What if something as simple as a fragrance had the power to change the way you feel?
Libby Gray hopes to answer that question with her brand, Cerato Fragrances. Gray, a graduate of Seaholm High School, co-founded the brand with her longtime college friend Stephanie Diamond in February 2025. Cerato is named after a flower traditionally used in tinctures meant to awaken feelings of inner strength.
“The whole idea behind the brand is that we want people to tune into themselves and trust their intuition,” Gray says.
When creating a scent, Gray and Diamond build its profile around the emotions they want to evoke.
“Stephanie and I work collaboratively on everything, but we start with a mood that we want to tune into,” Gray explains. “Each one is designed to enhance or shift a mood, so they’re based on aromatherapeutic principles.”
Inspired by her time in New York’s fashion scene — and her seven years working in The Estée Lauder Companies’ creative department — Gray wanted to introduce a narrative element to the fragrance world. In addition to her role as co-founder, Gray also serves as Cerato’s photographer, shooting exclusively on film.
“I wanted it to feel almost like a magazine in certain ways and have a visual language that felt really intimate,” Gray says. “It was a big part of building Cerato because we wanted people to feel something when they look at our brand.”
Unlike many other fragrance brands, Cerato is committed to using clean ingredients, free of harmful toxins and endocrine-disrupting chemicals. So far, Cerato has released three distinct fragrances in travel-sized roller ball applicators, available through the brand’s website. The gender-neutral scents range from sandalwood and vanilla to more energizing combinations like bergamot and citrus. If you want to form your own profile, Gray recommends layering multiple scents to fit the occasion.
“It’s a beautiful way to create something of your own, and we encourage it,” Gray says.
This story originally appeared in the August 2026 issue of Hour Detroit magazine. To read more, pick up a copy of Hour Detroit at a local retail outlet. Click here to get our digital edition.
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