Aerin Lauder talks about 10 years of fragrance memories

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Smell plays a powerful role in our memories.

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The reason for this connection, experts say, is due to the path that odors take to the brain. According to a article published by the Association for Psychological Science, odor receptors in the nose send signals to the olfactory bulb. The signals are then sent to the brain’s olfactory cortex.

“But there are also connections from the olfactory bulb directly to the amygdala, an area that is relevant to emotions and salience, and the hippocampus, which is involved in memory,” wrote Helen Fields in the article Fragrant Flashbacks. “That puts the receptors in the nose just one synapse away from emotion and memory.”

For Aerin Lauder, some of her earliest olfactory memories include her grandmother, legendary beauty entrepreneur Estée Lauder.

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“My grandfather always had a whiskey or cognac in his right hand and held me in the other,” recalls the American businesswoman. “And Estée loved the rose.”

That unique combination of whiskey and roses was combined in one of the first fragrances in Lauder’s eponymous fragrance collection called evening rose.

“Everyone remembers certain fragrances,” she says. “And Evening Rose really reminds me of my grandparents.”

Roses, in their many fragrant forms, play a special role in the aerial fragrance Brand history. Speaking via virtual call from New York, Lauder explained that the first rose products launched by the brand 10 years ago are still among the best sellers in the line. Since then, the offering has expanded to include various other scents that play prominently with the particular flower type.

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“There are so many shades of a rose and roses from different parts of the world,” explains Lauder. “I think that’s what makes the rose so much more interesting and special.”

For the 10th anniversary, Lauder and her team have again looked to roses for a celebratory fragrance that Lauder says is “very much a reflection” of herself.

“I love roses,” she says. “It’s probably the first flower I fell in love with. And people always asked me about my grandmother, and she taught me so many wonderful things. You know the idea of ​​following your dreams, working hard, being passionate about what you do. And people always ask what my earliest memory of her is.

“My first memory was probably the way it smelled. And it was probably a rose. She always had Bulgarian rose in many of her fragrances. Her desk was always covered with these kinds of lab samples of different fragrances. So scent was such a big part of who she was. And I think this idea of ​​doing a rose fragrance for our 10th anniversary is really special because she really taught me a lot about business and style.”

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Bent cheerful bloom, the latest release of the fragrance is part of the Rose de Grasse collection. The eau de parfum ($265 for 50 milliliters) celebrates the “wonderful magical rose,” according to Lauder, while also boasting an “element of surprise.”

“The top note is an Italian bergamot with a bit of black currant and geranium,” explains Lauder. “The middle note is this kind of wonderful Indian rose. And then the base note is this Australian sandalwood.

“It’s this same kind of magical, fresh, vibrant rose.”

It’s safe to say that it’s a nod to a floral fragrance that Estée Lauder would have approved of.

“I definitely think so,” Lauder says with a smile. “She would have loved it.”

As well as being perfect for the 10th anniversary, Lauder says the fragrance fits well with the turbulent times we continue to navigate.

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“The symbolism of the rose is interesting because it is friendship, love, femininity. And the rose is a very attractive note. And in the last two years, when the world has been so messy, there’s something about going back to things that feel familiar and make you feel good,” says Lauder. “And a rose is definitely one of them.”

Lauder says the past two years have been educational, both on a personal and beauty business level. One of those lessons, she says, is that fragrance is an important step in many people’s daily routine, no matter what their daily reality looks like.

“I think beauty really allows you to escape and dream,” says Lauder. “For many people, even when they didn’t leave their house, they still put on fragrances and lit candles, and made their world as inviting as possible. And I think fragrance is very, very important.”

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While Lauder admits she’s loyal to a curated line of six Aerin fragrances for herself — “I don’t have all 24,” she laughs — she attributes her grandmother’s approach to fragrance dictating that different life events call for different aromas. .

“Estée had this big crazy quote that you wouldn’t wear the same dress to dinner as you would to tennis, so why would you wear the same fragrance?” Lauder remembers. “And that idea of ​​a different fragrance for different moods is very true. You can wear a rose during the day and then an amber at night.

“(Fragrance) can transform and transport you. And the idea of ​​different fragrances for different seasons, different times, different moods… it really allows the customer to have fun.”

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