We were lucky to catch up with Caroline Gélineault and Marilou Hamer recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Marilou and Caroline thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.
Our greatest risk to date, and perhaps the most rewarding, was deciding to pursue EWG Verified certification without any guarantee of success. Becoming only the second brand in the eau de parfum category to receive it underscores just how rare this achievement is. However, this decision also made it challenging to find a perfumer willing to work with a different palette of ingredients and to fully disclose those ingredients.
Ultimately, it’s this decision that sets us apart from other brands. Entrepreneurship is all about taking risks, which can be nerve-racking at times but mostly exciting! And who knows what our biggest risk will look like next year?
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
We are Marilou and Caroline, the founders of Rosy & Earnest, a clean, award-winning niche fragrance brand with 100% ingredient transparency. Our fragrances are EWG VerifiedTM , a mark that ensures our products are free from chemicals of concern and meet the strictest and most comprehensive health standards. Rosy & Earnest was the second brand of Eau de parfum worldwide to launch EWG Verified fragrances and one of a handful in the overall fragrance category.
We launched our flagship scents, Be Rosy and Be Earnest, in March 2023. By December of 2023, we had already won four awards. A year later, in April 2024, we expanded our line with two new gourmand fragrances, Pistachio Delight and Vanilla Rum Royal, also certified EWG VerifiedTM.
We are often asked: why launch a fragrance company in such a saturated market, especially when competing against giant brands with enormous budgets? Our answer is simple: it was born from the lack of fully transparent, clean, third-party-certified alternatives. And a bit of craziness, too!
Our why
Both of us have struggled with health and inflammation issues in the past, and as mothers, we began questioning the safety of the ingredients in the products we were using, particularly fragrances. In fact, perfume ingredient lists are rarely available since they are considered “trade secrets.” This allows companies to withhold numerous ingredients under the generic term “fragrance” or “parfum” potentially concealing harmful substances linked to various health concerns.
When we discovered that the term ‘fragrance’ can encompass over 3000 chemical ingredients, some of which are potential carcinogens or hormone disruptors, we were shocked, especially considering that we used so many products with fragrances. We avoided using fragrances for several years but missed it so much! So we thought – there is certainly a place for a perfume brand that would do things differently.
For us, it was important to go above and beyond the industry norms in terms of ingredient safety and transparency and that is why we decided that we wanted to get the EWG Verified seal of approval, which we see as the gold standard of “clean” certifications. We firmly believe that people have the right to know what touches their skin, considering its potential impact on their health and those around them.
Our challenges are what make us proud
Getting the EWG Verified certification was certainly a challenge, but we could not be prouder of having succeeded. This certification is particularly crucial to us given the lack of regulatory oversight surrounding terms like ‘natural’ and ‘clean’, which has led to confusion and unsubstantiated claims within the beauty industry. The EWG Verified certification serves as a cornerstone in validating our claims and earning the trust of our customers.
However, achieving this certification is no easy feat. It entails avoiding hundreds of ingredients that are commonly found in perfume formulations. To date, only a handful of brands have obtained this stringent certification within the fragrance category.
Finding a perfumer who was willing to embrace our approach and adhere to an unprecedented level of ingredient transparency was certainly a challenge. After months of research, we finally found the right partner. And not just anyone— we are proud to work with the remarkable and award-winning master perfumer Nathalie Feisthauer and her team.
With the awards and the customer feedback we have received so far, we believe we have succeeded in showing that fragrance without compromise is possible!
How we are different: safety and luxury intertwined
At Rosy & Earnest, our mission is to offer customers both peace of mind and indulgence through our luxurious, multi-faceted scents. What sets us apart is our commitment to crafting EWG Verified fragrances, formulated by a renowned master perfumer, ensuring the perfect blend of safety and luxury.
We only use safe synthetics and safe botanical ingredients, and our formulations are free from phthalates, parabens, known carcinogens and hormone disruptors. They are also vegan, cruelty-free and genderless. We are also proud to use exquisite and high-quality ingredients such as vanilla absolute and iris butter.
Our perfumer Nathalie Feisthauer’s many accolades, including the FIFI Awards Best Perfumer of the Year (2019) and European ÇaFleurBon Best Perfumer of the Year (2023), speak volumes about her talent and expertise.
Our dedication to transparency, clean ingredients, and quality has been recognized with awards such as the Consider Beyond Conscious Brand Award and The Global Green Best Ethical Fragrance Award. This, along with the positive feedback from our customers, motivates us to thrive in this competitive industry.
Despite being a small brand, we believe in making a meaningful contribution and setting an example for responsible business practices. As sustainability advocates, we prioritize it in every aspect of our business—from product design to packaging. Additionally, we are committed to giving back to society by supporting the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, which leads the movement to make beauty and personal care products safer for all.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
After encountering challenges in finding the right perfumer and a manufacturer willing to produce small quantities, the moment of truth arrived when we submitted our formulas for certification. We had already invested a lot of time and resources but were unsure whether our formulas would pass the test. After all, only one Eau de parfum brand had done it before us, and it was founded by none other than Michelle Pfeiffer.
The process took some time and was very strict – we had a few setbacks and had to reformulate and also do additional testing on some ingredients with a third-party lab – but we are so proud that we succeeded! For us, it just shows that anything is possible with a lot of determination and passion. It was a journey for sure, but the amazing feedback we get from our clients makes it all worth it.
Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?
Having been sisters-in-law for the past 28 years, we have a long history together, spanning from our youthful days of freedom to our respective careers in environmental advocacy, communications, and real estate. While our love for fragrances has always been present, neither of us initially came from the world of perfumery. Transitioning from our backgrounds in environmental and communication fields to the perfume industry has been an unexpected and adventurous journey for us. It’s funny how life takes unexpected turns sometimes!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.rosyandearnest.com
- Instagram: @rosyandearnest
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RosyandEarnestfragrances
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/rosy-earnest/
Image Credits
Johanna Barlett – www.johannabarlet.com / @sliceofjoh Françoise Dondo – @frandondo