Before launching her fragrance brand ÉVOQUER, Grace Howland built a successful career in finance. A trip to Paris in 2022 left her with a scent memory so profound that it completely shifted the trajectory of her life, both personally and professionally. We sat down with Grace to learn more about how ÉVOQUER is bottling life’s moments, both big and small.
BNNYC: Where are you originally from, and where do you call home now?
GH: I spent my entire childhood in Seattle, Washington until the day I left for college, and haven’t lived there since, though I visit often as my parents are still there.
I’m in Los Angeles where I’ve been since 2020, minus living and working in Paris in 2022, plus a trip around the world in 2024.
BNNYC: Aside from fragrance, what do you enjoy?
GH: I love to travel; my travels abroad are what inspired ÉVOQUER. It’s been a major lifestyle shift to not be able to travel as much, given my time and funds are all spent on growing the business. I also love skiing, hiking, walking on the beach every day in LA, pilates, wine, and live music. I’m always trying new things – I’m a firm believer in the best personal growth and experiences coming from putting yourself in new – and sometimes uncomfortable – situations.
BNNYC: What was your original career path, before starting a fragrance brand?
GH: I went to SMU in Dallas, Texas, and graduated with a major in finance, a specialization in alternative assets, and a minor in law & legal reasoning. After, I went directly into investment banking and then to private equity.
BNNYC: Have you always loved fragrance/scent?
GH: Actually, no, which always surprises people. The first perfume I ever wore was a gift from my boyfriend in 2018, a bottle of Chanel, and I still have the bottle. I fell in love with perfume when I was living in Paris, and not for the reason you might think. I unintentionally created a scent memory while living in Paris because I bought a fragrance right when I moved there, and that was the only one I wore my entire time there. When I came back to the States it sat in my makeup cabinet for a long time, until one night when I sprayed it. I was immediately transported back into that time of my life – it was the most intense, emotional feeling. After that, I didn’t want to wear that perfume anymore. I wanted to hold on to it as a memory from that chapter in my life. When I realized the power of scent memory, that’s when I fell in love with perfume.
BNNYC: Before starting your own brand, did you have a signature scent?
GH: I didn’t! I collected perfumes here and there, mostly as gifts in the beginning. And I think it’s fitting I never had a signature scent or was drawn to finding one, because ÉVOQUER is about changing your scent for every new chapter.
BNNYC: What is your earliest scent memory?
GH: The first one I can remember experiencing is this breeze in the Pacific Northwest (where I grew up) that comes through in the summer when you’re on a hike. It will happen just for a second, but it always brings me back to summer camp as a kid, where we did a lot of hiking.
BNNYC: Can you share your journey from private equity to perfume brand-owner?
GH: I have always known I wanted to be an entrepreneur, I just thought that it would be something I would do later in life, especially after having spent a lot of time and energy building a great career in finance for myself. But when my firm announced they were moving from LA to NYC, I quit the next day and took some time off to travel, something I had wanted to do when I moved from investment banking to private equity, but that happened in 2020…
During that time off traveling, I had the mental space to think creatively about a lot of things, including starting a business. I also wanted a way to memorialize this really special chapter in my life in a more unique way than just taking photos on my iPhone – and then I remembered the experience I had with the perfume in Paris.
Everyone creates scent memories, either intentionally or unintentionally. I wanted to create a way to capture these memories, and settled on what I call “scent archiving”: choosing a fragrance to capture the memories and emotions from a life chapter or experience.
It’s been a huge shift going from working in a very intense corporate job for all of my career to now running my own business. I still do some financial consulting on the side for private equity firms and entrepreneurs looking to raise capital, but that’s only through word of mouth. I absolutely love building my business and the challenge of always needing to learn and do new things, but I have had to make some major lifestyle shifts since I no longer have a steady salary – that’s been the biggest adjustment. I also really miss having co-workers! I’m thinking of starting a co-work group for people who work from home.
BNNYC: What inspired you to create a brand centered around scent memory?
GH: It was a combination of the experience I had with the Parisian perfume and also wanting to remember my travels abroad and that chapter in my life in a more unique way. On top of that, I’ve learned that trying new things and putting yourself into unknown situations results in the best growth, both personally and professionally. Moving to Paris for work was an absolutely incredible experience and one of the best times of my life, but also extremely terrifying. I didn’t speak the language, I was the only woman in the entire office, and I didn’t know a single person in the city. It was a big change, but it had such a monumental impact on my confidence and who I am today, and it was so much fun!
ÉVOQUER is meant to intentionally create scent memories, but it’s also about taking risks, stepping into the unknown and trying new things, because that’s when the best memories are made. It’s about “saving” those life chapters where you did something you’re proud of, and that is part of the inspiration behind the brand as well.
BNNYC: What role does scent play in your own life?
GH: For me, it’s really experience based – I refer to ÉVOQUER as the experience-based fragrance brand because we focus on enhancing and capturing experiences through scent. Not only does it help capture memories (we remember things we smell 100 times more than those we see!), but it’s also a mood enhancer. So I love to incorporate it in every way I can in experiences: candles at a friend’s birthday dinner, samples for all my friends at a concert, a new scent for an exciting trip. It’s our most emotional sense, yet the one that feels the most forgotten when it comes to events. Our mission at ÉVOQUER is to bring it there, so that bleeds into my personal life as well.
BNNYC: What’s next for ÉVOQUER?
GH: So many amazing things in the pipeline! Our goal is to be the fragrance of experiences, so we are working with a few upcoming events on being incorporated as their signature scent to help guests create scent memories. We worked with the Do LaB earlier this year where artists received custom ÉVOQUER bottles, and have a couple more events coming up like this. Also, travel is a big part of the brand, so we’ve partnered with a few influencers on group trips where we will be the signature scent for everyone to create memories with on the trip. Weddings and bachelorette trips have also been big for our custom labels. We even offer custom wedding scents! You can inquire about any of our customization options on our website.
We’ve also had a few inbounds from retailers, which is super exciting. You can find us on shelves on Abbot Kinney Boulevard in Los Angeles and in Costa Mesa. Retail hadn’t initially been a focus for me this early post-launch, but since we’re seeing the demand, of course we will run with it.
We’re in product development on a new fragrance which we’re actually crowd sourcing, that has been a really fun experience. We’re about to start sending out samples to our tester group, which is entirely made up of people from our community. We also have a new product that we’re working on, which the tester group will also be involved with. You can sign up to be a part of the ÉVOQUER Insiders on our website (shopevoquer.com/pages/community).
Lastly, I just made my first hire which feels like a huge step for the business! We have someone helping part time to assist with social media.
Above: Grace hosts a perfume pairing event in Paris
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Explore ÉVOQUER – including their bestseller, 02 Amourette, a soft, intimate blend of bergamot, peony, and vanilla – at shopevoquer.com.
This weekend, August 8, join ÉVOQUER in LA at Curated Wines for a wine and perfume pairing event! More details can be found at the link in their Instagram bio: @shopevoquer. They’ll be announcing details for another event in Paris on September 26th, plus a few more before the year ends. All event details will be announced on IG.
