Hey Fragrant Friend 👋 ,
It’s day 651 of me trying to change the perfume industry for the better. Here’s the weekly note on what that actually feels like while we’re building it.
Status
This week felt like standing in two realities at once. On one side things are finally arriving. On the other side I notice how thin my nerves have become over the last months.
If you’ve seen Instagram, you know the magnetic hardbox samples from China finally landed. YaaY! I didn’t expect how much that moment would mean to me. I opened the package alone, at my desk, and when I held the box and felt the weight and heard that soft magnetic click, I actually exhaled in a way I hadn’t in weeks. After four months of delays, something simply worked. The quality is beautiful. Clean edges, solid feel, no cheapness hiding anywhere. For the first time in a while I thought, okay, this is real. This is becoming something tangible.
We also received the first 30 filled samples from our contract manufacturer. No outer packaging yet, just the fragrance in its pure form. And because of the delays these 30 suddenly feel incredibly precious. I catch myself handling them almost too carefully. Like they’re fragile in a symbolic way.
Some will go to Chester. Some I’m sending out to potential retail partners across Europe. And I won’t lie, every email I send carries a bit of vulnerability. You introduce yourself, your idea, your values, and you know it might be ignored. But I also know how long these processes can take. First contact now might mean a listing months from now. So even if it feels small, it matters.
Two days ago I had a proper panic moment. I sprayed one of the new samples on a blotter and compared it directly to the single pre-Christmas test bottle I have. And for a few minutes I genuinely thought something had gone wrong in production. The sample smelled different. Not slightly different. Different in a way that made my chest tight.
It’s strange how quickly your mind can spiral when so much depends on one product. I sent Chester a slightly frantic WhatsApp voice note saying I might start crying. I tested more samples afterwards and they were completely fine. Maybe it was an old blotter, maybe cross contamination. I still don’t know. But those fifteen minutes showed me how much pressure I’ve been carrying without really admitting it.
At the same time we’re deep into fragrance number two with Dario Siegel. This time we invited a small co-evaluation group from the community. Beautiful people from 🇩🇪 🇹🇷 🇨🇭 🇫🇷 🇧🇷 🇪🇸 🇳🇱 🇧🇪 🇿🇦. After a kickoff call about (Theme: Mediterranean coastline that isn’t overrun and glossy), they shared their associations and images. Some sent thoughtful notes. Some made actual PowerPoints. One person wrote what felt like a small essay.
I didn’t expect to be moved by that. But I was. There’s something very humbling about people taking your unfinished work seriously. Dario genuinely values the feedback. And I feel proud watching this process unfold. It feels less like “my brand” and more like something we’re building together.
Two days ago I smelled the newest modifications. One of them, coded NM 1001, made me quietly happy. Not in an explosive way. More in a calm, grounded way. Like okay, we’re on the right track. We’ll need more rounds. But it feels alive.
I also know that with the first launch approaching, I can’t hide anymore. I’ve said for a long time that I want to change parts of this industry. That means showing up. So I’ve committed to posting at least one piece of content per day. For someone who doesn’t naturally enjoy putting his face everywhere, that’s a stretch. But if I ask others to believe in this, I have to stand in front of it properly.
So if you see me more often online, that’s me practicing what I preach. And if you feel like engaging, it genuinely helps.
Mood of the week: Somewhere between exhausted and grateful 😮💨
Song of the week: Reason – Depart.
More soon.
Sebastian