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- [00:00]
A
Guys, welcome back to another episode of Skin Anarchy. This is Echo, and I have the best guest back with us today. I'm so excited because she has a new launch and is kind of venturing into this new world of fragrance. So without further ado, I know all of you recognize Marlena, so please welcome back Marlena Stell, who is here to talk about her new brand, Marste. Welcome to the show. Marlena, I'm so excited to host you.
- [00:25]
B
Thank you so much for having me. I'm so grateful to be here. Thank you.
- [00:28]
A
Just, I'm excited, shocked, like, curious that you went into fragrance. I'd love to learn about what made you want to go into this category, and just if you can walk us through that, like, what led to this decision.
- [00:42]
B
Yeah. So, you know, obviously, I've been in cosmetics for a really long time, but I think what a lot of people didn't realize over the years, I've always loved fragrance as well, just, you know, for personal reasons. And then after Covid hit, I found myself not wearing makeup as much because we were inside a lot, and I was. You know, I gave birth to my daughter, and I was dealing with postpartum depression a little bit. I just. I wanted something as a mood booster. So somehow during that time, I really, really got into fragrance. And so as a hobby, I started studying fragrance development because I just wanted to understand how fragrance are made. What are the raw materials? How do you blend them together? And I started as a hobby as far as learning, kept taking classes. And then when Makeup Geek had closed in 2022, I. My solace in that difficult time was to just really dive into fragrance. Honestly, still at a hobby at that point. I ended up making meeting Michael Nordstrom, who is now the perfumer for the line. And I took classes with him. And he had told me, he said, you really are doing really well at this. I could definitely tell you were passionate about this. You should take private lessons and really deep dive into that. So I was actually going to go to France and study for a full year program to get certified in perfumery. And I ended up taking classes with Michael instead, just because, you know, I'm a mom. It's hard for me to just uproot my whole family when I have a small child to France. So taking classes with him, I fell in love with it more so than makeup, which sounds crazy.
- [02:19]
A
Yeah.
- [02:21]
B
So I ended up doing 60 hours of education. I. It took the. I took a course for six to nine months or so, studying about 300 raw materials, memorizing Them all studying it was a huge process, but I loved it. It made my soul so happy. So that's when I knew that, okay, this is what the next stage is for me is fragrance. Because I obviously love this. I'm passionate about it. It is. It just fuels my soul.
- [02:49]
A
Person who's been a fan of yours for quite a while, like, it makes sense, you know, why you'd want to go into this direction.
- [02:55]
B
That's very cool.
- [02:56]
A
Yeah.
- [02:57]
B
It's such a mood booster. I mean, for me, I think in the darkest times of my life, you know, around Covid, and then when makeup geek, you know, had closed, perfume was the one thing I would wake up and be like, okay, I just. I just want to smell pretty today, or I just want to feel confident. So I got to try these different styles of perfumes, and it was an instant mood lifter for me, and it really did get me through some dark times, and I think that's where my attachment to it began. I just wanted others to feel that way, too, of just how it makes you feel and how it. How you want to represent yourself through scent.
- [03:30]
A
Right? Absolutely. Now, one thing, Marlene, I feel like, is so closely tied to fragrance, and I think a lot of us can relate to is, like, memories, right? Like, good memories or. Or something that did uplift us. I mean, did you have any of that component come in when you were crafting, you know, what you wanted to be, like, the first, you know, parts of the line?
- [03:51]
B
The first pieces in line fragrances are specifically centered around core memories I had when living in Paris and studying there. And it was a time that has a lot of emotional connection for me, because that's when I. That was a place that I grieved and tried to heal from me losing my dad. So there's a lot of, like, emotional triggers, but in a good way, of those places in Paris that have special memories for me.
- [04:17]
A
Yeah, no, that makes sense. I mean, I feel like that's. That's always going to stay with you, you know, that especially if you healed and you transformed in such a place. That's so interesting. I mean, I think the. The. I think the line is very unique. You have three fragrances, and you also have essences, so I'd love for you to walk us through each one, if you don't mind, because I really want to learn about it from you.
