Fragrances have always been closely intertwined with celebrity. From fronting campaigns, high-end collaborations and releasing their own lines, it’s almost harder to find a star who doesn’t have their own scent.
But Michelle Pfeiffer was one of those stars – until now. The actress has announced the launch of Henry Rose, a perfume line which she says has been more than 10 years in the making.
What sets Henry Rose apart, and meant it took more than a decade to cook up, is that it’s not just any fragrance line, it’s a clean fragrance line, according to Pfeiffer and her chief executive Melina Polly.
Pfeiffer partnered with the Environmental Working Group to come up with a list of ingredients used in fragrance which could be deemed as truly clean.
There has previously been controversy around the terms "parfum", "fragrance" or "flavour", as under FDA rules they can contain a number of ingredients and scent chemicals which do not have to be disclosed to the consumer.
Henry Rose is free from ingredients such as phthalates, and its bottles are made from 90 per cent recycled glass and soy lids. Each scent details 100 per cent of its ingredients, and it is the first fragrance line to be EWG approved.
Pfeiffer first became interested in clean fragrance following the birth of her children, she said in an interview with Forbes, and fell down a "rabbit hole" of ingredients. "I had given up wearing fragrance altogether, and I missed it," she said.
"I finally decided to create a line that could compete with other premium fragrances in the marketplace, but was fully transparent with its ingredients and didn’t feel like a compromise."
Henry Rose is launching with five fragrances, all said to be “scent memories” for Pfeiffer. They are priced for the luxury fragrance market, retailing at $120 for 500ml. Currently, Henry Rose is only available in the US.
