Introducing Perfume & Skincare Company Robertson’s stunning, hand crafted fragrances and skincare products.
It was the early 1990s, and Sheila Massetti needed a change. After a successful career in fashion recruitment (and the inevitable burnout that followed), Sheila turned her mind to something more nourishing for mind and body: the field of fragrance.
Initially attending Naturecare College in Sydney – where she graduated as an Aromatherapist and shortly after a Herbalist, her passion and curiosity quickly led her further afield to study scent in Paris, Grasse and Eze. She was recognised by top French perfumers Galimard and Fragonard as a talent to watch, one calling her Tuberose Parfum the “finest they’d ever experienced” (and keeping a few of her notes!).
On her return to Australia, The Perfume & Skincare Company was born – a simple but effective name reflecting Sheila’s desire to share her knowledge with others by way of stunning, hand crafted fragrances and skincare products.
“There is a clear distinction between Perfume & Skincare Company products and others,” says John Massetti, Sheila’s partner in business and in life, who now runs the company from the beautiful town on Robertson in the Southern Highlands with a team of 3 staff. “Ours are unique, they are our fragrances, we created them, we made them, we poured them, we crimped, labelled and boxed them. They come from us and the [small] retail stores we work with.”
As John and Sheila say, it’s not what they put in Perfume & Skincare Company products is, it’s what they leave out. “Our Skincare products bear this theory out,” says John. “Because we make and pour by hand, we don’t need to use any cheap nasty fillers that others use to ensure easy mixing, pouring and bottling. The preservatives others use are of serious strength because they need a longer shelf life. They are made overseas, arrive after a long sea voyage and warehoused ready to be road freighted to their destination.”
Five years ago, Sheila was involved in a horrific car accident, which meant she’s had to pull back from the business. Luckily, her husband was by her side to help take the reins. Closing their two Southern Highlands retail stores, John took over at the Robertson facility where products are made and shipped, adding a small retail store out the front.
“I looked after the making and everything past that point including the administration, John says. “That freed Sheila up to maintain the creative side. It’s her creative side that drives us and guides us. She attends to formulations, quality control and creates fun. She is currently working on two new fragrances, but sadly due to her physical health this is taking her longer than on the past.”
The rollercoaster of life aside, the Perfume & Skincare Company remains committed to a future of more handmade and hand-poured creations. “Our pleasure is derived from the wonderful feedback received from customers,’ says John, “the joy they experience from being complimented by strangers of how wonderful their fragrance is. The compliments from strangers make them smile, their feedback makes us smile. That’s our future, keeping wonderful people happy.”