Art by India Espy-Jones
Welcome to Behind The Beauty. Here, we highlight Black women in beauty who are taking the industry by storm and making history in their own right. Everyone from rising beauty brand founders, to behind-the-scenes PR mavens discuss their career journeys, biggest inspirations, and more.
Harlem Candle Co. and Harlem Perfume Co. founder Teri Johnson is more than a beauty brand owner. She’s a historian, an archivist, and a storyteller. How, you might ask? Every single one of her scents is an ode to a prominent Black icon, mostly from the Harlem Renaissance era. Think: everyone from Josephine Baker to Billie Holiday.
“My excitement around Harlem as a neighborhood came from my time living in Paris. It was interesting to see so many Black prominent artists,” like Baker and James Baldwin, “who are so celebrated in Paris and in France,” Johnson, whose incredible products can be found on our very own WeLoveUs Market Place, tells ESSENCE.
That said, when she finally moved to Harlem, post-grad, in 2000, she got to experience the magic in real time. “I was like, ‘This is where all the speakeasies were.’ The Savoy ballroom was there. There was something exciting about being able to walk on the same streets and imagine what it was like,” she shares. “Maybe they were all getting together in a brownstone, all elegantly dressed, and creating art together,” she adds. It was these moments that finally inspired Johnson, who had, at the time, been working as a travel and lifestyle influencer and content creator, to launch Harlem Candle Co. in 2014, and, eventually Harlem Perfume Co. in 2022.
More recently, she launched her RAGTIME candle, in partnership with Lincoln Center Theater, in celebration of the Broadway show. In terms of wearable fragrances, earlier this year, she launched the Eartha perfume, in collaboration with Eartha Kitt’s daughter. The scent itself embodies the singer’s aura through notes like California lemon and Sichuan pepper.
And, regardless of what she may have coming next, what keeps Johnson going is her drive to inspire the next generation of Black fragrance makers. “I just hope I’m able to set the stage and make this the norm. There will come a time where there are a whole bunch of us in the room, and it won’t be so rare.”
Below, in honor of Women’s History Month, Johnson discusses her journey as a founder, biggest inspirations, and much more.
The Story Behind Harlem Candle Co.:
When I first started making candles, my idea was not necessarily to start a brand. I was making candles because I wanted to give them as Christmas gifts and my love language is gifts. At the time, I was going to be seeing a lot of people and so I made about 50 different candles in my kitchen and I branded them. I called it Terry’s House of Candles. It was just cute. It was fun. And I’d gotten the fragrance oils from a chemist. And everyone was like, “Oh my God, these are so good. I’ll place an order. Can I buy some?” And that was the beginning. They just loved the scent so much. When I first started, the candles looked terrible, honestly. I was printing the labels on my printer at home.
But I thought, if I were to turn this into a business, I’m here making these candles in my Harlem kitchen, I’m listening to jazz. So, it makes sense to call it the Harlem Candle Company and use all of these incredible figures from the Harlem Renaissance as the inspiration for the fragrances, to carry on their legacies.
I started selling at these pop-ups and started mostly in Harlem and then all around New York City. I was probably doing a pop-up like once a week. Eventually, I’d done the Architectural Digest Design Show multiple times, which is actually how I got discovered by Sundial.
How Harlem Perfume Co. Was Born:
During the pandemic, in 2021, I was getting a lot of requests to do perfume. So Macy’s actually wanted to find out if we could contribute perfume samples for this beauty box they were doing. Even though I had never done perfume, I said yes.
Luckily, the perfumers I was already working with had done fine fragrances for the likes of Bath and Body Works, Estee Lauder, and L’Oréal.
Life Before Beauty Entrepreneurship:
Before I launched in 2014, I was a travel lifestyle expert. So I was traveling around the world, creating content with a friend of mine, who I started a brand called Travelista with. I was Travelista Terry. And I even did a series with the Travel Channel and BET, in partnership with Ford Motor Company.
I even worked with a lot of different tourism boards. So between YouTube and then we also packaged our show and sold it to a bunch of different international TV channels. To this day, I still have friends that will say things like, “Terry, I’m in Estonia watching you on TV.” I think I did my last piece of content in 2018 and then I retired and now I travel for pleasure and I don’t have to talk about it, write about it, or share about it anymore. I can do it for fun and take my producer hat off.
Her Early Life:
I grew up in Houston, Texas and went to school in Florida. But my family, on my mother’s side of the family, they were very involved in civil rights and education was always a very big deal and they were big travelers.
But when it comes to beauty, my aunt, who recently passed, was my biggest inspiration. She kind of reminded you of Diane Carroll. She was the type of woman who wouldn’t leave the house unless she was dressed with a whole face of makeup, perfume, looking good, and with her nails done. That was Aunt Barbara. And when I reflect on my exposure to beauty and my excitement around it, it all started with her.
Her Favorite Creations:
I would say the one that is probably the most special to me right now is the Eartha fragrance, because I got to work with Eartha Kitt’s daughter and the perfumer in order to create this scent. And even though Eartha’s not alive today, she was very involved in the process because she kept showing up in my dreams.
I also really love our Josephine items. Even the perfumer that was behind both of those, she grew up in France and so just has the familiarity with Josephine Baker: her being an anti-Nazi spy and just all the contributions that Josephine Baker made as an activist. She’s also the one who did our Billie Holiday perfume.
What It Means To Her To Be A Black Woman History Maker:
I think what I feel the most proud of is knowing that I’m setting a path. There are not a lot of us in fragrance, especially in fine fragrance and candles with multiple brands. I know that there’s going to be those who come behind me and they’re going to be amazing. And I just hope I’m able to set the stage and make this the norm. There will come a time where there are a whole bunch of us in the room, and it won’t be so rare.
Who She Wants To Give Her Flowers To This Women’s History Month:
I think it would have to be Joseph Baker. I have created so many things inspired by her, from journals, tote bags, two candles, perfumes, and more. On the Deux Amours candle, which is inspired by her, the packaging is an ode to her sheet music. Back in her time, during World War II, she used to use the sheet music to hide her spy secrets in Invisible Inc. She was going to all these different countries in Europe with her band in her group, and they weren’t suspecting her at all. Once I learned this, I knew it had to be a part of the design element. She wasn’t just this sexy woman dancing on stage. She was fearless in other ways, too. She was very courageous.
