Friday, September 22, 2017

Retailers, Time To Brand Your Store With A Signature Scent - Pumpkin Spice, Anyone?

Starbucks
Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte
It’s fall when Starbucks welcomes the change of season with new drinks and food flavors to tempt customers in. Personally, I am a coffee purist. I take it strong, dark and black. But every now and then, I want something different, in which case I will order one of their high-priced, hand-crafted concoctions whipped up by a barista, like the Pumpkin Spice Latte or the new fall Maple Pecan Latte it just announced today. Starbucks claims its PSL, launched in 2003, is its “most popular seasonal beverage of all time.” Starbucks has long used seasonal drinks to anchor its marketing throughout the year, like frozen Frappuccinos in summer and Peppermint Mocha for the holidays. While PSL may be its bestselling seasonal offering, to me, the PSL’s taste isn’t all that appealing. But then, I don’t believe it is the taste that drives people mad for PSL; it’s the scent. And MaryAnne Drake, a food scientist at North Carolina State University, agrees, saying, “The aromas in these holiday products are crafted to trigger emotions and feelings.”
Pumpkin spice fragrance is strong and emotionally evocative. It is the quintessential fragrance of fall. Catherine Franssen, assistant professor of psychology and director of the neurostudies minor at Longwood University in Virginia, says, “Since these are popular spice combinations, it's very likely we would have encountered some or all of them combined in a favorite baked good in a comforting situation, like a family gathering, early in life. It's not just the pumpkin spice combo, but that we've already wired a subset of those spices as 'good' very early in life.” It’s customers’ emotions and memories that Starbucks and other brands connect with through the pumpkin spice scent. Since scent is hardwired into people’s memories, retailers need to explore the tremendous possibilities found in tapping into their customers' olfactory sense.
What can retailers learn about the popularity of pumpkin spice, which Forbes pegged at being a $500 million industry in 2015, to achieve greater success? Do retailers need their own signature scents, or seasonal fragrances, to brand their stores? Those are the questions I asked Sue Phillips, president & CEO of Scenterprises & The Scentarium.Phillips’ firm creates custom signature scents for people and brands, like its recent work with Lincoln Motor Cars to introduce its new Navigator model at New York City’s Seaport District. Scentarium contributed the scent to the “The Navigator Experience.How Lincoln’s Navigator smells success In working with Scentarium, Lincoln wanted to link the consumer's lifestyle to the car in a multi-sensory way through scent, taste, visual and tactile initiatives. “We gave Lincoln’s guests our Scent Personality Test, which determines the consumer's Lifestyle Personality, and based on their answers, it revealed whether the consumer liked our fresh, floral, woodsy or amber fragrance family,” Phillips explains. “Lincoln adapted our quiz to add the 'taste' quotient and highlighted the taste of chocolates the consumer liked ― e.g., white, milk, semisweet, bitter. Based on those responses, they guided the consumer through the Lincoln Navigator app ― to showcase the type of car they liked, colors and texture.  It was truly a multi-sensory event, and it all pivoted around the Scent."
Sue Phillips, Scentarium
Lincoln Navigator App from Lincoln Navigator Event
In creating the Lincoln Navigator experience, the brand led with scent, not the other four senses, since scent has a direct connection to customers’ emotions. “Fragrance is one of the most powerful aspects of 'experiences,' linking memory and emotion to an event,” Phillips says, noting the current trend in retail is to bring experiences into the consciousness of customers, “so much so that Nordstrom is rolling out an 'experiential' store without inventory.” Retailers need their own sweet smell of success, too As retailers prepare for fall and the buildup to the holiday season, it’s time to think about engaging that most powerful yet largely overlooked customer experience offered with a signature scent. It could create a whole new dimension to the shoppers’ experience that will translate into more sales. “Traditional retailers get ready for fall with in-store decorations, eye-catching window promotions and colorful displays reflecting the changing seasons,” Phillips says. “Seasonal scents such as pumpkin spice are traditional fall scents in the USA that can be diffused through candles or different scent diffusers. Eucalyptus, burnt orange and cinnamon spices also bring to mind fall. Peppermint reminds us of the crisp smell of winter snow, and evergreen, cranberry, mulled spices and sage are the smell of Christmas. There is nothing more entrancing than linking all the elements atmospherically in a consistent way in a store ― colors, architecture, ambiance, displays and aroma ― so that the look, feel and scent are all related.” Phillips believes that retailers are ignoring the tremendous power that a signature scent, perhaps rotated on a seasonal basis, could bring to their store. “Retailers should focus on offering thoughtful, comprehensive 'experiences,' and scent is a pivotal characteristic of the look, feel and smell of the new season,” she says. “Fragrance is personal branding,” Phillips says regarding the work she does creating signature scents for her clients. But, she stresses, fragrance can be powerful branding for brands and retailers, too. “Scents make memories and recall memories from the past. Retailers need to realize that tapping into those emotions and memories makes for a better retail experience, and numerous studies have shown that when there is a pleasant aroma in the store, consumers linger longer and sales increase.” In my book, Shops that POP! 7 Steps to Extraordinary Retail Success, I stress the need for retailers to imprint their stores on the customers’ memory. Based on science, one of the best ways to do that is through their nose, not their eyes. Once the store is in the customers’ memory, it truly becomes part of the customer, embedded in their imaginations. For a retailer, there is no more powerful space than the customers' mind to occupy, as Mad Men's Don Draper understood when he explained the strategy behind his Heinz pitch: “The greatest thing you have working for you is not the photo you take or the picture you paint; it's the imagination of the consumer. They have no budget, they have no time limit, and if you can get into that space, your ad can run all day.”

