Sometimes, all it takes to pique my interest in something is a brief but sincere description from someone who truly loves it. This is what happened with the fragrances of Eros Rose, an artisan perfume house founded by perfumer Rose O’Kane.
In an Instagram post, vintage photographer and queer artist Amanda Hawkins (Piece of Nostalgia on Instagram) said that Candlelight by Eros Rose is her “absolute favorite perfume”, describing it as “vampy”, “seductive”, and reminiscent of “lying in a field of roses watching the clouds roll in”. After researching the fragrance and discovering it is a rose chypre, I reached out to Rose and asked her how I could place an order (her website wasn’t live at the time, but it is now: Eros Rose Perfume).
If you love the chypre olfactory family, you will undoubtedly adore Candlelight. When you smell the fragrance, you can almost visualize and touch dark red velvet rose petals—their scent fervently entwined with moss and incense to create the chiaroscuro typical of the chypre olfactory family. The perfume trail is ardent, gothic, elegant, and mysterious, with resins creating the impression of the golden glow radiating from a lit candle.
Candlelight embodies Rose’s work, which is shaped by myth, romance, nature, and history. “I always enjoyed creating different blends of things throughout my life. When I was a child, I made potions constantly, whether it was from things found in my yard, kitchen or even bathroom cupboard.” As a teen, Rose experimented with scenting bath salts with herbs and flowers, alongside filling bottles with potions. In her twenties, she worked as an esthetician and created beauty products from scratch.
Rose lived in the English countryside for four years, and her mom passed on her love for nature. “I spent a great deal of time outdoors smelling flowers, climbing trees, building fairy houses and visiting animals at the farms”, said Rose. She also mentioned smelling various kinds of leaves and attempting to detect the slightest aroma even on flowers that were seemingly unscented.
The Lily & The Rose is another captivating fragrance from the collection that speaks of Rose’s love for luxurious flowers and the outdoors. Dedicated to Giacomo Casanova and his lovers, the fragrance stars a delicately spiced lily uniting with a coquettish rose, dark cocoa adding an earthy sensuality.
I also tried Rose’s “Vampire siblings”. Vampire Moon is passionate and hot-blooded, starring bold jasmine and animalic notes supported by a retro amber base, while Vampire Hunter is the more spiritual sister, featuring incense and dry resins.
Discover more about Rose and her perfume studio on the Eros Rose website. I was pleased to discover her fragrances come in 15 ml bottles, along with 50 ml, 100 ml, and 2 ml, and I also loved the packaging and individually wrapped fragrances sprinkled with dried rose petals.
Interview
Rose was gracious and generous in her interview. She talked about her childhood immersed in the outdoors, her art inspirations, and learning with perfumer Sarah McCartney. Her scented memories are touching, tender, and embedded in nature.
Rose, how did your perfume journey begin?
I started reading books on beauty history in my twenties and was absolutely enchanted by sections on the history of fragrance. This, along with my brothers reminding me how much I loved making potions as a child, led me to sign up for a perfume-making course. Later, a friend in NYC helped me significantly with her perfume knowledge and suggested taking Sarah McCartney’s perfume school. I continue to take classes from her and love taking courses at the Institute of Art and Olfaction. I also learn a lot from historical texts on old perfume-making methods and combinations. I love working in a field where learning never ends!
Can you share your favorite scent memories?
It’s hard to choose one, but I will go with the scent of Ekone Ranch. I went there as a kid and worked there as a teen. It’s in the low desert of eastern Washington and it has the most incredible smell!! Even when it’s hot, the air is fresh with the scent of pine trees, sage brush, loose powdered dirt, and horsehair. It has this dry quality that reminds me of the air in a sauna without steam. I’ve always dreamt of capturing that smell in a perfume someday. It’s a scent that literally feels good for your soul!
What forms of art movements and people influence your fragrant work?
I am honestly inspired by SO much! Books are very important for my creative process and being inspired to create, including literature, memoirs, myth or history. I find the romantic movement especially inspiring, particularly their love, honoring of nature and connection to individualism and self-expression. I tend to feel drawn to movements outside of the typical social norms of their times. I love independent spirits and the small communities created by freethinkers and artists. I’m moved by the original bohemianism movement, pre-Raphaelites, early Hollywood vamps, dandyism, some radical artists of the 60’s and 70’s like Vali Myers and the drag troupe The Cockettes! David Bowie has been a huge inspiration to me since I was young. None of his music has specifically inspired me but his approach to art feels important to me. I love his fascination with different art forms and constant exploration.
Let’s talk about your fragrances and ingredients. Do you mostly use a palette of naturals? How do you select your materials?
I use both natural and synthetic ingredients but lean heavily on the naturals. They are what inspire me the most in perfume making. There are a lot of restrictions on natural ingredients because of skin sensitivity to them. Just because they are natural does not mean they are safer. Using both can also breathe a different kind of life into the perfume. I love smelling how they work together in a synergetic manner. Synthetics can boost naturals, prolong longevity, help with projection and add an essence that sparks “perfume” in the mind. I select ingredients differently for different projects. If I am creating a perfume that’s meant to smell like something in real life like a specific flower, it’s easy to select materials with that quality. If I am working on a more abstract concept, say creating a perfume based on an archetype, the process is more complicated. That takes smelling countless materials and seeing what creates a natural emotional response in me. I also research the different archetypes I am trying to translate into scent and pull any fragrant association with them to work it into the scent. These perfumes always take the longest. What I have in mind doesn’t always end up hitting that emotional response. It’s about capturing the feeling through the fragrance that brings the character to life.
If you had to pick a favorite among your fragrances, which one would it be and why?
I would say Vampire Moon. This is not the one I wear the most often, but I am the most bewitched by it. It’s the most vintage leaning from my line, and I absolutely adore vintage perfumes. It’s complex, decadent and sensual. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea but those who love it are hooked. I also had the strongest emotional response to it when I finished it. When I smelled it, an entire storyline jumped into my head that was different from the original idea. I had started working on a vampire fragrance inspired by what I was seeing as a masc character. I had done at least twenty versions, but nothing felt right, so I decided to make a new version with a lot of jasmine. Once it was ready, I knew it was the one! To my surprise a femme vampire jumped into my head, and I saw an image of her living near a wooded lake and moon bathing on rocks. It was a magical moment!
I always like to ask perfumers and people from the industry this final question. What does the perfume industry need more of?
I think we need to focus on self-exploration and expression. Scent is one of our most individual senses. We were not taught by society how to smell and express it. When we are young children, grown-ups give us words to express what we see and hear but it’s rare for adults to even talk to a child about scent. This is a blessing and a curse at the same time. I want people to be able to communicate about scent more easily, but I don’t want us to lose our own private associations with smell. Don’t let others dictate how you feel about the perfumes you love whether it’s a friend, lover, retail associate or influencer. Enjoy other points of view and associations but if you love something someone else hates, don’t feel you have bad taste. There is no wrong way to enjoy scent! Everyone smells differently and has different emotional responses to scent. Wear what creates a response in your heart!
The 15 ml bottle of Candlelight was purchased by me. The 15 ml bottle of The Lily & The Rose and samples were kindly gifted by Rose.
Photos were taken by me or provided by Rose.