- [04:39]
B
Yeah. So the three fine fragrances, they're all fine fragrances. So they're all eau de parfum, so they all can be completely on their own. They're made with amazing ingredients. I did not skimp at all on the quality of ingredients that we use, making sure that everything from start to finish, even how the raw materials are sourced, that everything is ethically done. There's no, you know, poor labor practices and things like that. That was really important for me. So the fine fragrances. The first one I have is Jardin de Luxembourg, and this is based off of my memories of that beautiful garden in. In Paris. It's this huge garden with beautiful, like, rose plants and trees. And this is where go every weekend when I had a break from school and I would just sit and have a croissant, I would just soak in the view. People watch. It was my place of, like, solace. And so this fragrance is very fresh and light. It's a light green floral that just reminds me so much of actually sitting in Jardin de Luxembourg and just seeing this gorgeous garden and being surrounded by flowers. So that one's kind of. Yeah, it's just a beautiful, like, light, fresh, floral scent that's just very elegant and chic. And that's the one I wear for every day. If I'm just. I just want to put together green Mandarin in there. It's. It's a. It's like a fresh, light floral. So if you don't like anything too heavy and you just want to feel just pretty and just smell, you know, elegant and put together. That's the one. Yeah. That's definitely my everyday fragrance.
- [06:11]
A
So this is probably good for layering too, right? Like to layer it with all the scents.
- [06:16]
B
Oh, yes. I have some favorite combos that I'll tell you, too, that are my go to perfect. Yeah, and that's the whole thing of the line, too. I wanted something that people could customize. So, you know, even if you have a fragrance you love at home, I'll get to the. In a second. But I wanted people to feel comfortable branching out of their one safe perfume that they wear all the time and be like, okay, how can I branch out and be able to experience other perfumes without being afraid of it smelling bad or anything like that? So the essences were created, you know, to wear on its own, but you can layer it on something that you already have at home that you love, but you just want to mix it up a little bit and make it, like, a little sexier for nighttime, or you want it to be a little zestier and fresher for maybe when you get out of the shower. There's so many different moods that you can have that. These can transform the scent profile to be something different based on, like, the mood or the occasion that you're wearing that fragrance that you already love.
- [07:12]
A
So that's interesting. Yeah, I mean, that's really cool to me, because I feel like with fragrance, a lot of times you might fall in love with one scent, but then you want to, like, kind of, I guess, juice it up a little bit, for lack of a better term. You know, you want something different, something more, you know, just unique that comes in and you want to change things up. Right. So that's really cool that you designed the line like that.
- [07:34]
B
Yeah, I just want people to feel comfortable and not be afraid to set up out their comfort zone, but in a safe way. It's like, okay, okay. I love this. You know, Valentina born in Roma. A lot of people love that one. But maybe you get tired of smelling the same every day. We'll just add Essence Suntal. It makes it a little woodier. And now you've got something that has this, you know, a similar scent profile, but now it's a little bit woodier and sexier for the nighttime, but it still smells like something you're familiar with that you love. So it's just fun to mix and blend and layer and create something that is really unique for you. So Montmartre Midi, this is based off of my type. So Montmartre is a neighborhood in France, and that's where my apartment was. So it's kind of this really. It's where the artistic area is. So there's lots of quaint cafes. There's a little trolley you can take up to the top of Montmartre. Moulin Rouge is in that area. So I remember it's kind of a fun, like, gritty and artistic area. So the grittiness is because it's. The Moulin Rouge is kind of like the red light district at the bottom. Ye take this trolley up to the top, and it takes you to the really quaint area where it has all the cute, like, artistic places, little, like, parks and things like that. So this is based off of my time of where I actually had stayed and studied in Paris, was in Montmartre. And this is more of a creamy, a little bit denser floral with a hint of spice to it. So if you love, like, florals, but you want something a little bit a hint of sexiness, a hint of an edge with it, but still floral and creamy and, like, glamorous, then Walmart would be that style.
