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TNYO: Hello Sue , Please tell us how you came to create Scenterprises
Sue Phillips: I never thought I would be in business! I was always going to
be a singer and actress and I established my company Scenterprises Inc, after I left Tiffany to have my daughter and started my own business. I
was then retained to develop a fragrance for Burberry and the Trish McEvoy fragrances and Avon retained me to develop several different
business endeavors. I was creating and developing many innovative fragrances and businesses for all these companies and then in 2008 the
economy crashed so this is when I started thinking about what's next?
There was such a proliferation of designer and celebrity fragrances and after the crash, nobody was interested in fragrances at that point so I
started thinking about bespoke or custom-made fragrances. So, by this stage, I had become a fragrance expert and presented the history of
fragrance and developed beautiful perfumes to reflect the entire olfactive palate and offered custom fragrance ‘experiences’ to people who wanted
to create their own custom fragrances. This was in 2009-2010 just at the start of the personalization trend. People said to me," what are you doing?
Tupperware parties for fragrances?" and they laughed. Today it is a thriving trend and more and more people are loving the idea of having a
custom designed perfume.
TNYO: Where are you from originally Sue?
Sue Phillips: Johannesburg South Africa, and also lived in beautiful Cape Town
.
TNYO: What did you dream of becoming when you were a child - did you know then that
you would become a master of scents and a business mogul?
Sue Phillips: Absolutely not. I do not think of myself as that at all, rather I feel that I am only JUST
beginning. That is so ironic because I have been in the industry forever, and truly feel that I am just
beginning my journey. However, Growing up I had a passion for acting and became a child actress. I
landed a role in a funny British farce called “Roar Like a Dove”!
It was a Broadway-type of play. I was 10 years old and that generated the acting bug in me. I pursued singing and acting and went to
University of Cape Town to pursue an acting career. I appeared in several plays – one of them “A Day
in the Death of Joe Egg’ and played the lead role Sheila. Interestingly enough, a distant relative Janet
Suzman played the same role in the Movie! I loved singing and acting and always wanted to go to
London to study drama, but on my first trip to NY in the late 70’s for the bi-centennial celebration I fell
in love with the energy of NY and America and emigrated here, as the political situation was
challenging in South Africa. I never ever dreamed I would be in the Cosmetic & Fragrance Industry!
Sue Phillips: I never thought I would be in business! I was always going to
be a singer and actress and I established my company Scenterprises Inc, after I left Tiffany to have my daughter and started my own business. I
was then retained to develop a fragrance for Burberry and the Trish McEvoy fragrances and Avon retained me to develop several different
business endeavors. I was creating and developing many innovative fragrances and businesses for all these companies and then in 2008 the
economy crashed so this is when I started thinking about what's next?
There was such a proliferation of designer and celebrity fragrances and after the crash, nobody was interested in fragrances at that point so I
started thinking about bespoke or custom-made fragrances. So, by this stage, I had become a fragrance expert and presented the history of
fragrance and developed beautiful perfumes to reflect the entire olfactive palate and offered custom fragrance ‘experiences’ to people who wanted
to create their own custom fragrances. This was in 2009-2010 just at the start of the personalization trend. People said to me," what are you doing?
Tupperware parties for fragrances?" and they laughed. Today it is a thriving trend and more and more people are loving the idea of having a
custom designed perfume.
TNYO: Where are you from originally Sue?
Sue Phillips: Johannesburg South Africa, and also lived in beautiful Cape Town
.
TNYO: What did you dream of becoming when you were a child - did you know then that
you would become a master of scents and a business mogul?
Sue Phillips: Absolutely not. I do not think of myself as that at all, rather I feel that I am only JUST
beginning. That is so ironic because I have been in the industry forever, and truly feel that I am just
beginning my journey. However, Growing up I had a passion for acting and became a child actress. I
landed a role in a funny British farce called “Roar Like a Dove”!
It was a Broadway-type of play. I was 10 years old and that generated the acting bug in me. I pursued singing and acting and went to
University of Cape Town to pursue an acting career. I appeared in several plays – one of them “A Day
in the Death of Joe Egg’ and played the lead role Sheila. Interestingly enough, a distant relative Janet
Suzman played the same role in the Movie! I loved singing and acting and always wanted to go to
London to study drama, but on my first trip to NY in the late 70’s for the bi-centennial celebration I fell
in love with the energy of NY and America and emigrated here, as the political situation was
challenging in South Africa. I never ever dreamed I would be in the Cosmetic & Fragrance Industry!
TNYO: Can you tell us what it was like growing up in South Africa?
Sue Phillips: It was wonderful growing up there as a child – the weather was amazing and the fauna and flora were visions of beauty. Going to the Game Reserves to see the animals roaming wildly was always a special treat. Sadly, the political situation was very tense in those days, and I realized that growing up in a nice home with wonderful parents was not possible for the masses as not everybody grows up like that. As I matured, I always knew that I wanted to leave and study abroad.
