Why I Quit my Job for Perfume: Alumni Interview with Lizzie Brooks

This week Karen is joined by Lizzie Brooks. In 2020 Lizzie found herself at a crossroads in her life as she realised that she hated her career. She decided to take a leap and follow her lifelong dream of becoming a perfumer. She signed up for Karen’s Artisan Perfumery Mastermind course and hasn’t looked back. Her fragrance company launched this year with 3 perfumes now on the market. In this episode she shares her journey, her experiences and gives her top tips for people wishing to follow their dreams. KEY TAKEAWAYS Lizzie talks about her journey from studying criminal psychology to working in marketing to finally making the leap into her dream career, perfumery. Lizzie talks about how her background in marketing helped her to understand the rules and regulations of the perfume industry, something that many first timers neglect. The ladies talk about the perfume making process and how, what most people don’t realise, the hardest part is getting the product out into the world. Lizzie talks about some of the perfumes she has made, what inspired them and how she has found success marketing them through social media. BEST MOMENTS “You don’t have to wait for everything to be perfect, but you do have to get to the point where you are comfortable with what you’re doing.” “Aren’t we lucky that we’ve got this little detector on our face and we can smell so many amazing things.” “You can study and learn as much as you want but unless you put your stuff out there, you’ll never know.” VALUABLE RESOURCES Thursday Fragrance Website   Thursday Fragrance Instagram   Getting Started Guide   Artisan Perfumery Mastermind   Karen’s Website     ABOUT THE GUEST   Lizzie is a marketing professional turned perfumer. After joining my Artisan Perfumery Mastermind in 2020 after quitting a job she hated. Her brand Thursday Fragrance launched this year 2023 with 3 perfumes.   They are a small, independent, company based in Bristol, UK. And when we say ‘we’, we actually mean me, Lizzie. I handle almost all aspects of the business from creating fragrances to packing them, with some help from my friends and partner.       ABOUT THE HOST   Fragrance expert, author, teacher and speaker; Karen Gilbert runs courses in the UK and online which demystify the secretive world of perfumery in a fun and interactive way. Karen has inspired thousands of students to explore their olfactory sense and create their own personalised fragrances.   With extensive product development experience in both the commercial perfumery and the organic skincare industry, Karen is able to offer a unique insight into creating natural and mixed media fragrances for fine fragrance, room scents and skincare/bodycare products using commercial perfumery techniques. Karen is also a certified meditation teacher and has a passion for helping people to create daily rituals that integrate scent with other modalities to shift state and increase your sense of wellbeing.   CONTACT DETAILS Website Instagram Facebook YouTube Email