ROSIE JANE JOHNSTON
The Australian-born Johnston moved to LA at age 21, working as a makeup artist to celebrities like Courtney Cox, Jennifer Aniston, and Kristen Wiig. Johnston started her brand with a makeup product, Rosie Jane Cheek Gloss, in 2003. An early entrant to the clean cosmetics category, the product contained organic shea butter, rose hip oil, and white tea, available in three versatile shades. While there is plenty of interest in the now-discontinued SKU decades later, Johnston, with sustainability in mind, is considerate of not just adding to the noise. “When I did that product, it was the first of its kind. I was manufacturing it in Australia with this tiny little lab. Now the beauty, and especially the color, space, has grown so much. I don't know if I have something to say there. Yes, I love these pots and they are amazing, but it feels like I would just be putting more out into the world that maybe doesn't even need it,” she comments.
Her progression into the fragrance world was born from sheer personal curiousity. She mixed her own signature scent, which clients and companions would later ask her to recreate for them, over an evening bottle of wine with a friend. In 2010, she made that creation a commercial reality with the release of Leila Lou, a floral fruity scent with notes of nectarine, grass, pear blossom, jasmine, vanilla, and white musk. “We came onto the market as this very casual approach to fragrance. When we launched, fragrance felt very stuffy, old school, and glamorous. Everything was sold to you in this very formal way. That's not who I am as a person. I want something that feels approachable, wearable, just beautiful products doing great things and easily incorporated into your life,” she explains. Under the mentorship of Sarah Horowitz (established perfumer and founder of Sarah Horowitz Parfums), she refined her fragrance craft even further.
The brand’s retail presence came from humble beginnings. Johnston’s friend who owned a LA clothing store asked if she could stock some bottles of Leila Lou for holiday shoppers—and it sold out in two days. “When I look back, I had the benefit of being tiny. Nowadays, the way that you launch your brand is just different. When you come out of the gate today, you've got to be guns ablazing,” she remarks. The founder had done her own bottles and packaging, with $10,000 (later extended to $50,000 incrementally over the years) that she borrowed from her father. While the stakes today are much higher, with some arguing bootstrapping is becoming increasingly more difficult, Johnston remains optimistic. “I still think there's room to bootstrap. There's this whole idea of this massive money train that's moving through beauty. It's going to fade, it always does. What stays true are these authentic brands that have been around for a while, or stand for something different in a real way,” she proclaims.
Seeing the hunger for her product—a compliment-grabbing, everyday clean fragrance—she phoned 150 fashion/lifestyle stores to send samples to, aligning herself with those that stocked her favorite clothing brands. “I was doing it bit by bit. That tenacity is something that you're born with. I didn't know as much as I do now, it was that beauty of living in the moment,” she recalls. “For every industry, especially entrepreneurial or in the creative space, you're going to get ‘no’ 95% of the time. You've got to have belief in what you're doing, and more importantly, you've got to love what you're doing. I remember feeling so excited when I found a new list of retailers that I hadn't contacted and thinking ‘This is a whole new world of opportunity.’”
That opportunity continued to unfold as the brand gained new customers across independent retailers. The sophomore scent, Tilly, debuted three years later. Inspired by the summer beaches of Sydney, the creation contains coconut, gardenia, and grapefruit. Further well-loved releases followed. Rosie is a sheer rose fragrance, accompanied by musk and vanilla. Madie is another beachy hymn, this time with sea water, jasmine, and coconut. James, an amber floral, is an earthy blend of amber, gardenia, and fig. Angie, described as “a love letter to Los Angeles” is a blend of honeysuckle, fig, and jasmine. Dylan is a woody fragrance with notes of olibanum, cedar, and white, musk. Lake makes a nod to the nomadic life with neroli, sandalwood, and vanilla.
What By/Rosie Jane offers is impactful fragrance without the uptight pretense. “The way that I have always approached fragrance is in that simplicity. Not boring, but easy,” the founder adds. Those streamlined scent creations also lend themselves well to layering, a practice gaining momentum as shoppers look to customize their very own perfume DNA; especially in the wake of popular #PerfumeTok fragrances, this practice offers a chance for individualism in the age of viral-ism.
