Singer Alexandra Roos teamed up with her mum Chantal, who created the mythical Opium by Yves Saint Laurent for a family affair: Roos and Roos. They decided to put their common passion to create their own perfume brand. Based on their experiences and tastes, they wanted to put out something classy and very French. We met Alexandra in her Parisian apartment to discover the essence of their fragrance brand.

 

When you created with your mother Roos and Roos, did you want to put this “French charm” which may hit the international market? 

No, we didn’t really want that as we are naturally French. When my mum started in the 70’s there were 3 perfumes per year and now we have 100 launches annually. Things have changed and when we created it we did not want something typically French. All the knowledge and expertise was because our noises are French, we have the heritage of the French perfumes by my mother as I was a singer at the beginning. Even the name is not even really French (laughs).

How it goes making business with your mum? 

Haha, everything is going well! Like every mother, there’s a maternity force like she always says ‘oh let’s make this way”. I think the association between two people is complicated even if it is your family or not. The biggest advantage is we trust each other and our vision in fragrance is quite similar – it’s rare we don’t have the same idea.  She gives me a lot of freedom for the creative concept of the brand.

How do you deal to see your mum in everyday life now?

To be honest we don’t see each other very often. Yes, we are a matriarchal family where women are really present but not a traditional family. In our private life, we catch each other maybe twice a year!

 

Who got the idea of Roos and Roos?

It’s me! At this moment, I was a little pissed off with music and my mum told me to come work with her while I was finishing my studies at the music conservatory.  This small job became a big one when I became product manager of a fragrance company. But when they sold the company, I told my mum “why we don’t launch our own brand as you are the best people  I know to do that?!” So that’s how all begins.

Creating perfume is the same as creating music?

Yes, it’s also a composition of many ingredients!

So you’re still attached to music?

Of course, as music is a big part of my life. It’s difficult to get a commercial success now in the music industry and perfume is more practical to earn money as you don’t have the same target. It’s more relaxed to deal with a product where you don’t really have this commercial pressure of selling an album.

How much time do you take to create one fragrance?

For the last one, In The Wood For Love it took us around 6 or 7 months. It’s the 12th perfume of our collection so we have an idea at the beginning about the smell we wanted for this one. Something floral, something attached to these flowers we found in the woods.

And what’s your favorite one?

It depends on y mood. At this moment it’s the new one “In the wood for Love”. Maybe I will say also Nymphessence and Sympathy for the sun. For the story, it was based on the song Sympathy for the Devil by The Rolling Stones.

Roos and Roos will still exist if one of you two stop doing it?

I did not think about it yet but I know my mum is older but even she’s not that much implicated in the business than the beginning, she’s still here and she will always be here.