Issue link: https://www.balharbourdigital.com/i/111120
There���s something fascinating about identical twins, particularly when they���re blonde, elegant and, in the case of Dawn and Samantha Goldworm, founders of the innovative scent company 12.29 (their joint birthdate), effortlessly beautiful. So perhaps it was expected that they should attract attention on a Friday afternoon perched at the Club Room bar in New York���s Soho Grand Hotel. Dawn languidly strolled in first without a hint of makeup, wearing a relaxed black blouse and her flaxen locks loose and wavy, followed by the sportier Samantha, with her hair scraped into a low chignon and wearing a fitted black leather pencil skirt and tuxedo-shirt-inspired top. Surreal as it was, it could have been a Martin Schoeller shoot. Opening up on everything from high school talents (Dawn in ballet and Samantha in gymnastics, volleyball and soccer) and personalities (Dawn an artsy introvert and Samantha a self-confessed ���people person��� and former vice president of her sorority Delta Gamma) to post-college pursuits (Dawn, until July of last year, as a nose for Coty fragrances, and Samantha, a decade-long career built on consumer insights for Unilever, Lanc��me and American Express), the New Hampshire-born sisters were opposite but complementary. ���We were definitely two parts of one person growing up,��� Dawn says with a laugh. ���Then I went to NYU and Samantha to University of Miami. We sort of went off to find out more about ourselves.��� ���But as we���re getting older we���re merging into more of one person again,��� Samantha finishes, passing a plate of salmon tartare they were sharing. The sisters first combined their talents in 2009, when they launched 12.29 as a side project while they worked day jobs. Dawn was living in Paris at the time and had an idea to create a custom scent for accessories designer Corto Moltedo, a close pal from college, and his new store in Palais Royal. The fragrance, an energizing citrusy aroma to match the designer���s bold handbags, was a hit. From New York, Samantha jumped in as business director, and the sisters continued to create scents for unconventional venues and events, such as a smoky incense fragrance for Rodarte���s Spring 2010 runway show, intriguing 90 BAL HARBOUR heady notes for Thakoon���s Spring 2012 collection at The Plaza hotel, Lady Gaga���s Fame fragrance launch party in New York last fall, and a sea- and turquoise-inspired fragrance for Design Miami, where the sisters have been in charge of setting the olfactory tone for the last four years. In 2013, the sisters will be creating scents for each of the urban establishments run by Thompson Hotels, as well as kicking off a partnership with perfume powerhouse Firmenich, which is sure to take their profile to another level. Not surprisingly, 12.29 has become such a success that the sisters are giving their day jobs the boot. Both are devoting their full-time energies to developing the company and what they describe as olfactory branding, which is now being taken more seriously by corporations of all types. ���All the brands are trying to attract the consumer in a new way,��� Samantha says. ���They���re trying to find that special sauce.��� And if they���re picking up a few new skills along the way, that doesn���t hurt either. For instance, Samantha���s perky spirit has rubbed off on Dawn, she says. And Samantha has embarked on nose training. ���It���s proven that identical twins have exactly the same sense of smell,��� Dawn says, suggesting that part of having a strong sense of smell is feeling rather than thinking. ���Because the answers aren���t rational,��� Samantha chimes in. ���If you start to rationalize things, chances are you���re going to get the scent wrong.��� Her favorite smell though is less esoteric than nostalgic. ���My mother���s cooking,��� she confesses. ���Not a specific dish, but the combination of everything. Tough to top that.��� BH PORTRAIT BY BEN RITTER From above: Corto Moltedo���s Paris boutique, Samantha and Dawn Goldworm and the Thompson Hotel���s Thom Bar in New York.