Today we’d like to introduce you to Rosalind McDaniel.
Hi Rosalind, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Sleep Esthetics honestly started by accident. In the summer of 2023, I was playing around with fragrance and created a pillow spray for myself. There was no big business plan behind it. One of my clients smelled it, loved it, and wanted one. Then someone else wanted one, and it just kept going from there.
At first, Sleep Esthetics was completely centered around sleep. The idea was simple: create a “pillow potion” that made getting into bed at night feel a little better. But as I started selling, customers kept asking me for different scents and different ways to use them. I listened, experimented, and the brand naturally grew into home and body fragrance.
Since then, I’ve had opportunities I definitely wasn’t thinking about when I made that first bottle in 2023. I’ve hosted perfume-making experiences, created custom fragrances and fragrance products for events, and had my work included in major spaces and events, including Super Bowl-related experiences.
I’m still building, though, and I think that’s an important part of my story. I’m learning what works, changing what doesn’t, reaching out to people, hearing no sometimes, and continuing to figure out what Sleep Esthetics can become. What started as one pillow spray has grown into something much bigger than I originally imagined.
Today, my goal is to build Sleep Esthetics into a true fragrance house — one known not only for the scents we create, but for the experiences and memories we create around fragrance. And it’s pretty crazy to think that all of this started because one person smelled something I made for myself and said, essentially, “I want one too.”
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It definitely has not been a smooth road. One of my biggest challenges has been learning that having a good product and building a successful business are two completely different things.
When people actually experience Sleep Esthetics, the response has always been strong. People smell the fragrances, love them, buy them and ask questions about what I’m creating next. The harder part has been figuring out how to consistently get the product in front of enough people.
I’ve had periods where sales were great and periods where I’ve gone days without a single sale. I’ve spent money on products or ideas that didn’t work, changed directions more than once, struggled with social media, questioned my pricing and even questioned whether I should keep going. I’ve also had to learn how to run a business while working full time, being a mother and simply having a life outside of entrepreneurship.
Probably the biggest lesson has been realizing that I can’t build this business from behind my phone. Sleep Esthetics grows when I show up. Events, perfume parties, collaborations, meeting people and allowing them to actually experience the fragrances have pushed the brand forward far more than trying to make everything look perfect online.
I’m still figuring some of it out. I don’t have a story where every launch sold out or every idea worked. But I do have a product that people continue to respond to, and every challenge has forced me to become more intentional about how I turn that product into the company I know Sleep Esthetics can become.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m a creative, an executive professional, a mother, and the founder of Sleep Esthetics — and somehow, all of those worlds have shaped the way I do business.
Professionally, I’ve built my career working alongside executive leadership, where I’ve learned how to take an idea and actually make it happen. I’m naturally the person who can walk into a room, see what’s missing, organize the chaos, create the experience and make it look effortless by the time everyone else arrives.
Sleep Esthetics is where that skill meets my creativity. I don’t just want to sell someone a fragrance. I think about the entire experience: What does the room look like? What are people wearing? What are they drinking? What does the packaging feel like? What scent will make someone stop and ask, “What is that?” I’ve taken that mindset into perfume parties, custom fragrance experiences, collaborations and large-scale events.
What I’m most proud of is that I’ve created opportunities for myself without waiting to be invited into the room. I will send the email. I will pitch the idea. I will create the mockup. I will show up to the event. And if there isn’t already a lane for what I want to do, I’m comfortable creating one.
I think what sets me apart is that I understand both sides of the table. I can be the woman in the executive meeting discussing strategy, logistics and operations, and then go home and spend hours developing a fragrance or dreaming up an experience from scratch. There’s structure behind my creativity.
I’m still building my career and Sleep Esthetics, but I’m very clear about the woman I’m becoming. I want my work to feel intentional, elevated and a little unexpected. I don’t necessarily need to be the loudest person in the room, but I do want you to remember what I created after I leave it.
Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
The biggest thing that has worked for me is showing up. You can have an amazing product, a great idea and all the talent in the world, but people have to know you exist. I go to the events, introduce myself, send the email, make the pitch and follow up.
I’ve learned that networking isn’t about knowing everybody. It’s about being intentional about the rooms you enter and making sure people remember you when you leave. I don’t wait for an invitation to make a connection or create an opportunity.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://sleepesthetics.square.site/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sleep.esthetics/