Q&A with America’s Leading “Scentrepreneur”

Aera Interviewee Sue Phillips

SEPTEMBER 20, 2017

Sue Phillips is a big fan of merging words. She’s a self-described “scentrepreneur” and she runs a business as a fragrance consultant that she calls “Scenterprises.” But new words aren’t the only thing she creates. At Phillips’ appointment-only, custom boutique in Manhattan’s TriBeca neighborhood, which she calls “The Scentarium,” she helps her customers, including celebrity clients, design custom perfumes to match their unique personalities. Learning how to best perceive and interact with our enigmatic sense of smell is one of our greatest passions at Aera. We spoke to Phillips about how people can better identify their signature fragrance, and what scents people prefer.  Q: What’s your biggest takeaway about how people should think about their sense of smell? A: To understand fragrance you must understand its power. Our most powerful sense is our sense of smell. People don’t really think about it unless they encounter a negative smell, but on a day to day basis people take their sense of smell for granted. I would really like people to stop and smell the roses and everything else. Q: How can a person become more appreciative of fragrance? A: People’s sense of smell has not been honed, and yet animals have such a powerful sense of smell. I think it’s really a question of self-education. It’s a question of being aware, of remembering past associations with a fragrance. What did my mom wear when she went out? What did my dad wear? And maybe it’s Old Spice - but what does Old Spice smell like? Q: This raises a good point - what does Old Spice smell like? How do you go about talking about fragrance in a more concrete way? A: People’s vocabulary is very limited when it comes to fragrances. Most Americans, if you ask them what fragrance do they like, they can’t tell you, but they will tell you “fresh and clean.” But what does fresh and clean smell like? Many people say Old Spice smells like lavender and fern notes. Other people might say it smells like the ocean. Q: Are there differences between the genders in terms of what kinds of fragrances men and women enjoy? A: There’s no such thing as a masculine ingredient or a feminine ingredient, it’s a matter of how fragrances are combined. Typically, most men like a sporty citrusy fragrance combined with deep, woodsy, spicy notes. Most women like floral fragrances, with roses and gardenias, for example. Q: You work with celebrity clients to design custom fragrances at your Scentarium in Manhattan. Can you tell us about some of your highlights and what the fragrances they designed were like? A: Jamie Foxx’s fragrance was woodsy and spicy with a hint of fruitiness. Katie Holmes went for something light and crisp to start, with a hint of light, fresh florals and some fruitiness. Snooki liked a spicy, fruity and oriental fragrance. Here at Aera, we work with master perfumers and world-renowned scent designers to create complex fragrances that will resonate with your particular tastes. To find out which of our signature fragrances might best suit your home environment, try taking our fragrance quiz or request a fragrance leaflet! photo c/o Crain's New York Business Magazine

Wednesday, September 20, 2017

Sue Phillips at The Emmys – in the Luxury Gifting Suite

Celebrity Connected 2017 Luxury Gifting Suite Honoring The Emmys® – Getting Amped up for the Emmy Awards

