This article has been edited since it first appeared in print.
(From left) Quinn Parfums co-founders (and sisters) Jeri and Reana Muhammad
Reana Muhammad is no stranger to lab equipment. Thanks to a background in science and a career in local research facilities, she’s spent years surrounded by glassware both volumetric and graduated. For her, styling labware into functional household decor was an obvious choice for a side business.
Quinn Parfums, the candle and fragrance brand she launched in 2022 with her sister, Jeri, is set apart by its scientific styling. Candles are poured into 250 mL borosilicate beakers, reed diffusers arrive in narrow-necked flasks, and matches come packaged in pill bottles.
“We were looking at the candle space and just talking about how everything was all the same — the same old packaging, same scents,” Jeri says. Reana adds, “I was working in these labs, looking at these scientific vessels every day just thinking, ‘This is dope.’”
The sisters hand-pour every candle in their Richmond studio, using cotton wicks and paraffin-free wax that provide a 45-hour burn time. Candles ($38) and matches ($10 for a pack of 100) are available online and at the Shop Made in Virginia store in Scott’s Addition; the partners plan to introduce a line of reed diffusers this summer.
Reana and Jeri source the brand’s containers from a nationwide supplier that also provides labware to universities. By design, the beakers — made from borosilicate glass, which is often used in cookware — are excellent vessels for candles because they’re able to withstand 515-degree heat, while standard candle containers have a 200-degree heat limit.
To create the brand’s line of five scents, they experimented with coconut wax and oil combinations that “normally wouldn’t go together,” Reana says.
“There’s a science to everything we do,” she says. “We sit down and experiment with various fragrances until we find something that just works. Everything has some type of formula to it.”
It took them months to find the right pairing of lavender and vanilla for L.I.N., the brand’s first scent — a take on the smell of fresh linen. “If I had to choose a scent that really embodies Quinn, I’d say L.I.N,” Jeri says. “It’s not your ordinary linen scent. It definitely captures our idea of creating unique scents that you won’t find anywhere else.”
Other current scents include the sandalwood-forward French 75; the breezy B.R.B; Reana’s favorite, OUI; and Jeri’s favorite, Amore, which she says reminds her of her sister’s wedding day in Rome.
The Richmond natives are guided by the hypothesis that standing out as a small maker among countless online startups requires eccentricity. “People are naturally drawn to what’s different,” Jeri says.
