The year was 2010 and I cherished Viva La Juicy’s glass bottle adorned with bright pink ribbon and the signature gold charm. I am sure my fellow Millenial and Gen Z cusp babies will agree that the scent was impossible to escape in the middle school hallways. To this day a whiff still brings me back to my adolescence, which is indeed both a blessing and a curse. We all remember our first fragrance—the scent, the packaging, and the persona we took on after the initial spritz.
Obviously, it comes as no surprise that the industry has evolved since my pre-teen years. My beauty shelf now includes a range of aromas, from musky colognes to flowery toilettes. But what excites me the most is that the people making the perfumes have evolved as well. One of these extraordinary new noses? Carina Chaz of Dedcool. Her brand has made waves with its waterless vegan formulas, genderless scents, and fresh marketing approach. The self-taught perfumer offers a new perspective to what it means to curate a fragrance and she has a loyal brand following to prove it.
What does the future hold for fragrance? It only felt natural to tap Chaz as she is disrupting the industry for a new generation. We spoke about what is still missing in the fragrance conversation, the concept of the signature scent, the pillars she built into her own brand that she sees becoming the new norm, and more.
What was your first fragrance experience?
“My first experience with fragrance was Pink Sugar [by Aquolina]. It wasn't that I was actually wearing it but more so that all of my friends were and I remember wanting [it] so badly. I grew up in a very green and organic household so I was never allowed to use [conventional] fragrances. I didn’t desire all of the fragrances that my friends were wearing, but Pink Sugar was definitely the first scent I can recall. It's funny, it's like you can just pick it out of a crowd. I remember going to the DMV recently and I was like, ‘Are you wearing Pink Sugar?’ And the woman replied, ‘How did you know?’”
When did you know that you wanted to become a perfumer? What made you want to launch your own brand?
“For me, fragrance was always the way I could express myself, in terms of beauty. It was never the plan to become a nose or a perfumer. It was much more of a hobby and a craft I participated in. I made fragrances for myself to share with my friends and the people around me because I was never allowed to wear traditional ones. So it was up to me to create things that expressed myself through scent. You could say the same with clothing and how you dress every day.”
I feel like you have this very unique perspective in the fragrance space because you’re self-taught. How do you think your personal journey and career path has set you apart from “traditional” noses in the industry?
“I would say there are pros and cons to being self-taught. The early years of creating my own fragrance palette [helped me] identify scents, flavors, and things within nature that I liked or could create some type of mood boosting experience. I love the idea of people identifying within a scent.
“The scents and profiles I liked were pretty much in the men's section of your department store and as a young person, I thought, ‘Okay, this is tailored towards men, but why can't someone like myself wear it?’ It creates a conversation around how beauty has been marketed for so long and Dedcool was founded on figuring out a way of creating a genderless approach. It’s the idea of people wearing fragrance and expressing themselves in a way that empowers them as opposed to doing whatever marketing is telling you to do. That was the light bulb moment for me.”
Photo Courtesy: Dedcool
I wanted to touch on another important pillar of your brand: sustainability. What does it actually mean to create a sustainable fragrance?
“Back in 2016, when Dedcool was established, no one was really talking about sustainability. We didn't necessarily have the voice because we didn't have the marketing funds to support it. So, for us, it was very much like holistically, this is who we are. Being a one woman show at the time, sustainability stemmed from my own personal upbringing. We decided to eliminate water and have more of a functionality approach [to fragrance]. Instead of water we decided to infuse raw materials which are mood boosting organic extracts that are [also] good for your skin. We are now certified carbon neutral for everything from manufacturing to suppliers to sourcing.”
Where do you think the fragrance industry is headed?
“I think the beauty consumer is more savvy now and they're asking for transparency. Thank god for social media; we're able to have this open conversation with our consumers. From start to finish, we're showing how we make it, what's in it, and how we're using specific raw materials.”
A lot of people have called you a disruptor in the industry. Was that the goal behind the brand?
“For me, it's all about innovation and creating ideas that empower a consumer. We want people to feel like there is a product for them. Having a conversation around disruption in the industry is definitely [something] we're aiming for. The fact that people are understanding our overall vision means that we're doing something right.”
How has the fragrance landscape really changed?
“It’s hard to say. There are definitely new brands emerging. Right now we’re seeing a lot of green and vegan conversations [in the space] so I’m happy that it’s a demand in the market.”
What do you think the modern fragrance customer is really looking for right now? What does this next fragrance generation look like?
“I think at one point everyone was wearing what everyone else or celebrities were wearing. Today, people are really focused on creating their own personalized fragrance experience. People want to have their own unique scent.”
What is your opinion on the concept of having a signature scent?
“I think there's different ways to look at this. People are very loyal to their fragrance. I feel like this new generation and wave is about self-expression and figuring out how you can really enhance and play. I think the new concept of the signature scent is having several scents that you are wearing for specific occasions, whether that’s going to the office or going on a date. It could be based on a mood or the occasion. There are people who will never, ever change their scent, which is totally fine. That's not the kind of wearer that I am. I love to layer and wear different fragrances for different occasions and moods.”
What do you think is still missing from the fragrance conversation?
“I think education is probably the one thing missing. I think the industry is a little bit behind on the way that they explain what a fragrance is composed of. At some point, hopefully we will all be on the same page when it comes to understanding compositions and what it means to be a sustainable fragrance.”