I never for the life of me imagined that, on an overcast February lunchtime, I’d be hot-footing my way to Sparkhill on the orders of someone who once turned down the lead role in Baywatch to give Pamela Anderson a chance to shine.
And yet on an overcast February morning, I found myself marching down Stratford Road in search of the place that Caprice – the international model and star of film and TV – had insisted I try out.
It was a shop with such a good vibe that Caprice chose it out of all the perfume shops in the whole world to film her latest movie in; when An English Christmas Wish comes to TV this Christmas, Sparkhill will be front and centre.
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It wasn’t the assurance of a good time sniffing perfumes that had convinced me I needed to go. It was instead the way Caprice described owner Sajida Parveen – an inspirational, warm businesswoman with the kind of generous personality that could convince an international star to take her kids on holiday to Sparkhill.
I got it within minutes. On a road of gleaming windows filled with twinkly fabric suits, the kind of jewellery a bride would wear on the biggest day of her life and markets with fresh fruit and vegetables stacked outside, The Perfume Closet is a little haven from the throng.
And make no mistake, Sparkhill is absolutely alive with shoppers, people with bags full of bargains passing by the accessible ramp entrance to a shop that was designed for everyone.
Saj is waiting at the door to greet me and Caprice’s glowing recommendation checked out. The shop is bigger than I’d expected, chock-a-block full of perfumes and potions, tiny vials of oil, bath bombs, diffusers, huge gilded bottles, big-name brand sprays and international ones I’d never heard of but was keen to sniff.
Saj had the inside scoop on them all.
“Perfume was an unexpected love affair,” she explains, showing me around, “as the best things are.”
Funny, considering the movie Caprice filmed here is a tale of love too.
“When she called I wondered if it was a scam at first!” Saj explains. “But as she was telling me about her film, the plot of a perfumer on a journey of growth, it felt like I could see my own dream in it.”
It’s been a long-term dream, one still unfolding. The 39-year-old tells me about her time at the elite Aston Business School, her subsequent work in finance and her teacher training in Warwick.
Standing in a room filled with roses and a reputation for having one of the best noses in Birmingham, Saj told me how she gave it up to go out and make a business success instead of just teaching others how they might have one.
And where better than the neighbourhood she was born and raised in?
“The Perfume Closet was something new to this road. People come to Sparkhill but not necessarily to shop for fragrance.
“I was born and raised around here and people shop for clothes and jewellery, and there’s a huge Asian wedding scene, but I saw a gap in the market and knew I wanted to make it work.”
And so, she did. Saj opened a decade ago on the street, moving to the unit she’s in now 18 months ago, a goal she worked towards alongside raising two very young children.
On a street of many male-owned stores, Saj is bucking the trend as a female founder, running The Perfume Closet alongside a jewellery shop over the road, Hooriyat, specialising in Asian bridal gems.
As she takes me through her huge offering, I’m amazed at how many designer brands she stocks.
“It’s a very closed industry but I broke down doors so I could have those direct relationships with them.”
I notice Coach, Paco Rabanne, Prada, Dolce and Gabanna, Jimmy Choo and more, an impressive list of connections.
Among specially-packaged gift sets filled with posh chocolates, some in adorable Easter hues, there’s a whole section for two really special perfumes.
“These ones are our own,” Saj says, proudly. They were developed in conjuction with a master perfumer, she explains, one a festive red that Caprice used in her new movie and another amber, which the model walked out wearing.
Saj made her own fragrances with a master perfumer of 50 years(Image: Kirsty Bosley)
Made in England, they’re pretty bottles that smell of delicious things like lemon, oud and heart notes I’m not well versed enough to name.
Saj has built up an audience online with her knowledge, and Caprice raving about her on Instagram to a million people can’t have hurt, but, like perfume, this shop is best experienced in person.
“I’m not an influencer, I’m an industry insider,” she says. “Because I’m the one doing the buying, I’ve parted with my money before anything gets popular online.
“Three months before something gets to market, I’ve smelt the lab sample!”
It means that when someone strolls in, Caprice or us or any of the ladies that pop their heads round the door as we’re talking, they get the kind of service you might struggle to get in a big chain kiosk.
“Perfume is a personal thing. I like doing things at a local level because people around here have their jeweller and their tailor, so why not a perfumer?
“You can find high end stuff in town, or drug stores with cheaper stuff, but we’re that place in between, stocking for the love of fragrance.
“That’s why we’re called The Perfume Closet, so you can choose your perfume like you would your clothes.
“If you love fragrance, we can help. Whether it’s a scent to wear to the gym, a lazy Sunday or your wedding day, there’s something here for you no matter whether you’re broke or flush with cash. We let the fragrances shine.”
It’s the universal appeal that Saj loves.
“You can wear fragrance no matter what size you are or what you’re going through,” she says. “You don’t have to work out to fit in it, or have everything else put together before you can pass it off. It’s a universal pick-me-up.
“You might never be able to own a Dior dress, but you can own a Dior perfume. You might not be able to justify a designer handbag, but you can treat yourself to the fragrance.”
It means everyone in Sparkhill gets a chance to walk away with something truly lovely, whether they’re a Brummie bride, a man on his way to the gym, or a star like Caprice, straight out of sunny California.
“Sparkhill is thriving,” Saj says, proudly. “I’m fully invested in our community and fully invested to making this work. I’m born and bred here, I represent my community and I’ve never shy away from it.
“I don’t want people to have to leave our local area to go and find something they want, they shouldn’t have to.
“I want them to have it all, right here in Sparkhill.”
The Perfume Closet is at 462 Stratford Road, Sparkhill, B11 4AE.