June is Pride Month, and to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community, we’re talking with some of our favorite queer-owned and queer-run brands to highlight their missions and their favorite products.
We had the chance to speak with Matthew Herman, a co-founder of Boy Smells, which if you haven’t heard of them already, makes pretty much the best candles out there. He told us that Boy Smells started when he and his “partner, David, were working in the fashion industry, shifting our priorities away from working in fast fashion. Rather than designing 100 dresses a month, we saw a lot of appeal in making a scent.”
When coming up with the brand, Matthew says they were “Thinking a lot about self-representation.” He added that, “When it came to queer retail or queer merchandise, we didn’t think there was as much luxury or high concept.”
In fact, upon further research, Matthew “found that fragrance and smells were highly gendered. So we wanted to make products that were unique and traditionally feminine to encourage people to embrace both aspects of themselves.”
But perhaps most interestingly is what Matthew said next: “What I thought was a queer point of view ended up resonating really well across a tons of different demographics,” he said.
As for a favorite product, of course it’s difficult to choose, but having a Pride collection come out during the month of Pride makes things a little easier.
But Matthew has a specific candle he loves, too. “We have one candle in the collection called Ambrosia which is an homage to a fragrance that me and my friend wore in 7th grade.”
He went on: “She was the first person I came out to. We both wore the same fragrance. It’s a total homage to that very important friendship at a young age, and that scent has a very special place in my heart around Pride month.”
Ambrosia
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