Hello and welcome to the Smart Beauty Podcast.
I'm your host, Viola Levy, beauty journalist
and founder of copy led branding agency, Smart
Beauty Creative. Welcome to today's episode where
I'm chatting with Roxy Nafusi, celebrated author,
fellow podcaster, and manifestation coach who
has recently branched out into fragrance with
her new brand Alia. She was very honest about
how challenging it's been going from writing
books to creating an actual physical product.
We also touched on her love of fragrance and
how it enables her to express different sides
of herself. and we chatted a bit about manifestation
and why it's so important to believe yourself
worthy of what it is that you're actually trying
to manifest. It's all about personal transformation
which regular listeners will know that's a huge
focus of mine. Chatting with Roxy it seemed to
me that the perfume range is her way of coming
home to herself. In particular, celebrating and
reclaiming her Middle Eastern heritage, having
endured a lot of racist bullying at school growing
up in the UK. I really admire the fact that this
perfume range is a way of celebrating the fact
that she is a proud Arab woman. What I also admire
is that I think anyone who builds a business
as a single mum has my utmost respect. because
as somebody who's also in that position, you
are doing it with kind of half the resources
and twice the stress and it's something that
often gets overlooked. That's why I really love
Roxy's Fragrance Powerhouse because it has this
kind of A -Team of empowering scent notes of
like tobacco and oud and cardamom and there are
loads of us that just need that, you know, need
that kind of fragrant pick -me -up. I think perfume
gives us that. ability to just feel good about
ourselves. And sometimes it can just give us
that little boost when we don't have the time
or resources to do like a full -on glam look
every single day. Alia is a beautiful example
of that. Anyway, really enjoyed this chat. Here's
Roxy. Roxy, thank you so much for being on the
podcast. Really looking forward to chatting with
you today and congratulations on launching your
first fragrance line. You've built your career
around manifestation and self -development, but
what was the moment that you realized fragrance
could be a manifestation tool rather than just
a beauty product? I think I've always... used
fragrance myself as part of a ritual that helps
me to step into the character of who I want to
become which really is kind of at the heart of
manifestation and So I don't remember if there
was like one particular point where I kind of
realized But it was more that it was something
I had done in my own life organically and then
thought hey how can I bring this to the world
and I suppose that's exactly what happened with
my books is that I kind of tried something on
myself it worked and then I thought oh let me
share this so yeah I suppose it really came from
that. And I think fragrance, because it can sort
of connect with us on such a primitive level,
I think that's what, I don't know if you agree,
makes it so significant when it comes to manifestation,
because I personally find that I can think about
things consciously, but I can't really get my
subconscious to really catch up and really believe
that those things are going to happen. So I feel
like with fragrance, that can be a tool to help
kind of bridge that gap. Would you say that resonates
with you? Yeah, absolutely, I think. scent and
smell in general sort of bypasses some of the
neural pathways in a way. And there's a more
kind of subconscious and automatic response or
feeling that is evoked from it. And so it doesn't
require that thought, it just can instantly create
a feeling within you. And so I think that there
are certain fragrances that I've used throughout
my life where as soon as I spray it, I feel a
certain way, whether that's I feel empowered,
I feel sexy, I feel cool. And I think that's
why when I launched Alia, I really wanted to
create something that allowed people to step
into different versions of themselves. But I'm
sure we'll get into that later. No, for sure.
I mean, it was a huge pivot moving from the books
and the coaching into a physical product. How
has that journey been for you and what made you
feel like okay like it's a good time to sort
of expand into the fragrance space in particular?
I have found it so unbelievably challenging is
the truth. I think that creating books is such
a different experience and in a lot of the work
I do it really just requires me to be there and
whether I'm speaking on stage or I'm coaching
or I'm hosting for a brand or writing books,
I have quite a lot of control over that. And
so I can determine the outcome and how it's going
to go. And with books, you put in lots and lots
of effort, you work really hard at creating something
and then once it's created and you've launched
it, you give it to the world and then the world
takes it and it just does its thing and you always
let it go and it's kind of this magical thing.
This is so different because firstly, a lot of
it hasn't been in my control. Production issues,
operations have been so unbelievably stressful.
And I really truly just wasn't prepared for that.
