Make no qualms about it—fragrance is booming, and has been for the past five years like never before. But with so many perfumes on the market, and TikTok labeling nearly every launch as a “must-have,” you may be under the impression that having endless options is the way to go. Yet S.S.K. Labs founders Jeanine Stanislaus and Terry Kezoh believe in the contrary—in fact, it’s their brand ethos.
Rather than creating one-off scents, S.S.K Labs crafts fragrance kits. Their debut, Fragrance Kit 01, offers their AM – Edp (Signature) eau de parfum—boasting a combination of floral, gourmand, and spicy notes, like amber, oud, and bergamot—along with two perfume oils: AM – O (Tonka) and AM – O (Myrrh). Each scent can be worn on its own or layered, creating up to seven unique combinations, which the founders call Scent ID. The brand’s desire? To help their audience develop their own personal relationship with fragrance through unadulterated exploration.
“Customers aren’t buying a single scent; they’re investing in a wardrobe of high-end, curated options designed to reflect their mood, emotions, and evolving identity,” Kezoh shares exclusively with ESSENCE. “Our kits don’t just smell good—they teach you how fragrance works, how to layer, and how to explore your own scent preferences.”
ESSENCE sat down with Stanislaus and Kezoh to learn more about the brand story, why starting a fragrance brand was a natural fit, and what’s next for S.S.K. Labs.
ESSENCE: You both have fulfilling nine to five jobs, what made you want to start a fragrance brand?
Terry Kezoh: Overall, I never thought I would ever want to start anything after watching my mother run her own business—it seemed so exhausting to me. But in October 2023, a friend mentioned how there are so many successful women-owned businesses and that made me think to myself, “Hmmm, why not start? Jeanine and I are besties—she helped me step my scent game, so I called her and asked her if she was serious about starting a fragrance brand and she was like, “Yeah!” And that’s when S.S.K. Labs was born.
Jeanine Stanislaus: I have always been a fragrance girl. I would play across my mother’s vanity and explore her different scents. As I entered my teenage years, I went through my different stages of Bath and Body Works and Victoria’s Secret body sprays to the Davidoff Cool Water’s or Dolce & Gabbana Light Blues—all the iconic scents! When I was in my 20’s I started my first PR gig at Bold PR working with so many amazing brands like Marc Jacobs Beauty and the beginnings of Fenty Beauty. So when Terry called me that day and asked me if I wanted to start a fragrance brand, I was like it’s now or never.
There is a lot of crap on the market, but S.S.K. Labs concept feels very unique. Tell me more about the brand’s point of distinction.
TK: Unlike traditional brands that offer an oil or eau de parfum with the same scent profile, we’re creating kits where the oils have distinct scent profiles that complement—but don’t duplicate— the eau de parfum. With S.S.K. Labs, you explore a specific note, amber for example, through a family of curated drops. Each family offers three: Light, Deep, and Signature—we are launching with signature, but Light and Deep are on the way—giving you multiple expressions of a single scent universe. It’s innovative, educational, and deeply personal. We also provide educational videos through a platform called LAB-101, as well as storytelling through imagery, and community-driven content that ties scent to memory, identity, and emotion. Our goal is to help people discover a further exploration of self through fragrance.
JS: We’re also trying to break the barrier, the mystery and the intimidation that is tied to fragrance. We are doing this through our pillars which are rooted in education, exploration, and tying scent to memories. Fragrance is for everyone, whether you’re a novice, fragrance junkie or perfume expert. We really want to open the door of the perfume space and make it more consumable, fun, accessible, and easy to engage with.
Why did you decide to focus on scent wardrobes versus traditional singular fragrances?
JS: The idea of a fragrance wardrobe is tied to how scents channel different moods, moments and expressions of self—similar to when you curate clothing. We’ve built this concept into our brand’s DNA. Our families aren’t just a collection of fragrances, but a system of kits that are intentionally designed to be layered and customized resulting in everyone discovering their tailored scent for every day use—one kit, seven ways to wear, seven days of the week. With Fragrance Kit 01, instead of giving you one “perfect scent,” we provide a way to experience seven different scent profiles, making it personal, versatile, and expressive.
This concept is so interesting to me, especially now considering the amount of overconsumption in beauty right now. Was this a part of your thought process as you were developing the brand?
TK: Definitely. We see customization as an opportunity for consumers to understand what they are purchasing. We want to provide our customers with the experience that we wish we could receive from the fragrance industry, and help them better understand what they like, what they want to buy or even what they don’t like. By providing people with resources such as our LAB-101 videos, where we tap into our perfumer, Frederic Jacques, and friends to discuss fragrance facts, how to layer, and how to use your kit, we are creating an experience with the consumer in mind. S.S.K. Labs is designed for longevity and intentional exploration. We want to allow people to create something deeply personal that evolves with them. You don’t have to buy several perfumes to achieve a custom smell. We are giving you more bang for your buck.
I know you just launched, but I have to ask: What does the future of SSK look like for you?
JS: Our hope right now is that it is well received by consumers and we are able to successfully introduce our future drops, Amber Light and Amber Deep, in the near future. We want our community to really explore amber in ways that they didn’t think they could. We also hope to drop more fragrance families, based around different notes—stay tuned! I’m also looking forward to expanding on our educational resources, such as our videos in LAB-101. I want S.S.K. Labs to really be a go-to source for all things fragrance and tap our community to learn more about what they want to know.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.