Rosy & Earnest: Interview with Founders Marilou Hamer and Caroline Gélineault
Rosy & Earnest is a perfume company that creates luxurious scents such as Vanilla Rum Royal and Pistachio Delight. An EWG Verified™ brand, these fragrances are free of any known chemicals of concern for non-toxic and lovely fragrances. In fact, they are the only the second eau de parfum brand worldwide to be EWG Verified™. A woman-owned and operated company, Rosy & Earnest is best known for their fragrances created by an award-winning Master Perfumer from Paris, France.
Marilou Hamer and Caroline Gélineault are the founders of Rosy & Earnest and was inspired by motherhood to be more mindful about her lifestyle, diet, and skin. Marilou recently discussed how this health-journey led her to establish her own brand.
Meagan Meehan (MM): How did you initially get interested in fragrance and what prompted you to start designing your own scents?
Marilou Hamer (MH): Fragrance has always been a part of our lives, adding that little spark to complete your preparation for the day. What deepened our interest was when we were cleaning up our act due to health issues we were experiencing at the time, especially as we became young mothers. When you become conscious about what comes into contact with your body — whether it’s food or personal care products — you want to know what’s in it. The lack of transparency in perfume ingredients motivated us to do things differently. We were looking for EWG-approved (Environmental Working Group) fine fragrances, but none were available in Canada. So, we had this crazy idea to create our ideal perfume, not realizing the challenges we would face along the way. The biggest one was finding the right partner who would agree to work with a considerably reduced list of ingredients, be completely transparent about them, and take a chance on industry newcomers.
MM: What prompted you to start your own company and how hard was it to establish and keep afloat?
Caroline Gélineault (CG): We wanted to offer fully transparent, luxurious fragrances that were third-party verified. The lack of “clean”, luxurious and complex alternatives that were third-party verified, specifically by EWG, which met our criteria for stringency and transparency, first sparked our interest in creating a company. Our curiosity about clean fragrances drove us further. The fact that the world-renowned Master Perfumer from Paris, Nathalie Feisthauer and her team at Labscent accepted the challenge has been a monumental aspect of our achievement so far. As a niche brand, we work with small quantities but with exquisite ingredients, which is one of the reasons it’s working as we embark on this exciting adventure!
MH: Indeed, the fact that fragrance ingredients can still be kept secret in 2024 is inconceivable to us since we believe that everyone should know what touches their skin. Our goal from the beginning was to provide customers with peace of mind when purchasing our fragrances. This is why we pursued the EWG Verified certification, which guarantees that products are free of chemicals of concern, meet the strictest standards for your health and offer 100% ingredient transparency. It was essential for us to have an independent, third-party certification to validate our claims since there is, unfortunately, so much greenwashing and clean washing in the industry. We only use safe synthetics and safe botanical ingredients. Getting this certification was not easy, and we are very proud of this achievement. We are only the second eau de parfum brand worldwide to get this mark. Starting a business certainly has its challenges. Being a small but mighty team of two forces us to be creative and adaptable, allowing us to pivot as needed. Ultimately, it is a challenging but very rewarding adventure!
MM: How many fragrances do you currently have and which are most popular with customers?
MH: We currently have four fragrances. Our two flagship scents, Be Rosy and Be Earnest, launched in March 2023, are fresh and luminous. Our two exquisite gourmand scents, Pistachio Delight and Vanilla Rum Royal, released this April, are addictive and delectable!
So far, the response has been great for all four. Each fragrance is distinct and unique, catering to varied preferences — we aim to create a scent for everyone. Perfume is so personal, and there’s so much chemistry involved too. Having said that, Pistachio Delight is particularly popular at the moment.
MM: Which scents are the most unique and unusual?
CG: Good question… I think Be Earnest is the most surprising with its rhubarb and apple twist. It’s fresh and sensual, thanks to the soft woody notes.
MH: All of our scents are distinctive and designed to be effortlessly wearable, a key focus during our creation process. Our perfumes are also crafted with high-quality ingredients, some of which are rare. For example, Be Rosy features precious orris butter, also known as the blue gold of perfumery, while Vanilla Rum Royal showcases real Vanilla Absolute paired with Rum CO2 extract for an intoxicating blend.
MM: Be honest, do you have a favorite scent?
MH: For me, it really depends on my mood and the occasion, I truly love them all. At the moment, I particularly enjoy Pistachio Delight. If I am going on a date night, I like to wear Vanilla Rum Royal as it makes me feel sexy and it is an intoxicating scent. When I want to wear something bright and fresh, I wear Be Rosy. My husband particularly loves Be Earnest and Vanilla Rum Royal.
CG: Oh, I do, actually. At first, I was a Be Rosy fan, but with the creation of the gourmand duo, I’m now obsessed with Vanilla Rum Royal. It’s sensual with its boozy flair and versatile enough to wear during the day or for a night out.
MM: How did becoming a mother change your life and influence your journey down this path?
CG: Becoming a mother made me much more aware of the products I use in my household. We were already on that path, but having kids made us realize how major the issue of transparency is when choosing a product.
MH: I agree. I became much more aware of the products I was using to avoid exposing my family to potentially harmful chemicals. When we started paying attention to ingredient lists, we both reluctantly gave up most fine fragrances when we learned that the terms “fragrance” or “perfume” could hide components from a list of close to 4000 ingredients, some of which are associated with health risks such as hormone disruption and increased cancer risks. But we missed perfume, so we started searching for alternatives with transparent ingredient lists that smelled luxurious and complex while being worry-free health-wise. Faced with limited options, we decided to try to create the fine fragrances we were looking for.
MM: What has been some of the most memorable feedback that you’ve gotten about this brand and your scents?
CG: A client wrote us a long message expressing her amazement that she could finally wear complex fragrances without getting her usual headaches and finally found her perfume!
MH: Every time someone takes the time to write a review on our fragrances, it makes my day! Most notably, when clients write to tell us they have finally found their signature scent or that they can enjoy perfume again, it truly makes all our efforts worthwhile.
MM: What would you say has been the highlight of your career so far?
CG: I’m amazed that our crazy project came to life, and it’s even better than we envisioned. It has a positive impact on people, whether because they love the fragrances or because they appreciate that it is also EWG VERIFIED™.
MH: Seeing our vision come to life and creating a brand aligned with our values is extremely fulfilling. We also felt very privileged to be recognized with four awards in our first year, including the Consider Beyond Global Conscious Brand Award (2024), the Global Green Beauty Awards Best Ethical Fragrance (2023) and the Perfumista Award Best Industry Initiative (2023). We are also proud to have been featured in several media outlets, including Forbes and US Weekly, but the most gratifying aspect of our journey has been the fantastic feedback from our customers. And it is just the beginning!
MM: How do you envision Rosy & Earnest evolving over the next five years?
CG & MH: We envision a solid company with a wider product offering and the capacity to innovate in our ecological footprint and ingredient sourcing. Our vision also includes establishing a presence in curated retail outlets and expanding our reach to a broader audience.
MM: What are your ultimate goals for the future and is there anything else that you would like to mention?
CG & MH: Our ultimate goal is to earn enough to continue to make bolder choices, have the budget to increase our sales/marketing efforts, and thereby be able to continue to consciously expand the line while also giving back more to society.