Michelle Pfeiffer has thrilled audiences in an incredible array of roles, from Dangerous Liaisons to Scarface, from Batman Returns to Murder on the Orient Express.
But for the last decade or so, the actor, 60, has been working on a passion project that’s now coming to fruition. She’s just launched a collection of five unisex fragrances under the brand Henry Rose, which incorporates her kids’ middle names. She developed this by partnering with the 100-plus-year-old scent maker International Flavors and Fragrances (IFF) and has a philosophy of transparency. It’s the first fragrance collection to list all of its ingredients and stand behind their safety.
Pfeiffer decided to create the scents after almost a decade of not wearing any perfume.
A bit of the backstory: Pfeiffer decided to create the scents after almost a decade of not wearing any perfume. In the mid-90s, both her father and her best friend were diagnosed with cancer, and she began studying environmental health risks and reading labels assiduously. She decided to stop wearing scents, feeling there wasn’t enough information being shared about the ingredients in them and their safety. This meant turning down plenty of endorsement deals, but she just didn’t feel reassured that perfume was a clean option.
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Image: Henry Rose/Facebook
And she’s not alone in this belief. Last year, a report from Breast Cancer Prevention Partners included major luxury perfume brands among those products that contain synthetic chemicals (parabens, phthalates, formaldehyde) that can pose long-term health issues like disruption of the endocrine system.
Around nine years ago, when Pfeiffer was tired of not wearing a scent, she started looking for a partner that was a good fit, eventually landing on IFF.  Her fragrances are certified by the renowned EWG (Environmental Working Group) and offer a completely transparent ingredient list. The bottles are made from a type of glass that’s 90 percent recycled and completely recyclable, and the caps are made of soy. But, to cut to the chase—the scents are intriguing and evocative.
They embrace memories and moods for Pfeiffer. The one called Jake’s House, she says, captures the soapy smell of her grandparents’ bathroom in North Carolina, while Fog triggers her recollection of summers in San Francisco. Well done, Michelle—talk about showing off your range!
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