- [09:16]
A
Interesting. So I know you have, like, the. The Honey and the orange blossom in the. In this one. So that's. Is that what I mean, what contributes to, like, the. I guess, the more robust nature of it.
- [09:28]
B
So it has the. The creamy white florals in it, and that was what gives it kind of the depth. And then you have the hint of spice in there with the cardamom and then the hon going to give it the sweetness. And then you've got the. The honey orange blossom, which is giving you that floral in there. So it's just very well rounded floral, but not in your face. Flowers. That honey sweetens it up and makes it a little bit denser and creamier in there.
- [09:54]
A
This sounds like a really fun, like, holiday fragrance. I feel like. I feel you do a lot with the holidays coming around, you know, with that one.
- [10:01]
B
Yes. Yeah. This. I wear this one day to day too. Like, if I'm going out, you know, on a brunch during the day or have a business meeting or something like that, this is when I want to feel, like, a little bit more confident, but still feminine and just a little bit sexy. That's the one that I pick.
- [10:20]
A
Boss. Like a boss.
- [10:21]
B
Like a boss. Yep. And then Unnuit Parisienne. This is based off of my memories of nighttime in Paris. I freaking love nights in Paris. It's so glamorous with the beautiful lights, the ambient amber, like kind of golden lamps, but still, like, slightly gritty just because it's nighttime, you know, in a major city. So there's this cool vibe of this having amber in it, but it has hazelnut in there, which it gives it the gourmand facet. So if you love ambers and, like, gourmands, where it's, like, delectable, but then it has a hint of the chai spices in there, which makes it a little bit sexy. So this to me is, like, sexy, glamorous, nighttime in Paris type vibe. So this is what I wear when I go on dates out. Also a boss fragrance. If I have a really important meeting and I just want to feel, like, confident and put together and sexy, then this is the one.
- [11:19]
A
I love that you did a gourmand, because last year, I remember everyone had, like, vanilla overload. I feel like, with fragrance, and it was just like, I love vanilla scents. I love them so much. But it was everywhere, like, on Tick Tock social media. And I was like, can we please have, like, more depth to the gourmand fragrances? You know what I mean? So I'm excited that you made a gourmand that's cool. Yes.
- [11:40]
B
Yeah. And the next fragrances we're. We're already working on are in the Gourmand family that are different. They aren't vanilla based, and I'm really excited to try to get those out the door by next year because they'll be centered around, like, cacao and coffee and things like that. That'll be, like, interesting and unique and not just vanilla, but still gourmand, so.
- [12:00]
A
Oh, wow. That's really exciting. So in terms of the. The combinations, I want you to walk us through some of your favorite, like, combinations and how to layer.
- [12:09]
B
Oh, my gosh. Okay. So I personally love so Unuit Parisian because it's an amber and a little bit denser and sweeter and spicier. I love. If I want to brighten it up a little bit, I'll take Essence Mandarin, which is a citrus forward one. And the citrus, along with the amber, gives it this very glamorous, well rounded fragrance that I think makes more wearable for day because that citrus kind of brightens it up a little bit. So if I want to wear unweat during the day, I'll add a spritz of Essence Mandarin, and then if I want to wear it at night, I just wear unnuit on its own. So I love that combination. And then we have Essence Vanille, which is a vanilla fragrance, but it's not a boring vanilla. Like, it's definitely vanilla center, but it has a hint of lime in there, so it almost smells like an orange creamsicle. I don't know.
- [13:04]
A
I love orange creamsicles, so you shouldn't have told me that.
- [13:07]
B
I know. It's my favorite as a kid. It's so nostalgic. That was my favorite ice cream as a kid. Creamsicles with the vanilla ice cream inside. It kind of reminds me of that, where it's decadent. It is a gourmand, but it has a hit of lime in there. But if you mix the Essence Mandarin with it very much, it's like citrus and vanilla together. It smells like a luxurious, delicious orange creamsicle.
