Fragrance loading... Dothan student launches perfumery

Smelling good and feeling confident is what it’s all about for one ambitious student at Troy University’s Dothan campus who is starting her very own perfumery business.

Rebecca Simms, a graduate student studying general business from Enterprise, Alabama, has started her journey towards building a tailored fragrance experience.

“I have always loved fragrances,” Simms said. “I enjoy mixing them and smelling them, and so I decided I want to start my own line of fragrances, so I can share my love with everyone.”

Simms said it all started when she was a little girl, remembering her grandmother’s perfume.

“As a girl, I used to hate smelling my grandmother's fragrances,” she said. “It always smelled like alcohol because she got it from Avon, and it always smelled really cheap, like something headache inducing, so I thought, I don't want to smell like my grandmother.

“I wanted to create something that was soft and palatable.”

Simms also shared she strives to create wearable fragrances that empower the user.

“I want my market to circle around people who want to smell and feel good at the same time,” Simms added. “Whether you're a college student or a working person, you want to go to work, dinner, school, whatever, and smell good.”

The process of creating a fragrance is surprisingly straightforward.

“It's really simple,” Simms said. “I think a lot of big companies put a lot of extra ingredients in their stuff that they probably shouldn't.

“You really only need a base and then can create whatever you want with fragrance oils or essential oils.

“There's certain ratios depending on the concentration you want. You just add your base, and you add your fragrance and kind of mix it around and put it in the container, package it.”

Simms plans to use this simplicity to make her fragrances customizable to each client.

“Once I have a storefront, I can guide each customer through the different phases of making the perfume,” Simms said. “They can start with choosing their fragrance and however strong they want it to be, add it to the base, watch it mix around and then package it themselves.”

Simms currently has one fragrance for sale and is building a website. She plans to expand her perfumery into a standalone business, The House of Simms.

Simms will also be collaborating with the IDEA Bank’s upcoming storefront, Student-Made. The Student-Made storefront will launch on Sept.19 and offer student entrepreneurs a platform to expand their businesses.