The nascent platform aims to connect personalized scent discovery to purchases through multibrand retailers, beginning in the U.K. with Selfridges, Sephora, Space NK and more.
LONDON — Stephanie Phair, former British Fashion Council chair and now an angel investor, is backing Parfumerie, an AI-powered fragrance discovery and shopping platform launching Thursday that aims to make online retail more personal by organizing recommendations around individual taste.
A veteran of luxury e-commerce, Phair said she invested because she sees Parfumerie as a potential model for the future of online shopping.
“The existing sites still look the same as they did 20 years ago. They’re catalogues of products, but the world has changed. Customer behavior has changed. People are getting inspiration from social, from bricks-and-mortar, from creators, but the enablers to do it differently for taste didn’t exist,” she said in an interview.
“It’s not about another search. That is not what people are asking for. What they want is for inspiration and discovery to come to them based on their personal signals, not just what an editor or creators are telling them,” added Phair.
Founded by Shannon Edwards and Natalie Varma, Parfumerie is launching shopping in the U.K. through retailers including Selfridges, Sephora, Space NK, Liberty, Cult Beauty and Lookfantastic. Its initial shoppable assortment includes more than 300 fragrance brands.
U.S. shopping, additional retail partners and direct brand partnerships are planned for 2027.
Edwards has more than 17 years of experience across luxury fragrance and beauty. She has held various roles at Parfums Christian Dior, Tom Ford Beauty, Estée Lauder, L’Oréal and Charlotte Tilbury.
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