- [13:34]
A
I'm like, my mouth is literally watering. Like, this is. This is so cool. I love that you did, like. It's so unique how you made the brand. I mean, the fact that we can, like, combine and just explore and, you know, just kind of. It's like a chemistry lab in a way. You know, it's really cool. Yeah, it is.
- [13:52]
B
Yes. So we'll have on the site soon. I was hoping to get it done by Launch, but I really want to do it well. On the site, I will have basically a recipe page that shows all the fragrance fusions. When you mix them together in various ways, this is kind of the mood. You get the style, so people want to have fun and experiment. Then you have all these kind of, for lack of better words, like recipes for these fusions that you can, like, just have fun playing with it and layering it in different ways. That gives you completely different scent profiles, which is so fun.
- [14:24]
A
That is so cool. I would actually love that, because I feel like that's something that, as a consumer, I wish fragrance men did more. Is like, kind of walk us through how to layer better. Because I think, you know, it's. We all want to layer our fragrances. I mean, I know I wear, like, three at a time. I have to. It's like, you know, like, it just happened at this point. But I don't know if I'm ever layering them the best I could, you know, the best way I could in terms of, like, really getting the most out of each one. So that's really, really neat. If you could do that.
- [14:52]
B
Yes. Yeah. So that will be on the site soon. We're finishing that up, and I'll have video to go along with it, just to kind of walk people through it so they can understand kind of the chemistry and behind the scenes of the fragrances so they understand better, like, oh, that's why, like, mixing essence on tall with sandalwood goes really well with, like, Chardon de Luxembourg, because it's so fresh and light and green. So when you add sandalwood to it, it gives it, like, depth, and it makes it very contrasted in a really unique way. So there's so many different combinations that you can do.
- [15:28]
A
What they always say, you know, when you spray perfume on your skin, it's different for everybody because of. Obviously, it reacts different. The chemistry is different. But in terms of, like, when we're layering and we're using the essences, like, do you recommend, you know, spraying the perfume, like, onto your skin and then layering the essences more, like on your clothes or your hair? I mean, is there anything like that that you recommend?
- [15:52]
B
I think wherever you spray the perfume, then spray the essence in the same, so it's layering on top of it. But personally, I spray fragrances on. I'll do one spritz on, like, my upper arm, like, right under the crease of my elbow. I don't spray it down on my wrist because I wash my hands so much. And I feel like that's gonna just make it disappear.
- [16:12]
A
Yeah.
- [16:12]
B
So I spray it, like, up closer to my elbow area. And then I spray one spray on my clothes and one in my hair. Like, I do usually do three. And then the essences, you really just need one, maybe two sprays. So I'll just do it once on my clothes, once on my hair, and it makes it last longer. Clothes and hair keep that scent longer than if you do it on skin. It's just the nature of. Of how the chemistry of it is. So that's how I do it.
- [16:41]
A
Interesting. Yeah, no, I gotta. I gotta do that because I'm glad you mentioned that you spritz a little further up your arm, because I think I do what you just mentioned where I wash it off, because I'm always washing my hands because I'm at the hospital all the time. So I need to do that.
- [16:58]
B
Yes. Yeah. Because that was my. When I first started getting into fragrance, I'd always spray it on the wrist. And then I noticed I washed my hands, and then the scent would be gone. So that get rid of longevity. But if you spray it on different parts of your body, I mean, you can even do like, a leg. You can do, like, you know, on your chest or something where that you're not going to be washing it. So it lasts longer.
- [17:18]
A
Yeah, absolutely. Now I want to know, you know, this is more of an entrepreneurial question that I really wanted. Like, know, in terms of, like, how difficult was this for you? In terms of, like, getting it right? Like, how many renditions did you have to go through and, you know, really kind of come back to the working bench and be like, no, we got to do it again. I mean, how. How was the whole process of creating the sense?
