BTS: A BRAND IN PROGRESS

Sometimes it helps to stop and take stock of progress before allowing yourself to become overwhelmed with the big picture. One of the ways we do this is by listening to a good playlist and noting how far we have come, whilst manifesting and planning our immediate next steps that will allow us to achieve long-term goals.

Click here to listen to our latest playlist, 06 Work in Progress.

01 - As It Was (Harry Styles)

02 - Looking Back (Andras, Oscar Key Sung)

03 - Night Blue Skies (Midnight Smoothie)

04 - meadow (owlh)

05 - Mount Everest (Labrinth)

06 - Wait - from 'Three Months' (Troye Sivan, Gordi)

07 - As We Are Now (Saint Raymond)

08 - Fire (Louis The Child, Evalyn)

09 - Livin it Up (Young Thug, A$AP Rocky, Post Malone)

10 - Stolen Dance (Milky Chance)

11 - Awaken/Feel Alive (Big Wild, Surfaces)

12 - Lost (Frank Ocean)

13 - Float Through The Ceiling (DWLLRS)

14 - I Love You So - King Henry Remix (The Walters, King Henry)

15 - Running Around (Goth Babe)

16 - Dreams (Fleetwood Mac)

As a brand in progress, and to continue our mission of transparency, below are some of the areas we are currently focusing on. We hope these brief but regular check-ins help to hold us accountable whilst bringing you along for the ride:

• Refining formulas for new products,

• Designing bespoke solutions for the aforementioned new products,

• Exploring scent notes for future fragrance launches,

• Growing THE 5TH community through social media and word-of-mouth,

• Developing our business plan to ensure the longevity and growth that we aspire to achieve for THE 5TH.

See you on THE 5TH,

H&G

BTS: HOW (NOT) TO NAME A PRODUCT

In case you didn’t know, our debut fine fragrance is called DŪMBO. We named it after the neighbourhood in Brooklyn where the idea of THE 5TH first came to life for us, DUMBO. It’s an acronym for Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass.

As we both lived in New York, it was a place we spent a lot of time. Whether it be visiting friends or going to a favourite restaurant, DUMBO was a name we heard and spoke often.

Because of this, and because we were sitting in a hotel bar in DUMBO when we built the concept of THE 5TH, DUMBO felt like the perfect fit for the name of our first fragrance. We added an accent over the Ū as it represents the bridge over the river we were sitting beside at the time.

We told friends about DŪMBO and they loved the idea. We were confident it was the perfect name for our first scent. It was catchy, it had meaning to us and there were no other fragrances around with the same name - as far as we were aware.

We went ahead and started designing our packaging with DŪMBO in mind and we didn’t think much more about it...

...then comes the part we should have thought about, but didn’t. Market research 101 and we messed it up badly.

We were living in New York but our company was to launch in the UK. In New York, DUMBO is a neighbourhood, known for being trendy and a creative hub for artists and performers alike. In the UK, DUMBO is just a cartoon elephant. In hindsight, how we didn’t anticipate these preconceptions is a mystery - but we didn’t.

So, as we began to launch in the UK we were increasingly faced with comments along the lines of "DUMBO? Like the elephant?" - we realised we had a bit of a task on our hands. We too love all things Disney, but the brand we were building was not one we wanted people to resonate with a children’s cartoon. We wanted to encapsulate the vibrant, diverse, innovative and design-centric neighbourhood that represents what we stand for as a brand.

Not to mention the fact we did not want to be sued by Disney - cue manyyyyy sleepless nights.

First things first, we amended our packaging and added a very subtle but noticeable cue as to the origin of the scent's name. Secondly, with our almost non-existent marketing budget we focused on emphasising the history and meaning behind our chosen scent name and pushed the narrative away from flying elephants.

As of today, we have no regrets. We love the name DŪMBO and what it represents for us, and we wholeheartedly stand by it. More importantly, we also learnt a valuable lesson to be much better when it comes to market research: don’t assume anything - focus on the country and culture you’re launching in, not living in!

If we knew then what we know now, we would still have picked DŪMBO. We are a niche fragrance house that never set out to fit in, please the masses, or play it safe. We would however, have better prepared ourselves to tackle the misconceptions that go hand-in-hand when naming a product after a popular children's character.

To those of you who have never heard of, or visited, DUMBO in Brooklyn; we recommend you to add it to your bucket list if you find yourself nearby. It arguably has better pizza than Manhattan too!

See you on THE 5TH,

H & G

BTS: ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT

“My friend A***** loved DŪMBO. She said it didn’t last though…”

WE WANT TO KEEP THIS SHORT AND SIMPLE.

LONG LASTING DOES NOT MEAN BETTER OR HIGHER QUALITY - OFTEN IT MEANS EXACTLY THE OPPOSITE.

WE BELIEVE IT IS TIME TO RE-THINK OUR EXPECTATIONS AND EXPERIENCE WITH FRAGRANCE.

ABOVE ARE A FEW OF THE COMMENTS WE HAVE RECEIVED WITH REGARDS TO THE LENGTH OF WEAR OF OUR FRAGRANCE AND WE QUICKLY REALISED THAT THE EXPECTATION OF MANY IS THAT THEIR FRAGRANCE SHOULD BE CONSIDERABLY LONG LASTING AFTER ONE APPLICATION, EVEN LASTING ALL DAY.

