DEFINE ME & PURE DESIGN FOR LIVING

“DefineMe scents were created to connect you to the goddess within. Our fragrances are a wearable reminder of your self-love, creativity, gratitude, wanderlust, free-spiritedness, and strength. By understanding the connection between scent and emotion, we found divine-smelling fragrances to be a powerful way to help you embody that mold-breaking, barrier-crushing spirit within.

As part of our mission to empower, we also established early on that we wanted to rival the designer scents without the cruelty (or the price tag)—that’s why all of our products are cruelty-free and 100% vegan (forever!). We have also committed to dramatically reducing waste through the elimination of plastics, the use of FSC (forest stewardship council) certified paper products and soy ink in our packaging and refillable products. By sourcing and assembling the vast majority of our components and products in the US or ILS certified countries we also cut down on shipping and support strong labor practices.

Giving back is also an essential part of DefineMe’s lifeblood. We were moved by the fact that 31 million girls receive no education and our co-mission quickly became to give these girls the chance to achieve their dreams. We created the DefineMe Dollar program and partnered with She’s The First—fighting gender inequality by supporting girls to be the first in their families to graduate from high school. We couldn’t achieve any of this without you and we are incredibly grateful to work with you in this movement to help empower women and girls through fragrance and education.

A FOUNDER'S STORY

Whimsical photo of Define Me Fragrance founder, Jennifer McKay Newton on a sunny day with a butterfly on her nose.

"The intention is to be a wearable reminder of one's own confidence, strength, passion, fearlessness + to empower!"

Initially, my life took a different entrepreneurial course...

In 1995 I graduated from college and began to work as an Interior Designer. I’d decided that I needed a change, so in 2011, I launched my first company, an eco-friendly product company called Pure Designs For Living. After a few years, I had an epiphany. One of our biggest sellers was an organic candle line meant to inspire and empower. It occurred to me that If I can create candle scents that promote well-being, why not create fragrances with the same intention?! And so began what would turn out to be one of the most creative, inspiring and challenging journeys I could’ve imagined! In March of 2015, after years of blending and experimenting, I took a huge leap of faith and launched DefineMe Fragrance; a collection of beautiful fragrances packaged as empowering women!

The process of scent creation:

Our fragrances start with a simple question, “what is their purpose”? Audry’s purpose, for example, is to help the wearer ‘feel enveloped in love’. Then I ask “what would love smell like?” For me, it smells like a beautiful bouquet of fresh flowers such as roses and peonies. After the scent is created the next step is to choose a name. I ask, “what name fits well with this romantic, fresh, floral scent?” Hmmm... let’s see... how about Audry? Et voila, the scent has a purpose, personality and identity.

Why fragrance you ask?

It started as an obsession as a young teen. Buying my first bottle of 'Paris' by Yves Saint Laurent, OOOLALA... I feel so glamorous, so amazing... so French! How I adored that scent, it reminded me of my first trip to Paris with my 5th-grade French class (I was lucky enough to get a scholarship thanks to Mrs. Fox, my French teacher). What a blessing that trip was for me. It showed me there was this amazing world out there that needed to be explored! Since this first bottle of 'Paris', I’ve had this secret desire to create my own fragrances. The idea that fragrances can remind you of a person, a place, a moment in your life, eliciting a visceral response has always fascinated me. Lilac is my favorite scent because it brings me back to the best moments of my childhood when I was curious, imaginative, able to conquer the world! If you think about your favorite scent, really think about why you love it, you’ll find your way back to something that you loved or inspired you.

Why is helping to empower women my passion?

My life started out less than ideal. At the age of five, I was thrust in the middle of a chaotic and bitter divorce and didn’t have emotional support or a role model, it was tough. After years of falling down and picking myself up again, I’m now in a more empowered place in my life. I’ve come out of it stronger, more confident and determined and through my fragrances, I want to help teach other women a truth that took me a long time to learn... you have brilliance inside of you and only you have this, you’re special and one of a kind...OWN IT!

Since you’ve made it to the end of my story, I want to leave you with a few random fun facts about me. I love sushi, pink champagne + chocolate, but not together necessarily. I have two adorable pups named Hobbes + Layla. My favorite number is 9. My favorite city is Paris, so far. Although I do love the English countryside. I can drive a stick shift, which may come in handy one day in the English countryside. I live in Los Angeles with my hubby and two kids. I binge watch The Real Housewives and House Hunters International.

with love,

Jennifer McKay Newton”

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