I don't think I think that I almost got and I'm
always really honest. I'm not even going to say
like, oh, yeah, I've just I've nailed it. You
know, I wasn't prepared. I think I was naively
thought I was going it was going to be really
simple because I've built another business and
that's been successful. but it's not the same.
And there's lots more moving parts and it's a
lot more investment, I mean, a lot, a lot more
investment financially, mentally. And I was doing
it basically all on my own. So it was, I was
learning all about operations and shipments and
fulfillment and, you know, kind of like, yeah,
very quickly. But that aside, the, the kind of
side of operations and production, which is very
different and more challenging. The creative
side of it really is much the same. When I create
a book, I really think first about the person
reading it or the person experiencing the fragrance.
And that's where I start from. How do I want
this woman or... man, but usually women, how
do I want these women to feel? How do they want
to feel them in themselves? How do I want them
to then walk into a room? How do I want it to
impact their lives? And I start with that. And
then I create a world around it that they can
enter. So whether it's my manifestation as a
brand, or it's Alia. it's really important to
me that there is a really distinctive brand voice,
world, a feeling of community, something that
feels aspirational and attainable at the same
time. And so in that sense of it, actually it
was so that was the bit I have enjoyed the most,
which is creating the Alia identity. And I love
how intertwined it is with your culture because
obviously it means rise higher in Arabic for
those who don't know. Can you talk us through
how you landed upon the name and how your Iraqi
heritage was woven into sort of the blueprint
of the brand? Yeah, so it was two things. I mean,
one was I really wanted a four -letter word because
from a brand perspective, it's a... apparently
a really great thing to do. I wanted a short
single word. So in terms of like, you know, manifest
confidence, I wanted to be one word so I knew
that. And then I wanted it to be a word that
was meaningful to me. And I, you know, a big
part of my whole journey is that when I was younger,
I really, my real name is Rowan. And I had changed
my name from Rowan to Roxy because I was kind
of rejecting my own culture, my own heritage,
because I was so badly bullied for being Iraqi
in a time where Islamophobia was really kind
of prevalent. And A lot of my own journey has
been about this return to who I was and really
being proud of who I am and being proud now I
mean I couldn't be prouder of my culture and
where I'm from and being Iraqi and being a strong
Arab woman and I think that for me it was really
important that as I am embracing my own, all
that I am, where I'm from, being more authentic.
I wanted to choose a name that was rooted in
my culture to really like mirror that feeling
and represent that. And when I came across the
name Ali, I was like, oh my gosh, like it's beautiful.
And the meaning to rise higher is just so...
it just kind of encapsulates what this brand
is really about. And then after I picked the
name, I told my mom, she said, oh my God, my
mom, it was my mom's favorite name because one
of the kings of Iraq, his wife was Alia. Oh,
wow. Yeah. Is it a common name in that region,
do you know? Yeah, yeah. That's beautiful. And
obviously your heritage is part of your identity,
but it's not your full identity. And I think
that sort of weaves into the collection on the
idea that we're multifaceted. I mean, how did
that philosophy sort of connect to what you wrote
about in your books? So I have actually in confidence,
eight steps knowing your worth. I have a chapter
all about celebrating yourself. And within that,
I talk about owning your slash, which is like
we're in the era of the slash. I actually just
wrote an article that's coming out today for
you 72 about the same thing, which is like. we
are all multifaceted humans. And I think that
we're in this modern day age where we're owning
the ability to be more than one thing. You can
be like an actor slash DJ or a writer slash artist
or, you know, and I think that before there was
a lot of fear and trepidation that came with
that because as you kind of it's quite easy to
be labeled. with one with by one thing, firstly,
but then as you get older, there's this fear
of like, Oh, God, if I change careers, you know,
people take think I'm a failure, I'm flaky, or
if I start a podcast, have I had a midlife crisis,
or, you know, there's all this fear of like,
how can I express all these different sides of
myself that want to express, and if I do, will
I be judged? And what I'm really trying to encourage
people to do is to recognize that actually, true
confidence is really recognizing that we are
all many things. and they all deserve to be seen
and celebrated and loved. And, you know, as a
woman, I find that there are sort of, there are
many sides of me, but there were three in particular
that I felt were really kind of distinct that
I thought that many women could relate to. So
one is the kind of everyday you, the you that's...
you know, not trying to impress anyone, just
so comfortable in your own skin. Perhaps it's
you going to get your coffee in the morning and
romanticizing your life or taking your kids to
school, but feeling just so confident and present
and grounded in who you are. And that for me
was the basis of the first fragrance, which is
main character. The second character is Powerhouse.
