YAYIMBAYE: A student journeys into fragrance

Yayi Dia named the perfume YAYIMBAYE, her full first name in West African. (Panther photo by Tyuanna Williams)

Yayi Dia: the model/influencer, businesswoman, and student with her own perfume scent.

Dia is constantly on the move as a sophomore at Claflin University. She wears three entrepreneurial hats on top of being a Presidential Scholar in the Alice Carson Tisdale Honors College.

Dia’s newest journey has led her to an industry she’s never considered before: fragrance.

“It happened really fast for me. A company called Scent Craft actually offered to partner with me in creating the entire [fragrance] line. I had never seen anybody else do it before so I was excited to take on that process,” Dia said.

“It took about nine months from start to finish, so ultimately I just say this is my baby.”

She named the perfume YAYIMBAYE, her full first name in West African, and it was released in March.

The scent is described as a soft, fresh, floral fragrance.

As a newcomer to the industry, Dia did her research before crafting the scent.

“I didn't know anything about fragrances, about notes or things of that nature,” Dia said.

Dia’s fragrance line is directly affiliated with her career as a model/influencer.

Dia said that she gives her modeling career the least attention due to the traveling requirements.

“When I travel, I have to keep in mind that I'm still a full-time student. A lot of times I leave Saturday morning and have to be back in Orangeburg Sunday night. That's kind of hard,” Dia said.

On the other hand, she’s able to incorporate her influencer career into her everyday life.

“Whether it's clothes, shoes or makeup, I try to do it when I'm just living life,” Dia said.

Dia also has a podcast called Mind Over Matter, which branched into an LLC.

Digital and physical products, such as journals and planners, will be available to purchase on Amazon, Dia said.

“I didn't think that I would start a business at all. I wanted to be a doctor, so a lot changed in a short period of time,” Dia said.

Dia is a Black Girl Ventures (BGV) 2023 NextGen Student Visionary. BGV is a business accelerator program designed to help upcoming businesses.

“I'm really excited for where Mind Over Matter LLC is going to take me,” Dia said.

Updates for Mind Over Matter are made on the Instagram page, @mindovermatter.__.

Dia’s career as a model/influencer and her fragrance line can be followed on Instagram @therealafrikandoll.

“It's a triple threat: modeling, my fragrance, and Mind Over Matter,” Dia said.