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

LaNaya, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?

I think what it takes to be successful is consistently going after what you want. Achieving your dreams. Doing what makes you happy. Walking to the beat of your own drum. I did not start believing in that until I had to sit down with myself and ask the question, “LaNaya, are you doing this because it makes you happy and you are passionate about what you are doing? Or are you doing this to prove a point and make others happy?” I believe once I answered that question, I started moving how I wanted to move. For example, before starting my fragrance brand Novasi I was in college and working at a bunch of nursing homes. My major was Biology which was one of the most challenging things I ever did. However, I did it because I always had the dream of being in the medical field and making a difference in my community. I took it upon myself to always finish what I started. A few months before graduating Novasi was born and I put a lot of my focus into that. I am still very focused on growing Novasi and all of the endeavors that will come with it. After graduating I decided to take a break in going back to school the next fall. I am very focused on the heart of my brand, what it stands for, and growing as a person. Yes, I will go back to school but I am not rushing it. I believe that all successful things are not rushed because you learn to appreciate every little detail in the journey along the way.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is LaNaya and I am from Delaware. I came to Atlanta, Georgia in 2018 and attended Clark Atlanta University. I graduated with my Bachelor’s in Biology in May of 2023 and currently work in an occupational health clinic while still being a fragrance creator. With pursuing a career in medicine I always had a passion for the Creative Arts. I was a ballet, jazz, and hip-hop dancer for 10 years back home in Delaware. I competed and traveled throughout the tri-state area. Throughout my life I always loved beauty. I loved getting my makeup done, doing my makeup, getting my hair done, and most importantly smelling good. Back in February of 2023, I was approached by a scent company to create my signature scent. After doing thorough research into the company, and watching a bunch of videos on YouTube. I decided to go forward with the process. In all honesty, I was a little scared because this was my first time in business. Secondly, I did not know what to call my fragrance, what notes I wanted in my fragrance, and how to design my label. Coming up with the name I wanted something that would catch everyone’s attention. I did not want to use regular words. I wanted to use a word that was captivating, bold, powerful, and timeless. “Novasi” originated from the Latin root word “Nova” which means “New” in English. I chose to name my perfume in a different language because it was different and I rarely saw it done in other fragrance lines where they used the Latin language. Novasi comes in four different sizes 5ml, 15ml, 50ml, and 100ml, and is available to purchase now. What sets me apart from others is my love for science and how that connects with fragrance. During my time at Clark, I have done many of my classes in labs and I feel like that connects when making a fragrance because it reminds me of being in a lab and working with different compounds. I feel that my love and passion for science shows through my fragrance because I now have the knowledge about creating one. I feel that my originality in creating a fragrance sets me apart from others. What I am most proud of is taking the risk of creating Novasi and sharing it with the world, putting myself out there, and overall seeing how far I came in just one year. What I want my potential clients and everyone else to know about my brand is that it is designed for each person to smell lavish, and feel pretty. I want everyone to know to trust the process of wherever you are in your journey and appreciate every moment had in your journey. Lastly, take that risk and have faith.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Back in spring of 2019, I was in college. It was my freshman year I had just joined my dance team (Evolution Dance Theater), I was in the research club I think at that time, and I explored a lot of different organizations at my college at the time. I got a call from a family member that my grandmother passed away. I couldn’t believe it at first because I had just spoken to my grandmother that Tuesday and she passed on Thursday. I left school and went home for a couple of days because it was right around Easter when she passed. The week she passed I was preparing for my spring dance show and finals. The show was that next week right after the funeral. After the funeral, I came back to Atlanta, did the show, and finished my finals. My grandmother was one of my best friends next to my Dad. That woman was my girl. We would garden, cook, and take drives together. She was my heart. Not too long after that, her husband (my grandfather) passed in 2020 my sophomore year of college. It completely shook my world because I lost two people back to back who I loved dearly. My resilience is pushing through all that grief, and heartache, and doing therapy to bring myself back to myself and keep pushing towards my goals, and dreams.

How did you build your audience on social media?

LOL! I have had social media since I was a teenager. It honestly all started by posting dance videos and pictures up and through college. Dancing was the main source of my social media presence. As I got older I wanted to explore more into the content-creating side of social media. I realized that dancing in front of the camera is different than speaking in front of the camera. When it came to making my fragrance content, I was trying to find a good way to advance my social media presence past dancing. I liked doing fragrance reviews but I felt like I needed to do more to grab viewers attention. Past clients and others who are interested in fragrance would always ask me questions so I figured why not just educate them and others about fragrance, that way knowledge is being shared and you have grabbed a viewer’s attention. Some advice for people starting to build a social media presence is to always remember that when making your content you can: Inspire, Educate, or Entertain or do all three. Always be organic and be you in your content, someone is going to gravitate to you. Do not rush the process because if you rush you do not appreciate all of the things in your journey. Be patient.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://scentcraft.ai/nayaslifestyle
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/naya.neecole/ https://www.instagram.com/nayalovescents/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lanaya.garrett

Image Credits

Devon Smith