The Story Behind The Smel Gud Shop
BIOLOGY MEETS NATURE IN EVERY FORMULA
The Smel Gud Shop is a 100% woman-owned skincare, body-care and haircare company founded by Stephanie Davis, a biology graduate with a background in chemistry who personally formulates and makes her products in small batches in South Carolina.
Why “Smel Gud”?
The name actually started with my husband.
He would reminisce about growing up in the city and how he used the phrase “smel gud” when he was getting ready to go out. He might say, “I gotta get some smel gud before I go out”—meaning he needed something that smelled really good.
Years later, when I was building the brand, that phrase stuck with me. It was familiar, memorable and connected to something people have been doing forever: putting on something that smells good before stepping out into the world.
But The Smel Gud Shop grew beyond fragrance. Today, the name represents a full line of skincare, body care, haircare and fragrance products that I formulate and make in small batches.
The name may have started with smelling good. The brand I built around it is about caring for yourself from head to toe.
Meet Stephanie Bokiyah Davis — Founder, Formulator & Maker
I’m Stephanie Bokiyah Davis, founder, formulator and maker behind The Smel Gud Shop.
Long before I started making skincare, I earned my degree in biology and studied chemistry. I later built a career in knowledge management, training and enablement—work centered on taking complicated information and making it useful to real people.
That same way of thinking follows me into formulation today.
I want to know why an ingredient is in a formula, what role it plays and whether it works well alongside everything else I’ve chosen. Avocado oil became a foundation across my formulations because of the role it can play in nourishing and conditioning skin and hair—not because it happened to be a trending ingredient.
I founded The Smel Gud Shop in 2021, and I’m still hands-on in the business. I formulate, make batches, test products, fill jars and bottles, meet customers at markets and work on growing Smel Gud into more retail and wholesale spaces.
For me, staying close to the making matters. The science helps me understand the ingredients. Talking directly with customers helps me understand the people using them. The products live where those two things meet.
Why Avocado Oil?
Avocado oil isn't an occasional hero ingredient at The Smel Gud Shop. It is a foundation I return to across the brand.
Naturally rich in fatty acids, avocado oil helps nourish and condition dry-feeling skin and supports the skin's natural moisture barrier. Its versatility also makes sense for the kind of company I wanted to build—one that cares for skin, body and hair without chasing a different ingredient story every season.
You'll find avocado oil throughout Smel Gud formulations because it reflects how I formulate: start with ingredients that have a job to do, understand why they belong together, and build from there.
Learn Why Avocado Is at the Heart of Smel Gud →
THE SMEL GUD DIFFERENCE
01 — Founder Formulated
Created by a founder with a biology degree and chemistry background—not outsourced to a faceless product pipeline.
02 — Avocado at the Heart
Our signature avocado oil runs across skin, body and hair formulations, giving the brand a consistent ingredient foundation.
03 — Personally Made in Small Batches
Stephanie remains hands-on in production, from formulation and batching to filling the jars and bottles customers take home.
04 — Purposeful Sourcing
Whenever possible, ingredients are sourced through small businesses and community-impact organizations.
From Small Batches to Retail Shelves
The Smel Gud Shop began in 2021 with me making products in small batches and selling directly to customers. Today, Smel Gud has grown beyond those early batches, reaching customers online, at local markets and through a growing number of retail partners.
That growth has happened one relationship at a time, while I’ve remained hands-on in the formulation and making of the products.
Still Personal as We Grow
Growth hasn't changed one of the things I value most about running The Smel Gud Shop: staying connected to the people who use what I make.
Customers meet me at local markets, send questions directly, share what they're using and tell me what they want to see next. That direct connection gives me something a large personal-care company rarely has—the opportunity to hear from the person using the product and carry those conversations back into the business.
Smel Gud is growing, but I don't want it to stop feeling human.
Where Smel Gud Is Going
I’ve built The Smel Gud Shop one batch, one customer and one opportunity at a time. The next stage is about creating the space and systems that allow the business to grow while keeping the things that make Smel Gud personal.
My vision includes a dedicated retail space with room for production, so the products can move out of my home workspace and into a space designed for making them. I’m also focused on growing our wholesale presence and bringing Smel Gud into more spas, boutiques, gyms and wellness-focused retailers.
Growth matters to me, but so does how we grow. I want The Smel Gud Shop to become a larger business without losing the hands-on formulation, ingredient standards and customer connection that built it.