Sue Phillips: The Nose That Knows
Featured Image via Sue Phillips
By Hailey Hinton 4/2/2021
A veteran of the beauty industry and the “nose that knows”, Sue Phillips is one of the world’s most renowned fragrance experts creating scents for brands, celebrities, and connoisseurs. Her new book “The Power of Perfume: How to Choose It, Wear It, and Enjoy It”, is just as enjoyable and memorable as her scents.
With over 40 years of experience under her belt, Phillips takes readers into the world of fragrance–following secrets, journey’s of scents, histories and even rare ingredients.
Phillips began her journey with scents after being hired by Elizabeth Arden to become their National Training Director for fine fragrances like Chloe and Burberry.
“I met with the perfumers who had created those fragrances, and spent time with the Marketing Department– I spent 3 months in the stores, greeting customers, observing how the Sales Associates interacted with the consumers and studied the perfume brand,” Phillips says.
When asked if she had a favorite when creating the finer fragrances, she says she loves all of them like her children! “I love them all because they were all different and it was a distinct honor to be associated with iconic brands and companies,” she says.
After having her daughter, Phillips started her own company called SCENTERPRISES INC–you could say the rest is history.
Picking a fragrance is just as important as putting on the right pair of shoes–if they’re wrong, it could throw everything off! So what is the formula to finding the perfect scent, and what makes a scent stand out? “I believe that it is based on the person’s individuality, personality and lifestyle,” Phillips says.
SCENTERPRISES INC. gives their clients a brief personality questionnaire (that is highly accurate!) to determine which fragrance family suits them the best.
When it comes to what makes a scent stand out, Phillips believes its quality, and reflecting one’s personality. “When the wearer wears the fragrance that absolutely reflects him or her, the comments are palpable,” she says.
All of the above are just glimpses of what you’ll uncover in her new book. People are fascinated by fragrance but don’t have a lot of information about how it has become a $48billion industry and why certain fragrances reflect the economic, social and political trends that define decades,” she says.