Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Helida Dodd. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Helida thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Alright, so you had your idea and then what happened? Can you walk us through the story of how you went from just an idea to executing on the idea

It took three years of daydreaming!

After 12 years of swearing off perfume, a trip to Fortnum in Mason in London left me wondering if I could actually fall in love with perfume again. Except more than buying a bottle, that pesky voice kept whispering to me… “could I actually make my own and finally have a fragrance I’ll love from start to finish?

But it wasn’t until we traveled to Ireland and visited a small perfumery that wasn’t on the average tourist route.

The lady giving us the perfume tour said, “Everything you see here, from perfume formulation, bottling, packaging – down to the last ribbon… It’s all done in house. So much detail and care goes into every single thing we do. And it’s only 30 of us”…

I distinctly remember the feeling – the heart expansion and silly smile. That lightbulb moment. I looked at my husband and said, only 30? “I can do this!”

After daydreaming of making perfume for 3 years, all of the sudden, I felt as if a myth had been debunked. To make award winning, world acclaimed, natural perfume, I did NOT need a huge operation.

My engineering background had been quietly holding me back. I was thinking… Chanel, robots, conveyor belts, assembly lines.

We were in the middle of the Burren Peninsula, and this hidden gem, drawing their inspiration for the beauty around them, opened my eyes to possibilities.

What I learned that day:

You can be small BUT mighty

You can be away from the bustling crowds and still be world renowned.

But most importantly what tugged at my heart was their attention to detail and the confirmation of what I had known all along – that beauty is in simplicity

When I came back to the United States, my perfume journey stopped being a daydream. I immediately enrolled in a course in the UK and last year, I launched the first perfume.

So many times we need someone or something to show us “the art of what’s possible”. For me, it was that afternoon at the burren perfumery. For you I hope this snippet of a story can inspire you to know that no dream is too big as long as you’re willing to take that first step.

Helida, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Marbella Perfumes started as a need for a beautiful fragrance that didn’t seem like an assault to the senses. I stopped wearing perfumes with my first pregnancy since morning sickness played around with my sense of smell.

Tired of buying perfumes and never finishing a bottle, I decided to take matters into my own hands. I wanted to create something with the highest quality ingredients I could find, preferably natural and organic with a big caveat: “They HAD to be sustainable and NOT harm the environment”

Handcrafted things that are luxurious in their raw state are very important to me. My goal is to create a natural perfume using only sustainable materials while helping small farming communities along the way. I want to show my clients how nature + luxury can mix perfectly in a bottle.

Small batches, attention to detail, and sustainability in all aspects of my business are what make me most proud. I want to make my clients feel as if they are pampering themselves when they wear my perfume. I want them to stand out from the crowd and feel like they finally found a bottle of perfume they love from start to finish.

My hope is to give them a gift of nature in a bottle of perfume.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

Taking small steps is something I’ve had to learn to do. I used to pack my schedule and I’ve realized how that is one of the most counterproductive things an entrepreneur does.

There’s a lot of discipline that goes into being a successful entrepreneur and it’s not just about achieving goals and working 24/7. Along the way, I’ve realized that it takes as much or more discipline to take days to rest, to actually take full days off (what a concept!) and to take little breaks between tasks.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Something magical happens when we decide to take that first step towards our dreams.

We have no idea that when we decide to take that first step, we unleash something that’s greater than us. And that windy road starts to slowly lead us to what matters most to our hearts.

For me, it’s been an unveiling things I’ve always loved to do like public speaking and teaching. My engineering background combined with my perfume knowledge has led me in a research path to the science behind perfume.

I’ve had the great pleasure of using the science behind scent to teach and speak to audiences about the power of our sense of smell and how it can be used for our overall well-being.

I’m now in the process of creating a training with a former engineering classmate using perfume making as a sensory tool to teach corporations and big groups about team building, critical thinking and diversity. Furthermore, this methodology is being used as an on boarding practice to attract and retain quality employees.

Making a perfume I could wear again is what started this journey. Over the course of a year and a half, I’ve been able to delve deeper into something incredibly meaningful and inspiring, reaching audiences beyond what I thought would ever be possible. I know that this will continue to take a life of its own, all I need to do is continue listening to that inner compass that always leads us in the right direction.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.marbellaperfumes.com
• Instagram: @marbellaperfumes

Image Credits
https://www.magdaphoto.com/ @carmenlira