That for me is the me that's going into meetings,
that's being my own agent, that's hoping to inspire
and lead in a positive way. And it's really for
any woman that wants to feel like they can take
ownership of their life, that they can step in
their power, call the shots. And that sense is
the more masculine of the three cents, it's tobacco,
oud, and not that it's masculine, but masculine
in its energy, you know, it's more of that. And
then scene stealer is for when we want to be
sensual, feminine, sexy. You know, I struggled
a lot with this kind of battle of, well, I'm
in self -development, so are people gonna judge
me if I dress sexy? And then I was like, what?
Like, no, I need to be able to express that side
of me. I'm a young woman and I want to enjoy
my sensuality. So scene stealer is more feminine
and scent. It's a little bit sweeter, but it's
definitely not sweet, sweet. It's not like overpowering.
And yeah, so that's them. you talk about how
fragrance can boost your mood and what I love
about it is that it doesn't really matter it's
not about what you look like with fragrance it
is all about how how you feel. How do you use
scent if you do like intentionally in your own
kind of manifestation routines? So I have provided
like affirmations with each scent actually so
you say it as you spray it because it's what
I do so as I say an affirmation I spray my scent
and then what you're doing is you're creating
like a neural pathway like a connection so as
soon as you spray it you can embody that affirmation
and so that's how I do it so I really uh I either
say an affirmation or I just really visualize
like as I spray and then I take in the scent
like who am I going to be today like who what
character I want to step into, what side of myself
do I want to express? No, that's beautiful. And
sort of going back to the whole kind of creation
process, because you had the sort of three, the
three characters in mind. Were they sort of at
the beginning or was it as you were kind of developing
the fragrances, they presented themselves or
you always wanted the three, the three archetypes
that I want to express? Yeah, I don't know. I
feel like it was definitely all at the same time.
Like I knew I wanted to have different characters.
And I knew I wanted a really distinct sense.
Like the three scents are very different from
each other. They're also all like eau de parfum
22%. They're incredibly high quality, long lasting,
rich. They're beautiful scents. The main character
is definitely like I would say the hero scent.
It's a scent that I've never smelled before.
Like the minute I went into the sampling house,
the perfume house and sampled this scent, I was
like. Oh my God, what is it? I couldn't stop
wearing it. Like I was so obsessed with it. And
actually everyone that smells it is like, oh
my God, like I can't describe how good it smells.
But I mean, they're all amazing and unique. But
yeah, I think once... I smelt them. I knew I
wanted one that was more tobacco -y and oody,
and I knew I wanted one that was slightly sweeter
and more sensual, and I knew I wanted one that
was slightly, had that more fresh and touch of
floral, but I'm not really a floral fragrance
gal, so it was only a hint of it. So I knew that,
and then honestly, the characters just fit so
perfectly with each. It was like it was just
so aligned. It just happened. because the language
of perfume it's obviously um you know its own
its own kind of uh world in itself um how did
you find that creation process and did you go
through a lot of um different iterations when
you were working um on the fragrance oh my gosh
yeah i think i must have trialed like a hundred
different scents yeah because we'd find something
i'd nearly like the only one i never resampled
was main character like the minute that was in
my first sampling round and the first it was
just an instant yes the others it would be like,
we'd try, you know, so many, and then we'd choose,
I'd choose my favorites, and then I'd get as
many, you know, five to 10 iterations of that,
and then tweak what I think it would need more
or less of. So it was honestly so fun. Picking
and designing the fragrance was incredible experience.
I loved it. My team there, and, you know, we
had like, I would keep getting my friends and
family to smell it, to test it, to tell me what
they thought as well. So that was really fun.
And did you have any ingredients in mind from
the get -go? Because I know the main character
that has turmeric leaf and angelica root, so
they're not very common. No, they're not at all.
