Scent is a powerful tool, a means of evoking memory and emotion with just one sniff.
Have you ever inhaled deeply, just minutes after it has finished raining, and the smell of damp earth seems to greet you?
A heady whiff of tangy sea salt can take you back to a childhood holiday; a reminder of a place and a moment which you feared was lost to time.
For Peter Briggs, scent has delivered the sweet smell of success and enabled him to bring something different to the north-east.
His business, The Solid Cologne Project, is a Stonehaven based fragrance company offering wax based, alcohol free alternatives to traditional aftershaves and perfumes.
Peter has been handmaking all of his products since beginning back in 2019, and the hard work has clearly paid off.
There are fifteen different unisex fragrances currently available on his website with each having its own distinctive name inspired by Scottish landscapes (‘Granite’, ‘Rosewood’) and culturally historical figures (‘Outlander’, ‘Clansman’).
Unlike many businesses that have struggled during the pandemic, Peter tells us that The Solid Cologne Project has gone from strength to strength.
“During Covid, sales have actually increased,” he says.
“I think people were looking for different ways of shopping but still looking to buy locally at the same time.
“We’ve had a lot more enquiries from gift shops as well for when we’re finally allowed to stock in them too.”
Still currently working a full-time day job in IT within the oil and gas sector, Peter’s “passion” lies in his self-run business, The Solid Cologne Project.
As well as offering him a more niche working pursuit, Peter feels that his business also allows him to tap into his creative side.
“I’ve always had an artistic mind,” he says, “and I’ve always wanted to have a project that was a bit less corporate.
When I started the business, I was determined to create something that I could be proud of.
“I also wanted to make something that offers a real local, handmade alternative to the high street.
“Most people have never seen the concept of solid cologne bars before, so a lot of customers immediately pick up on that.”
Each of Peter’s solid cologne bars – which he makes himself at home – are highly concentrated with fragrance and activated with a rub and application to pulse points like the neck and wrists.
Fed up with taking expensive bottles of aftershave out and about or in the car, Peter has purposely designed his handmade products so that they can easily be carried around without any faff.
“They’re small and discreet so you can keep them in your handbag, wallet, purse or what have you,” says Peter.
“You can take them on airlines as well because they’re below 100ml – they tick so many boxes.”
The ethical nature of The Solid Cologne Project’s products ticks even more boxes.
Each bar is animal cruelty free, plastic free and alcohol free, with all ingredients sourced locally in Aberdeenshire.
And when it comes to scents, Peter believes that personality is the key ingredient.
“I think fragrances are more of a personal thing nowadays,” says Peter.
I wanted the scents to invoke memories for people when they smelled them.
“Matching them with a name for each scent like ‘Viking’ always seems to capture some feeling for people.
“I’d say around eight fragrances are more masculine smelling and the other seven are more feminine, but I’ve had men buying the ladies’ ones and vice versa.
“Everyone has a different nose, so I wanted to have a range of things that could suit everyone.”
Craft shows and pop-up events have been vital in spreading the word of The Solid Cologne Project around the north-east.
But despite witnessing a shortage of these recently due to Covid-19, it seems that a certain group of loose ladies and other TV personalities have caught whiff of the business’s progress.
“We’ve actually been invited to take part in the Lunch & Laughs tour of the UK for their Aberdeen date this September,” says Peter.
“We’ll be one of five local businesses to have a stall in the retail section of the event.
“Everyone there can do a spot of shopping before sitting down for their champagne lunch and listening to the ladies!”
Passion and creativity are at the centre of many great business ideas and this certainly seems to be the case with The Solid Cologne Project.
Its local, ethical ethos sets its products apart from many of the big-name high street fragrances.
But above all, what Peter enjoys most about his business is his focus on good customer service.
“I’m more than happy to talk to people to help them choose fragrances,” he says.
I think we’re doing something different.
“We’re Scottish, handmade, small batched and coming up with names that appeal to people more so than our competitors do, I think.
“At some point when I’ve built this up to a high enough level, it might one day be able to cut above the big bad oil world and allow me to live a happier way of life.
“This is my passion.”
View The Solid Cologne Project’s products via https://www.thesolidcologneproject.co.uk/
Tickets for the upcoming Lunch & Laughs event at Ardoe House Hotel, Aberdeen on September 4 can be ordered via https://lunchandlaughslive.com/
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