This brilliant “Fridays with Tab + Chance” fragrance from creative geniuses Tabitha and Chance Brown is Chanel No. 5 for today’s woman.
I just expected I’d love Tabitha Brown’s perfume Her Business—not be left utterly speechless and shocked by it. I have had to step back, take a breath and gather myself before attempting to describe why Her Business is the Chanel No. 5 2.0 of our and future times- that one every gal wants and wears before it’s nothing to discern anywhere in the world, even after 100 years.
The perfume is bountiful, resilient, and inviting. It is warm and spicy- a keenly balanced batch of bergamot, orange flower, ginger, caramel, vanilla, and a hint of cocoa. It includes rare ingredients such as Baie rose, orris and tonka beans across decidedly feminine notes. I’ll argue it is unisex, to join classics we recognize a mile away like Perry Ellis and Dior in that enduring regard.
The amber bottle’s regal, vintage vibe takes me back to venturing into my grandmothers’ and aunts’ mysterious dresser-top spells back in the days, itching to grow up so I too could be so sexy. Even the packaging is benevolent and intelligent, with a joyous picture of the couple included.
An Eau de Parfum to Stay
Most important to this longevity I predict, Her Business’s character is timeless in every sense of the word: long-lasting, fine for a casual summer day or dressy holiday party, mature enough for the family matriarch yet sweet enough for its college girls, and a fit for the boardroom in the day before the bedroom at night. Just lying in bed with its final fading tier on my skin after a long day was relaxing aromatherapy.
A perfume so hardworking that it woke up others up all day then put me to sleep at night? Honey, yes. This versatility and range is the mark of a history maker this fragrance will be. You read it here first.
It was my mistake to think I’d get a mere product expansion of a brand—something nice, but really just average when subtracting the famous name. That is usually the disappointment when media personas venture into these things. But the Browns took after the likes of Rihanna with Fenty or Paul Newman with salad dressing here. They did not come to play. In July of last year, Home Shopping Network agreed and became a coveted home of sales for the couple of almost three decades.
Her Business took over the evening and conversation from the moment I unboxed it to try. Nobody around when or after I first wore it was not bowled over. So… still in shock, I wore it again. Since, I have not worn it anywhere without a stranger tracking down the aroma to compliment or inquire. The bottle should come with a warning: Beware of Danger. If any dress-to-the-nines galas or bougie events pressure your inner knockout to come on out, wear it to pack a punch all night long.
I later heard, as I wasn’t there to know, that its scent permeated two rooms after I’d long left. It is aggressive, so the first few sprays and hours may intimidate you even as the smell draws or intrigues others. Be patient. Let it sit and rest awhile. From my small town of Avon-loving women wearing its iconic mainstay Emeraude, to a mall job selling White Diamonds like candy at the late great Carson Pirie Scott department store, I learned the superpower behind the greatest perfumes is self-renewal. This scent clings before you may suddenly notice it has become you.
Fruits of Labor and Love
I have been a fan of Mrs. Brown, half of the duo Tab and Chance who debut this fragrance, since I found her YouTube channel of vegan recipes and daily wisdoms a few years ago. Ironically, her loving and eloquent reply to backlash against her choice to retire her husband so he’d be a full-time entrepreneur with her went viral, thus brought me to the channel out of curiosity. Well, the fruits of that wise choice speak for themselves. With its “Love Smells Very Good” slogan, their latest partner effort pays homage to the struggle to get to where they are—together.
“We are incredibly proud of our collaboration on designing and formulating Fridays,” say Tabitha and Chance. “It’s a love story in scent form—individually beautiful, but when we come together? Oooh, it smells amazing.”
Chance’s dangerous, exhausting LAPD job alone supported Tabitha’s pursuit of an acting career at many times. Acting gave her experience, credits and boosts—just no breakout or steady roles. They had children. They had bills. They had grown folks’ goals. Something besides prayer had to save them.
Then Tabitha’s natural gifts and face for the camera, plus business sense would-be influencers struggle to master, grew her career to an Emmy-winning YouTube show for kids, Tab Time. The I Am Tabitha Brown media and motivational empire includes NYT bestselling books, nonstop motivational speaking and mass retail hair care lines rooted in her pro-environment passions for natural hair and plant-based food.
Fridays with Tab + Chance is Born
Finally came the sparkling “Fridays with Tab and Chance” podcast, with all things love as its theme. A little secret: I shy away from purely online shows to mitigate screen time and be a real writer, but this one I must catch or binge. Whether Tab and Chance are alone or with special guests, who’ve included their own children and friends as spotlight couples, their daring conversations advocate for sticking things out and holding on to what matters, to defy internetspeak trends to “pivot” and “level up.” Couples, singles and romantics of all ages can learn from it.
However, they are risking immortality with their Fridays offshoots Her Business and Chance’s musky bergamot-based His Business, including a layered set of the two called—you guessed it—Their Business. With potential to reach people and retailers globally, as well as to outlast fickle audiences and show biz turnovers every half decade, these perfumes promise to spread their names and last long after most come and go.
(Dear God, It’s Me Kalisha: I need Her Business to join White Diamonds, Juicy and Chanel No. 5 as my signature scents always in my bag when I am in my nineties.)
There’s More
The 100ML eau de parfums are $110 each or $200 for the set, vegan and intentionally crafted. If you want to start small or just smell-test, the couple thought about 10ml travelers for just $30. They worked with experts to invent these pairable options which—like Tab and Chance’s partnership—can complement one another for real date night fireworks. So can the adorable conversation-starting tees for the brand.
Perfume not your thing? Try their 200ml body washes ($33) and lotions ($35). They have gentle staying power all on their own, with a dab or a douse both effective. I used nothing but the wash and lotion one morning for (I don’t know why I was surprised anymore) baby soft skin like I’d exfoliated. Obviously, I guarantee you success and thrills with any choice you make or chance you take on Fridays products. See for yourself at tabandchance.com, Amazon, and HSN.
Subscribe to Fridays with Tab and Chance on YouTube and follow Tabitha Brown on Instagram @iamtabithabrown.
