An Empowering Fragrance Path: Eudora Nwasike on her rise into fragrance journalism and content creation.

With a growing following of loyal 12k+ supporters across her vibrant TikTok and resourceful Instagram profile, Eudora Nwasike is making waves in the UK fragrance industry with her contagious passion for demystifying fragrance and a constant quest to expand her expertise and knowledge of the evolving fragrance market, consumer trends, and tastes.

We meet the knowledgeable fragrance expert to unveil her inspiring path into navigating the diverse creativity of fragrance reviewing, her insights into influencer marketing, 2024 trends, her experience in taking our Online Training, and how she envisions her growth in the British fragrance industry.

How did you discover your love for fragrance, and how did that path lead you to become a fragrance influencer?

I had always been surrounded by perfumes because my parents always smelt good, and smelling good was extremely important to them. When I was younger, I would always sneak into their room to have a little spritz of what they had but I didn’t understand the magnitude of power that fragrances had.

I fell in love with the world of perfumery in 2018. At the time, I was working for Tom Ford as a beauty and fragrance advisor and working there opened my mind and nose to this board and beautiful industry. I would smell all the fragrances on the counter to make my nose accustomed to the scents and help customers find the perfect fragrances.

Initially, ouds were headache-inducing for me because I hadn’t come across oud fragrances before working at the Tom Ford. However, the more I smelt, the more my nose became familiar with its bold and powerful scent. It was inevitable that I was going to fall into a rabbit hole of wanting to soak up knowledge about the industry and the different perfumes on the market.

During my lunch breaks and weekends off, I would visit all the perfume counters at the department store to smell perfumes till my heart was content. This was my form of escapism that made me feel safe and happy.

After I left the job, I still had this burning desire to keep researching perfumes, so I attended several workshops and spent hours watching YouTube videos.

Fast-forward to 2020 and lockdown, I had just finished my master’s degree in media and communications. I had a lot of free time to spare, so I decided to do the Online Training by The Fragrance Foundation UK to become a Certified Fragrance Specialist, which I passed with exceptional grades. My decision to take the course was fuelled by wanting to add value to the world by helping people feel good about themselves through fragrances. But I want to emphasise how grateful I am that I had the opportunity to work at Tom Ford. It changed my life for good. If I had never worked there, this passion and love wouldn’t have been birthed.

As a Certified Fragrance Specialist who excelled in our Online Training, can you tell us more about your experience taking the course and how it influenced your professional journey?

Taking the Online Training course was one of the best self-investments I have made. It changed my life in so many ways and enabled me to have opportunities that are still surreal to me.

In my early days of sharing my love for fragrance online, I discovered there was a gap within the educational aspect of fragrances, and I wanted to take on the role of trying to fill it by creating a safe space for people to learn about fragrances.

My approach to doing this was creating fragrance educational content that covered the dos and don’ts, perfume reviews, simplifying fragrance terminologies and describing fragrance notes in the simplest ways. As my audience grew, so did the request for personal fragrance recommendations. I decided to carry out a fragrance survey to find out if people were willing to pay for a fragrance consultation which made the process of looking for a new fragrance easier. The result of the survey proved that it was a good idea, so in 2021, I set up a Bespoke Fragrance Consultancy that helps people find designer and niche fragrances that match their lifestyle and personality. Through the content I create, I have had clients from all over the world (7 countries), which blows my mind till today.

In addition to the fragrance service I provide, I have featured in several publications such as Business of Fashion, Glamour Magazine UK, Refinery29 UK and much more. I was also fortunate to write a fragrance article for Celebrity Stylist, “Melissa’s Wardrobe’s” lifestyle website called It’s A Lifestyle, Hun and be a panel speaker at Refinery 29 UK’s 2023 Beauty Breakfast.

I am grateful for all the opportunities I have had this early in my career and I’m looking forward to seeing what else the future holds for me in this industry. I strive to be one of the best by continuously learning and keeping up with new trends in the industry, so I can create the best content for my existing audience and the new people that will discover my work.

I do all of this out of the love I have for fragrances and serving people.

What do you consider your unique specialties in the world of fragrance recommendations and communication?

Showing off my personality and my funny side.

It makes people feel comfortable enough to engage with me and ask me questions about things they are curious about, hence the importance of my delivery being safe and cheerful to build a personal connection.