- [17:40]
B
Yeah, it definitely took a long time. So we've been working on it for three years. And the. The first part was a lot of training just studying the raw materials. So I knew I would make notes. Okay, I love, you know, limonene or I love citronell. I would. I would write notes of personal raw materials that I loved. And I. I could envision in a fragrance. And then Michael and I would sit down and I said, okay, I want these specific memories. I remember Montmartre. I remember my. You know, the garden in Paris. I remember nighttime in Paris. I'd like it to be around those themes. So then we kind of ideated of like, okay, what can the. The main raw materials be? I want a good amber. I want a light floral. And then from there, he had Created based off of the materials I knew I wanted to use and blended it together and came up with multiple, like six to nine versions of each fragrance. And then I would test them for months and I'd have a test group of people in all sorts of ethnicities, age ranges, genders, and wear them and give me feedback. And I had like, this whole spreadsheet with test scores of like, okay, most people liked this one. This was the rating for these. And that kind of helped guide me on what I felt. The variations of the fragrances, we'd narrow it down to three. And then out of the top three that the general public liked, then I would pick my personal favorite out of the three. So it took multiple rounds of kind of going back and forth and tweaking. And so it definitely was a process. Everything is meant to be unisex. So I made sure that I had a test group of men of women, and then different ages. You'd be surprised how different fragrances would smell on someone, say, in their 50s and 60s versus someone in their 20s. It smells completely different on those age differences. It's why. I have no idea why, but it does.
- [19:31]
A
Wow.
- [19:32]
B
So, yeah, we had a pretty robust test group to make sure that we got feedback on what's going to work for. For everyone.
- [19:39]
A
That's so exciting. Well, I'm, I'm really excited that you're doing this. And I, I love a good fragrance brand. I think all of us do. I, like I said, I feel like a lot of things can get redundant, you know, in the fragrance world, and especially with, like, Gourmand, like we were talking about. Even with, I mean, I'm more of like a citrusy florals kind of person. And so for, even for me, when I'm looking for a new scent, it can be so daunting because I swear, at one point everything felt the same. Like, how does that happen?
- [20:09]
B
It's.
- [20:09]
A
It.
- [20:10]
B
You know what it is? I'm gonna give you a little tea on this.
- [20:13]
A
Yeah, please.
- [20:14]
B
A lot of the fragrance brands, the major houses, like the designer brands that you'll see at Sephora, Ulta and things like that, not all of them, I can't speak on each one, but many of them are made at a. A similar place in France. And what they do is they just try to find something that's crowd pleasing. So they're not trying to create something unique. They're just trying to create something that is going to bring them in money. Something that's very. Just user friendly, very. I don't want to say generic, but something that people are going to be like, like, oh, that smells good, I'll wear that. But there's nothing behind the story or uniqueness of it because they're driven more by like what is the money going to tell us what's going to sell versus how can we stand out and do something that smells unique and different but still would be crowd pleasing.
- [20:59]
A
So I feel like a lot of the times like especially like big designer, like big labels, like I've tried fragrances where I'm like, oh, this is going to make me smell like a mermaid that just came out of the water, you know, something amazing and it ends up being exactly what I have already, you know, in my collection. And I'm like, I swear they're using the same fragrance house or something. Because they are.
- [21:22]
B
Yeah, many of them use the same fragrance house that, that fragrance house has their in house chemists that all create. So there's no variety because it's like the same people, the same lab doing the same thing based off of what they think is, has worked in the past. So they're just going to keep turning that wheel and doing a very slight variation on it. So that's why like a lot of fragrances do smell the same because it's coming from a churned model of. Okay, like this has sold well in the past. Let's just keep doing this, a variation of it. So.
- [21:54]
A
Yeah, no, I want to actually ask you this because I, I watch your videos a lot and I know you really break it down when it comes to everything. I mean obviously the, the ingredients of everything. You know, when it comes to, for example, makeup, like you really break things down, even packaging. And I've noticed that with Marseille you have like that custom like the, the lid and the bottle, I mean, and your prices are awesome. Like, but I say that like they're really well priced. So how was that in terms of just the economics of it all? You know, having that custom piece in there or pieces in there and then trying to keep it at a price where people can really kind of get behind it.
