, lemonine or I love citronural.
• 17:54
  SPEAKER_00: I would, I would write stars and notes of personal raw materials that I loved and I could envision in a fragrance.
• 18:01
  SPEAKER_00: And then Michael and I would sit down and I said, okay, I want these specific memories.
• 18:07
  SPEAKER_00: I remember Montmart.
• 18:08
  SPEAKER_00: I remember my, you know, the garden in Paris, I remember nighttime in Paris.
• 18:12
  SPEAKER_00: I'd like it to be around those themes.
• 18:13
  SPEAKER_00: So then we kind of ideated of like, okay, what can the main raw materials be?
• 18:18
  SPEAKER_00: I want a good amber, I want a light floral.
• 18:21
  SPEAKER_00: And then from there, he had created based off of the materials I knew I wanted to use and blended it together and came up with multiple, like six to nine versions of each fragrance.
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_00: Um and then I would test them for months and I'd have a test group of people in all sorts of ethnicities, age ranges, genders, and wear them and give me feedback.
• 18:44
  SPEAKER_00: And I had like this whole spreadsheet with test scores of like, okay, most people liked this one.
• 18:49
  SPEAKER_00: This was the rating for these.
• 18:50
  SPEAKER_00: And that kind of helped guide me on what I felt the variations of the fragrances.
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_00: We'd narrow it down to three.
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_00: And then out of the top three that the general public liked, then I would pick my personal favorite out of the three.
• 19:04
  SPEAKER_00: So it took multiple rounds of kind of going back and forth and tweaking.
• 19:08
  SPEAKER_00: And um, so definitely was a process.
• 19:11
  SPEAKER_00: And everything is meant to be unisex.
• 19:12
  SPEAKER_00: So I made sure that I had a test group of men, of women, and then different ages.
• 19:18
  SPEAKER_00: You'd be surprised how different fragrances would smell on someone, say in their 50s and 60s versus someone in their 20s.
• 19:25
  SPEAKER_00: It smells completely different on those age differences.
• 19:27
  SPEAKER_00: It's why I have no idea why, but it does.
• 19:30
  SPEAKER_00: Wow.
• 19:31
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, we had a pretty robust test group to make sure that we got feedback on what's going to work for everyone.
• 19:39
  SPEAKER_02: That's so exciting.
• 19:40
  SPEAKER_02: Well, I'm I'm really excited that you're doing this.
• 19:42
  SPEAKER_02: And I I love a good fragrance brand.
• 19:44
  SPEAKER_02: I think all of us do.
• 19:45
  SPEAKER_02: I like I said, I feel like a lot of things can get redundant, you know, in the fragrance world.
• 19:50
  SPEAKER_02: And um, especially with like gourmand, like we were talking about, even with I mean, I'm more of like a citrusy florals kind of person.
• 19:57
  SPEAKER_02: And so for even for me, when I'm looking for a new scent, it can be so daunting because I swear at one point everything smells the same.
• 20:05
  unknown: It does.
• 20:07
  SPEAKER_00: Like, how does that happen?
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_00: It's it, you know what it is?
• 20:10
  SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna give you a little T on this.
• 20:12
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, please.
• 20:14
  SPEAKER_00: So a lot of the fragrance brands, the major houses, like the designer brands that you'll see at Sephora, Ulton, things like that, not all of them.
• 20:20
  SPEAKER_00: I can't speak on each one, but many of them are made at a a similar place in France.
• 20:26
  SPEAKER_00: And what they do is they just try to find something that's crowd pleasing.
• 20:30
  SPEAKER_00: So they're not trying to create something unique, they're just trying to create something that is gonna bring them in money, something that's very just user-friendly, very, I don't want to say generic, but something that people are gonna be like, oh, that smells good, I'll wear that.
• 20:44
  SPEAKER_00: But there's nothing behind the story or uniqueness of it because they're driven more by like, what is the money gonna tell us?
• 20:52
  SPEAKER_00: What's gonna sell versus how can we stand out and do something that smells unique and different, but still would be crowd pleasing.
• 20:59
  SPEAKER_02: So I feel like a lot of the times, like especially like big designer, like big labels, like I've tried fragrances where I'm like, oh, this is going to make me smell like a mermaid that just came out of the water, you know, or something amazing.
• 21:12
  SPEAKER_02: And it ends up being exactly what I have already, you know, in my collection.
• 21:17
  SPEAKER_02: And I'm like, I swear they're using the same fragrance house or something because it's yeah.
• 21:22
  SPEAKER_00: Many of them use the same fragrance house.
• 21:25
  SPEAKER_00: They that fragrance house has their in-house uh chemists that all create.
• 21:31
  SPEAKER_00: So there's no variety because it's like the same people, the same lab, doing the same thing based off of what they think is has worked in the past.
• 21:39
  SPEAKER_00: So they're just gonna keep churning that wheel and doing a very slight variation on it.
• 21:43
  SPEAKER_00: So that's why a lot of fragrances do smell the same because it's coming from a churned model of okay, like this has sold well in the past, let's just keep doing this, a variation of it.
• 21:53
  SPEAKER_02: So yeah.
• 21:54
  SPEAKER_02: No, I want to actually ask you this because I I watch your videos a lot and I know you really break it down when it comes to everything.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, obviously the the ingredients of everything, you know, when it comes to, for example, makeup, like you really break things down, even packaging.
• 22:07
  SPEAKER_02: And I've noticed that with Marseille, you have like that custom, like the lid and the bottle.
• 22:13
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, and your prices are awesome.
• 22:15
  SPEAKER_02: Like, but I just want to say that.