My initial desire was to go to London and to study acting and singing. I loved the camaraderie of acting; after a performance we would go out and have coffee with my fellow cast members but because of the race restrictions, restaurants didn't allow mixed races to enter, so it was very disturbing. As a result we did a lot of socializing at home. South Africa was a beautiful place but politically it was really difficult to live there. My brother was living in NYC and I came to visit him in 1976 and I fell in love with it and moved here 8 months later. Thankfully South Africa has changed due to the leadership of Nelson Mandela (one of my heroes) and the country is fully multiracial,
TNYO: Please tell us about your acting career, Sue.
Sue Phillips: I have come full circle because I pursued an acting career in South Africa and was in musicals, as well as comedies and dramas. As mentioned, I wanted to study in London, but at that time there were quotas and South Africa was not high on the list of admissions. When I came to NY I continued acting at small theaters, on Off Off Off Broadway nightclubs and eventually when I landed a position at Elizabeth Arden they felt that I would be perfect for training as it required ‘performance skills’ to present product knowledge and motivational selling programs. The Beauty Advisers who were selling our fragrance products were so motivated and empowered to sell the fragrances, and thus began my career in the Cosmetics Industry. I spent a few months at Macy’s learning about the the customer needs and the products and then traveled around America and it was wonderful to become familiar with so many different markets, and after I left a training presentation, the Beauty Advisers were so motivated and pumped that sales were sky high! So, for the next few years as my career progressed, and was hired by Lancŏme and then by Tiffany, I didn’t have time to go on acting auditions, but the last 5 years have been wonderful because I have re-ignited my passion for acting and am part of an acting group
and we meet every week and frequently put on plays.
TNYO: It seems like a wonderful journey. I noticed there are a number of celebrities who have come to you for your expertise on the concept and application of perfumes and potions. Can you share what some of those scents were for each individual star and how you may have come to those conclusions?
Sue Phillips: In 2013 I opened my first perfume studio in Tribeca which I called the Scentarium and I turned it into a beautiful oasis. People like Jamie Foxx and Katie Holmes found me, as well as Zendaya and thousands of fragrance lovers. Each person takes my scent personality quiz which reveals the olfactory family they prefer.
Then I take them on a ‘fragrance journey’ and they evaluate all my beautiful perfumes and select the ones they prefer. They name their fragrance and I keep their formula in my database so they can always reorder it. Their formulas are secret! So I would never reveal their formulas on pain of banishment! Lol!
We also present corporate events and team-building events and as the pandemic subsides, more and more clients are coming in to create their own Custom Perfumes. People love the idea of custom fragrances and reflecting their individuality and personality. We present corporate and team building events and many consultations and sessions through zoom.
Sue Phillips: It was wonderful growing up there as a child – the weather was amazing and the fauna and flora were visions of beauty. Going to the Game Reserves to see the animals roaming wildly was always a special treat. Sadly, the political situation was very tense in those days, and I realized that growing up in a nice home with wonderful parents was not possible for the masses as not everybody grows up like that. As I matured, I always knew that I wanted to leave and study abroad.
My initial desire was to go to London and to study acting and singing. I loved the camaraderie of acting; after a performance we would go out and have coffee with my fellow cast members but because of the race restrictions, restaurants didn't allow mixed races to enter, so it was very disturbing. As a result we did a lot of socializing at home. South Africa was a beautiful place but politically it was really difficult to live there. My brother was living in NYC and I came to visit him in 1976 and I fell in love with it and moved here 8 months later. Thankfully South Africa has changed due to the leadership of Nelson Mandela (one of my heroes) and the country is fully multiracial,
TNYO: Please tell us about your acting career, Sue.
Sue Phillips: I have come full circle because I pursued an acting career in South Africa and was in musicals, as well as comedies and dramas. As mentioned, I wanted to study in London, but at that time there were quotas and South Africa was not high on the list of admissions. When I came to NY I continued acting at small theaters, on Off Off Off Broadway nightclubs and eventually when I landed a position at Elizabeth Arden they felt that I would be perfect for training as it required ‘performance skills’ to present product knowledge and motivational selling programs. The Beauty Advisers who were selling our fragrance products were so motivated and empowered to sell the fragrances, and thus began my career in the Cosmetics Industry. I spent a few months at Macy’s learning about the the customer needs and the products and then traveled around America and it was wonderful to become familiar with so many different markets, and after I left a training presentation, the Beauty Advisers were so motivated and pumped that sales were sky high! So, for the next few years as my career progressed, and was hired by Lancŏme and then by Tiffany, I didn’t have time to go on acting auditions, but the last 5 years have been wonderful because I have re-ignited my passion for acting and am part of an acting group
and we meet every week and frequently put on plays.
TNYO: It seems like a wonderful journey. I noticed there are a number of celebrities who have come to you for your expertise on the concept and application of perfumes and potions. Can you share what some of those scents were for each individual star and how you may have come to those conclusions?
