We had the pleasure of getting to know Barb Stegemann, journalist and founder of The 7 Virtues. This cult-favorite niche brand – the only B Corp certified fragrance brand at Sephora – is far more than a collection of beautiful-smelling eaux de parfum; they are the result of one woman’s dream to harness her own power and find a way to impact the world. Read on to discover her story (and don’t miss the new Strawberry Jam, coming soon to Sephora).
Where are you originally from?
I was born in Montreal, but raised in Nova Scotia, Canada. I attended university in Halifax, and that’s my main home. My husband Mike and I have a winter place on Miami Beach. Canadians are such snowbirds.
Tell me a little bit about your background as a journalist.
I was always that kid doing the “street to street reporter,” asking lots of questions. I love great stories. Our lives are our stories.
I went to King’s to study philosophy and got my undergrad, and never felt worthy of the journalism degree. It was so hard to get into, and I thought it was for the brilliant private school kids (the myths we buy into). I was raised by a single mom on assisted living. Then as a young single mom, I decided I deserve it and did my journalism degree.
I realized in that program I was a feature person, not hard news. I tried hard news at Global in BC — I was not made of the tough stuff. I wrote for a technology show, and wrote a lot of features and a column called Culture Shift where I would go after issues in the community in Halifax at the Herald. I also wrote a column when I lived in BC for the Coquitlam News, like a social page, merging non-profit, government, and business.
Then when my best friend, a journalist, author, and fellow J-school grad, was severely wounded in Afghanistan, I put my philosophy and journalism together and wrote my book The 7 Virtues of a Philosopher Queen to empower women to run for office, launch social enterprises, and end bullying. I dedicated it to my friend, and it’s now in its ninth edition.
I was searching for ways to carry on my best friend’s mission of peace and constantly studied and researched Afghanistan. Then one day I read online on PBS about a farmer growing legal orange blossom to get farmers off the illegal poppy crop, and I knew I had the thesis of my book brought to life.
The perfumes are the thesis rising up out of the book, that we can and must harness our buying power and voting power to reverse issues of war and poverty. When I brought that thesis to life, it was important for me to walk on glass and stretch out of my comfort zone. I don’t have the right to ask women to do this unless I am a living example of the ups and downs of living an authentic life and pursuing your passion.
Before you sourced that first cup of orange blossom oil, were you ever interested in perfumery?
I was not that girl. I mean, I wore too much Obsession in the bars in the late ’80s with my friends to cut through the cigarette smoke, and I loved Love’s Baby Soft as a teenager. But no, I was not anything more special than the next girl.
I discovered my passion when I wanted to help farmers growing legal crops instead of the illegal poppy crop, and I did all the learning and asked all the good questions like a journalist would. Then I discovered I have a sensory deficit. I can smell things no one else can smell, and now after 16 years of creating clean perfumes, I have done my 10,000 hours and I create heroes.
My merchant at Sephora introduces me as the founder who creates heroes. Our perfume house CPL, the owner said he has never seen anything like it. So my “deficit” is my superpower.
How did you discover that this process of sourcing essential oils could transform the lives of people living in these locations?
I had written the book and continued to read about Afghanistan and kept trying to find a way to support farmers and help end the opium bride trade, where young girls as young as eight are forced to marry Taliban drug lords because their poor father’s opium crop (that he was forced to grow) failed due to weather.
But if her father was growing legal orange blossom and rose, then that daughter would be safe. And we would be closer to peace and empowering women and communities so she could become literate, run for office, create her own social enterprise, decide how many babies she wants. Then groups began to reach out to me. The Clinton Foundation invited me to Haiti where we began sourcing vetiver. I was invited to Rwanda and around the world.
Did you have an “aha moment” when you realized you could start a business and keep this going? Where does your passion to do this work come from?
Yes, when I realized perfume could be more than luxury — it could be activism in a bottle. My passion comes from how I was raised. My mom was a single mom on assisted living. I know what it feels like to be overlooked, and I want every woman to feel seen, valued, and powerful.
So many times my mom tried to volunteer and she was judged. I am vindicating my mom and all of the women out there who have had people close the doors on their dreams. I want women to fight for their dreams, and we will fight for one another. The saddest thing on earth is a lost dream.
When women rise, entire communities rise.
Let’s talk about your book, The 7 Virtues of a Philosopher Queen. Where did you get the idea to write a guide for women, and how did you settle on the seven virtues within the book?
I promised my best friend in the hospital I would take on his mission of peace. Then I realized as a woman, I didn’t have a way. I am not a brave soldier, I am not a world leader. But women, we own the buying power and the voting power. I thought if I could just harness that, we could reverse issues of war and poverty.
I took all the stoic wisdom of the philosophers I had studied at King’s and gave them to my sisters. My mom didn’t talk to me about Adam Smith and capitalism or Plato and the polis, and I realized if we are going to smash through the patriarchy, we need to learn that stoic wisdom that guided it for centuries and then add our own vocabulary and empower ourselves to create the kinds of companies that will empower and change the world.
We are the only B Corp certified perfume at Sephora. It means we take care of the planet, pay our people well, and support Days for Girls to end period poverty.
For The 7 Virtues, I took the main four virtues that guided Socrates, Plato, and even Churchill as they navigated terrifying challenges — Truth, Courage, Justice, and Wisdom. Then I added three more for women.
Wonder instead of Judgment. When we are in a state of wonder, everything we need will appear — guaranteed. But the moment we judge ourselves, we hold ourselves back. Daily practice, daily practice, daily practice.
Balance and Beauty as the final two. Beauty as your power and dignity. Never hand it over, and you will always land on your feet, personally and professionally.
Humanitarian work aside, what is the power of scent and fragrance to you?
I am a big manifester. I set intentions and use scent and the power of scent receptors located in the back of your brain beside emotion to use scent to my advantage. That’s why I put the aromatherapy on the back of each bottle.
Our MO is to empower women to flourish. So the book and the aromatherapy are tools to advance women. I am all about creating a movement. I have a TikTok show on Sunday nights – @The7Virtues at 7 p.m. ET, and I give away our book. All a woman has to do is subscribe, and she gets the free ebook instantly. I don’t care if she ever buys my perfume. I want her to flourish.
My mom was a single mom on assisted living, and every time a woman reads my book, we together vindicate her by lifting other women.
What role does a beautiful scent play in the lives of women (and everyone) around the world?
Oh wow, the power to uplift in a moment. The power to transport yourself to a place of joy and comfort in a moment. The power to conjure up positive memories. The power to use scent like Pavlov’s dogs to visualize and realize every goal you have. It’s untapped power. The power to have a personal trademark.
I created our atelier for you to design your own perfume to create your own personal trademark. For me, this is such a game changer in life. Scent is literally how I recognize people.
