#scoutedbysephora

SPOT IT: THE BLEND CUSTOM FRAGRANCE BLENDING KIT

Mix and match this set of 10 fragrance oils for unlimited personalized scents.

If you’ve ever tried to brew your own perfume with—how should we phrase this?—pungent results, don’t give up on your scent-making dreams just yet. The fragrance experts at Fred Segal, who have been crafting one-of-a-kind eau de parfums and toilettes for the rich and famous for over three decades, are bringing their expert note-melding to the masses with its collection The Blend Custom Fragrance Blending Kit. The set features 10 of its most-adored concoctions that you can fuse together to craft your very own perfume, using either the accompanying recipe cards (like Beach Bound and After Dark) or simply let your nose guide you. The Sephora Glossy caught up with Danielle de Marn, VP, Fred Segal, to learn what makes a perfume personal, where the brand finds its scent inspiration, and must-know blending tips. JESSICA VELEZ

  How did Fred Segal begin creating scents?

For more than 30 years, everyone from celebrities and trendsetters to locals visited the custom fragrance-blending bar at Fred Segal in Santa Monica to have their own signature scent created. With hundreds of pure fragrance oils to choose from, a blending expert worked with the client to create a custom scent that was all their own. The personalized recipes, numbering in the thousands, were kept on file so clients could easily reorder from wherever they were.

  Why did you decide to launch The Blend?

We realized the popularity of the unique fragrance blending concept, but that there’s the limitation of having to go to the Santa Monica store to experience it. So, we decided to make a portable version that would allow you to create thousands of unique scents with ten of the most popular recipes from the original blending bar. We wanted to make the custom fragrance-blending experience available to everyone, everywhere—and that’s how we came up with the idea of creating a travel-friendly kit.

  What do you personally love about The Blend?

When you find a scent you love, you want it to be yours and yours alone. The Blend gives you the ability to create that personalized moment. You can also change your scent throughout the day—start a little lighter and fresher in the morning and deepen it in the evening. You could try a completely new recipe, blend everyday, or stick with one you know and love—the possibilities are truly endless! We have also received some amazing feedback from customers who have said they use The Blend to bring out notes in their other perfumes that may get lost on them—so it’s a great way to tweak or freshen up one of your existing fragrances as well.

  We’re particularly drawn to your Beach Bound and After Dark recipes. Can you tell us what inspired these two or what you think makes them so special?

Beach Bound is the ultimate summer scent, whether you are there or just daydreaming about warmer weather. The mix of tropical white florals, fresh sea air, and a touch of citrus is all you need to take a virtual vacation whenever you want. After Dark is the perfect first date scent. It’s a touch sweet from the vanilla, but with earthy patchouli, and just a hint of spice to lure them in.

  What’s a good rule of thumb to keep in mind when you’re experimenting with blending?

There are no set rules for blending, as it should be a totally personal and customizable experience. I do have one key tip though: Start with the strongest scent to really anchor a fragrance and proceed to the lightest note on top. If you go in reverse and layer your lightest scent first, the heavier scent will dominate it. 

  Where do you find inspiration for your scents?

Experiences and places. Have you ever traveled somewhere magical and wanted to preserve that memory forever? Usually there is some kind of scent involved. In creating The Blend and our recipes, we focused on places and experiences that we loved and thought others would too. 

  The kit comes with a travel carrier. What do you think is the connection between travel and perfume?

As someone who travels a lot for business, it’s important to be able to recreate a little version of what feels like home for me wherever I go, and scent is a huge part of that. Also, having a custom fragrance-blending kit lets you capture your experiences in a scent. You can literally blend yourself a memory and revisit it whenever you want with just a few swirls.

  What makes perfume personal?

What makes perfume personal is the ritual you attach to it, how you put it on, and how it makes you feel. The Blend lets you create an entirely new one, and one that’s entirely your own. 

CHARACTER STUDY: TROY SURRATT

The celebrity makeup artist and founder of Surratt Beauty shares the inspiration behind his luxurious makeup line.

“I think it's a dream of many makeup artists to actually create product, their dream textures, and their dream componentry,” explains Troy Surratt. “So, it's always been a dream of mine to create products I would want to use and buy myself.” And we’re so glad he did: Makeup artists and beauty lovers alike count his Japanese-made products as new favorites. We sat down with Surratt to learn more about his chic line. KELLEY HOFFMAN

  Are you excited to have your brand available at Sephora?

I’m super excited about it. Sephora is like a candy store for beauty lovers. I always joke that I can't walk by a Sephora without going in. It’s as if there’s a magnetic force that pulls makeup junkies into its vortex of beauty, if you will.

  Why did you decide to create Surratt Beauty?

I wanted to create product for a cool, modern, jetsetter-influencer type of girl that I felt wasn't being spoken to in the marketplace.

  I know your line is inspired by your love of Paris and Toyko. Can you elaborate?

I love the beauty of Paris, and its heritage and romanticism. I love the appreciation of beauty and the appreciation of quality and craftsmanship and doing things the old way. Many of my products have French names.

It’s in contrast to my love of Tokyo, which is really about looking forward. The Japanese believe that the best is yet to come. So, there is a constant looking to tomorrow and to the future, to renovate and innovate and create newness inspired by the past but not resting upon its laurels. All of our products are made in Japan.

So, I joke that you want to buy Italian shoes, French handbags, Swiss watches, German cars, and Japanese cosmetics. I really think they do cosmetics so well.

  Which of your products would you say are the most innovative?

I think there are several. My mechanical Expressioniste Brow Pencil, with its aluminum barrel, is super-fine and elegant, and really a luxury tool for brow application.

I think that my Auto-graphique Eyeliner is innovative in that it's resealable, and it's a brush, not a felt tip. It’s inspired by the finest Japanese calligraphy brushes.

The Smoky Eye Baton is also a huge hit. As a makeup artist, I've been asked by beauty editors my entire career how to create smoky eyes. I wanted to create one tool that could demystify it. So, I created a double-ended pencil that has a creamy liner on one end to line the inner rim and lash perimeter, and a spring-loaded smudger on the other end that blends, defuses, and sets.

  Your customizable palettes are also so beautiful. Can you tell us more about them?

I think women and beauty lovers want the freedom to decide for themselves. So, whether it's choosing monograms on a bag, the fabric for a suit, or the settings of your engagement ring, people want to be a part of the design process, and to have an interaction with the product before they take it home with them.

I made everything geometric tiles you can fit together and customize to your whims. I opted to use stickers instead of magnets to not add bulk or weight. I think that the idea of sitting at a vanity and leisurely doing your makeup and leaving it there is a romantic version of the way women do their makeup, but not realistic. So,  it needs to be lightweight and easily transportable, so it's not a cinderblock in your purse you have to carry around all day.

  Do you have a favorite no-fail beauty tip?

I think that I have never shown a woman how to use an eyelash curler and not had her say, “My God, that's amazing.” You show her that by changing the angle of her eyelashes, flipping them up, they automatically look two to three times longer, and it allows more light onto the eyes, so they look bigger and brighter automatically.

My Relevée Lash Curler is hand-calibrated to make sure it operates correctly before it ever ships. It has less of an arc than other eyelash curlers. So, the actual arc line is less severe, less U-shaped than many other curlers.  It fits the eye more easily and comfortably.

It also opens a great deal wider than traditional cage curlers. Ours opens up to at least an inch, so you can really open it up wide and get the lashes to sit upon the silicone pad beautifully. There's less risk of pinching. Most lash curlers have one loop of metal that you put your finger through. Ours has two loops, so it requires less pressure ergonomically.