“My very first fragrance experiment was when I was very young, and I would roam the neighborhood and sneak into my neighbor’s flower garden. They had the most beautiful rose bushes, and I remember sitting on the hot pavement and taking in the intoxicating smell. 

“One day, I got up the courage to steal some roses and bring them home, where I crushed them up into a bowl. My first-ever failed attempt at perfumery, which went south quickly as they began to rot. But the smell of fresh flowers always brings me back to that memory, which was actually the inspiration behind Henry Rose’s first true floral fragrance, Flora Carnivora.

“But without a doubt, my biggest and most memorable fragrance experiment has been the creation of Henry Rose. I initially assumed it would be a plant-based line of all-natural ingredients. However, when I began working with International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) on formulation, I quickly learned that if I wanted to get the EWG stamp of approval for safety, we would need to use a combination of the safest natural and synthetic ingredients, as some plant-based materials can trigger allergic reactions, particularly in high concentrations. 

“To make matters even more difficult, I also wanted our fragrances to meet the high standards of Cradle to Cradle (C2C), which assesses the safety, circularity, and responsibility of materials and products. Perfumers typically formulate from a palette of about 3,000 ingredients, but given the ingredient restrictions imposed by both the EWG and Cradle to Cradle, our perfumers were initially limited to working with a palette of about 300 ingredients. But scarcity breeds innovation, and IFF’s willingness to tackle this challenge head-on resulted in not only an industry first, but we created a new category in the fragrance market, with a beautiful and alluring collection of fragrances.

“On a separate note, fragrance layering is something I’m passionate about and love experimenting with to create new combinations with even more nuanced depth. There are really no rules when it comes to layering. My newest layering obsession is Char and Windows Down.