(re) Purpose Bowtie
Unless you were actually at the 2017 Emmy Awards, the best place to be Emmy weekend was the Celebrity Connected 2017 Luxury Gifting Suite held at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles on September 16th.
BOHO Babes Denim
Boho Babes Denim was gifting their very stylish and trendy denim clothing for kids, both boys and girls styles. Boho Babes Denim wants to make sure your children feel the most confident when wearing our products. Boho Babes Denim strives to offer the best quality of denim with an affordable price. They also will style mom, with such cool pieces as the “Mama Tee Shirt Dress” along with the variety of women’s denim shorts. For more information, visit: Boho Babes Denim
HIGH Gorgeous
High Gorgeous is the first mainstream cannabis beauty line. Guests were gifted some of the beauty line including; “Nice Buns” cellulite treatment that firms skin and seals in moisture with properties of espresso, witch hazel, cinnamon oil, shea butter and for chapped lips the cannabis kiss lip balm, featuring coconut oil with soothing properties of cocoa butter and aloe vera gel. For more information, visit: HIGH Gorgeous
STARE Cosmetics
STARE Cosmetics was not only providing makeovers, but they were also giving an assortment of their makeup that was formulated using only the best ingredients. For more information, visit: STARE
Buzz Pop Cocktails
Buzz Pop Cocktails was treating guests to their fresh and tasty frozen alcohol infused pops. These party favorites come in a wide range of flavors including; Lemon Drop Martini Sorbet, Moscow Mule Sorbet and many more. From Las Vegas to Los Angeles these are perfect to enjoy poolside or for any party. For more information, visit: Buzz Pop Cocktails
SWL
Skin Wax Lash by Echo was gifting certificates for skincare, lash & brow services at her Newport Beach skincare studio. Echo’s menu of services offer corrective, results oriented treatments, specializing in Micro-Needling, LIRA Clinical Chemical Peels, Acne Treatments and much more. For more information, visit: Skin Wax Lash
Diva Stuff
Diva Stuff was gifting their handcrafted skincare line of products that is all made in the U.S.A. You are going to find anti-acne products, Cellulite & Slimming Spongy Soap Bar, eye cream and just about anything else you can think of.  For more information, visit: Diva Stuff
Custom Creations by Cyndie
Cyndie Wade, the founder and owner of CUSTOM CREATIONS, was showcasing her handcrafted ornaments and custom hand painted drink ware that make for the perfect personalized gift. Cyndie can paint anything you can dream up by simply sending her a photograph and she then turns your vision into reality, a custom gift that your family and friends will love and cherish for years to come! For more information, visit: Custom Creations
(re) Purpose Bowties
For more information, visit: (re) Purpsoe
The Gypsy Shrine
For more information, visit: The Gypsy Shrine
Mad Hops
Mad Hops has created flavored beer drops that will take any cheap beer and turn into a fabulous tasting craft beer. Three years in the making, Mad Hops can bring a Mexican Lime, Cherry Wheat or Irish Porter into the party or tailgating experience. Mad Hops was created using the same high quality ingredients that are available to craft brewers but at a fraction of the cost for you. For more information, visit: Mad Hops  
WeWool
WeWool not only sells amazing socks but they promise to donate a pair of socks every time a pair is sold! Their merino wool socks are made in North Carolina and you can feel the difference when you put a pair on. While in Los Angeles for the Emmy Awards, WeWool handed out countless pairs of socks to the homeless. For more information, visit: WeWool
Dekke Hud
Dekke Hud Skincare was gifting their men’s bio-cellulose face masks. Don’t feel slighted ladies, women can use them as well. Manufactured in state-of-the-art laboratories, these high-quality, medical-grade bio-cellulose brings spa-like treatments to your daily routine, at a price you can manage and the treatment will last for days. For more information, visit: Dekke Hud
Sue Phillips
Fragrance expert Sue Phillips was treating to guest to some of her latest scents. Sue not only creates scents, but believes that your perfume should be as unique as you are, for men and women, and that fragrance helps reflect your mood and creates memories. Sue is also committed to helping raise awareness about Alzheimer’s and has presented many fund-raising initiatives to help eradicate this disease, and to link the connection to Memory and Emotion through Scent. For more information, visit: Sue Phillips
Justin’s Peanut Butter
Justin’s Peanut Butter was sampling not only an assortment of their tasty peanut butter flavors, but also their decadent chocolate and peanut butter treats. For more information, visit: Justin’s
Naia Vibes
For more information, visit: Naia Vibes
Aliyah Moulden wearing Cosmetic Hideaways
For more information, visit: Cosmetic Hideaways
The Restroom Kit
For more information, visit: The Restroom Kit
Orali organic perfumes
Orali is the exclusive range of natural perfumes produced by artisan perfumer Elena Bensonoff. You will find unique fragrances such as Orali Chocolate Perfume. For more information, visit: Orali
Luxe Bloom
Luxe Bloom has taken the art of the rose to a whole new level with roses that last up to 60 days with no water and no refrigeration. In addition they have over twenty colors and they can custom create any setting to celebrate whatever occasion is coming up. For more information, visit: Luxe Bloom
The Fodmap
Provincial Vodka
For more information, visit: Provincial
The English Slave by David Eugene
For more information, visit: The English Slave Svakom was gifting an assortment of their adult toys. For more information, visit: Svakom
 
