COUNTDOWN (1/5) - I refused to accept the fragrance illusion

Hello, Fragrant Friend 👋,

This is the first of a countdown of five, in a story that leads to something truly special. In the final email, a small number of you will receive a unique, once-off invitation, not just to witness what’s next, but to help create it.

You’ll have the chance to actively shape future fragrances with us and get early, exclusive access to our new releases before anyone else. If you want to be an insider in this next chapter, stay tuned and don’t miss a single email.

On 9 May 2024, I hit "send" on the very first Scently Speaking newsletter. Back then, there were just 13 of you reading. Maybe you were one of them? I knew absolutely nothing about running a publication, but I had an instinct that I simply could not ignore.

The spark for this entire journey happened in a perfumery. I had just bought a bottle of Eight & Bob. The sales assistant handed me what looked like a beautifully bound book. Inside, nestled perfectly in a cut-out compartment, was the fragrance. As he opened it, he told me a captivating story: this was John F. Kennedy's favourite scent, a formula lost for decades, crafted by a mysterious perfumer, and finally rediscovered.

In that moment, I felt a profound emotional connection to the fragrance that went far beyond the scent itself. It felt like holding history.

Until I found out it was all a carefully constructed marketing script.

The illusion shattered, but it left behind a relentless need to find a greater truth in perfumery. I wanted to know who actually makes our fragrances, and why their stories are so often buried beneath corporate fiction.

So, I started writing to you. Most of the time, I wrote late at night after my children were in bed, driven by a simple desire to build a world with more authenticity. I needed to know if I was alone in feeling this way.

Through your replies and our early surveys, you showed me I was not:

• When I asked, Ever wondered how and who makes your favourite fragrances?, 66 out of 104 of you answered "All the time."

• When I asked, if the lack of recognition and pay for perfumers affected your view of the industry, the resounding answer was "Yes, significantly."

• And when I asked, how likely you were to support independent fragrance creators after hearing the reality, an overwhelming majority said "Yes, very likely."

You validated a quiet hope. You proved that there are people who crave genuine connection and care about the true artists behind the scents. The current fragrance industry does not have the answers for us.

But we are building something that does.

In three days, I will share exactly what I have learned over the 700+ days since that very first email, and what it means for the future we are creating together.

Speak soon,

Sebastian