The Art of Fragrance

I’ve known Sarah Reason for many years and really enjoyed collaborating with her on the visual identity, branding and website for her first retail venture in Brighton – fragrance and lifestyle store SOLIFLORE. 

Setting up shop and launching a small business can be both a daunting and exhilarating process. Listening to the experiences of those that have taken on these courageous challenges never ceases to inspire me. Sarah and I discuss her inspirations and influences, the highs and lows of launching a new business and what’s shaping the landscape of fragrance design.

Working on the branding for your business was such a lovely project. I’d love to hear a bit about what inspired you to take a leap from the world of design into the world of fragrance?

I’ve always loved fragrance from an early age and my mum loved fragrance too. She had a magical cupboard full of perfumes in their original packaging from the 70s – each representing a story or time in her life, that I found fascinating. I always wanted, and felt I would be good at, having a shop. When I started to think about it more seriously in my late 30s, it was going to be a stationery shop. I’d had Pinterest boards since 2018 around what seemed like, at the time, a pipe dream. Opening SOLIFLORE was really down to a couple of very serendipitous conversations, which meant I could open relatively risk-free. It was an opportunity too good to turn down, so I quit my job at Jo Malone and did SOLIFLORE full force, eventually opening on 5 November, 2023. The fragrance element only really happened because my partner at the time said ‘but you love perfume, why don’t you sell perfume? You’ll never make much money just selling cards – you need a few high ticket items.’

Finding a fragrance you love brings such joy, but I’ve always found it very hit and miss – I’d just try perfumes my friends had, but never knew what I was looking for! How do you help people find a fragrance that suits them and what do you look for in a great fragrance?

This is the bit about my job that I love the most, guiding someone towards something that they’ll love. Firstly, the current edit took 4 months of testing, so I am really confident about what’s on the shelves and I know the notes of every bottle inside out. I must have tested more than 2,000 fragrances. So when someone asks for rose or jasmine for example, I can point them in the right direction. But for the most part, it’s a conversation – getting to know someone, finding out what they might have worn in the past, and it’s intuitive too. A bit like a hairdresser can look at someone and suggest a fringe, or a change of colour, sometimes you can instinctively tell what might suit someone. Happy to say that so far, I’ve never been wrong, and my customers really love the experience – slow service, getting to try things, then coming back to try a few more before committing to a bottle. 

I know having a shop was a big life goal for you, but like setting up any small business it’s not been without its challenges. Firstly though, I’d love to know what you love most about your job?

Well, there have been some hugely unexpected challenges – getting evicted overnight and having the locks changed at 3am was not in the year 1 plan, clearly. However, as awful as that was, I still absolutely love my job and the shop. There are too many best bits to mention, but for me, being a shopkeeper has far, far exceeded the dream and it’s better than I could have ever imagined. It’s harder too, by a country mile. The best bit though, if pushed, is the people. It’s been truly life-changing – the people that I have met and the community aspect, from really wonderful shopkeepers who, post-eviction, rallied around in the most insane way, offering me pop-ups, incredible voice notes and words of encouragement, to brilliant customers who I believe will become lifelong friends. You never know who is about to come through the door.

And what have been the biggest challenges/learnings?

The biggest learning is that you don’t have time off. It’s not the same as Monday to Friday and relaxing on a Friday at 5pm, ready to have a weekend and recharge. You are always on, always thinking about some element of the shop – be that looking for a new shop, reading articles, testing new brands, figuring out Christmas, coming up with new ideas / new ways to present fragrance. I wouldn’t change it though. But the challenge is learning how to make the most of little micro-breaks – a quiet coffee, lunch with a friend or a beach walk. You have to force yourself to quiet the shop mind for a bit, as there will always be something to do.

What top 3 fragrances would you never be without/should be on our radar?

Very hard question, and clearly I’m biased and will choose three from the shop. I am a huge fan of Signature from Ruth Mastenbroek, OR 2018 from AN Other and of course, Oriental Sans Souci from Le Jardin Retrouvé.

What does the future hold for fragrance? Are there any big shifts, exciting advancements or trends on the horizon?

Too many to mention. It’s an incredible arena to be part of, niche fragrance is really on the rise as individuals seek to express themselves and don’t want to smell like everyone else. There’s also a real trend towards fragrance and its mood-boosting abilities, so you can expect to see more of that. Right now, cherry is trending. I have Lull from Gabar on the shelves which is a beautiful cherry fragrance that as soon as you wear it, you want it. Creamy, sexy and mysterious. It’s great, but you might not immediately identify the cherry note.

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Visit SOLIFLORE
88 Gloucester Road, North Laines, Brighton, BN1 4AP

Browse website 
SOLIFLORE

Handmade floral design 
Florae

Note: These pictures were captured on 35mm film at SOLIFLORE’s original retail space, before the shop relocated to the North Laines. Follow the latest news and updates from SOLIFLORE on instagram.