This approach has had a positive effect on the way people engage with me, there’s also a level of appreciation that I receive because the content is simple to understand too.

Can you walk us through your process of reviewing fragrances? What elements are most important to you in evaluating a scent?

Before I review a fragrance, I always ask myself if this is something I would be interested in consuming if I wasn’t a fragrance creator, but still wanted to learn about fragrances.

With that in mind, when I record or write reviews, I do like to follow a structure similar to the below:

· Starting with a brief note on the inspiration behind the scent.

· Sharing the perfumer behind the creation.

· Describing the fragrance notes and the feelings they might evoke.

· Highlighting what I loved of the fragrance, but also facets or creative aspects that might have been challenging.

· Sharing the performance and projection of the fragrance.

· Envisioning how the scent could be suitable for a specific season or occasion.

Additionally, if there are popular communication trends on social media- be it an audio, a film structure/format, etc.- I try to find in them inspiration to make my content fun.

What has been your experience with the fragrance community like so far, and how do you see it evolving?

It is such a blessing to be a part of an awesome community that is extremely welcoming and supportive. I’ve been fortunate to interact with people from different parts of the world and make new friends that I’ve met at fragrance events. We all draw inspiration from each other and that’s one of the things that I love about the fragrance community. In future, I see more people joining the community and more collaborations.

What advice or tips would you give to someone looking to enter the fragrance industry, especially as a content creator or consultant?

First things first, go out and smell to familiarise your nose with the fragrances on the market. Watch fragrance YouTube videos, some of my favourite fragrance reviewers on YouTube are ThePerfumeGuy, Karina Waldron, Demi Rawling and Aaron Terence. Attend perfume workshops to expand your knowledge about perfumery, you will also get the chance to create a fragrance as well. Read fragrance books such as The Essence of Perfume by Roja Dove and The Big Book of Perfume by Nez Culture to understand the complex world of perfumery. Don’t be afraid to reach out to people in the industry via LinkedIn or Instagram to ask questions. On the content creation side of things, have fun with and don’t overthink. Engage you’re your audience, utilise hashtags, and post a combination of reels and statics.

Lastly, be consistent but take social media breaks to avoid feeling overwhelmed. Always stay true to yourself and your audience. Give yourself grace with your journey and set realistic goals for growth.

How do you envision the future of fragrance influencing and consulting evolving, and what role do you see yourself playing in that landscape?

Brands have identified that content creators play a major role in influencing people’s fragrance purchasing decisions. We see how quickly a perfume can sell out because an influencer has spoken positively about it and because of this, their revenue increases. In the future, I hope to see brands build stronger relationships with content creators by including a diverse range of influencers in their marketing campaigns or selecting them to become brand ambassadors. I’m putting this into the atmosphere. I would love the opportunity to create a fragrance with one of my favourite fragrance brands or become the spokesperson for them.

Regarding consulting, I believe consumers will continue to seek a personalised approach to discovering fragrances that suit them for seasons and occasions. Moreover, providing a bespoke service helps to narrow down options to avoid feeling overwhelmed. Some people emphasise on not wanting to smell like everyone else and consulting solves this.

As a fragrance consultant, I aim to constantly provide the best service but on an international scale, I want to open people’s minds to trying scent profiles out of their comfort zone as well as how to have a better relationship with perfumes.

What are your trend predictions for 2024?

Gourmands that don’t take an overly sweet direction, I feel they may have a more mature feel to them with the addition of spicy, earthy, and woody notes. Brands like Electimuss (Vanilla Edesia) and Nishane (Tero) have already tapped into this.

Oud is always trendy so I’m looking forward to seeing the dynamic creations. Maybe something on the darker animalic side.

Wearing perfume to bed is still a foreign concept to many, so I’m hoping next year, more people catch onto how perfumes can improve your quality of sleep by including it. Lastly, I believe there will be an increase in brands offering refillable bottles to advocate for sustainability.

Fragrances often evoke powerful memories. Could you share one of your most cherished scent memories with us?

Aramis was my father’s favourite perfume, and he would buy back up bottles of it. I remember being able to tell when he had left for work because the scent would fill up the house and it also made me fall in love with it. His fragrance would always make me look forward to giving him the biggest hug and years later, I eventually bought the perfume to honour him and the beautiful times we had.