Hannah Gay turns her attention – and nose – to the fragrance brands eyeing the professional beauty market.
If COVID lockdowns saw beauty therapists turn to launching their own brands, 2022 has left them pivoting into fragrance development.
Scents are the next big upsell for salon owners, it seems, with entrepreneurial beauty therapists quick to get involved. “Fragrance is the glaring omission in many Australian spa retail areas and I actually think it’s a perfect compliment to the many sensory journeys taken in the salon and spa space,” says Tamara Eacott, Director at Green Living Collective and founder of The Better Brand. “I can’t emphasise enough the benefits of a beautiful, enticing retail area in a salon or spa.”
The ethos
Kicking off her beauty career in the early 1990s, Tamara spent over a decade working as a beauty therapist both in Australia and overseas. “I had a few years at sea with Steiner and lived and worked in Canada, all the while working in the salon/spa industry. It’s a career that really can take you everywhere. It was in Canada that I was introduced to Eminence Organic Skin Care and that changed my focus to import and distribution, and still have Eminence as part of our brand offerings to the current day.”
In recent years, Tamara has focussed her energies on the development of The Better Brand – a unisex fragrance business with a strong focus on delivering proactively ethical and sustainable solutions to its customers. The brand’s motto is: Fragrance Unbound – a nod to Tamara’s no-compromise approach to a better world; a world where the health of the environment and the acceptance of all people takes precedence.
“The Better Brand started with one single thought – how can I do better? [Create] a brand that can help others to make some small, but very important changes in their day-to-day life, yet still relish the emotive and sensory experience that fragrance offers. I wanted people to feel better, whilst also doing better,” Tamara explains.
Such forward-thinking is mirrored in Ashleigh Sims – a beauty therapist since 17 years-old, turned founder of Asrìq. “Asrìq’s ethos is simply to love yourself. From day one, my ambition with Asrìq was to embrace and empower women; to provide moments of self-care as a ritualistic reminder to love, nourish and enjoy the skin, bodies and minds in which we live. [And] to remind women that their perceived flaws are actually their unique qualities.”
With a dreamy back-story and luxurious campaign in tow, Asriq isn’t dissimilar to the high-end fragrance brands you’re used to spotting in department stores. “My interest in fragrance development began during a trip to ancient Egypt, where oiled perfumes line the streets. At the time, I didn’t know that the lifetime supply of perfumes I had purchased and brought home would be the catalyst and inspiration for Asrìq,” Ashleigh admits.
“Upon return to Australia, I was inspired to combine the perfumes I had purchased in Egypt with an unscented body oil. Searching for an oil that would nourish and hydrate my skin, I soon discovered that what I was looking for did not exist in Australia. The available oils were either full of chemicals, smelt like essential oils instead of perfume or didn’t contain the key natural ingredients that I was looking for. With a passion for functional beauty, I then spent time developing a nourishing and nutrient-rich body oil that I infused with the perfumes I had brought home from Egypt. The inspiration for Asrìq unknowingly stemmed from the colourful, balmy and ambrosial souks of Egypt.”
Scents for the skin
Despite movement on both sides toward fragrance offerings, the women’s respect for the skin remains unchanged. “I couldn’t in good conscience create a brand without ensuring the ingredients would care for the skin,” Tamara says. “Our Better fragrance products are enhanced with ingredients that support the HAAR® principal: Hydrating – your best friend, Antioxidant – your protector, Anti-inflammatory – your ice pack, and Regenerative – your fairy godmother. As we develop Better and create new fragranced products, our HAAR® principle will always be a guiding factor for our ingredient selection.”
For Ashleigh, beauty is not one-dimensional but multi-purposeful. “I wanted Asrìq to form the function of five different products, which is better not only for the customer but for the environment. Asrìq exists as a skincare and fragrance hybrid; we want our products to smell wonderful but also function wonderfully for the skin. So using a nutrient-rich natural body oil that is nourishing and hydrating as the base means a dual purpose of smelling great while benefiting the skin,” Ashleigh explains.
