HE IS A HISTORIAN AND NARRATOR BUT BEFORE EVERYTHING HE IS A MAESTRO AROMA, THE ONLY "PROFESSOR DE PERFUME" IN THE WORLD. ANYONE WHO IS LOOKING FOR AN EXPERTS'S OPINION ABOUT WHAT REALLY HAPPENS IN THE WORLD OF PERFUMES, ALWAYS APPEARS TO MERRY DAVE, AS HE IS THE MOST QUOTED EXPERIENCE ON AROMAS.
His wisdom and passion bring a sense of aroma to the world. We were lucky. We met with Roger Dove in Dubai, where his signature "boutique in boutique" was opened in the Paris Gallery, and talked about the world of perfumery in general and such a phenomenon as Roja Perfumes in particular.
Roger, quite surprisingly, but you are a person who has become almost the main expert in the field of perfumery, an Englishman. Traditionally and stereotypically, this industry is associated with France. How did you end up in the world of fragrances? What brings you there?
In my opinion, it is not surprising if we recall that Pierre-Francois Pascal Guerlain, who founded Guerlain in 1828, studied chemistry in England. I followed an almost identical path - as a student of medicine, studied and conducted research in Cambridge. Once during the holidays, visiting the Belle Epoque Guerlain store on the Champs Elysees, I somehow immediately realized that my heart is fully disposed to the exotic of thousands of crystal bottles and their mysterious contents. I literally bombarded House Guerlain with thousands of training requests, and ultimately managed to convince Robert Guerlain that my enthusiasm would be better used for the benefit of House Guerlain than for anyone else.
By the way, as a small digression, I will say that the English perfume traditions are as strong as the French ones. It's simply not customary to shout about them loudly. The fragrances produced today by many English Homes are unlikely to be reproduced elsewhere. So, you should definitely listen to them. And I'm not just talking about my spirits.
You have worked at Guerlain House for almost 20 years! Nevertheless, they decided to leave there and create their own brand. Why?
It seems to me that I was greatly influenced by the conversation with my mother, who, unfortunately, passed away three years ago, without having seen the sign with my name over the first branded boutique Roja Parfums. We once drank tea, and she said: “Roger, your name shadows through most of the most famous spirits of the world. I see references to you in all the magazines that tell about perfumes. But you yourself all the time somewhere, for "I think you should go out of the shadow of large perfume houses and become yourself."
So I started work on creating my own perfume line Roja Parfums in 2008. I have been creating fragrances for a very limited number of clients for a very long time. As a rule, these were individual customers, and the aromas for them were personalized. True, I usually do not advertise this. And then I wanted to be heard by everyone who is endowed with taste and able to comprehend the meaning of real perfumery!
Finally, the Roja Parfumes brand took shape about a year ago with the opening of my first boutique in a London department store. It was then that I released the first four fragrances in crystal bottles from Lalique. The first fragrance I started working on in a new project was the floral scandal ("Scandal"). This fragrance is built around a very, very rich chord of white flowers.
The most important thing I wanted to achieve was to avoid that stickiness, “jam” density, which is typical for white flowers, and, as you know, white flowers are often too loud. I loved the aromas and the effect that they have on people, even in childhood. And in a way, I was interested in creating defiant, scandalous spirits. They turned out to be provocative, daring. Unspoken (Unspoken) is the second of the four: a floral chypre that defends elegance in the face of a fruit and flower epidemic that has hit the perfume industry in recent years. I believe that oriental aromas are created for seduction. They tease like the neckline, the color of the lipstick and the height of the heel. Chypres are not seduced; they have no promise. They have confidence and certainty. And therefore chypre is the sexiest and most sensual chord. Therefore, my fragrance is called "Unspoken", as opposed to hundreds of new products that promise instant love. There is also the mysterious Danger ("Danger") and Reckless ("Reckless") - these are women's perfumes for those who know a lot about the art of seduction. In the heart of everyone there is a note of jasmine from Grasse, a little vanilla, Orris and all end with a very sensual animal aftertaste, which is the most important thing for me.
