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Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen are about to answer the question we’ve all been wondering: what is the signature scent of The Row woman? After first launching fragrance under the umbrella of their Elizabeth And James brand – if you ever wore the iconic Nirvana scent, you know – the twins have now bottled three fragrance oils for their high fashion label, The Row.
The pair worked with respected perfumer Haley Alexander van Oosten to develop The Row’s chic debut scents, who revealed that the process took more than three years. “From the start we agreed we wanted to layer another texture, another feeling to the experience of The Row,” van Oosten told the Wall Street Journal of the collaboration.
Ashley, who rarely gives interviews, told the publication that the entrepreneurs first began working with van Oosten after falling for her own oil range. “We met Haley through her company, L’Oeil du Vert,” she said. “We started wearing her oils, and the idea of creating something together was a natural progression of our relationship.”
The three fragrance oils in the collection are distinct, but form parts of a whole – literally, as each scent is titled with a letter: R, O and W. The uniting note of each fragrance is sandalwood, which is the exact moody eau de parfum we’d expect from the luxury house.
The price point is typical too, with each 7ml oil requiring a significant outlay of almost AU$700. This can likely be chalked up to the quality of the sandalwood, which according to van Oosten is sourced from a “precious stash” that “had been sealed for over 20 years”.
“Ashley and Mary-Kate’s appreciation of sandalwood coupled with its innate refinement, comfort and familiarity quickly made it the raw material of our focus,” van Oosten said. Posting the collaboration to her Instagram, van Oosten expanded on the apparent theme of duality that seemingly inspired the unisex fragrances. “Over 3 years in the making —3 oils for 2 women who work as 1,” she wrote.
R is described as a heady blend of Sandalwood, Tobacco, Burnt Esfand and Rose, while O appears to be softer, with Sandalwood, Blue Water Lily, Olibanum, and Orris. W is believed to be the most optimistic scent, with notes of Amber, Champa and Incense woods alongside the base of Sandalwood.
The Row’s fragrance oils are available now, but you’ll only be able to shop them IRL at one of the house’s flagship stores in London, Los Angeles or New York.
Honestly, I’m willing to bet on a trip across the Pacific for this one – just go ahead and take my money.