 
 

Fragrance Expert Sue Phillips launches new fragrance kits

Sparkling Citrus Fragrance KitGlamorous Floral fragrance kitFragrance expert Sue Phillips will be introducing her new fragrance kits, the Sue Phillips House of Fragrance Ménage à Trois kits, Sparkling Citrus, and Glamorous Floral, at the Indie Beauty Expo in NYC on August 22-24 at 550 Washington St. New York, NY 10014. At the Beauty Expo, Sue will be displaying all of her original scents, along with her new fragrance kits, which will be released for this Holiday season 2017. Priced at $145 SRP, they will be available at http://www.suephillips.com and select speciality stores.

The Sue Phillips Ménage à Trois kits will include a Signature Scent consisting of an exquisite Sparkling Citrus plus three Perfume Enhancers, which can be sprayed and layered over each other so that you can create and enhance your own unique fragrance daily, depending on your mood or the occasion. The second kit is Glamorous Floral plus three different Perfume Enhancers, which can be worn alone or layered several times for day and night scents.

 

“Embrace and enhance your moods for any occasion– from day to night – innocent to sultry – fresh to captivating with our Signature Scents and exquisite Perfume Enhancers” suggests Sue Phillips.

[caption id="attachment_8113" align="aligncenter" width="300"]sue phillips Sue Phillips - perfume Expert[/caption]

Sue Phillips Swivel and twist refillable perfume bottlesEach bottle comes with a unique Signature perfume, and each one is specially crafted so that any combination complements each other. The perfumes are bottled in beautifully crafted 20 ml “swivel” atomizers, in chic black and gold with the 3 Perfume Enhancers in 8 ml, and available in gold, black, and silver, and will feature the Sue Phillips signature logo.

“My mission is to take fragrance OUT of the bottle and to create a magical perfume experience for my clients ….. drop by drop” says Sue Phillips. “Why wear what everyone else wears, when you can create your own?”

Sue Phillips has extensive experience consulting with brands, helping them create their own perfumes, and has worked for leading fragrance companies in executive positions such as Elizabeth

Arden, Lancôme Paris, and Tiffany. As Vice President of Tiffany, she created “Tiffany,” “Tiffany for Men,” and as General Manager for Royal Brands created “Society” by Burberry, and “Burberry for Men” fragrances. Sue also developed the original three eponymous Trish McEvoy fragrances, and has developed brands for Avon, Diane Von Furstenberg, Lancaster and many other fragrance initiatives.

Interviews with Sue Phillips are available upon request at the Indie Beauty Expo. She has appeared on HSN and TV discussing Fragrance Trends and is a leading Fragrance Expert and Adjunct Professor at LIM college.

About Sue Phillips House of Fragrance:

Sue Phillips, President & CEO established Scenterprises Inc, a global fragrance consulting company, and as Celebrities turn to the “Selfie”era, Sue recognized that customization was going to be the next fragrance trend, and created The Scentarium in TriBeCa in 2014, a luxurious perfumery and ‘oasis’ in the heart of the city, where you can create your own scent. Sue walks you through the entire perfume-making process, from taking her olfactory personality quiz to guiding you on a ‘fragrance journey to discover all her original and exquisite scents, to help you create the perfect “bespoke” scent for you.

[caption id="attachment_8114" align="aligncenter" width="814"]18 perfume blends 18 perfume blends to create your own bespoke perfume with[/caption]

Although many A-listers have visited The Scentarium (including Jamie Foxx, Katie Holmes, Won-G Bruno, Zendaya, Snooki and JWoww, Dirk Nowitzki, Lisa Vanderpump, as well as Reality Bloggers and Fortune 500 clients,) you don’t need to be a celebrity to make your own perfume. Sue Phillips believes that your perfume should be as unique as you are, for men and women, and that fragrance helps reflect your mood and creates memories. Sue is also committed to helping raise awareness about Alzheimer’s and has presented many fund-raising initiatives to help eradicate this disease, and to link the connection to Memory and Emotion through Scent.

