Forty-one year old Isabelle Langlois needed a change in 2019. Living in London for around nine years, and working in five-star hotels as a concierge for several years, Isabelle needed a change of tune. 

“I was talking with a guest at the hotel who I was very close to, who helped me in the business world and introduced me to her incredible network. She said, ‘Isabelle, you have something special with your nose – you have a very developed sense of smell. You always notice my perfumes; you can always notice who is wearing what. Why don’t you do something with perfumes and we will see.’ And that’s when I thought, perfume concierge. A perfume stylist.

“Similar to a personal stylist; I thought, I will do the same with perfumes. I will help people find new perfumes so that they don’t need to get lost in fragrance shops, overwhelmed with choices and smells.”

During the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, in late December 2020, Isabelle Langlois founded her business: The Perfume Stylist. Living on her own in a one bedroom flat, Isabelle began her work on her new, upcoming business. After being furloughed at the hotel she worked at provided Isabelle with several months to plan, organise and prepare herself for her new business journey – an opportunity, that without the time off of her full-time role, she may not have been able to achieve whilst working. 

“It was exciting, it was weird. But it was new; a new business. You were freaking out sometimes because you say ‘oh my god, my job, if I can’t have my job anymore full-time, where do I get the money?’”

“I was at home with my dog and my two cats in this cute little flat, and I was like, okay, let’s try something new. Let’s contact these perfumers.”

Isabelle began contacting independant perfume brands within the UK. She explained how this helped her to understand her business idea as she didn’t have a business plan and that she was freestyling. 

“Because of COVID-19 I realised that I couldn’t launch a service-based business because I couldn’t physically meet people anymore. So, this is where I had the plan B and this is where I launched my perfume boxes.”

Isabelle contemplated the idea of creating ‘handy’ gift sets and travel-size perfume sets. However, due to the pandemic, she needed to become creative when launching perfume sets to people when they were all at home; unable to touch or smell testers; people wearing masks. And so, she launched her perfume boxes.

The perfume box;  perfect-sized, easy-to-sell and perfect for safe consumption during COVID-19, as well as giving consumers a new, fun and creative experience.

“I was struggling, but it was exciting. In December 2020,  I did my first pop up in a local shop just around the corner of my flat. I had my perfume boxes that contained three testers. I didn’t have a lot of products to show, but it was just before Christmas and people were so happy to find something locally.

“I found a good idea for people who wanted perfume, in person, online or at home and you know, they still wanted to stay perfumed and discover new products online was great at that time.”

Starting a solo business, on your own, in the middle of a time where most businesses were struggling, Isabelle expressed that challenges did arise. One of her biggest challenges was dealing with the lack of money, in both the business and her own personal life. 

“The lack of money makes your life a bit more complicated. That means you need to do more things on your own. And when you do things on your own, it takes more time. So, you need to be patient, which is extremely difficult, because I’m a very impatient person by nature. The ups and the downs, personally and emotionally, the stress, the anxiety – I had a few breakdowns. The time it takes, all the back and forth you need to do to have something that represents your business; that is your tone, your voice. I’m starting my third year now with this business.”

The Perfume Stylist:

Isabelle offers a unique one-to-one session, the discovery session, where people can browse up to 60 carefully curated selections of scents provided by independent British fragrance houses. During this session Isabelle will help to identify people’s personal fragrance styles, working alongside you to create a custom perfume box that’s home to three favourite scents. 

These perfume consultations are a fun and new way to discover new scents. Providing an intimate and unique experience, Isabelle’s perfume shop is specifically unscented to not distract customers from finding their favourite scents, creating the ultimate customer experience. Along with that, she will also give you something background about each scent and new brands. 

“I work with three brands that are American and French. Otherwise they’re all British. I exclusively work with UK brands that are independent, so really small artists and brands.”

As a female in business, what is one piece of advice you could share with others hoping to launch their own?

“Trust your instinct, do what you want to do. Because if you feel it and it feels good, and it makes sense. You need to start doing it. Yes, it’s hard and it takes a lot of patience, but if you want it then you need to start. You’re the only one to do what you do. So, that’s so important, and other people might try to demotivate you or bring some of their fears to you. Start with what you have, and you will see later you will improve; you will grow. take action. Just do and trust your guts.”