One Tyler native is now making an impact in Houston. Nineteen-year-old JaCorrian Smith has just released the His and Hers Collection, a set of colognes and perfumes for males and females.
Smith said that the His and Hers Collection is a part of his overall J. Smith Collection Project.
“So what really got me into all this, was that I used to go to events,” Smith said. “I moved to Houston two years ago after graduating at the age of 17. I came to Houston to go to the University of Houston.”
Moving to a bigger city offered Smith the opportunity to go to bigger events.
“When I would go to these large events and large galas, I’d always mix my cologne with different colognes to get a particular smell, or to get a different smell than what it was supposed to be,” Smith said. “So, June of 2020, around 5 a.m., I literally popped up and said ‘I want to start my own cologne and perfume.’”
Smith released His & Hers on Dec. 12. Even though the decision to start the line of scents was quick, Smith said that there was a lot of research that he had to conduct and connections he had to make.
“I had to get a chemist, so I started researching, I found five manufacturers that actually produce smells and fragrances for lotions, candles, and things such as that,” Smith said.
Smith spent months testing and mixing together different scents already on the market so he could find types of scents that he liked so he could manufacture his own. But for Smith, it’s not just about the smells, it’s a story of triumph and setting an example.
“At 17 I moved to Houston. I was a go-getter. I was constantly looking for opportunities… From there, I was able to build a foundation,” Smith said. “I’ve been able to able to meet so many phenomena around the city of Houston and so many famous people around the globe. I would prepare myself, introduce myself, and they’d be like ‘you’re so young.’ I want to be able to show others where I came from and where they can go.”
Since moving to Houston, Smith has taken the job of a publisher at Butler-Wiseman publishing while he has attended the University of Houston majoring in public health and business.
“When I moved to Houston, it just gave me those opportunities, from left to right. I’m a people-person. I like to talk,” Smith said. “I would go to these certain events. One day I went to the media’s Christmas party. I wasn’t a part of the media, I knew nothing about media, but I took on those opportunities to learn from people around me, and be around people that have money and do this as a career. And from there, I was able to look and say, ‘I want that style of personality,’ ‘I want that style of dressing,’ ‘I want that style of being able to hold myself up and speak.’”
Smith even compares his personality to how his cologne came about.
“I combine that all together, just like my cologne and perfume,” Smith said. “I was able to take from here and there, and create something big, and that’s exactly what I do for myself.”
But Smith said that he’s not just interested in creating scents, he has bigger dreams. He’s working on a book set to come out in February titled “The Odds are in Your Favor.”
“It will tell my story as an African-American, coming out of Tyler Texas, and now very known and prominent within the city of Houston,” he said.
Smith has dreams to build his brand to and be a motivational speaker.
“I also want to have my own clothing store, my own brand and eventually, I want to be the state representative of Houston, Texas,” Smith said.
“I want to be able to transfer through all of this that I’m not just in cologne, I’m not just a college student, I’m not just at a 9-to-5 job, I’m everything at the age of 19,” Smith continued. “If I did it, they can do it. That’s just the whole message I want to pass through my cologne, through my book, through my personality. And through me being able to represent others, I want to transfer that message over.”
Those interested in purchasing the His and Hers collection, or learning more can visit thejsmith collection.com.