Zest Dressed x Dabira Aroma

Shola Agunbiade, owner of Dabira Aroma artfully curates scented products aimed at elevating your mood.

SCENT Sense

Shola and I met when we worked together at a major retailer in NYC almost 10 years ago. Beyond her limitless talent, Shola’s work ethic and unselfish nature makes her someone to admire by all. Once you smell one of her scented products you’ll immediately realize the artful approach she takes to building a truly unique blend of fragrances with the power to lift your mood. In our collaboration, Shola used the same all natural ingredients she uses for her own line of candles Dabira Aroma, while using our curated assortment of thrifted dishes as vessels for the candles themselves. These candles are truly a luxe take on an eco-friendly gift, arriving in beautiful recycled and plastic-free packaging.

Shop Zest Dressed X Dabira Aroma THRIFTED DISH CANDLES here, and I hope you enjoy reading more about Shola’s journey, process and reflections as a small business owner below!

MEET Shola

I started making candles a few years ago. I wanted to give a gift to friends and coworkers without having to spend a ton of money. I wanted something thoughtful and personal. I ended up on Pinterest, and one of the options was personal candles. I started to watch a ton of YouTube videos and ordered supplies. After a few trials and errors, the candles were perfect, and everyone loved and even commented I should start a side hustle. I didn’t pay it any mind until I moved to California, and I was really looking to start a business, and I thought of a few different ideas. I remembered I made candles and wanted to pick that back up. I tested a ton of different waxes and fragrances and ended up perfecting a few scents before I launched Dabira Aroma.

I have always been passionate about giving back and volunteering, so I knew I wanted a part of my business to give back. I have always wanted to do more for my home country and decided to donate a portion of the proceeds to a charity in Nigeria.

All of the scents are based on personal experiences, some from where I have traveled to, such as Casablanca. When I visited Morocco, I loved how they infused many dishes with fruit, so I knew I had to duplicate that in a scent. Lekki Beach is also based on a beach in Nigeria. I pull from scents I love and tap into my customers to hear what scents they are loving, and I use that to make our fragrance blends.

Dabira Aroma is a black woman-owned all-natural apothecary brand that provides hand-poured candles and body products for busy millennial women. Our vision is to bring awareness to the importance of self-care and self-love while also infusing philanthropy through our giveback efforts. When you make a purchase through Dabira Aroma, 5% of each purchase is donated to charity. I created my company in June 2019 in Oakland, CA. The launch of Dabira Aroma was inspired by growing up in a small business household and my love for candles. I created Dabira Aroma to bring natural luxury home goods that won’t break the bank and help people in need.