When beauty-industry veteran Sergio Tache looked at the perfume industry in 2018, something didn’t add up. “It doesn’t make sense that you have to fork out $150 to buy a nice bottle of perfume,” he tells NewBeauty. “There’s got to be a better way of doing this.”
That simple observation led to the creation of Dossier in 2019, a fragrance company built on a straightforward premise: create high-quality perfumes with exceptional ingredients while making them accessible to everyone. “That’s been the theme across all the companies I’ve started in the beauty space,” Tache, the brand’s founder and CEO, explains. “How can I provide more value to the customer and not have them pay these crazy margins that you sometimes see in the beauty and fashion industry?”
Tache describes the company’s approach as “a mix of both chemistry and craftsmanship.” Dossier’s perfumers source ingredients from around the globe, from France to Haiti, with one guiding principle: sourcing the very best ingredients. Dossier’s labs, located in the perfume capital of Grasse in southern France, bring these globally sourced ingredients to life.
Dossier has developed two distinct collections: its buzzy Impressions line, featuring 100+ fragrances inspired by luxury perfumes, and their Originals collection of 15 unique scents. Currently, the brand’s best-sellers are Ambery Saffron ($49), inspired by Maison Francis Kurkdjian Baccarat Rouge 540, Ambery Vanilla ($29), inspired by YSL’s Black Opium, and Woody Sandalwood ($49), inspired by Le Labo’s Santal 33.
Tache tells us additions to both collections are carefully considered. “We look at what’s trending, we look at what people are requesting, and we also refer to the knowledge of people within the company who know about the perfume industry inside and out,” Tache says of the Impressions line. For the Originals, “that’s more a creative process. We look at themes we want to organize perfumes around.”
Beyond making perfumes, Tache sees Dossier’s role as educational. “We try to be as educational as possible and really reveal the ins and outs of the perfume industry,” he says. In an industry historically shrouded in mystery and exclusivity, Dossier takes a different approach. “The world of perfume has historically been very esoteric, very focused on this aspirational image. We’re trying to change that.”
This mission shapes everything from Dossier’s product names to its marketing approach. Instead of being dubbed a “dupe” company, Tache says he wants people to think of Dossier as a perfume house who makes great perfumes. “Our desire is that perfumery goes back to what perfume should be about—the scent, not all the unnecessary fluff, whether it’s the marketing fluff or the packaging fluff.”
Where luxury houses might describe their fragrances with ethereal poetry—think “captured moonlight” or “whispers of midnight jasmine”—Dossier strips away the pretense. A shopper browsing the site will find clear, straightforward descriptions that make sense: Ambery Saffron instead of Baccarat Rouge 540, Gourmand White Flowers instead of Viktor&Rolf Flowerbomb. Each fragrance page breaks down the key notes in simple terms, explaining what you’re actually smelling rather than what you should be feeling.
“I’d love people to think of Dossier as a much more approachable brand, where people feel they can actually ask questions and understand more about the perfumes, versus just relying on this very aspirational image that luxury brands project,” says Tache.
It’s working—customers are not only saving money but learning about fragrance composition along the way. The result is an educated consumer who understands exactly what they’re spritzing and why they love it.
This commitment to clarity continues with Dossier’s latest launch, The Color Factory Collection, which debuts October 31. The collection translates colors into distinct olfactory experiences, with fragrances like Black Shadow—an intense woody blend featuring black pepper, coffee and guaiac wood—and Orange Glow, a bright, fruity composition of cantaloupe, orange flower and peach. True to form, even these more conceptual fragrances maintain Dossier’s straightforward approach: each scent clearly articulates what you’re smelling, just with an artistic twist.
“When people buy a Dossier fragrance, I want them to feel like they’ve made a smart and empowered decision, that they feel more knowledgeable about the industry,” Tache says. By making scents both financially and intellectually accessible, Dossier is proving that understanding fragrance doesn’t require a degree in perfumery or a high price tag—just clear information, honest communication and quality product.
