A kiss, a scent, a cocktail dress. These early memories of his mother are what guides British perfumer and fragrance historian Roja Dove?s path. While studying medicine at Cambridge, he visited the Guerlain boutique on the Champs-Élysées and was so struck by the overpowering effect of the small flacons that he decided to dedicate the rest of his life to perfume.

The fragrance expert worked for Robert Guerlain for 20 years and wrote on perfume and the art of seduction for Vogue, Vanity Fair and Wallpaper before founding his own perfume house to compose specially tailored, bespoke perfumes for selected customers - designers, artists and members of the British royal family. In 2004 he opened an exclusive perfumery in Harrods, London, and in 2011 he introduced his Roja Perfumes line to the market.

The names of his fragrances connote passion: Fetish, Scandal, Risqué or Enslaved. ?My perfumes always start with the name?, says Roja Dover. ?Finding a good name is the hardest thing in the world. My partner and I sit in the garden with a pot of tea and think of great names. Then I start to create the perfume.? There is a highly individual Roja Dove fragrance for every character, which reacts individually to every different person?s skin, making it unique.