While you might not know Harry Slatkin by name, it’s very likely his work has made its way to your home through one of his many fragrances over the years. Having led the creation of Bath & Body Works‘ iconic White Barn home fragrance collection, plus countless nostalgic scents for brands like Ralph Lauren and Victoria’s Secret, Slatkin has become one of the most respected “noses” in the business.
Along with his wife, Nest Fragrances founder Laura, Slatkin has been creating scents for more than 30 years; however, his entry to the industry happened quite by chance.
Back then, Slatkin – who just launched his newest home fragrance brand, Dwell212 – was working in finance but was seeking a career that would provide him with more fulfillment and creative opportunity. And it was at this fortuitous moment in time that the perfect path presented itself.
“I didn’t love finance – it was just numbers and a way to make money, which is not what interests me,” he tells PS. “My brother was an interior designer who began creating home fragrances for clients, but it wasn’t what he wanted to do. So when Laura and I married, he offered his home fragrance line to us as a wedding gift.”
Since then, the Slatkins have built a fragrance dynasty while producing iconic scents that have revolutionized the home fragrance industry. Throw it back to the early 2000s, for example, and Bath & Body Works was filled with Slatkin’s work. Whether you favored the Honeysuckle Candle ($27) or the Mahogany Teakwood ($27), Slatkin had a hand in making sure your home smelled its best – and he’s far from done.
PS: How did you first get involved in the world of fragrance?
Harry Slatkin: I started my first company when I was 15. That’s when I fell into this entrepreneurial world that I live in. Needless to say, once you get the bite of entrepreneurship, it continues. Years later, my brother, who is an interior designer, offered to give my wife and I his home fragrance line as a wedding gift, and we decided to do it. We were both working in finance, and we were bored. But I knew that, if I was going to succeed at home fragrance, I couldn’t be on the home floor, I had to be in cosmetics. It had to be like a lipstick, an instant purchase. So that’s what we pushed for – and it changed the industry.
PS: What made you decide to team up with Bath & Body Works?
HS: We launched our own brand, Slatkin + Co., and seven years into the business, I guess we were the darlings of the industry because we were the first to launch home fragrance as part of the beauty space. Then we got a phone call from Les Wexner, who founded Victoria’s Secret and Bath & Body Works, and he had a fledgling home fragrance business called White Barn Candle. He invited us to his home for dinner, and at the end, the vice chairman of the company said, “Les would like to buy your company.” So, he bought the company and me with it. And we made a bet that we could grow the company to $1 billion, and when I got there we were doing $100 million, and five years later, I walked away as we got to $1.3 billion. Today it does $3.4 billion, and it is the largest home fragrance brand in the world.
PS: How has the fragrance industry evolved during your career?
HS: The reason home fragrance has become what it is today is because of the young people who grew up with home fragrance as part of their lives. The younger generations burn home fragrance differently than my generation did. When my generation was growing up, we lit a candle when a guest came over. No more. But the younger generations light them when they’re doing homework, when friends are coming over. . . It has become a different way of growing up with scent around you.
PS: Have your own tastes changed over time?
HS: I haven’t really changed, I have been a natural nose since the start. My nose luckily has been one that has worked to make people happy in scent. I’ve tried to keep that nose whether I’m doing a cheesecake candle, mashed potato candle, or I’m doing the most wonderful French peony, or a limoncello that takes you to the coast of Capri in the summer.
PS: What inspired you to launch Dwell212?
HS: I created it for my daughter. She’s 26, and I wanted to create something for people her age with her lifestyle. Mental health is a big issue for that generation. My wife and I have a son with autism, which led us into the world of mental health. Life has become so fast and it’s created a lot more anxiety in our world, as well as other mental health issues. I wanted to create Dwell212 to really speak to that way of being. So when you wake up, it’s not just that you’re putting on a scent because it’s nice and pretty, but more about how those scents take you through your day.
So you wake up in the morning and you’re dragging yourself into the shower, you have to go to work. OK, well that means you need to be uplifted. So I created a Citrus Collection that can actually lift your spirits throughout the day when you’re at work, and a Lavender range for when you feel anxious, and you want to calm down. Dwell212 really came out of talking to a Gen Z consumer and understanding mental health in their world.
Charlie Lankston is a freelance beauty, fashion, and lifestyle writer and media strategist based in New York City, having relocated to the US in 2014 from her home in London. Charlie spent 10 years working at DailyMail.com, where she oversaw the website’s style, beauty, fashion, and lifestyle content. Charlie also appears as an on-air royal and celebrity correspondent.