Why stock in salons?
Tamara and Ashleigh alike haven’t strayed too far from their roots as beauty therapists in marketing their businesses. Partnering with salons, clinics and spas has placed them in a unique position, taking out prime real estate in an otherwise crowded landscape of skin, make-up and ingestible offerings. “Asrìq is proudly stocked in salons and boutiques as this allows us to connect with customers in a way that a strictly e-commerce business can’t,” Ashleigh explains. “Most spas, retreats and salons exist to make their customers feel nourished and cared for, which aligns with the Asrìq ethos. Establishing a retail presence for the brand is a natural progression of what we stand for.”
“[If I had a spa], I would make sure I balance the seriousness of my skincare brands with products that make my clients feel good, smell good or are a perfect treat or little gift for themselves or a loved one,” Tamara suggests. “Smell and fragrance choice is very personal,” Ashleigh adds, “and detailed descriptions of top, middle and base notes will never compare to actually experiencing a product – especially an Asrìq product, as our bespoke fragrances are so complex.”
The regular salon client is typically aged in their 20s or 30s and exists within a social cohort looking to align with businesses that reflect similar values to their own. “[They] love the freedom to choose their fragrance to help them feel empowered, feel alive, feel better,” Tamara believes. They’re also a person that “values premium skincare ingredients”, Ashleigh adds, and who is looking for functional beauty solutions like those that combine fragrance with skincare. “I have noticed that our most loyal customer segment is those that are 40+ who value multi-purpose skincare, as the Asrìq perfume oil can be used as a body oil, perfume, hair oil, hair mask, and cuticle oil.”
Sustainable scents
Not unlike beauty brands that have come before them, undertaking sustainable manufacturing and recycling practices has been all-encompassing. For Tamara, attempting to condense The Better Brand’s steps toward sustainability leaves her vexed. At a bare minimum, the business follows the four ‘R’s’: utilsing recycled plastic in their packaging, where possible; or using recyclable packaging in place of; and making use of refillable and re-usable packaging. End goals include the reduction of greenhouse gasses (GHG) emissions, and the development of the business’ trademarked returns program – Better Off Back (BOB®) – whereby non-recyclable packaging components are collected and recycled en-masse. “The Better Body Elixir and Mist are available in 400ml refill pouches,” Tamara adds. Recently, The Better Brand was awarded Best Sustainable Beauty or Body Product at the 2022 Spa & Wellness Awards.
While rewarding on both a micro and macro level, Ashleigh knows too well the financial commitment that comes with developing premium, sustainable products. “To research, plan and launch a product that is well-thought out from a sustainability perspective takes a lot of investment of both time and money. It’s a slow and tedious process but one that is crucial, as a brand should live and breathe its own ethos. We met with and worked with ten different suppliers for the packaging until we found one that provided the perfect finished product when it comes to presentation, usability and sustainability.”
“Asrìq is about caring for yourself, which means caring for the world around us too. Selecting premium oils that are natural and ethically sourced was a meticulous process, and a costly one. The oils are the biggest expense when it comes to manufacturing but I would prefer to pay more knowing the natural ingredients have been harvested in an ethical and sustainable way to look after Mother Nature.”
The Better Brand is available as a solid fragrance, eau de fraiche mist, and fragrant body elixir. Customers have a choice of three signature scents: Fresh Intent, Ocean Wild, or Smoky Notes. To stock The Better Brand at your beauty business, call 07 3357 6277 or email hello@thebetterbrand.com.au.
Asrìq has released a range of products, including body oils, body scrubs, linen perfumes, and accessories. Each scent is inspired by a destination, from Australia’s Bondi and Byron Bay, to Luxor, Mirissa, Ubud and Marrkech. Clients can also kick start their collections with a Discovery Set. To stock Asrìq at your beauty business, email hello@asriq.com.au.
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