No, they're not. Honestly, as I said, as soon
as I was presented that fragrance as, look, here's
one that we've been trying out. And I was like,
Oh my god, I need it. It's just incredible. So
that was really like, and it is like, it's very
unusual in terms of its, its notes, you know,
the, and broxan, like I've never kind of come
across or, but then there's the mimosa, which
I do like, orange blossom, the tonka. I mean,
it's just such a great combination of of notes.
Powerhouse, I was really clear. I knew I wanted
one that had tobacco in it, oud, musk, amber,
cedarwood, cardamom. It's like a beautiful mix
of all the scent notes that I already loved in
other fragrances that wanted to be brought together.
And then similarly with Scene Stealer, you know,
I really, I wanted something that had, you know,
bergamot is a note that I just absolutely love,
patchouli, musk, jasmine. I just, I wanted those
kind of rich, sensual smells, but it was really
important to me that it wasn't overpowering.
I really don't like like super sweet perfumes.
I think it... No, me neither. If I could say.
No, for sure. And I think that sort of the way
sort of, you know, going back to Sincere and
what you were saying about taking ownership of
your like sensuality and expressing that side
of yourself. Do you think that the perfumes we
wear are kind of changing in that respect? Because
as you know, like around like 10 or so years
ago, there's sort of quote unquote sexy perfumes,
quite sugary and floral and sickly. Because I
think it was, you know, very much kind of seen
through the male gaze because there was a lot
of them were developed. you know, for women to
attract, you know, heterosexual women to attract
men. And now it's more about ownership, isn't
it? And just expressing that side of ourselves
without necessarily, you know, luring someone
in. Yes, that's so true. Yeah, that's so true.
I hadn't even thought about that. But that's
absolutely it. And I think that, in general,
I think we've seen a shift like that in all areas,
whether it's like fashion, I think I loved I
actually saw Olivia Outwood do this interview
recently on in New York, where she was there,
like, what's your dressing tip or something?
And she said, dress for the girls and the gays.
Don't dress for the guys. And then I was like,
Oh, my God, it's so true. It's so true. I went
to a girls' school and I still wore like got
well as much as we were allowed to but wore makeup
and got dressed up because it was just just made
me feel good. Yeah absolutely. Have you ever
worn like a signature perfume or have you always
sort of believed in this idea of the scent wardrobe
and because I'm very much a fan of the latter
I think that you wouldn't wear the same clothes
every day so why would you wear the same fragrance?
I have always changed fragrances. I have like
15 fragrances probably and have always changed
them throughout my life. I've never had sort
of one that I've stuck to. So yeah, I think it,
it wasn't even a question for me to bring out
just one fragrance because I don't want to wear
just one also because you get nose blind. So
like, if you wear just one, you can't smell it
on yourself anymore, which I hate. I want to
smell myself as well. And then the more you apply
it, the more your brain's like, it's okay, we
know what that is. We're just going to shut down
and not smell it anymore. It's really frustrating.
What was the thing about um this whole journey
that surprised you the most or challenged you
the most would you say because you're mentioning
how kind of it got it was you know at times i
imagine very chaotic um what really stood out
to you and what would you maybe do differently
i think just really understanding the like production
timeline shipping all of that it's like is a
challenge. That was the most challenging thing.
And it's just been, I mean, there were things
like, for example, I was desperate to actually
make all the bottles dark brown. So we tried
loads of different dark brown bottles and the
gradient wasn't right, the color wasn't right.
So I said, okay, can we just make the oil itself
brown? And they're like, yeah, yeah, no problem.
So I had this sesame oil from Sainsbury's in
my cupboard. And I put it in one of the bottles
and I was like, oh my God, it's the perfect color.
So we used sesame oil as the basis for the color
of the fragrance. We tried a few different ones
and eventually we got the perfect color. And
I was like, oh my God, I'm thrilled. This has
been taking weeks. Got it. They were like, great,
we're going to start filling it. Then they send
it to me and then the smell was off. And I was
like, well, what's happened in the dyeing process?