• 22:16
  SPEAKER_02: Like they're really well priced.
• 22:18
  SPEAKER_02: So how was that in terms of just the economics of it all?
• 22:21
  SPEAKER_02: You know, having that custom piece in there or pieces in there and then trying to keep it at a price where people can really kind of get behind it.
• 22:29
  SPEAKER_00: Mm-hmm.
• 22:30
  SPEAKER_00: That was the that was the one I don't want to say contentious part, but that was the most challenge to be honest was pricing it because the quality um just to be totally transparent, like the cost of um and I don't mean this to come bashing at any brands that's not how I mean it, but the cost of raw materials and the fragrance oils that are in these bottles are so expensive because we actually use a pretty considerable amount of natural raw material.
• 22:55
  SPEAKER_00: So if we say there's vanilla in there, there's actual extract of vanilla in there and it's very, very expensive.
• 23:01
  SPEAKER_00: Like for one kilo, I think Michael said it's about$70,000 either$20,000 or so it definitely was like in the high thousands.
• 23:09
  SPEAKER_00: And so um it was tricky balancing out okay we really want the juice is what's the most important it needs to be quality but I can't overprice these you know I can't charge$300 because like no one can afford those type of price points.
• 23:22
  SPEAKER_00: So I want it to be somewhat attainable even though you know it is an investment in a fragrance but I want them to know that at least like you're going to get quality you'll get your money's worth at it.
• 23:32
  SPEAKER_00: These will last for years if you store them in a cool dry place and they'll have great performance.
• 23:37
  SPEAKER_00: So you really don't have to spray a lot just a couple sprays and you will it will last all day.
• 23:42
  SPEAKER_00: So we really made sure that the performance was there and the quality is there for that price.
• 23:47
  SPEAKER_02: So I love that I love that you did this right like that really goes a long way for me as a consumer is that like your heart's in the right place and you're thinking of us, you know, when you're pricing your products I mean that I I wish I could say more people thought about that, you know, because I there have been so many fragrances where I go and I you know I test them out like in a department store and I'm like I love this and the the saleswoman is like yeah six hundred dollars I'm like yeah I'm gonna put this back down now you know and I'm going to back away from the counter like there's no way like what is in this gold chips or what is turning for six hundred dollars I better turn into like literally a multi-million dollar CEO after wearing this exactly this this fragrance better do my dishes and my laundry at the same time exactly yeah and I feel like there's so much of that you know it's so much of that and I it's really been like a kind of a weird a heavy price to pay for smelling amazing and unique in the past and I just don't think it was necessary.
• 24:48
  SPEAKER_02: So it's so nice to see that you've really thought about you know everything and it's it's wonderful.
• 24:54
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah thank you so much.
• 24:55
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah it was a tricky balance trying to like you know make sure that people can can actually get one and and but still knowing that they're gonna get quality at the end of the day.
• 25:03
  SPEAKER_02: So now I did notice on the website for there's a butte section.
• 25:07
  SPEAKER_00: So the are you coming out with beauty in the brand like as a part of the brand in the near future yeah so the goal is I've already started working on cosmetic products and that'll be in the beauty division of the line and that will come out um the end of next year.
• 25:21
  SPEAKER_00: So we're in the process of finalizing formulations and packaging and things like that.
• 25:26
  SPEAKER_00: So the goal is to start bringing in cosmetics again.
• 25:31
  SPEAKER_00: Obviously it won't be the model of makeup geek but it will be products that I know people trust me on and know that I can formulate well and work with reputable labs.
• 25:39
  SPEAKER_00: So that's that's coming the end of next year.
• 25:42
  SPEAKER_02: If you make it Marlena I'm going to buy it.
• 25:44
  SPEAKER_02: I'm just gonna put that out there I mean honestly at this point like I feel like you've more than proven like exactly like what you know what I mean like where you're coming from in the beauty industry.
• 25:55
  SPEAKER_02: I just I really really believe in what you do.
• 25:57
  SPEAKER_02: So yeah that's so exciting.
• 25:59
  SPEAKER_00: Yes I do not play when it calls to quality like if that if that you know product that makeup product if it's not as performing like I'm not putting my name on that I want to really test it and do a good job.
• 26:09
  SPEAKER_00: Like I I have been working on the new cosmetic part for a few years as well but I really just needed time to test just really make sure it's fine tuned and ready before we launch it.
• 26:20
  SPEAKER_02: So absolutely well I'm so excited and congratulations on the new brand the new the new fragrance line I'm so excited that I can't say that enough that you're doing this and they all sound so lovely and so wonderful.
• 26:33
  SPEAKER_02: I hope everyone listening you guys gotta check it out you got to chime in let us know what you think if you've tried the brand already if you're going to be trying the brand but Marlena it's such an honor every time hosting you and learning from you.
• 26:44
  SPEAKER_02: So thank you for your time today.
• 26:46
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah thank you so much I really appreciate you've always been super sweet.
• 26:49
  SPEAKER_00: So thank you for for giving me the time to speak I'm I'm so grateful.
• 26:52
  SPEAKER_02: Hey guys so I hope you love that episode please make sure to hit subscribe if you're tuning in to us on any podcast platform we are available on so many different platforms so wherever it is that you're tuning in just go hit subscribe you will be immediately notified when we publish new episodes this way you're able to tune in to amazing insights from experts brand founders industry leaders authors all the wonderful people that we host and that's very important for me because I love to hear from you guys and really understand what you love and what you want to hear more of.
• 27:24
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• 27:32
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• 27:38
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• 27:48
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• 27:54
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• 27:59
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you.