- [22:30]
B
That was the, that was the one, I don't want to say contentious part, but that was the most challenge to be honest, was pricing it because the quality just to be totally transparent, like the cost of. And I don't mean this to come bashing at any brands, that's not how I mean it, but the cost of raw materials and the fragrance oils that are in these bottles are so expensive because we actually use a pretty considerable amount of Natural raw material. So if we say there's vanilla in there, there's actual extract of vanilla in there, and it's very, very expensive, like for one kilo. I think Michael said it's about $70,000, either 20,000 or so. It definitely was like, in the high thousands. And so it was tricky balancing out. Okay, we really want. The juice is what's the most important. It needs to be quality. But I can't overprice these. You know, I can't charge 300 because, like, no one can afford those type of price points. So I want it to be somewhat attainable, even though, you know, it is an investment in a fragrance. But I want them to know that at least, like, you're going to get quality, you'll get your money's worth out of these will last for years if you store them in a cool, dry place and they'll have great performance. You really don't have to spray a lot. Just a couple sprays and you will. It will last all day. So we really made sure that. That the performance was there and the quality is there for that price.
- [23:47]
A
So I love that. I love that you did this right. Like, that really goes a long way for me as a consumer, is that, like, your heart's in the right place and you're thinking of us, you know, when you're pricing your products. I mean that. I wish I could say more people thought about that, you know, because I. There have been so many fragrances where I go and I, you know, I test them out, like in a department store, and I'm like, I love this. And the saleswoman is like, yeah, $600. I'm like, yeah, I'm gonna put this back down now. And I' you back away from the counter. Like, there's no way, like, what is in this?
- [24:21]
B
Gold chips or what is $600.
- [24:24]
A
I better turn into like, literally a multimillion dollar CEO after wearing this.
- [24:30]
B
This fragrance. Better do my dishes and my laundry at the same time.
- [24:35]
A
Exactly. Yeah. And I feel like there's so much of that, you know, it's so much of that night. It's really been like a kind of a weird. A heavy price to pay for smelling amazing and unique in the past, and I just don't necessary. So it's so nice to see that you've really thought about, you know, everything, and it's wonderful.
- [24:54]
B
Yeah. Thank you so much. Yeah. It was a tricky balance trying to, like, you know, make sure that people can. Can actually get one and. But still knowing that they're going to get quality at the end of the day.
- [25:04]
A
So now I did notice on the website for there's a beaut section. So the. Are you coming out with beauty in the brand, like as a part of the brand in the near future?
- [25:13]
B
Yep. So the goal is I've already started working on cosmetic products and that'll be in the beauty division of the line and that will come the end of next year. So we're in the process of finalizing formulations and packaging and things like that. So the goal is to start bringing in cosmetics again. Obviously it won't be the model of makeup geek, but it will be products that I know people trust me on and know that I can formulate well and work with reputable labs. So that's, that's coming the end of next year.
- [25:42]
A
If you make it, Marlena, I'm going to buy it. I'm just going to put that out there. I mean, honestly, a this point, like, I feel like you've more than proven, like, exactly like what. You know what I mean, like where you're coming from in the beauty industry. I just, I really, really believe in what you do. So. Yeah, that's so exciting.
- [26:00]
B
I do not play when it comes to quality. Like, if that, if that, you know, product, that makeup product, if it's not performing, like, I'm not putting my name on that. I want to really test it and do a good job. Like, I have been working on the new cosmetic part for a few years as well, but I really just needed time to test, test, just really make sure it's fine tuned and ready before we launch it. So.
- [26:21]
A
Absolutely. Well, I'm so excited. And congratulations on the new brand, the new, the new fragrance line. I'm so excited. I can't say that enough that you're doing this. And they all sound so lovely and so wonderful. I hope everyone listening. You guys gotta check it out. You gotta chime in, let us know what you think. If you've tried the brand already, if you're going to be trying the brand. But Marlena, it's such an honor every time hosting you and learning from you. So thank you for your time today.
- [26:45]
B
Today. Yeah. Thank you so much. I really appreciate. You've always been super sweet. So thank you for giving me the time to speak. I'm so grateful.