Somehow the smell has changed. Anyway, they fixed
it, corrected it. The day before the campaign
shoot, they were like, just so you know, just
make sure you put a warning on the website that
the brown will stain clothes. And I was like,
what? And I was like, I can't sell a product
that's gonna stain people's clothes. Brown stains
on their clothes. So I was like, fuck. So we
had to like completely pivot. get rid of this
but I had the campaign shoot the next day and
I only had one sample of each bottle because
there were so many delays. I had only one lid
one bottle one sample and they had to break they
had like open without breaking the glass to get
rid of the sesame oil so I could shoot with clear
water instead. I mean it was just all these little
things that were just stress that I wasn't prepared
for. And like me, you know, you're a working
single mom, and I feel like being a single mom
and an entrepreneur, it should be an extreme
sport to be honest. And I imagine as I do, you
get very overwhelmed. And I imagine that, you
know, your manifestation background is, you know,
a huge benefit where that's concerned. I mean,
I feel like I'm in a bit of a rut with my manifestation
practice at the moment, just because it's just
really hard to get your, you know, just to get
your subconscious to catch up with what you're,
you know, what you're telling yourself. I mean,
what do you do in those kind of moments where
some mornings you might think, oh what am I doing
this for or this is all too much? How do you
get your groove back so to speak? I definitely
have had those mornings and I can definitely
relate and I think most people can. I think that
first for me it's like being really compassionate
to myself about it and I just find that sometimes
if I'm in that kind of rock, I can start spiraling
with like self judgment and actually just being
like, of course you feel like this, you're exhausted,
you're overworked, you're stressed, you've invested
a lot, whatever it is. it's okay that you feel
like this and then you don't attach so much meaning
to it and then it's just like yeah it's inevitable
that you're going to feel like this sometimes
and then just let's just wait for that feeling
to pass because all feelings pass and what are
the things that you can ground yourself in today
that might make you feel better whether it's
a walk being completely present with my son and
turning my phone off you know exercise good food.
I can get really caught up in like work and wolf
and I never see my friends. And like, the other
night, I had three of my friends over for dinner.
And you're forced to just chat shit, not think
about work, not think about responsibility. I
got them over here. So wolf was in bed, I didn't
need a babysitter. And it was heaven. And I was
like, Oh, God, I actually, sometimes we need
to remind ourselves we need to do more of that.
And it's so easy to forget. For sure. And I really
love your emphasis on gratitude in your book.
I listened to the audio book because I have a
toddler, so that's the only way I can get my
reading in. Because I think gratitude, it's like
evidence gathering, really. Yes. Oh my God, absolutely.
Honestly, it's like, I always think gratitude
is like the quickest, safest, easiest way to
change your life. Like it really is. I think
there's not much that can't be made better when
you start developing an attitude of gratitude.
Because it shifts your perspective on everything.
Yeah, I think it can be just so hard to get your
brain to tap into that frequency sometimes when
you have those negative voices, isn't it? It
can be an uphill struggle at times. That's why
it's really good to do it written. So like force
yourself because to just stop and think about
it sometimes is hard because our subconscious
is actually so comfortable with the inner critic.
And so actually just sitting yourself down. I
mean, like, right, I'm going to write 10 things.
small good things that happened today, like my
morning coffee or, you know, waking up to my
son or whatever it is. And then it can be, you
know, bigger things as well, of course, but just
find 10 small things and just allow it to just
like reset you and really be present while you're
doing that exercise, really pay attention to
the feeling of gratitude. and I think having
kids or being around kids if you don't have them
yourself, I think that's, you know, it's a lovely
way of kind of seeing the world from their perspective
because they just find everything so awesome.
You get to really appreciate those little moments
where they're just having, you know, the time
of their life watching Mary Poppins or something
like that. Absolutely, absolutely. Do you feel
that as somebody who's built a personal brand
around manifesting, there's this pressure to
have it have your life, like, you know, have
your shit together, basically. And yeah, especially
about imagine when building the brand is concerned.
I mean, how do you deal with that? No, I don't
because I've never I think part of why I've connected
with my audience is because I'm so honest. I'm
not trying to pretend that I'm perfect or that
my life is perfect. I mean, my life is, I love
my life, and it's immeasurably better than it
ever was. And I'm so proud of the person I am
and the life I've created. But that doesn't mean
I don't have challenges or struggles or, you
know, things that might not be going right at
the time. But I never, I'm never defeated, because
I have manifestation behind me. And I know that
things are happening the way they're supposed
to. And I think that I always try to be very
honest and open because I think that people will
be more helped in my vulnerability than in me
portraying a perfect life. Because I think people
have a lot of misconceptions around manifestation.
