Fragrance Queen on the Invisible Accessory

of this. To the fragrance industry does not just mean perfumes. It's it's bigger and broader than that, isn't it? Yes, it is, and Scarlett and Katie is a thrill to be back. Um, I want to tell you all about fragrance. Fragrance comes in a lot of forms, and particularly during the pandemic, the business has been soaring. So think about this. Of course, there is that term perfume, and that's a personal fragrance or a cologne that you spray on yourself.

But also think about all the sanitizing and cleaning and how many lotions you've put on. Those have fragrant too. We consider those fragrance and in addition, two major categories that have sword and will continue. One of them you're going to nod with me, are all about home fragrances, candles, diffusers, plug ins. People who were home has spent so much time there really want wanted to enhance their environment and

distinguish one room from for another. Every night, my husband Steve and I, he picks a bottle of wine and I picked the candle to go with the meal. So there's a lot of fragrance out there in your environment as well. Just sent you pair with like an oaky chardonnay or what's your wine and choice question? Well, many evenings I must admit penot noir, the red one is part of our life and that brings you a little depth. So there's always a little fruity and floral fragrances are

big um. Also this time of year, there are a lot of holiday fragrances. You probably know Diptique, Joe Malone, Boy Smells Nest, and so many others have come out with fragrances that either remind you of some nostalgic holiday with fur and balsam and all that stuff, or d S and Durga in New York based he created um a latka for Hanukkah a latka taste. So it's yeah, the candle smells like probably fried potatoes and oil and pepper. So I'm beyond fragrance a big category in the industry

and loved by consumers. This is blowing my mind. It is, and it's blowing my mind because again, I until I had this revelation during the commercial break that fragrance doesn't just mean perfume. That why would it, you know, see an increase during the pandemic. We weren't leaving our houses, no one was smelling us except people theoretically who we loved us with. But uh, it kind of sounds like it coincides with the self care trends when you think

about lotions and candles. Yes, it's very interesting. Even prior to the pandemic, where we weren't getting dressed up and going out so much, um, we started to reference fragrance and even more so now as the invisible accessory. So while everyone probably was getting much more casual, they really wanted to feel a little more dressed up or when they went out and put the mask on, they wanted

to have a little identity. We really believe and we've proven that fragrance as one of the senses was elevated because during COVID some people lost their sense of you know, smell, And the other thing is they wanted it for transportive reasons. So think about this scarlet and Katie, where did you go on vacation and what did you smell or what

did you wear? Where you want We're on vacation, so while you were home during the pandemic, you wanted to sprits that on and sort of flashback to that Caribbean island or the coast of a Malfi or somewhere else

where there was a distinctive scent. You know. I'm so glad you bring this up because I was in Vegas last month and what I noticed in walking through the different hotels was that every hotel had its own scent, But hotels that were owned by MGM Grand, for instance, had a similar family of scent versus those that were

owned by Caesar's. And it's it's very distinct, so that as you go through the different hotels, sometimes you have no idea whether you're in still in Caesar's or you've moved on to the bellagio um and maybe my geography is wrong. So if it's wrong, but the scent would help you distinguish one venue from another, that is exactly right on. Another type of fragrance is on beyond scent.

That's what we call it. So hotels or stores really want to create an environment or give you what you really smelled in those um different hotels was what was their personality coming through? And it gives you a sense of home. It gives you a sense of what the environments like. So in your fragrance list collection, you talked

we talked about home. The other one we talk a lot about in the biz is on beyond scent, and it's becoming more and more popular, and of course we're having this conversation on December twenty we are firmly in the heart of holiday season. Talk about how important that is for the industry as a whole, even as you're seeing other types of fragrances become more popular. When you think about the home, but when it comes to the gift giving season, is that still incredibly crucial, incredibly big.

The pre pandemic, I would say the consumers were buying online, going in stores, but I was a retailer at Macy's before this job, and the last ten days it used to be five days, three days. The countdown to Christmas was huge. Most of the time, it is a go to gift. It continues as we speak. Last year or the year before, during the pandemic, a lot more was brought online. Think about it, you bought something for someone and you shipped it to them because you weren't going

to see it or see those people in Christmas. Now we really think that there is going to be a stampede into the stores the last few days, and it's always giftable, wrapped up in a beautiful box and easy to get someone something new. Do perfumes or fragrances ever expired? Can they go back? A good question. I hear that question quite a bit. If you do not open the actual bottle or you don't start spraying, it would last longer. But as long as you keep your fragrances away from

extreme heat or sunlight. Quite frankly, they can last for years. They could go on for five years, but I wouldn't say they expire. It also depends how much of the natural versus synthetic is in there, and I'm always telling everyone one is not better than the other. But generally speaking, unless you have it right on top of your heat or it's gonna last pretty long. Okay, So I'm gonna go home. I'm going to take the bottle of Mademoiselle off the heater. We only have about forty seconds or

so left with you. Such a good conversation. But when you look into what do you think the biggest trend will be in fragrances? I do believe the home category will continue, and as Scarlet you were mentioning on beyond. But what I'm very proud of and what's changed in the industry and with consumers, it's not just about sexual attraction. It's how you feel about yourself. It's self care. And we're seeing that fragrance is really becoming a collection, not

just a signature fragrance, not just a signature fragrance. This is such a great conversation. But Scarlett, you don't wear perfume necessarily. I don't, but I get my hair done at work and they use an a rebig dry shampoo, and so I've come to identify that as my sent Okay, in a sense, then you and I were the same persose everything walk around. Yeah, we have the same fragrance.

What a great conversation that is. Linda Levy, she is the president of the Fragrance Foundation known as the Fragrance Queen, joining us in the Bloomberg Interactive Burker Studio in New York.