An Interview
Mair Emenogu
Owner, CEO and creative director of
MAIR
Thank you very much for the interview, Mair. Can you start at the beginning who is Mair Emenogu?
Very welcome, thank you for the opportunity to share my brand with your readers! I'd say I can be defined in one word, I'm a creative and my creativity is blooming itself in the world of fragrance and entrepreneurship.
Growing up was scent a large part of your life?
I wouldn't say it was, scent was more of a special accessory for those special moments growing up. Wearing perfume was something I was intentional about.
How did your journey into creating the brand begin?
My MAIR brand is so unconventional. My journey began with an employer seeing my signature and saying, " Mair, I can see that on a perfume bottle" after that every time I would hear my name after that I would hear perfume instead. Three years later it was my reality.
Creating the brand really didn't take much "work" because the brand is an extension of my life, my world, my glamour and my style.
Moving into new paths in life can at times be difficult can you describe your transition into the fragrance industry?
My transition into the world of perfumery was difficult. It took what felt like forever to create my fragrance, ‘Remember When'. Looking back I think it was difficult because I didn't have the right guidance and was trying to do everything on my own without guidance from actual chemists and scent creators. I had to unlearn a lot of behaviors to finally get to what Remember When is now. It took me 57 tries to get to what my scent is now. At the time everything I was creating was from market strategies and facts of what women claimed to want. But the final edition of "Remember When" was created from my heart and what I asked women what they wanted to smell like.
Can you tell us about the fragrance, what led you to choose the notes that you did and it's inspiration?
Bergamot is my favorite note in the entire world! From there, it was really trying to figure out what blended well with bergamot and for me, that ended up being Jasmine and Amber. I categorize my fragrance as a citrus floral, Bergamot, Jasmine and Amber are the main dominant notes in the scent and what you pick up on immediately.
Yes, the scarfs! How did those come about and are they scented?
I think we can all agree that fragrance is something I fell into. If you would have told me five years ago that I'd create a fragrance line I definitely would have laughed out loud. And naturally, when you do something outside of the norm it's not accepted by everyone in your circle. My brand was not accepted by everyone. I had people tell me they'd never buy my fragrance and that my brand would never last past a year. So to commemorate my one year anniversary, I created a scarf that was bold and beautiful and stood out. It's 100% Italian silk and made in Italy, I love it, the name of it is Regal because when I put it on the first time, that's how I felt.
Where do you see the future of Mair?
The future of MAIR is for it to be easily accessed worldwide.
Do you have any advice for someone at the point between walking into their dreams?
On the other side of your fears is everything you've ever hoped for and wanted for your life. So do it don't be afraid!
