Creating ILLUME Fragrances

(Reposted from Illume's Burn Room blog)

Fragrance is often described as a unique language used to communicate a story and evoke emotions.  That's where the scents we create begin: with the stories they tell.  Each candle has a unique personality and our fragrance experts - or "noses" - are trained to develop that story by combining raw scents to create a complete fragrance.

Gen and Greta (our noses here at ILLUME) start with visual inspiration to develop the personality and fragrance story, putting together a mood board for each fragrance.  Once the story is created visually, a fragrance wheel is used to determine the scent's category.  The wheel consists of different scent families and helps us create well-rounded collections that offer fragrances from a wide range of scent categories.

We often look to fragrance trends as a guide when developing new scents.  Similar to a fashion expert following trends on the runway, knowing which fragrance trends are on the horizon is important when creating new products.  Current trends include:

• Super fruits and globally-inspired spices like turmeric and saffron
• Cuban-inspired scents like tobacco, leather and exotic fruit
• Gender-neutral/genderless scents

Each fragrance we create consists of raw materials that make up top, middle and base notes.  For example, the raw materials that create our Blackberry Absinthe fragrance are:

These raw materials are carefully considered and putting them together successfully is a combination of expertise, as well as trial and error.  Our experts know how each element smells individually and if those elements can come together to create an interesting, beautiful scent that reinforces the story.  Perfecting this comes with practice and there are often multiple rounds of revisions to ensure the scent is exactly how it should be.  The end result is always worth it!

Lollia - new for 2017

This was originally posted January 4, 2017 at my old blog.

Dream is the newest addition to the Lollia collection

The Margot Elena product collections are an exciting addition to my package for the new year.  I'll post about each one separately, but today's focus is Lollia.

Lollia is an elegant library of fragrance stories with romantic names like Wish (the top seller), Dream (pictured above), Breathe, Relax, At Last and others.  Each collection consists of classic, beautifully designed boudoir luxuries made from superior formulations in the USA. 

Hand cremes in Wish, Breathe & At Last

Lollia is known for its iconic look that is decadently luxurious while feeling sweetly familiar with signature mix-and-match patterns and fresh-picked color palettes.  The packaging attracts attention, and the quality of the product has created proven customer loyalty that brings you high repeat business.

In each collection you will an eau de parfum, a shea butter handcreme (pictured above), perfumed shower gel, bubbling bath and a beautiful fragranced luminary candle.

Make sure you are stocked for Valentine's Day gift giving and then beef up your inventory more as we approach Mother's Day.

Illume - new for 2017

This was originally posted January 2, 2017 at my old blog.

Sweet Hibiscus - one of Illume's new fragrances for 2017

First things first - I'm your new sales rep for Illume starting in 2017.  I'm sorry I couldn't tell you earlier, but professional courtesy still means something.

Having said that, Illume is rolling out its collection-based business concept for the new year.  There are now five distinct collections - each with its own buy-in.  The company has also worked hard to create a new shipping infrastructure to improve on-time delivery.

Sweet Hibiscus (pictured above) is a new scent for 2017.  It joins 9 existing fragrances in the Essentials collection - Illume's core group.

Coconut Milk Mango is a best-selling fragrance in Go Be Lovely

Go Be Lovely is the other collection continuing into 2017.  Both the fragrances and packaging are unapologetically flirty and feminine, and there are 2 new fragrances - Sugared Blossom and Golden Honeysuckle.  Also new is a demi hand cream as a companion to the best-selling demi rollerball perfume.

New collections include Brim & Bright with fresh, vibrant patterns paired with best-selling fragrances - including fragranced citronella candles! 

Narrative is another new collection that includes both home fragrance and body care items.  It's a premium collection with sophisticated packaging that incorporates some best-selling fragrances as well as 2 brand new ones - Copper Rose and Magnolia Blossom.

Grey Lavender candles from the new Collectiv collection

Collectiv is a new collection that includes home fragrance, body care - and new home care products!  It has 4 new fresh and simple fragrances with Scandinavian-inspired packaging.  There are 2 candle options pictured above, both in Grey Lavender.

Candles and body care remain strong categories for independent retailers, and I know you're always looking for something new and fresh to offer your customers.  Illume is a veteran player in the business, and you don't stick around this long unless you know what you're doing!