Created by Audrey Gruss, founder and chair of the Hope for Depression Research Foundation (HDRF), Hope Fragrances are 100% charitable, a unicorn in the retail landscape of fine fragrance.

All of the net profits from Hope Fragrance go directly to HDRF to support groundbreaking depression research, a cause now more relevant than ever with a recent survey by the CDC and Census Bureau showing that one-third of Americans are struggling with depression and anxiety during the Covid-19 pandemic.  The mission of HDRF is to fund the most innovative neuroscience research into the origins, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of depression and its related mood disorders, including bipolar disorder, postpartum depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety disorder and suicide. 

This is the story behind how “Hope, The Uplifting Fragrance” was conceived and created by Gruss, whose mother had struggled with the debilitating illness for some time.

“My mother Hope loved white flowers and surrounded herself with them,” says Gruss. “I was inspired to create Hope Fragrance in her honor.” The original Hope is a combination of white flowers and a verdant note that evokes the fresh green of nature. “The fragrance is so distinctive and glorious that it lifts the senses,” Gruss explains.

The Original Hope Collection

The original Hope Eau de Parfum ($150) is “a magnificent fusion of the most aromatic white flowers—Gardenia, Jasmine, Lily-of-The-Valley and Tuberose—the purest and most delicate essences that delight our senses. An exclusive green note adds a lively layer of crisp freshness.” The two fragrances are based on the original iconic white flowers, but with warm oriental notes that evoke romance, “beautifully manifested” in Hope Night; and with green citrus notes that energize a woman’s day, captured in Hope Sport. “This creates the Hope Fragrance Collection that takes a woman from day to night in the key moments she experiences,” explains Gruss.

The original Hope Collection also contains Hope Hand and Body Crème ($50), as well as the Hope Scented Candle ($70), which burns for up to 45 hours.

The Hope Collection EDP bottles feature an elongated neck in distinctive metal tones—yellow gold for Hope Classic, silver for Hope Sport and rose gold for Hope Night—also created by Rosen. The Hope fragrances are available at Bergdorf Goodman. 

Packaging Extraordinaire

New to the collection is the ultra-luxe Hope Night Parfum, described as a warm, sensuous, romantic fragrance,” and created by Firmenich. It is a blend of sophisticated oriental notes on a base of white flowers. The fragrance is formulated with two of Hope’s signature white floral notes—Lily of the Valley and Gardenia—“that mesmerize and help uplift the senses. Amber and Vanilla bring warmth and comfort with an enveloping scent that is so familiar. Patchouli and plum round out the perfume with head-turning, alluring essences that dial up the romantic feeling.”

Hope Night Parfum ($300) is presented in a crystal bottle designed by award-winning cosmetic and fragrance packaging designer Marc Rosen. The first 100 bottles are hand-numbered and serve as a collectible object d’art.

Rosen, a seven-time FiFi award winner, tells Beauty Packaging: “Having designed perfume bottles over the years for Karl Lagerfeld, Fendi, Chloe, Perry Ellis, Borghese, Elizabeth Arden and many others, I was so pleased to be able to have the opportunity to create a luxury iconic parfum bottle once again.”

At a meeting to discuss the Hope Collection. Patricia Saxton, Bergdorf Goodman’s VP Beauty and Fragrance asked Hope’s founder, Audrey Gruss to have Rosen create a beautiful perfume bottle for the line as she considered him the expert in the field. Bergdorf’s is the leading store in the country for selling perfume.

“Audrey had the vision to see that this was a perfect complement to her luxury fragrance collection,” says Rosen.

Rosen explains that the bottle is unique in today’s fragrance world. It is hand-polished crystal (no lead) made by Pavisa, with the metal neck part by Walsen. The round setup box is from Blueprint Luxury Packaging in China.