Paul Sebastian

Paul Sebastian is an American fragrance brand created in 1979 by New Jersey friends Leonard Paul Cuozzo and Alan Sebastian Greco. The name of the company comes from their middle names, Paul and Sebastian. Working with perfumer Fritzsche Dodge, Cuozzo spent several years developing the formula that became PS Fine Cologne, while Greco brought his sales and marketing experience from Textron to help turn it into a viable business.

The first bottles of PS Fine Cologne were sold through just a few New Jersey clothing stores and promoted largely through in-store relationships rather than traditional advertising. Despite this low-key start, distribution expanded rapidly: within about two years, the fragrances were reportedly in hundreds of U.S. stores and generating significant annual sales. The brand broadened its lineup during the 1980s with launches such as VSOP, Design, Brownstone, and Tribeca, and entered the global perfume market by the end of that decade.

In the late 1990s, Cuozzo and Greco sold Paul Sebastian to French Fragrances Inc., a Miami Lakes company that also handled licenses for Halston and Geoffrey Beene. French Fragrances later acquired Elizabeth Arden in 2000 and rebranded as Elizabeth Arden Inc., placing Paul Sebastian under that umbrella. When Revlon purchased all of Elizabeth Arden's assets in 2016, Paul Sebastian became part of the Revlon portfolio. Through these ownership changes, PS Fine Cologne from 1979 has remained the flagship, with a recognizable aromatic-woody-oriental style built around lavender, sage, jasmine, rose, sandalwood, amber, and musk.

Today the brand positions itself around traditionally masculine, dressy fragrances that lean aromatic and oriental rather than fresh-sporty. Its core scents are widely available through U.S. retailers and discounters, maintaining a presence that outstrips the modest, regional beginnings in New Jersey clothing shops.