Lauren Akins Based Her New Fragrance Collection on What Friends Say She Smells Like (Exclusive)

Lauren Akins’ journey to fragrance entrepreneur began with a healthy dose of flattery.

As she met with members of her team at Love One International—a charity that cares for children in Uganda—to discuss creating another candle for this year’s holiday season, when it came time to decide on a scent, her colleagues voted unanimously. to smell like…her.

“Someone in the room said, ‘Can we try to find Lauren’s scent and make a candle out of it?’ she tells PEOPLE exclusively. “They were joking a little, but somehow not. I don’t know what it is, because you can’t really smell it, but it was a joke.”

Lauren Akins and Thomas Rhett.

Sam Frawley

Akins, who is married to country singer Thomas Rhett, adds that friends often compliment her on the scent, which she says is a combination of the shampoo, deodorant, laundry detergent, lotion and fragrance she normally wears.

“I wish I knew what I smell like, but you’re blinding my nose,” she says.

Instead of turning her scent into a candle, Akins and the teams at Love One International and Nashville-based fragrance house Ranger Station dreamed big and created a fragrance.

The smell of daisies and cowboys.

Sam Frawley

When Akins couldn’t settle for just one scent, they made two. “[While creating the fragrance] I enjoyed the fragrance notes which they are not what I smell,” says Akins, 34, adding that she was drawn to “more masculine” notes that, when presented to those who know her best, didn’t remind them so obviously of her.

The result: the Daisy & Cowboy perfume collection by Lauren Akins, named after the couple’s horses that appear in the photo.

Daisy is a warm blend of ambergris and sandalwood, while Cowboy is a combination of ambergris and leather for the outdoors. Akins says she learned during this process that amber notes are what she’s most drawn to, so she wanted to make sure they were included in both unisex fragrances.

“Daisy is what people say it smells like when I walk in the room, and Cowboy is all the stuff I’ve added [Daisy] which I had to take out because my friends said ‘that’s not it'”, she says with a laugh.

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Thomas Rhett and Lauren Akins.

Sam Frawley

However, there is one person who would really know if a scent is on point, and that is Thomas Rhett.

“When we created Daisy, he said, yes, this is it,” she says. “He knows me best. So I think when I got his approval I said, okay, we made it, my husband says we made it.”

And Akins tells PEOPLE that not only has he been supportive all along the way, but he’s also currently wearing Cowboy fragrance.

Lauren Akins.

Sam Frawley

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As for the rest of her beauty routine, Akins keeps it pretty simple: a swipe of mascara, a messy bun. Above all else, the mom of four – she shares four daughters with the country music singer – likes to smell good, and she considers fragrances her “essentials” before going out.

Lauren Akins.

Sam Frawley

“It’s important to me that I smell good because I like to hug,” she says. “I’m very sensitive, I always have been. It’s the first thing I notice about people, not what they wear, but the way they make me feel and how they smell. I want people to remember how I make them feel – and fragrance has so much to do with that.”

With the way the fragrance evoked emotions and memories, Akins can only hope that the fragrances she created will cheer up her friends by making them think of her.

“If I can make someone feel at home around me, that would be the biggest compliment anyone could give me,” says Akins. “I love that my friends can feel that the fragrance really smells like me — their reaction is a good thing. I’m excited that we’ve come up with something that smells good and will make her feel calm and comfortable.”

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Lauren Akins with Daisy perfume.

Sam Frawley

Daisy and Cowboy are available for purchase online at Ranger Station and at the main store in Nashville. Fifty percent of the net sales proceeds will go to Love One International. Akins is vice president of the board and says it’s “so much fun” not only to create this duo, but to contribute to an organization she cares so much about.

“I’m really proud of it and it’s a lot of fun to get there [experience] life this way with these people.”

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education