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The fragrances successful women are wearing this year, from expensive Aesop scents to a Gucci perfume dupe

20 December 2024 at 02:31
Vintage woman with perfume bottle and twinkles around

Getty Images; iStock; Natalie Ammari/BI

  • Perfumes were massively popular in 2024, especially those from prestige brands.
  • Business Insider asked successful women across industries to name their favorite scents.
  • Some like expensive, trendy options from Aesop, while others enjoy body sprays and classic perfumes.

The key to everyday luxury in 2024 was simple: spray some perfume.

The fine fragrance industry boomed throughout the year, with Women's Wear Daily reporting that prestige scents were the fastest and largest growing sector of the overall beauty industry.

Colognes were also extremely popular with men, and members of Gen Z became obsessed with smelling good.

So, Business Insider turned to successful women across industries to learn which perfumes they recently favored. Here are their picks.

The founder of a sustainable marketing agency loves unisex scents from Aesop.
A bottle of Tacit perfume from Aesop.
Viviene New York founder Estella Struck uses two Aesop scents, including Tacit.

Aesop

Estella Struck founded Viviene New York, a marketing agency that promotes sustainable businesses. She's also a rising star of influencer management.

The 23-year-old told BI that she's "not a perfume maximalist" โ€” but there are two scents she loves.

"I really like Aesop. I think they have an amazing line of fragrances, and they're unisex," she said.

She's purchased the Tacit scent for herself, which costs $160 or $220 depending on the bottle you buy, and the $200 Karst scent for her boyfriend.

"I'll use his Aesop scent depending on my mood," she added.

She also likes a clean version of a popular Gucci fragrance.
A bottle of Floral Honeysuckle from Dossier
Rather than buying Gucci perfume, Estella Struck prefers this Dossier dupe.

Dossier

Struck told BI that she loves the scent of Gucci Bloom but doesn't find it to be the most sustainable and skin-friendly option on the market.

It's also priced pretty high, between $110 and $128 each for full-sized bottles.

So, the marketing professional turned to Dossier, a brand known for selling clean, inexpensive fragrances inspired by designer products.

Struck said the brand's Floral Honeysuckle perfume smells exactly like Gucci's, and the bottle costs $39.

One media strategist is loyal to a classic Victoria's Secret perfume.
Boxes of Bombshell perfume from Victoria's Secret.
Media strategist Abby Carlos uses Victoria's Secret Bombshell every day.

NurPhoto/Getty Images

Abby Carlos has spent the past two years working as a media strategist for Warner Bros. Discovery.

So far, she's worn the same perfume each day on the job: Victoria's Secret Bombshell.

She prefers the brand's original scent, which is sold as a body mist, lotion, and perfume (though the latter is sold out).

Other variations of the fragrance โ€” including Bombshell Intense โ€” are still available on the Victoria's Secret website for upward of $60.

For nights out, she turns to a designer brand.
A bottle of Carolina Herrera perfume.
Though the scent Abby Carlos uses is a limited edition one, Carolina Herrera sells various others.

Carolina Herrera

Carlos told BI she likes to wear a limited-edition Carolina Herrera scent called Good Girl Fantastic Pink for nights out.

"It's packaged in a sparkly pink bottle, and I get so many compliments on that one," she said.

She also previously enjoyed the brand's Very Good Girl scent, packaged in a red, heel-shaped bottle. But over time, she thinks it's become a bit overrated.

"It felt like everyone started wearing it," she said of the perfume. "I was like, 'Oh my God. Now I've got to find a new scent.'"

Bottles of the latter fragrance โ€” and others in Carolina Herrera's Good Girl line โ€” range in price between $94 and $192 per bottle. The brand no longer sells the Fantastic Pink line, but it can be purchased on fragrance websites and Amazon.

One entrepreneur sprays an underrated Viktor and Rolf perfume as a mood booster.
A bottle of Flowerbomb Tiger Lily from Viktor and Rolf.
Sabrina Guler enjoys the floral, feminine scent of Viktor & Rolf.

Alexander Tamargo/Getty Images

Sabrina Guler, 31, is an author and entrepreneur who cofounded the real-estate investment company Techvestor, which landed her on BI's rising stars of real estate list.

"I love Viktor & Rolf's Tiger Lily," she said. "That's been my go-to, and I always get complimented on it."

