The self-proclaimed “white T-shirt of clean fragrance,” By/Rosie Jane is about keeping things simple, yet stunning. Speaking to its founder Rosie Jane Johnston, a busy mother of three on the go before her weekly morning tennis session, one can feel the vivacious optimism that the brand lives and breathes first-hand.
Her interest in beauty began with seeing the fashion magazine collages on her older sister’s bedroom walls. The other women in her family had a less-is-more approach when it comes to beauty, a practice that is reflected in Johnston’s brand DNA. As part of her drama class in high school, she did the makeup for a theater production, which immediately sparked her passion for the craft. Johnston enrolled in makeup school as soon as she graduated.
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.
A watershed moment came in 2019, when Sephora picked up the brand. “We jumped 30 levels, they helped define what clean meant to consumers. We already fit within those boundaries, but as a small company, we didn't have the marketing power to be able to educate and spread [that message],” she says. Since launching at the retailer the brand has seen annual growth percentages of 80-100%, with 200% growth in brick-and-mortar sales in the last year.
In 2020, the brand extended into bodycare: deodorant, body wash, body milk, and body oil—available in refillable formats. While complementary formulas to existing fragrances are also on offer, the founder launched into the genre with stand-alone scentways taking an aromatherapy approach: Wake the F*ck Up (a mix of verbena, eucalyptus, grapefruit, and lemon), Calm the F*ck Down (a soothing concoction of chamomile, lavender, and neroli), and Chill the F*ck Out (a blend of mandarin, cypress, and peppermint).
“While in the shower, I want to feel either like I'm calming down for the end of my day or I'm revving up for the beginning of it. I want that reset moment, so the fragrances that I created for that were essential oil based because I'm so fascinated by what's now turned into a scientific side for fine fragrance and functionality,” she states. “I want it be beautiful skincare, incredible ingredients that are nourishing and hydrating, but this connection through smell and emotion is our differentiator.”
Dulce, the brand’s 2022 release, became a viral success which sold out five times at Sephora. A spot-on nod to the current gourmand craze, it features notes of chocolate, vanilla, musk, and hinoki wood. “When I created Dulce it was reminding me of the ’90s, the old-school vanilla fragrances that smelt instantly recognizable like vanilla but had complexity. This is where luck comes into it: vanilla had this moment, so we saw huge brand awareness. We got all of this organic social media. That was another big jump,” she states. “Strangely enough, because we make it in-house, it’s been easier to manage. We launched in September 2022, but in May is it started to go kind of viral. Because we had this slow ramp and an amazing warehouse team that does so much, we were able to fill 7,000 to 10,000 bottles a day.”
A four-person-strong executive team, six full-time warehouse members, plus a handful of fractional employees build out the By/Rosie Jane team. All products are made in LA at Johnston’s Silver Lake studio, with formulas that are paraben-, sulfate-, phosphate-, and phthalate-free, and cruelty-free. The packaging used is recyclable and recycled. While the team has invested minimal spend in Facebook ads, most of its audience growth has been organic and through word-of-mouth. Dulce undoubtedly had its viral moment, but customers are staying for the long haul. “We hang on to so many of those customers and they keep coming back. I think that speaks so much to the quality of the fragrance, the authenticity of the brand,” she adds. “Even as we grow with the pressures to get bigger and bigger, I want to stay meaningful, do stuff that really matters. That's why we have such a loyal, wonderful community. Authenticity is super important to me as I continue to grow the brand. I want that to really be the message when I'm putting a product out there.”
The brand’s newest release, Missy, is an ode to poolside hangs, with a fruity and uplifting blend of green mandarin, coconut, pineapple, and frangipani. “My creative process is probably unorthodox. I am a visual person and generally I'm inspired by an emotion that I want to create. Then I write myself a brief, almost like a really detailed journal entry. I generally write it in the first person like it's happening. Then I do a visual mood board; I'm a Pinterest junkie. I just put it all together and started mixing around,” she explains.
For 2024, she is looking to focus further on the body category. “It's a different market, truly a repeat purchase, an everyday product that is easily accessible. What's happening in the body category right now is very exciting, but it's all very prestige and I love this more accessible price point, but with keeping the same integrity and quality of product that I believe should be, for everybody," she remarks. In light of incoming MOCRA regulations, she is also seeing clean formulations and complete transparency becoming the norm.
Reflecting on her past 15 years in the industry, Johnston remarks: “My business has changed so many times. We’re like a crab; we have to keep breaking out of our shell and moving into our new shell. We're growing all the time. The biggest thing for me is we've been able to drive in and double down on the things that matter the most to us in ways that were always there.” Through time and experience, the founder has refined that message ever further, navigating the challenges of brand growth and expansion with her trademark optimism. “Through not knowing business when I started the line, you don't necessarily know where you're heading. Now I feel like I know the story that I want to build,” she reflects. “That's amazing, but it's still just as terrifying and as nerve wracking as the first day. You have to have a little faith and follow the path. But it feels like a crazy journey.”
