Today we’d like to introduce you to Mair Emenogu.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Mair. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
My fragrance brand, MAIR started with a dream. I used to work for a company that was attached to the galleria mall in Houston, TX the mall never closes just the stores do and I remember walking around the second floor where all the really expensive glamourous brands were and thinking to myself, Mair you can rival these brands off name alone and then I got to work. Initially, my scent making skills were supposed to be used for friends and family and something I did on the side, but I dared to dream bigger and execute on that dream. I never did make bespoke scents for friends and family, instead I put all that energy and time into creating a fragrance and brand.
I got into perfumery in an unconventional way, you know that saying “never despise humble beginnings”? My career started at the receptionist desk at the time I hated it, but now I’m so grateful for it. I was signing my signature and a VP (Van Wilson) saw it and said, Mair I can see that on a perfume bottle. Three years later, it was my reality.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
No, of course not. The biggest struggles for me were finding the right people and partners to bring my product and brand together as one. Looking back what made that a tad difficult was my need to control every aspect of the project. I had to learn the hard way that you never really have control over anything.
My advice for young women starting their journey into becoming a business owner is to lead from the heart and hire people that still have that fire and passion in what they do. You can teach a skill but you can’t teach passion.
We’d love to hear more about MAIR.
I’m a perfumer, I make fragrances and creams based on what women want to wear not what’s trending. What makes me different is that I physically go out to the malls and boutiques and ask everyday women what they want in a fragrance and how they want it to make them feel. I’m very hands-on with my brand, I create to make the woman wearing it smile and feel great about herself and I feel like my current scent “Remember When” does that and that’s what I’m most proud of.
We’re interested to hear your thoughts on female leadership – in particular, what do you feel are the biggest barriers or obstacles?
To be honest, thanks to the fragrance foundation and other scent organizations the barriers to being taken seriously as a female perfumer have drastically narrowed. Sure, you still have the pockets of people that think women can only create the scent and nothing more but those pockets of people are becoming the minority. In my experience, the only barrier I had was not being taken seriously as a creator and brand owner. However, I think that was more due to my young age than being female.
Pricing:
- Remember When Full Size (3.4 FL / 100 ML) $110.00
- Remember When Travel Size (,33 FL / 10 ML) $ 30.00
- Regal Scarf (100% Italian Silk) $125.00
Contact Info:
- Address: 9119 Hwy 6
Ste 230 #410
Missouri City, TX 77459 - Website: www.mairfragrance.com
- Phone: 346-702-8861
- Email: info@mairfragrance.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/mairfragrance
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/mairfragrance
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/mairfragrance
Getting in touch: VoyageHouston is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
