At just 13, a fragrance-obsessed Carina Chaz began cocktailing perfumes for her school friends. Now, she sits at the helm of a plant-powered, skin-friendly, TikTok-viral fragrance empire
Who is it? Carina Chaz calls her foray into the fragrance industry a “happy accident,” having simply started with a love and passion for fragrance, which she discovered when working in her mum’s formulation lab in West Adams, Los Angeles. “They had a very small facility where they would make lotions and soaps for hotels,” Chaz recalls. “There were three people working there, and every after-school activity and summer vacation was spent there.”
She spent her time helping out, even packing boxes, but ultimately felt uninterested in everything, bar the fragrances used within the formulas. These, she says, fascinated her. Now, Chaz sees the DedCool story as her very own bildungsroman. Alongside spending time in the lab, she spent her formative years thinking about fragrance more seriously. “I utilised scent to show up for myself and the people around me as a young person,” she explains. At just 13, she noticed all of her friends wearing Pink Sugar – a perky pink body mist that hit the States hard – and she loved the way that they used it as a form of self-expression. “It wasn’t a scent for me though, which is what led me to start playing with essential oils and different kinds of ingredients. It was very much trial and error – I’m a self-taught nose – but ultimately, it took shape.” Thus she created Taunt – creamy and comforting, like a bedsheet dried outdoors – which is still one of DedCool’s bestsellers today, though the formula is much less rudimentary.
Eight years later, at 21 years old, Chaz began thinking about DedCool as a concept. “There was no anticipation or plan for the brand beyond an Instagram page, and I always joke that I have the opposite of imposter syndrome, where I believed that this thing could live on the shelves with all of the greats. [By which, she means brands such as Byredo and Le Labo.] The concept was a fine fragrance that was a safer-for-you, wearable, easy, everyday extension of your everyday wear.”
Why do I want it? At its core, DedCool is a functional fragrance brand that can, and should, appeal to absolutely everyone. It transcends genders, and “allows people to customise and build their own scent wardrobes.” Thanks to the brand’s vegan, cruelty-free, locally sourced and organic ingredients, even those with eczema-prone and sensitive skin can spritz with gleeful abandon. Their bestseller, Xtra Milk – an addictive, soap-clean musk – calls on ingredients like grapefruit, cucumber and kelp extracts, to even tone, ease inflammation and moisturise your skin.
“I come from a holistic background,” explains Chaz. “My mum grew up on a farm in Puglia and she calls everything she uses in her day-to-day life, ‘gifts from the earth’. I was never allowed to wear traditional fragrances, and that’s where my love of holistic and green beauty came from.” Keen to avoid greenwashing, Chaz explains her use of the terms “green” and “clean” when it comes to DedCool: “In other brands there are phthalates, there are parabens; we formulate without any of those ingredients that can be hormone disruptors. We use safe synthetics and have a better overall sustainability process. Everything is sourced as locally as possible.”
As a carbon-neutral brand, Chaz highlights the importance of “putting its best foot forward” for the planet, from scent creation to the manufacturing process, packaging solutions and beyond. “Everything is done with the earth at the top of our minds,” she confirms. Even the brand’s deliciously comforting laundry detergents are biodegradable, leaving no harmful traces as they trickle down your pipes. All of this, and then one percent of DedCool’s profits are donated to 1% For The Planet, helping to fund environmental nonprofits. “It’s up to us indie brands to create different alternatives, and we’re happy to give the consumers what they’re looking for.”
While chatting to Chaz, it’s clear to see just how much she values the consumer. “The consumer’s a huge part of what we do,” she professes, “In this digital age, brands have a leg up. We can have real-life conversations with our consumers, and the conversation really revolves around what they want to see from us.” Mochi Milk – the brand’s latest scent that’s set to hit UK shores in September 2025 – was a direct response to the DedCool community. “It’s a sweet scent for people who like sweet scents and for people who don’t,” reveals Chaz. “People are obsessed with our Milk franchise, and this was about creating a more edible, mouthwatering scent for them. It’s a showstopper – it’s sweet but it’s not gourmand.” TikTok, namely #PerfumeTok, plays a huge part in this consumer-brand relationship, which Chaz says she’s also very thankful for. “TikTok has given fragrance brands, especially the niche perfume brands, a name that they weren’t able to get before.”
