Gamour: What’s one beauty rule you swear by?
Michelle Pfeiffer: That there are no rules. Beauty is such a personal thing to everyone. Depending on what your facial features are, what kind of skin you have, what kind of hair you have, not everything works for everyone. That also applies to fragrance; it's such a personal thing. I think the rule would be try not to pay attention to trends.
What about a beauty rule you think is B.S.?
I think more than a rule, it's actually a misconception. And that is that safer, cleaner products don't perform as well. I have to say that hasn't always been the case, and that's why out of frustration as a consumer, I started Henry Rose. I couldn't find products that performed, that were also safe. When I started Henry Rose, you could find clean products that performed as well as more mainstream products, but fragrance really lagged behind. I tried every natural essential oil fragrance on the market, and I just really missed that sort of fine fragrance.
Why is clean beauty so important to you?
Honestly, it never really was until I became a parent. To protect your kids, you start looking at the world in a very different way. I started reading ingredients on food we were eating, and personal care products we were putting on our bodies, and paying attention to everything. And wow, it was really eye-opening. One day I stumbled upon the Environmental Working Group's Skin Deep database, and finally there was an incredible resource for me to start to choose safer products, and rate the products that we were using.
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You can use only three beauty products for the rest of your life. What are they and why?
I would say sunblock because it's going to be the thing that makes your skin look its best over time. I would say mascara. And I've been trying this new brand lately that was sent to me called Merit, and they have this product—it's their idea of a cover stick. Rather than applying makeup everywhere, it's about going in and covering those bad spots, and layering it where you need it most.
Merit Complexion Stick
What’s your earliest fragrance memory?
This whole notion of scent memories came up as I was learning how to formulate, and how to talk about fragrance and how to speak to the perfumers, and I realized through that process I was pulling from scent memories in my life. The very first Henry Rose fragrance, Torn, I realized I was going after the leather of my father's cologne. I didn't quite get to that, but that's what it was, and it's also why I fell in love this sort of Oriental category. So yeah, it would be my father's cologne.
