What If Your Culture Had A Signature Scent

Chat to me! The smell of home can hit harder than a photo, and for Karen Young it starts with Guyana: wooden houses, warm air, family rituals, and the kind of sensory memory you carry even after moving to Brooklyn as a child. We talk with Karen, founder of Oui The People, about being American by birth and Guyanese by heart, and how that dual identity becomes the foundation for a body care and fine fragrance brand that feels intimate, specific, and real. We get into the leap from a psychology degree to a decade in fashion, then into beauty at Estée Lauder, and finally into entrepreneurship. Karen shares the unglamorous middle: testing ideas, building products piece by piece, and literally hauling orders in big bags to the post office before work. Her first hero product is shaving, inspired by the safety razors she watched her uncles use, and built to address irritation, ingrowns, and hyperpigmentation. From there, scent becomes the language that ties performance to emotion. The deeper conversation is about storytelling and representation in fragrance. Karen explains why “Caribbean fragrance” can’t just mean coconut and pineapple, and how notes like driftwood, sea air, wet earth, palm leaves, and wood can sit confidently in luxury fragrance. We also talk brand awareness, retail pressure, Sephora growth, and the moment things shifted when she finally showed up on camera to tell the story herself. If you love niche fragrance, body care rituals, and founder-led beauty brands, press play, then subscribe, share with a friend, and leave a review so more listeners can find the show. Support the show Style & Vibes: Website |  Newsletter | Youtube  |  Instagram |  Facebook Produced by Breadfruit Media