Sue Phillips: In 2013 I opened my first perfume studio in Tribeca which I called the Scentarium and I turned it into a beautiful oasis. People like Jamie Foxx and Katie Holmes found me, as well as Zendaya and thousands of fragrance lovers. Each person takes my scent personality quiz which reveals the olfactory family they prefer.
Then I take them on a ‘fragrance journey’ and they evaluate all my beautiful perfumes and select the ones they prefer. They name their fragrance and I keep their formula in my database so they can always reorder it. Their formulas are secret! So I would never reveal their formulas on pain of banishment! Lol!
We also present corporate events and team-building events and as the pandemic subsides, more and more clients are coming in to create their own Custom Perfumes. People love the idea of custom fragrances and reflecting their individuality and personality. We present corporate and team building events and many consultations and sessions through zoom.
TNYO: Please tell us about your corporate experience and how that has led you to your
current place in this life?
Sue Phillips: I really enjoyed the corporate life at Elizabeth Arden, Lancôme and Tiffany & Co, as it gave me an incredibly important background, structure and knowledge of the Fragrance Industry. However, what I love about my current
situation is that I am involved in EVERY SINGLE aspect of my business.
TNYO: What is your favorite fragrance? Is there a biological, physiological, or olfactory
advantage you have to be sensitive as to distinguish so many intricate properties of fragrance?
Sue Phillips: My favorite perfumes are the ones I create. I love the robust, sensual combination of my Heady Floral and Chypre, with a hint of Balsamic Vanilla. Or the lighter fresher exhilarating fresh green leaves, green grass and a hint of Hyacinth.
My perfumes reflect my mood and are ideal for different times and occasions. I am very sensitive to notes and ingredients,
and thankfully I have never had anyone complain of headaches or allergies from my perfumes. It is one of the most
important aspects of my business to offer beautiful, high-quality ingredients.
TNYO: What do you do to protect your gift?
Sue Phillips:I try to keep healthy, and also take zinc and vitamin c and d. I also drink a ton of ginger tea and don’t drink coffee or a lot of alcohol, although good quality wine and champagne now and again are my guilty pleasures. Just like
perfumes, I prefer good quality wine and champagne, otherwise cheaper versions give severe headaches.
TNYO: Can you choose a selection of music - something you listen to when you are creating
these wonderful scents?
Sue Phillips: Classic music which gives me pleasure I LOVE Vivaldi’s Four Seasons –the
different seasons which reminds me of different fragrances.
But, one of the latest, most joyous dances is on TIKTOK and has created a viral
dance craze so spiritual and uplifting O Jersulama
it came from South Africa and I just love it! I am going to be doing the dance on Tiktok soon!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYhm6PCUtSg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvzPtJQWfI4&list=RDgYhm6PCUtSg&inde
THANK YOU FOR THIS WONDERFUL OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE MY STORY
We Thank you Sue, for taking us on this journey of the five senses and we look forward to following you on all your social networks.
current place in this life?
Sue Phillips: I really enjoyed the corporate life at Elizabeth Arden, Lancôme and Tiffany & Co, as it gave me an incredibly important background, structure and knowledge of the Fragrance Industry. However, what I love about my current
situation is that I am involved in EVERY SINGLE aspect of my business.
TNYO: What is your favorite fragrance? Is there a biological, physiological, or olfactory
advantage you have to be sensitive as to distinguish so many intricate properties of fragrance?
Sue Phillips: My favorite perfumes are the ones I create. I love the robust, sensual combination of my Heady Floral and Chypre, with a hint of Balsamic Vanilla. Or the lighter fresher exhilarating fresh green leaves, green grass and a hint of Hyacinth.
My perfumes reflect my mood and are ideal for different times and occasions. I am very sensitive to notes and ingredients,
and thankfully I have never had anyone complain of headaches or allergies from my perfumes. It is one of the most
important aspects of my business to offer beautiful, high-quality ingredients.
TNYO: What do you do to protect your gift?
Sue Phillips:I try to keep healthy, and also take zinc and vitamin c and d. I also drink a ton of ginger tea and don’t drink coffee or a lot of alcohol, although good quality wine and champagne now and again are my guilty pleasures. Just like
perfumes, I prefer good quality wine and champagne, otherwise cheaper versions give severe headaches.
TNYO: Can you choose a selection of music - something you listen to when you are creating
these wonderful scents?
Sue Phillips: Classic music which gives me pleasure I LOVE Vivaldi’s Four Seasons –the
different seasons which reminds me of different fragrances.
But, one of the latest, most joyous dances is on TIKTOK and has created a viral
dance craze so spiritual and uplifting O Jersulama
it came from South Africa and I just love it! I am going to be doing the dance on Tiktok soon!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYhm6PCUtSg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvzPtJQWfI4&list=RDgYhm6PCUtSg&inde
THANK YOU FOR THIS WONDERFUL OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE MY STORY
We Thank you Sue, for taking us on this journey of the five senses and we look forward to following you on all your social networks.
