A Dozen Roses Fragrance Collection
Photo courtesy of A Dozen Roses
Iced White, Goldrush, and Shakespeare in Love from the A Dozen Roses fragrance collection
Rose is one of the most classic scents in the book when it comes to perfumes. Who knew there could be a dozen ways to wear it?
Sandy Cataldo and Lynn Emmolo have decades of business experience in the beauty industry between them—from L’Oreal Paris to Avon to Sally Hershberger—but with their newest project, the fragrance line A Dozen Roses, they’re bringing it all back to that iconic flower.
“It’s really incredible, the history of roses,” Emmolo tells FashionEtc of the fragrance inspiration. “There are thousands and thousands of varieties, and we were thinking we could do something modern.”
The result? For now, three A Dozen Roses fragrances, called Gold Rush, Iced White, and Shakespeare in Love, all riffing on rose. (Naturally, the company’s plan is to expand to offer 12 total fragrances.)
“I bought tons of books on roses,” Emmolo, who makes art in her spare time and actually drew the roses that adorn each bottle, says. “It makes you start thinking. The rose is the national flower of the United States. There’s Guns N’ Roses. The Yellow Rose of Texas. There are so many tattoos with roses—it all gives you places to go with your imagination. We felt with A Dozen Roses, there are three here now, but we can build a real story over time.”
Each of the three scents starts with 100 percent natural rose absolute essence, but from there they vary.
Gold Rush, which Emmolo describes as the sexiest of the three, has notes of blackberry, mandarin, and bittersweet chocolate.
Iced White is described as fresh, “like a gin and tonic,” while Shakespeare in Love has lily of the valley, pear, and jasmine—“very romantic and very cuddly,” she says.
With so many directions to take, there's no chance Emmolo and Cataldo will run out of inspiration, explains Emmolo—for the fragrances or the bottle designs. "I was doing these roses before we ever started doing this," Emmolo says of her art. "So I have probably 50 [drawings]! My partner is passionate collector of fragrance bottles, and this is ultimate collectible."
The three fragrances will bow July 17 at Neiman Marcus, where each 3.4 ounce eau de parfum will retail for $95.