THIS IS THE RESULT OF MANY YEARS OF THE UNQUESTIONED USE OF POTENTIALLY HARMFUL CHEMICALS BY THE BEAUTY INDUSTRY TO EXTEND THE WEAR OF FRAGRANCE.

MAKING FRAGRANCES LAST UNNATURALLY LONG IN THIS WAY ALSO INCREASES THE RISK OF HARM TO YOUR HEALTH. WE DON’T BELIEVE THAT’S A COMPROMISE ANYONE SHOULD MAKE.

THANKFULLY, THE USE OF THESE CHEMICALS ARE INCREASINGLY UNDER SCRUTINY AS WE BECOME MORE AWARE OF THEIR EFFECT ON OUR HEALTH.

THE PROBLEM IS HOWEVER, THAT OUR EXPECTATIONS FOR SCENT DURABILITY HAVE NOT DEVELOPED IN LINE WITH THE EXPECTATION FOR SAFER PRODUCTS.

IT’S TIME FOR AN ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT.

UNCOMPROMISING ON SAFETY

WE ARE STEADFAST IN OUR COMMITMENT TO CREATE FRAGRANCES THAT ARE FREE FROM THE POTENTIALLY HARMFUL CHEMICALS THAT WE HAVE BECOME ACCUSTOMED TO.

NO PHTHALATES.

NO PARABENS.

NO FORMALDEHYDE.

SUSTAINABLE.

WE USE HIGH QUALITY, CAREFULLY CURATED INGREDIENTS TO ENSURE THEY ARE IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE STRICT SAFETY STANDARDS IMPOSED BY IFRA, AS WELL AS BEING SUSTAINABLE, RESPONSIBLY SOURCED, CRUELTY FREE AND VEGAN.

BECAUSE WE PURPOSEFULLY OMIT THE CHEMICALS THAT MAKE MANY FRAGRANCES LAST FOR SUCH A LONG TIME, WE CANNOT GUARANTEE HOURS UPON HOURS OF WEAR.

**** PLEASE NOTE HOWEVER THIS IS ALL EXTREMELY DEPENDENT ON SKIN TYPES AND APPLICATION. WE HAVE SOME CUSTOMERS WHO SAY THEIR FRAGRANCE IS STILL NOTICEABLE AFTER 10 HOURS, OTHERS SAY THEIR WEAR LASTS ONLY A FEW. NOT ALL LONG LASTING FRAGRANCES USE HARMFUL CHEMICALS. BUT MOST DO.

EACH FRAGRANCE WE DEVELOP WILL ALSO VARY IN TERMS OF THEIR LENGTH OF WEAR. THIS IS BECAUSE DIFFERENT FRAGRANCE NOTES HAVE VARYING STAYING POWER. FOR EXAMPLE IRIS CAN BE NATURALLY LONG LASTING VERSUS ROSE WHICH IS MORE FLEETING.

DESPITE ALL OF THIS..

THE REAL ISSUE, WE BELIEVE, IS THAT THE LENGTH OF WEAR FROM A FRAGRANCE YOU LOVE SHOULD NOT BE A REAL CONCERN. FAR FROM IT IN FACT. IT SHOULD BE PART OF ITS CHARACTER; AN OPPORTUNITY TO EXPERIENCE THE SCENT ALL OVER AGAIN WITH EACH RE-APPLICATION.

“I love this stuff, wish it lasted all day on my skin”

RE-APPLICATION

WE CHALLENGE YOU TO RE-FRAME WHAT IT MEANS TO HAVE TO RE-APPLY YOUR FRAGRANCE.

WITH EACH FRESH APPLICATION, YOU GET TO ENJOY THE TOP NOTES ALL OVER AGAIN.

BUT IT'S NOT JUST THE TOP NOTES - IT'S THE WHOLE BODY OF FRAGRANCE AS IT DRIES AND DEVELOPS. THE TRANSITIONS AND BLENDING OF NOTES BETWEEN ITS MANY STAGES THAT MAKE IT 'ALIVE'.

A COMPLEX EXTENSION OF SELF. WE ARE MULTI-FACETED - EVER-CHANGING - SO WEAR YOUR SIGNATURE SCENT IN A WAY THAT REFLECTS THIS. RE-APPLY TO SAVOUR THESE MOTIONS.

EXPERIENCE THE MOOD BOOSTING QUALITIES AND CONFIDENCE THAT FRAGRANCE OFFERS.

A MOMENT TO YOURSELF, A MOMENT TO RE-CENTRE AND RE-FOCUS.

LET'S CHANGE THE WAY WE THINK ABOUT THE WEAR OF FRAGRANCE AND CONSIDER RE-APPLICATION AS A JOYFUL EXPERIENCE, MUCH LESS AN INCONVENIENCE.

CONSIDER RE-APPLICATION AS A RITUAL TO BE RELISHED.

SEE YOU ON THE 5TH.

H & G

P.S. HERE'S 15% OFF WITH CODE ATTITUDE15. EXPIRES 11.02.22