Sue Phillips House of Fragrance logo

Beauty DIY: How to Layer Fragrances to Create Your Own Signature Scent

Beauty DIY: How to Layer Fragrances to Create Your Own Signature Scent
With so many amazing fragrances available in the Shop, it can be so hard to pick just one to be your signature scent. Luckily, you don’t have to: Layer a few up to create your own! Mix and match your existing faves or find a new blend to add to your collection and create a scent that’s as unique as you are. Ahead, the best tips and tricks for layering fragrances and ending up with a result that smells eau so good.
  1. Play Chemist Mixing and matching fragrances inevitably requires a little trial and error. But that’s the fun part! “This is all about experimentation,” says Carlos Benaim, Master Perfumer at International Flavors & Fragrances. “There are infinite combinations that you can create, and the only way to know if one is going to work is to try it.” Point being, get ready to spend a little time spritzing and sniffing. (Pro tip: If you feel like your sense of smell is starting to burn out, take a break and smell a tissue; its neutral scent can help cleanse your palette, so to speak.)
  2. Look for Contrast As a general rule, people are usually drawn to fragrances that fall within one olfactive category, says Sue Phillips, President & CEO of Scenterprises & The Scentarium. That’s why even if you have 10 different perfumes in your collection, they may all be predominantly floral, clean, or supersweet. "But if you mix fragrances that are too similar, they’ll end up cancelling one another out. You want to create contrast,” explains Benaim. The easiest way to do so is to layer lighter fragrances with ones that are a bit heavier or more intense. One pairing we like: Pinrose Secret Genius Eau de Parfum and Pinrose Garden Gansgster Eau de Parfum.
  3. Mix It Up Using Notes It’s not just about the predominant scent when it comes to finding complementary fragrances. The top notes (what you initially smell) and base notes (the scent that lingers after application) come into play as well. Look for a fragrance with top notes you love and pair it with a fragrance that has base notes you love, says Benaim. It’s obviously a matter of personal preference, but we found that the crisp and clean Etat Libre d’Orange You or Someone Like You Eau de Parfum mixes nicely with the green lime, neroli, and jasmine base notes in the Juliette Has a Gun Anyway Eau de Parfum.
  4. Embrace “Less is More” Phillips likens mixing and matching fragrances to choosing spices when you’re cooking: “Individually, each spice is amazing, but if you were to combine every single one in your cabinet, you’d end up with a blend that’s overpowering and not distinct,” she says. The same goes for perfume. Start with just two scents, and possibly adding a third. “But cap it at three,” advises Phillips.
  5. Test It Out Resist the temptation to use your skin as your canvas since our body chemistry can interact with the fragrance and affect the final result. To set up a proper at-home test, spray each fragrance on separate cotton balls, press them together, and then toss them in a Ziploc bag. Then, open the bag and take a whiff. If you’re into the mix you’ve made, then try it on to make sure it smells good on you “This is the easiest way to see if the scents mix well together,” points out Phillips.
  6. Vary the Proportions Once you’ve got a combo you like, you can fine tune the formula. “Something as simple as changing the amount of each fragrance that you’re mixing can make the blend even more distinct,” says Benaim. Start with one spray of each, then try two of one and one of the other, or three spritzes to two spritzes. One blend to try: CLEAN Reserve Amber Saffron Eau de Parfum and CLEAN Reserve Velvet Flora Eau de Parfum. Experiment until you find exactly what you’re looking for, and write down exactly how you got there so that you can recreate your new signature scent in the future.
  7. Birchbox.com - read the article
 

Listen to Custom Testimonials at the Scentarium

Have you ever thought about creating your OWN fragrance? At Scenterprises and The Scentarium, Sue Phillips takes you on a fragrance journey!

Celebrity Interview – Sue Phillips

Some of my best shows are ones where I feature guests with inner gifts. Sue Phillips has a true talent in the area of aroma. She can easily match a lady to her own soul's scent. This is not a feat many can make famous, but she has created a budding business that continues to blossom daily. She has worked with clients such as Chanel, Trish McEvoy and Katie Holmes. Her fabulously famous former employers include Tiffany, Elizabeth Ardin and Lancome. She is one glamorous gal. Please listen in and learn one little lady can turn your persona into perfume! Listen here