Find Your Own Path, with The New Savant’s Ingrid Nilsen & Erica Anderson

As one of the first YouTube stars, Ingrid reached over 6 million followers and landed pioneering deals with Covergirl, Jo Malone London, and Fresh Beauty. In 2020, she joined forces with Erica, who had built a career in tech and media, to launch The New Savant. The brand pays homage to the untraditional, self-made journey in life.

In this episode, Ingrid and Erica sit down with Brittney Jackson Moseley, who runs integrated marketing at Scentbird. From a tea shop in Paris to a ping pong table in Indiana, they take us back how they started making candles. They talk about capturing uncommon notes like desert air and pignoli cookies, and tell the story of the high school fantasy that inspired one of their most popular candles.

Highlights:

• Ingrid’s untraditional path, from college dropout to founder

• The story behind the name “The New Savant”

• Giving voice to those who have had to find their own way

• Launching out of Ingrid’s kitchen and selling out in 7 minutes

• The tradition customers started on their own

• Essential workers and the most heartwarming customer notes

• A 4-letter word, fancy potatoes, and the most hilarious customer notes

• Making the first candle during a trip to Indiana

• “I feel like this could be my next job”

• Meeting at Lesbians Who Tech

• Erica’s journey becoming who she wanted to be

• What it felt like to wear CK One growing up

• Ingrid feeling “never enough” and the weight of expectations

• Why creativity (and the olfactive sense) made Ingrid feel like she belonged

• The joy of wearing Bath & Body Works Sweet Pea and Jo Malone Peony & Blush Suede

• What does it mean to be feminine in presentation without the male gaze?

• The darkness (and many edges) of BYREDO Sellier

• Highlights from Ingrid’s 10+ years as a YouTube creator

• Ingrid’s decision to come out publicly and why it was groundbreaking

• Scent Spotlight: Mixed Feelings, California Christmas, and Dreamgirl

• Notes of steamed white jasmine rice, the smell of home for Ingrid

• Dreamgirl as a revisionist history of Ingrid’s teenage years

• Scent Connection, Go-To Scents Edition

• How many different ways can an almond cookie smell?

• What candles made in honor of each other would smell like

Featured Fragrances:
Mixed Feelings by The New Savant

California Christmas by The New Savant

Dreamgirl by The New Savant

Soak in all of our audio and video content at https://podcast.scentbird.com.