They think it's just writing a shopping list
and expecting it all to be delivered. But I think
it's a lot to be said for like, actually understanding
who you are as a person, first and foremost,
and what you actually need rather than, yeah,
I need X, Y, and Z and all these kind of material
things, or like, you know, yeah, this sort of
picture perfect life that might not actually
be that fulfilling. Yeah, absolutely. And, you
know, your books have obviously helped thousands
of people with transforming their mindset. How
do you sort of see Aliyah as complimenting that?
or reaching people that might not have discovered
your books yet? Yeah I think it really is sort
of an expansion of the work I already do in terms
of helping people to feel empowered, to step
into their future self. It's just in a ritual
form rather than reading. And so it's sort of
just like I use affirmations in the morning to
help me. You can also use fragrance. So I feel
like it's a really, yeah, a really natural extension.
And are there any more fragrances on the horizon
or are you just going to focus on the three of
these for now and what other projects that you've
got going on? We'll definitely want to expand
into other products. But for now, we're going
to really focus on these three scents. And you
know, we definitely noticed that with fragrance,
people really want to smell it before they purchase.
So we're trying to figure out ways we can really
get people trying it community events. And yeah,
I actually just can't wait for people to get
it in their hands, which is hopefully this week,
end of this week. And obviously, it's a very
sort of saturated base. I mean, what made you
think, okay, this is this is our point of difference.
And this is what makes it unique. I think one
of the points of difference is probably the price
point. You know, it's 60 pounds for 30 ml, which
is far under most luxury. Yes, given the concentration
that's given the concentration. Yeah, the quality,
the quality of the bottles. I mean, they're beautiful,
like the wooden lids, the resin. So the packaging
is gorgeous. So the price point is really big
from, I think, in terms of a USP. And the reason
I went with that is because I think all my work
is around being aspirational, but also relatable.
And I think accessible and just in the same way.
or that's my messaging, I suppose, around manifestation
and self -development and everything. And so
I really wanted that to be mirrored in this.
And I don't not, you know, it's not about huge
profit margins. I do want to give people a product
that they can have and have as many people as
possible be able to have it. And I think the
character and storytelling is really distinct.
And the ritual around it with affirmations is
something really unique. So yeah, I'm really
excited to see where it goes. Did you feel any
pressure? Because I imagine with a lot of founders,
there's people talk about, you know, factoring
in like margins and things like that, or were
you just very sort of set on no, it has to be
accessible? Yeah, I think I wanted it to be.
accessible 100%. I think that's the beauty of
having your own brand is you can make your own
decisions. That was nice. The buck stops with
you, which is very stressful, but it has its
benefits. Like, yeah, it does. Exactly. Exactly.
When you look back on your whole journey from
when you started to become a bestselling author
and now a fragrance founder, what do you think's
been like the biggest lesson about manifestation
that you've actually lived yourself? Oh, I think
the biggest lesson of manifesting is always that
we can only manifest what we believe we're worthy
of receiving. And so even, and that's ongoing,
you know, I think even now there are things that
I might want to manifest, but I know that I still
have so much doubt surrounding it that I need
to heal. And so I can really recognise that there
is always things to work on within yourself so
that you really can flourish and unlock your
fullest potential. Definitely. And what's next
for you? Are you are there any sort of as you
say, you're going to focus on these three cents
for now. And then hopefully kind of expand into
other categories. So can you see yourself being
sort of a beauty mogul? Who knows? I hope so.
I mean, I'm really excited to see what comes
with that. I'm also writing a new book, which
will be out next year. which I don't think I've
shared yet, but I'm excited about that. I love,
I still love writing and talking and it's just
nice to have, to have a new creative outlet there
as well. So keep, keep, keep moving forward and
see what happens. For sure. Well, Roxy, it's
been so lovely chatting with you. Thank you so
much for taking the time to be with us. Thank
you so much. No, I'm so, so grateful. I hope
you enjoyed that episode. All links will be in
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See you next time.