I also allowed myself improvisations on unisex fragrances such as Neroli or Gardenia. I always believed that perfumes have no gender. I think gender is marketing. I believe that the skin of a woman, because she is a woman, smells differently than men's. And the smell of perfume will thus interact differently with her. I believe that it is always captivating that a woman wears a men's perfume. I do not know a single woman who would be embarrassed by the thought of male chords in her perfume.
Men are much less likely to wear perfumes, and even if it says “for men,” I’m sure that they are still designed for women. I do not write on my spirits that they are for some or for others. They are more focused on women’s clientele, but I know one or two men who could wear one or two of my fragrances. By the way, my Gardenia is not only an attempt to recreate the smell of a flower, it is the whole plant — flowers, branches, leaves, and even a clay pot with earth. This is consistent with masculinity.
There are eight of the main fragrances of Roja Perfums, and I hope that they will soon find their owners. It is important! Having visited many countries, I clearly realized that all over the world people are unhappy with those inarticulate for the most part flavors that fill the market and miss the smells that they loved. Some people are generally lost in the ocean of new products. For them, today I open the world of Roja Perfums, where they can find the very, their own flavor!
Is it true that at Christie's you sold an empty bottle, which became the most expensive bid?
True! About two years before the opening of the store, I sold one of my personalized perfumes through Christie's auction in favor of the charity Terrence Higgins Trust London Lighthouse, one of the largest in the UK struggling with HIV and AIDS. Every year they hold this extremely glamorous charity auction where people like Manolo Blahnik put up for sale a pair of exclusive shoes, and the woman who buys them becomes the only owner of such a model in the world. When I was offered to bid my perfume for sale, I did not know what to come up with and decided, let it be a name - Roja Dove and an empty bottle. And the person who gets my "perfume" will receive from me a fragrance made especially for him! I have friends at Baccarat, and they agreed to make for me a bottle of a shape that I especially like, like a bottle of Lubin, L'Ocean Bleu, with a dolphin. It was him who I sold at the auction, and this lot became the most expensive. Then, as promised, the buyer received his perfume from Roja Perfums.
Do you create your own perfume, or work with a team of perfumers?
I create my own perfumes myself. Another thing is that I entrust my colleagues with commercial issues - bottles, design, opening boutiques and their design. True, I still participate in all processes myself. This is the only way to convey the vision and spirit of the brand. Today, all my perfumes come in Lalique crystal bottles with a golden Roja Perfums logo; the lids are decorated with Swarovski crystals.
Packaging design - recognizable and concise. If you were a Middle Eastern buyer, which Roja Perfums fragrance would you prefer?
I suppose it would be Amber Aoud. Today, compositions based on oud are in great fashion, but for the most part they are inexpressive and monstrous. I decided to counter this and therefore represent exclusively in the Paris Gallery network this warm and delicate amber-oud fragrance.
Do you like to collaborate with Paris Gallery?
Yes, I have been familiar with them for a long time and I am impressed by the fact that they here clearly understand what exclusivity is. My brand is not represented massively around the world. So far I have only five branded boutiques, two of which are located in the UAE - in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and one - in the Moscow Central Department Store (in Russia, my perfumery has a lot of fans).
Since we are talking about Russia, why are your perfumes so popular there?
It seems to me, because I managed to convey in them my love for Russia, its amazing culture and history. I dedicated one of my first spirits (by the way, they are also presented in the Paris Gallery) to the famous Russian Seasons by Sergey Diaghilev and his ballet performances, releasing them by order of the London Museum of Albert and Victoria. In these perfumes you will find everything - the smell of the wings, and the aromas of powder, and a hint of light ballet tutus and silk pointe shoes for dancers. The whole world of the theater of the beginning of the last century is in them! All other fragrances of Roja Perfums are designed for real connoisseurs, and in your country people deeply understand and appreciate everything true, genuine.
Thank you for the compliment, Roger, and let me wish you continued success in your work and more new fans.