She describes the scent as floral, feminine, and "very sexy."

"I'm someone who wears fragrance when I want to enhance my self-love," she said. "If I want to feel better about myself, if my mood is kind of off, or if I just want to feel more connected to me, I'll add a little bit of perfume."

An influencer talent agent layers multiple fragrances to create her signature "vanilla cupcake" scent.
A bottle of Cashmere Vanilla body spray from Being Frenshe.
This Being Frenshe scent is just one piece of Asia Gousse's fragrance routine.

Being Frenshe

Asia Gousse found herself on BI's list of rising stars in influencer talent management thanks to her work with Slash Management. She works with an all-female client roster that she discovered on TikTok.

Even when her job is busy, the 28-year-old makes time for a thorough fragrance routine.

Gousse always begins by applying unscented body oil to help her perfume last longer. She then uses the $14.99 Being Frenshe body spray in Cashmere Vanilla as a base layer for a rotating perfume.

Sometimes, she sprays Valentino's Born in Roma Intense, which costs between $110 and $140. On other days, she chooses Maison Margiela's Replica Afternoon Delight ($35 to $165) or Viktor & Rolf's Flower Bomb Ruby Orchid ($38 to $225).

Finally, she uses a niche fragrance from Idult Paris called Tiholta, which she says is the "truest vanilla" scent she can find. It costs 180 euros, or about $187.

"I want to always walk around smelling like a vanilla cupcake. It's my pride and joy," she said.

A fashion designer has found her signature scent in YSL's line.
A bottle of Black Opium Over Red from Yves Saint Laurent.
Designer Anna Molinari says she enjoys the Over Red version of YSL's Black Opium.

Franziska Krug/Getty Images

Anna Molinari is a 26-year-old content creator and sustainable fashion designer. She's also a newly cemented fragrance fan.

"I never used to be a fragrance person, but now I've been learning about them as I receive them in PR packages," she told BI. "My favorite is the YSL Black Opium Over Red."

In addition to the YSL scent, which costs between $35 and $160 per bottle, Molinari enjoys the Mugler Alien scent, which retails for around $150 per bottle.

"My issue with perfumes is that, to me, they can smell like old ladies," she said. "So what I like about the YSL cherry scent specifically is that it does smell very fruity. Same thing with Mugler Alien. I can wear them every day."

Read the original article on Business Insider

Here's what 5 CEOs learned by becoming undercover bosses

21 November 2024 at 02:37
DoorDash CEO Tony Xu
DoorDash CEO Tony Xu

DoorDash

  • CEOs at top companies have gone to the shop floor to learn more about their businesses.
  • Laxman Narasimhan did time as a barista while running Starbucks, and Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky was a host.
  • Here's what they learned from going undercover.

When Kelly Ortberg became Boeing CEO in October, he issued a rallying cry for company leaders: Get back on the factory floor.

He's not the only leader who thinks bosses are too far from the coal face.

Some executives have said those who regularly spend time on the shop floor have a greater understanding of their business and what pain points need fixing.

These CEOs have all gone undercover to either discreetly serve customers or experience service themselves. This is what they learned from it about their businesses.

Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Uber, drove and delivered for Uber Eats in 2022
Dara Khosrowshahi, the CEO of Uber, attends the Uber Elevate Summit 2019 at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, DC.
Dara Khosrowshahi is the CEO of Uber.

TASOS KATOPODIS/Getty Images

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi spent time picking up shifts as an Uber Eats delivery driver on an e-bike and an Uber driver for a spell in 2022.

He bought a secondhand Tesla Model Y to ferry riders around San Francisco and made deliveries using the alias "Dave K." He did this when the company was struggling with recruitment.

Khosrowshahi told The Wall Street Journal in April 2023 he was surprised how passengers would often discuss personal or sensitive information as if he wasn't there. While making deliveries on an e-bike, he encountered "tip-baiting," where customers offer a big tip but reduce it on delivery.

The experience showed him that the company culture was focused on customers and not drivers. "We didn't take pride in the driver product because very few of us drove," he said.

Khosrowshahi shared his findings at a companywide all-hands titled "Why we suck."

He said the meeting wasn't "pleasant" but that it led to a shift, telling the Journal, "We started celebrating employees going out there delivering, employees driving. It is a point of pride for employees now โ€” when they drive they get a little badge on their corporate profile."

