Roja Dove | Perfumer

Perfume education, curation and the development of an independent house

Roja Dove traces his interest in scent to a childhood memory of his mother’s perfume. As a young enthusiast, he collected fragrances and researched the history of perfumery before joining Guerlain.

In a first-person account, Dove described his Guerlain responsibilities as training and an ambassadorial role. He left in 2001 and developed his own business, later opening the Roja Dove Haute Parfumerie at Harrods and establishing the Roja fragrance house.

His work has combined public perfume education, the selection and presentation of fragrances and the direction of a luxury collection. A later collaboration with perfumer Antoine Cotton introduced another creative voice to the house. Across these activities, Dove places particular emphasis on perfume’s relationship with memory: its ability to recall a person, place or moment with a vividness that extends beyond the visible image.