The Art of Smelling Like Yourself: Talking Scents with DedCool's Carina Chaz
August 25 | 6 minute read
Words by Madeleine Boles de Boer
Carina Chaz doesn't want you to smell like everyone else. In fact, she's built her fragrance brand, DedCool, on that very philosophy: she wants you to smell like you.
Creating a signature scent is a cornerstone of the California brand's approach – just not one anyone else can easily identify. Instead, by mixing and matching DedCool's layering fragrances with its complementary scents and fragrance-adjacent products like laundry 'Dedtergent' and linen spray, you can personalise your own unique combination.
While DedCool's base scents may be supporting characters to the main event (you), for Chaz, they're her own personal story. Raised by parents working in beauty manufacturing, she began experimenting with essential oils as a teenager before working with chemists (and collaborating on a Twilight-inspired scent – the ultimate ’00s pop culture dream). Since starting DedCool at just 21, she's drawn on her own nostalgia, memories and scent associations to create the brand's fragrance world.
For this instalment of Talking Scents, Chaz reveals the scents of the people she loves and the unexpected gourmand she can't get enough of.
My earliest scent memory…
Carina Chaz: My mum’s fragrance collection. I remember being completely fascinated by all the beautiful bottles on her vanity, but the one that always stood out was L'Artisan Mimosa. I don't think the original is made anymore, but I still have an old bottle tucked away in my closet. I never spray it because I don't want to lose what's left. It's become more of a memory than a perfume.
The first fragrance I wore…
CC: A lavender essential oil from the health food store. I was convinced it made me smell sophisticated, even though I was probably just walking around smelling like a spa. Looking back, it was probably the beginning of my obsession with scent.
Falling in love smells like…
CC: Mineral Milk. I actually created it while falling in love with my husband. We were living by the beach at the time, and every time I smell it, I'm transported back to slow mornings, walking our dog by the ocean, salty air, mist rolling in, tangled hair and that feeling that life was moving a little slower. It's one of my most personal fragrances.
My favourite person smells like…
CC: Xtra Milk. It's my mum, my husband, my mother-in-law, my closest friends. It has this beautiful way of becoming part of someone's skin instead of sitting on top of it. When I smell Xtra Milk on someone I love, it instantly feels comforting and familiar.
Australia smells like…
CC: Sandy beaches, warm sunshine, salty air and pure bliss. There's something incredibly fresh and grounding about that part of the world. Every time I'm there, I leave feeling lighter.
The fragrance I wear every day…
CC: I'm a big believer in layering. Fragrance should feel personal, so I almost never wear just one scent. I'll always come back to Xtra Milk as my base, but lately I've been layering it with Mochi Milk. It's soft, creamy, cosy and somehow still feels fresh.
The one note I would never wear…
CC: Oud. I appreciate it as an art form, but it's just never felt like me. I naturally gravitate toward softer, skin-like fragrances that whisper instead of shout.
The scent I wish existed…
CC: My mum's skin. There's something about the way the people you love smell that no perfumer can recreate. It's comforting, familiar and completely unique.
The scent that changed my life…
CC: Milk, and then Xtra Milk. Milk was the fragrance that introduced people to the world I wanted to build. Xtra Milk took that idea even further and became something people truly made their own. Those two fragrances completely changed the trajectory of my life and of DedCool.
The first step in creating a scent…
CC: Being inspired by the world around you. It usually starts with a feeling, a place, a memory, or even a person. The fragrance itself comes much later. The emotional idea always comes first.
The scent I'm most proud of…
CC: Mochi Milk. It's one of those fragrances that people immediately connect with. Watching so many people fall in love with it has been incredibly rewarding because it feels both comforting and unexpected at the same time.
The scent with the most interesting story is…
CC: Fragrance 02. It was the first official fragrance I created for DedCool, and in many ways it was the beginning of everything. Looking back, you can already see the foundation of the brand starting to take shape.
The note combination that surprised me…
CC: Jasmine rice. Who knew? It has this beautiful softness that's comforting and familiar without smelling like food. It completely changed how I think about gourmand-inspired ingredients.
The most important thing I've learned about fragrance…
CC: You can't force a fragrance. Sometimes the harder you try to make something work, the further away it gets. The best creations usually happen when you give yourself space to experiment and let the fragrance tell you what it wants to become.
The hardest scent or feeling to capture…
CC: Musks. They're some of the most subtle ingredients in perfumery, but also some of the most emotional. Creating a musk that feels like skin, intimacy, comfort and memory all at once is incredibly difficult, but when you get it right, it's magic.
A fragrance is finished when…
CC: You just know. It's less about checking boxes and more about a feeling. When you keep coming back to it, when you can't stop smelling your wrist and when it continues to surprise you after weeks or months of wearing it, that's when I know it's ready.