Laxman Narasimhan, former CEO of Starbucks, picked up a half-day barista shift once a month
Laxman Narasimhan attends an event at Starbucks Roastery in May 2024 in Milan.
Starbucks CEO Laxman Narasimhan.

Pietro S. D'Aprano/Getty Images

Laxman Narasimhan said he spent six months immersing himself in all aspects of the company, including training as a barista, before taking over from Howard Schultz as Starbucks CEO.

When he took over the job, Narasimhan said he planned to continue working monthly half-day shifts.

In his first annual letter to staff in March 2023, Narasimhan said he wanted the practice to help "keep us close to the culture and our customers, as well as to our challenges and opportunities."

"I expect each member of the leadership team to also ensure our support centers stay connected and engaged in the realities of our stores for discussion and improvement," he added.

During his barista shifts, he burned his hand on a sandwich and had an egg bite explode in front of a customer. This prompted him to make several key changes, including sending more breakfast sandwiches to stores to avoid shortages, making packaging for egg bites easier to open, and sending fewer corporate emails to stores.

Brian Chesky, CEO of Airbnb, spent 6 months living in Airbnbs โ€” and became a host
Brian Chesky
Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky.

Mike Segar/Reuters

In 2022, Brian Chesky said he spent six months living full-time as a guest in a series of Airbnbs to promote remote work.

The Airbnb CEO last year told Fortune the experience varied greatly from place to place: some hosts would request he pay "giant" cleaning fees, and others handed him a chore list.

"I started noticing variability," he said. "I'd ask them, 'Why are you doing all of this?'"

After Chesky's Airbnb stays, he launched 50 features, Fortune reported, including Airbnb Rooms โ€” individual rooms to rent instead of whole homes.

To promote these listings, Chesky put a guest room in his own San Francisco home on the app for free, from 2022 to March 2023. While the listing is no longer accepting guests, some of those who did get the opportunity in 2023 left glowing reviews.

"I feel like I'm reviewing Steve Jobs' personal iPhone," one guest wrote in a review praising Chesky for facilitating "a smooth check-in."

Tony Xu, CEO of DoorDash, makes monthly food deliveries
DoorDash CEO Tony Xu at his company's San Francisco headquarters on March 11, 2020.
DoorDash CEO Tony Xu

Troy Wolverton/Business Insider

DoorDash CEO Tony Xu makes monthly deliveries as part of WeDash, a program begun in 2015 that requires salaried employees to carry out several deliveries a year.

Xu told "The Rideshare Guy" podcast last year that it had sparked ideas for improvement. He said the company had a Slack channel dedicated to issues people identify from WeDash, such as app bugs or getting the wait times for deliveries wrong.

Xu also said it helped him and his employees solve problems, in an interview on Stanford Graduate School of Business's "View From The Top" podcast in 2021.

"If you're at the surface level, you're never going to actually realize what the problems are," he said.

On the podcast, he also shared that he does customer service for the company daily, which he said can sometimes shed more light on areas for improvement than data.

"Sometimes, it's really hard just looking at the data to get to the digging," he said.

During a ride covered by The Associated Press, the company's CTO and Xu's cofounder, Andy Fang got lost during one WeDash delivery after the app prompted him to go to the wrong address.

Joey Wat, CEO of Yum China, says she spends 'hours' watching customers eat
Joey Wat, CEO of Yum China Holdings, Inc., speaks during a session at the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2018 in Boao, China.
Joey Wat is the CEO of Yum China, a Chinese fast-food restaurant company that owns brands including Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and KFC.

Visual China Group/Getty Images

Yum China CEO Joey Wat said that she covertly hangs out at its restaurants, including KFC and Pizza Hut to watch customers eat, sometimes for up to three hours.

These stakeouts have been helpful in coming up with product ideas, Wat told the 2024 Fortune Global Forum this month. "Some things you can observe directly from the customer and sometimes talking to the store manager helps," she said.

Wat added that she noticed many young people in China ate KFC fried chicken dipped into mashed potato.

"What we can do with that insight is get rid of the bone," Wat said, adding this was the impetus for the company launching the boneless "mash potato burger" in China.

Read the original article on Business Insider

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