The pandemic threw many plans out of the window, and one of these was a new run of the popular “Stephan’s Six” interview series. I recently rediscovered my original notes and so, finally, they can see the light of day. The first of the three is with Rebecca Rose, the founder of To The Fairest. The brand launched in 2019 with the very successful Cécile, but what secrets did Rebecca reveal when we were allowed to meet in 2021?
I grew up on a working farm, but the first smells I remember are not of animals or orchards but more industrial - engine oil, creosote and jerrycans. Their pungency must have made an impression on me because I find those smells strangely soothing... and perhaps motivating! The smells say, “there is work to be done”.
The first scent I really remember my mother wearing was Guerlain’s L’Heure Bleue. Everything about it seemed so grown up; the glass bottle, the gold packaging, and the fragrance itself was the complete opposite to anything in my shampoos or bubble baths. The ‘blueness’ of the fragrance has always stayed with me... it seems to be set in a minor key and, even as a child, I found it hard to square its moodiness with my mother’s personality, which was decidedly fizzy and upbeat by comparison.
What was the perfume of your twenties?
In my early twenties I loved wearing Ralph by Ralph Lauren. This smells sickly sweet to me now, but at the time its icy crushed-blueberry scent seemed like the perfect choice to wear on the dance floor - strong enough to compete with the cigarettes and dry ice machines in the nightclubs. In my late twenties I discovered Ambre et Vanille by Coudray. It was the first time I had experienced a ‘cosy’ but elegant scent, and was also the first expensive bottle of perfume that I had bought for myself. That purchase became the gateway to a new world of fragrance.
What was your biggest perfume mistake?
About ten years ago I was rushing while getting ready for an important meeting and, instead of reaching for my stalwart work fragrance Eau de Merveilles by Hermès, I absent-mindedly grabbed Robert Piguet’s Bandit and spritzed it all over my clothes. Big mistake. Huge!
This has to be the hardest question of all, but perhaps Blood Sweat Tears by Atelier de Geste. I bought a bottle years ago when I was in New York, and everything about the scent still reminds me of that trip. Each time I wear it I seem to discover a new facet, because it really is an extraordinary creation by Beau Bree Rhee. I’m always interested in fragrances designed by people who explore their creativity through a variety of expressions. In the case of Beau Bree Rhee, choreography and visual art form part of her practice as well as perfumery.
What perfume should I try?
I would recommend our Élan Vital fragrance, which means “life force”. It's earthy and grounding with top notes of vetiver and white nettle, along with base notes of patchouli and oak moss. This forest-floor inspired scent is intended to stir a sense of freedom and discovery, reminiscent of the connection we find with nature when going ‘off grid’.
For more information on Rebecca Rose and To The Fairest you can visit the website at tothefairest.com, or you can also click here to read my review of Cécile.
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