Beach House Group Names Former Urban Decay GM Malena Higuera CEO Of Fragrance Brand Noyz

Malena Higuera, former GM of L’Oréal brands Urban Decay and Dermablend, has been appointed CEO of Noyz, the upstart gen Z fragrance brand from incubator Beach House Group exclusive to Ulta Beauty in the United States.

In her new role, Higuera plans to build Noyz’s community, shepherd product launches extending the brand into different formats and with additional scents and drive profitable retail sales. The brand hit the market in June at all Ulta doors with four fragrances—Sh**ty Day, Love Club, Lost + Found and Unmute—developed in partnership with Robertet Group perfumer Jérôme Epinette and priced at $85 for 50-ml. sizes and $35 for 15-ml. sizes. Vanilla amber Unmute is the early bestseller.

“The opportunity here is to truly make noise for the brand, create community around raw and real storytelling and connect with the olfactory sense of smell in a way that is much more relatable,” says Higuera. “As a CEO, I get this distinct honor to join from the beginning. It’s the rare opportunity for a more seasoned, classic professional like me to join and help future-proof the brand from day one so we can create beautifully sustainable and healthy growth.”

PJ Brice, co-founder and CEO of Beach House Group, persuaded Higuera to take the CEO post at Noyz in part by showing her two photos on his phone that demonstrated to her the brand is breaking the mold. One was of a burning rose, and the other was of Noyz’s bottle, which resembles an oval having been given a push. Noyz fits into Higuera’s framework of five qualities contemporary brands should have: a compelling origin story, expertise, innovation that changes consumer perception, the ability to work at the speed of culture and a knack for inspiring an army of advocates.

“What I love about Noyz is it isn’t in a position where it needs to chase a trend, and it’s living on its own promise to bring expressive fragrances that are going to surprise consumer noses with stories that are really going to connect with consumer hearts,” says Higuera. “Unmute is a really good example of that because vanilla is a space that is a lasting part of the olfactory mapping of fragrance, but we’re choosing to reimagine it.”

“It’s the rare opportunity for a more seasoned, classic professional like me to join and help future-proof the brand from day one.”

Although Beach House Group has erected brands not affiliated with celebrities before (men’s skincare brand Marlowe, for example), it’s most associated with the celebrity-affiliated brands Pattern Beauty, Florence by Mills, Béis and Moon, and Noyz is a departure from the celebrity model. In its initial year, the publication Women’s Wear Daily cites industry sources estimating it could generate $30 million in sales. In 2020, Monogram Capital Partners invested in Beach House Group. Ido Leffler and Shaun Neff are co-founders in addition to Brice.

Along with Ulta, Noyz is available at Harrods in the United Kingdom. “It was a real statement that Harrods wanted to bring us in. We’re a more accessible price point for them,” says Higuera. “It was a match made in heaven because we’re bringing them a new kind of consumer that they would love, and they provide a beautiful partnership for us in raising the credentials of our truly premium juice.”

Gen Z consumers aged 14 to 27 years old have fueled a fragrance boom. From January to June this year, according to market research firm Circana, prestige fragrance led the beauty industry in category growth, with sales up 12% over last year. In 2023, Circana discovered 83% of gen Z consumers use fragrance, a 5% gain from the prior year. Gen Z consumers rank higher than other consumers for wearing fragrance at least three times a week and purchasing fragrance for personal use several times a year.

In a survey of teens in the spring this year, investment bank Piper Sandler found fragrance garnered the greatest growth in beauty spend, at 23%. There’s been a rise of teen boys flocking to high-end fragrances. Higuera has firsthand knowledge of boys’ fascination with fragrance. She has 11-year-old and 8-year-old sons, and the 8-year-old adores aromatic amber scent Sh**ty Day. He calls it “S Day.”

“The consumer wants the chance to play.”

“As a mom, it’s a great way of self-expression that I feel is in some regards even easier and safer than some of the things that you might be seeing,” says Higuera, predicting demand for fragrance from young consumers will persist. “What I love about fragrance is it just wakes up your sense. I couldn’t imagine you putting it to sleep.”

Noyz’s various price points are facilitating purchases by young shoppers who might be cash-strapped and are experimenting with a number of fragrances rather than sticking to a signature scent. Higuera mentions that the brand has had success with its $22 Discovery Kit that contains 2 ml. vials of its four fragrances. On Noyz’s website, customers can receive a $22 credit if they follow up a purchase of the Discovery Kit by buying a full-size fragrance.

“The consumer wants the chance to play and take you home. How do you feel after an hour? How do you feel at night?” says Higuera. “There’s definitely opportunity for giving the consumer options to play with you and to also keep it fresh.”

To reach young fragrance consumers on social media, Noyz is turning to content creators on TikTok in particular. It has a partnership with creator Jake Shane, and the brand is currently highlighting OOTD (outfit of the day) posts of creators incorporating fragrance in their outfits. Higuera says Noyz is interested in uncovering budding content creators with unique voices and having a “two-way conversation with consumers.” It will dive into mental health themes in its content and supports the organizations The Jed Foundation and Campaign Against Living Miserably.

Internally at Noyz, Higuera says she aspires to cultivate a work culture where employees can bring their “authentic selves” to the job. She favors frequent short meetings over infrequent long meetings. On Wednesdays, she holds short meetings touching on lessons from the week before, and on Fridays she holds meetings celebrating wins. Higuera says, “My No. 1 duty is to empower and enable my team, and if they feel that they feel empowered, but also enabled, I’m just here to take barriers out of their way.”