Ilsa Fragrances- A Perfume that Encourages Limitless Possibilities

The main reason why I started this blog was that I wanted to give a voice to small brands. I love hearing the maker’s story, especially if there’s a specific do-good purpose behind their product. I first heard about Ilsa Fragrances through an Instagram group that I belong to. As time progressed, I got to know the perfume brand through the posts, and I found that they not only promoted the product, but did so in a heartfelt and encouraging manner.

Ilsa Fragrances founder- Ilsa Manning, was born and raised in Phoenix, AZ. She is a self-proclaimed Francophile, as she studied French in high school and minored in it in college. After graduation, she landed a job as a nanny in a suburb outside of Paris. “While I enjoyed fragrance and used my time in Paris to indulge in scent, it was just another product in my toiletry bag. Years later, when I was living in England, I got a job at the largest fragrance manufacturer in the world. One of the main reasons I got the role was because I was American and I had the French background, and the role consisted of working with the company’s French and American locations. Really, I had no experience other than those two things! But it was in this role, and at this company, that I learned about the perfumery world, and that is when I fell in love with fragrance and the impact of scent on our lives,” Manning explained.

On starting her company…” I was inspired to take action and create Ilsa Fragrances after the birth of my first daughter. I had had a winding career up until that point and I never felt I was getting anywhere (progressing professionally or monetarily). I also never really believed in myself or my capabilities, and I never saw or believed in my own self-worth, self-love, self-belief – I lacked all of these things. With the birth of my daughter, I realized I wanted to be the best person I could be for her, and I most definitely wanted her to grow up believing in herself, believing she has incredible worth, and believing that she can do and be anything she dreams. Her birth actually showed me that I have done incredible things in my life and things that I thought were failures had always been successes and had been integral to my life journey. To getting to here. To have the strength and belief in myself, and to pass that on to my daughters and to other women – through Ilsa Fragrances. That is why the first collection is the Infinite Collection – because your dreams, potential, and capabilities are infinite! I established the company in 2015 and launched No 1, the first fragrance in the Infinite Collection, in September 2016.”

Infinite No 1 is an oriental fragrance, which consists of spice, amber, and musk notes. Those notes are some of Ilsa’s favorite scents. She goes on to explain, “I wanted women to feel beautiful when they sprayed it on, that they had a boost of confidence empowering them to tackle their day!”

“Everything with Ilsa Fragrances is about empowering women. Empowering women to feel good, confident, and beautiful (the fragrance); to believe in themselves (quotes and other empowering posts on social media and our blog), and to follow their dreams (Facebook Live- Coffee & Conversations- where I interview women and they share how they achieved their dream/goal so that others can be inspired to do the same/learn from them). Also equally as important, we donate 5% of the net proceeds from sales to Girls on the Run, a non-profit organization that aims to create ‘a world where every girl knows and activates her limitless potential, and is free to boldly pursue her dreams.’ We are, integrally, #perfumewithapurpose!”

Stay tuned folks, she is currently in development on the second fragrance!