*Celebrity hairstylist-turned-entrepreneur Kahh Spence spent years building relationships with famous clients, but one of the biggest breaks for his fragrance company came without a planned endorsement or campaign. According to Spence, Tina Knowles posted a video of Kelly Rowland doing her hair, and after finishing up, Rowland reached for a bottle of Samir Grey’s ONE and sprayed it into her hair — sending curious viewers straight to the comments to find out what she was using.
Within two hours, Samir Grey sold out of inventory expected to last two weeks.
The unexpected moment accelerated a young company Spence created for deeply personal reasons. Samir Grey, he told Entrepreneur, is a “love letter” to his late mother, whom he lost to colon cancer, and to the women whose sacrifices helped shape him.
Now that love letter has generated more than $500,000 in sales, according to Spence, and he expects the business to reach $1 million by year’s end.
Why Spence Didn’t Launch a Haircare Brand
After more than a decade as a celebrity hairstylist and beauty expert, Spence appeared positioned for the obvious entrepreneurial move: haircare.
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He deliberately went another direction.
“I want to make sure what I’m bringing to the marketplace is actually going to be valuable,” Spence told Entrepreneur, explaining that he felt he had something meaningful to contribute in fragrance and personal care.
That became Samir Grey, a name derived from his middle name and favorite color. The company launched its ONE fragrance in August 2025 with candied peach and vanilla notes and a $138 price tag.
The inspiration went deeper than luxury fragrance. Spence said his mother and the women around him inspired the brand after he watched how women “sacrifice themselves to take care of the world.”
Then Tina Knowles Posted That Video
Spence had spent a decade developing relationships with creators and celebrity peers, and former client Kelly Rowland eventually saw positive reviews he shared on Instagram and asked to try the fragrance.
Spence contacted Rowland’s assistant and sent her a bottle — without expecting publicity in return.
“I didn’t expect anything,” he told Entrepreneur. “I just wanted her to have it in her presence because who knows what the future could have held.”
Then came that Saturday morning in April.
Spence said he woke up and saw a video Knowles had posted featuring Rowland doing her hair. His Samir Grey fragrance was visible in the frame.
People in the comments began asking about the perfume, and Spence, who describes himself as an “avid comment reader,” started telling them it was Samir Grey’s ONE.
Then the orders started coming.
Two Hours Changed the Business
Samir Grey’s two-week inventory disappeared within two hours.
“It boosted things tremendously,” Spence said.
He told Entrepreneur that site sessions jumped about fivefold that day while the company’s email list grew three to four times. The fragrance remained sold out for approximately five weeks.
When Samir Grey restocked in May, the company recorded the equivalent of five months of sales in a single month. Months later, Spence said the business was still experiencing a “trickle-down effect” from the exposure.
One customer even told him during a TikTok Live that she proudly wears the same fragrance as Rowland.
“I love that,” Spence said.
A $500,000 Love Letter Keeps Growing
The celebrity connection delivered a major boost, but Spence had already done the work that allowed Samir Grey to capitalize when attention suddenly arrived.
He had developed the product, built relationships and established an online community.
When thousands of people became curious about a bottle sitting almost incidentally in somebody else’s video, he was there answering questions.
Samir Grey has been profitable since launch, Spence told Entrepreneur, with sales exceeding $500,000.
For Spence, however, the goal remains connection.
“How can I connect with the consumer and our community as best as possible?” he said. “Because that was the idea going into this from day one, of wanting this to feel a bit more human.”
That makes the unlikely sales explosion a fitting chapter for a business created as a tribute to his mother. Tina Knowles posted Kelly Rowland doing her hair. ]
Viewers spotted a perfume bottle. And within two hours, Spence’s “love letter” had sold off the shelf.
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