How The Fragrance brings a touch of ROBE to each day.

 

Created with the intention of being a limited extension of our haircare range, The Fragrance quickly took on a life (and cult status) of its own. We spoke to Lauren about why she created this unforgettable scent and how the power of fragrance can take us back to our best days.

 

 

Take us back to the beginning. How did the idea for a fragrance come about?

 “Whenever I’m going through a different chapter in my life, I feel drawn to finding a new signature scent that can match that time – something that will remind me of what I was going through. When I moved to LA, my signature scent was Santal 33 from Le Labo, and it just made me feel strong and confident. I wanted to do that for someone else. What’s great about The Fragrance is that it can be used on the body as well as the hair. It brings out a slightly different scent with each person’s own pheromones on the skin, which is really nice.”

 

 

The Fragrance was created during the pandemic, how did that change the way you selected each note?

 “It was a process that took a long time, and I did a lot of revisions because I wasn’t allowed to do anything directly. It was all done describing scents over email which was quite difficult. I knew from my haircare experience though that a lot of the scents can be quite sweet, sugary and fruity, and I didn’t want that at all. I didn’t want it to be anything like what was already out there. All the ROBE formulas are all based in botanicals and herbs, plants, ingredients that are green – so I knew I wanted my fragrance to be aligned with that.”

 

When you designed the scent, what was your aim?

 “I knew I wanted it to feel clean and fresh, sophisticated and complex. I didn’t want it to be one single base note because the ROBE formulas are very complex, and they have a lot that goes into them. It wouldn’t fit to have one single fragrance note, so I wanted it to be really complex in how it smelled.”

 

You’ve made The Fragrance a unisex scent – why did you decide to do this?

 “I wanted ROBE to be for everyone, but I knew I had a really big challenge on my hands. It’s hard to find a scent that everyone likes. If you’re buying someone a scent, you have to know them, but thankfully all the feedback has been really positive. Even when I was testing the product before launch, my family and friends just loved it. This gave me the confidence to make me feel like, this is something people would want to wear it on their own and as their scent. One of the major ROBE values is to make products that are for everyone – for every unique hair type and texture and whatever stage of life you’re going through. I wanted to make something that could be appreciated by males, females and all ages.”

 

How do you typically use The Fragrance each day?

 “I like to spritz it in the air and walk into it and sometimes if I’ve blow waved my hair and I want to brush it out slightly, I’ll spritz my hairbrush and then use that to brush my hair and that puts the scent through my hair really beautifully.”

 

It was originally meant to be a limited-edition product but now it’s a permanent part of the ROBE collection. Why did you decide to keep it around?

“This fragrance is so special and unique. Even though it was a limited edition, I felt like it deserved to be a product in its own right. Everyone loves to have beautifully smelling hair and it’s so nice to extend the range and say that we love the ROBE scent enough for it to be a stand-alone product. Due to the amazing response we’ve had from people, we’ve decided to keep it going for now.”

 

Describe The Fragrance in three words…

“Fresh, botanical, sophisticated.”

 

What makes scent and fragrance so special in your mind?

“It’s such a beautiful ritual to apply a fragrance each day, whether you’re heading out or not. The Fragrance isn’t just a one-time-of-the-year fragrance. The woodiness of it is perfect for winter but the botanical green layer is also perfect for summer.”