Better World Fragrance House by Drake presented a larger-than-life candle activation, that welcomed New Yorkers and Champagne Papi fans to smell the scent, sign the candle, and vibe out to the tunes playing.
As a loyal, day one Drake fan, who grew up watching him portray Jimmy on Degrassi, I was very excited to check out the mogul’s business ventures. I approached a huge candle with a ocean blue hue, in front of Ulta at Herald Square. The sleek candle had the product’s name, Carby Musk, written out in gold, and right under that was my favorite part, which simply read “for.” The candle is sold alongside a mini gold Sharpie marker so customers can personalize their gift-giving, and write out a name, pet name, or even a drawing if they’d like.
Drake’s collection has five different scents that are “deeply personal” and “each [is] inspired by a personal memory and place” for the talented rapper. The five scents include Carby Musk, Williamsburg Sleepover, Sweeter Tings, Good Thoughts, and Muskoka, and all of them feature the personalized “for” area under its name, and feature Drake’s signature in the back of it. Drake’s main scent, Carby Musk is described as “sweet, velvet, powdery musks, along with musks of soft floral, amber and marine connotations,” according to the BWFH’s website.
In fact, the candle’s scent was such a favorite for the rapper that it was created into a fragrance oil as well, by world-renowned Senior Perfumer at Givaudan, Michael Carby, who created the Carby Musk candle scent itself. BWFH stated, “After years of enjoyment [of the candle’s scent], the pair realized the candle, while a best seller, would no longer satisfy the overwhelming demand for the subtle, yet infectious fragrance,” which means you can now wear Drake’s “personal scent.”
Interview with Senior Perfumer at Givaudan, Michael Carby
The Knockturnal: How did you get involved and what did Drake come to you with?
Michael Carby: He actually came to me with the oil that turned into the Good Thoughts candle, and he actually asked that Givaudan present that oil in a candle form, along with the hope to do a candle collection, because as we originally spoke, he wanted to have an ethnically-owned fragrance house, which didn’t exist, cause we’re not represented in that category. So what Drake has right now – he has an original, ethnically-owned, black-owned fragrance house. So it wasn’t just about making a Drake fragrance, its about establishing the fragrance house, so that’s how this journey started. And the Carby Musk fragrance was actually a very serendipitous story, where Drake actually smelled the fragrance on a person who worked in Toronto, and went on a mission to find the fragrance. What he didn’t know at the same time was, he was already working with us, with Givaudan on this collection. Someone mentioned to me that, you know, “Drake is looking for that musk fragrance,” and I thought, you know, “its just a joke,” so you know, we went to his house for the first time [to] meet him, and I said, “well, by the way, I heard you are interested in this fragrance,” and he completely like freaked out. He was like, “wait, where did you get this?” And then you know, his team, was like, “well you know Drake, that’s the creator of the fragrance,” so that’s how it – I didn’t name it Carby Musk – he did. So it was just by that story.
The Knockturnal: Can you explain some of the notes in it, and what it consists of? And which part would you say of the ingredients was maybe Drake’s favorite part that he wanted emphasized?
Carby: Well Carby Musk is a story of 13 musks. Its our Givaudan speciality musks, curated in a way where the industry has moved in certain areas where, you cannot use particular musks anymore, because its a molecular structure, so we were able to synthesize these musks where, you know, they’re very friendly to the environment and its Better World Fragrance House. If you look at the structure of the fragrance, you’ll say, “well Carby, this is only 12 musks.” But, the 13 musk is actually the person themselves. So each user of the Carby Musk fragrance, wears it unique to that person.
The Knockturnal: So its like pheromones? Is that connected?
Carby: Pheromones, body chemistry, ethnicity, diet – everything is involved in how you project this particular scent for yourself. So, the user themselves, are the most essential part of the fragrance.
Interview with the President of Parlux, Lori Singer
The Knockturnal: How did you get involved with Drake?
Lori Singer: So Drake started this candle line himself before we were ever involved, so he worked with Michael Carby. He’s the perfumer from Givaudan, who is incredible. [Drake] created a line of five fragrances with Michael, that he made candles of. So [Drake] created these candles himself. It was sort of a pet project because he absolutely loves fragrance and scents, and whereever he travels in the world, he also loves to bring candles with him. And so he created this line of candles, and [a few years ago] Drake put a post on Instagram and he did a little bit of a promotion, and he literally sold out in a day. He realized he was on to something. He loved this and he really wanted to make it bigger and that’s when we came together and partnered with him. Carby Musk is his signature scent and he and Michael really worked on that together and he absolutely loves that [scent]. I’m with Parlux and we came together with Drake to partner together on Better World Fragrance House, and build this really into a big fragrance brand, so we’re excited to work with him. We have a global direct-to-consumer business and now we’ve launched with Ulta. We’re now in all Ulta stores as of this month, and we decided to do this ginormous candle activation to celebrate the partnership. We’re really excited about it.
The Knockturnal: When Drake partnered with you, what was his top priority for this project?
Singer: One of the things he mentioned – Drake is definitely into aesthetics and design. The candles are quite luxurious, but they offer tremendous value, for their size and price. He is meticulous with his attention to detail on the design, but also on the scent – the way it fills the room, the way it lasts. He knows a lot about fragrance and scent, having worked with Michael, and just being such good friends. So he’s quite particular in ensuring that the scent is long-lasting – it fills the room in the right way, but then also all aspects of design and aesthetic. The fragrance itself is a floral, amber musk. The top is floral, [and] there’s some Lilly of the Valley that you smell. Then, there’s wonderful notes of amber that are mixed together in the heart, and really the musks are at the base, so I think Michael did a great job telling you all about the spray of the many musks and Carby Musk and all of that, and that’s whats really the signature of the note itself.
The Knockturnal: Would you say its more of a unisex fragrance, for both men and woman?
Singer: Absolutely. Better World Fragrance House is genderless. It’s for everyone. Absolutely. And I wanted to tell you a little bit about how the candles come packaged in a beautiful box, with a gold Sharpie marker, and the way that the candles are written is they say, “Carby Musk for,” and then its left blank for customization, so that the consumer – the purchaser, can customize it for themselves or to give it as the perfect gift.
