In a crowded market of mass-produced candles and mass-marketed scents, Riccardo Halac-Ruggeroni’s RHR Luxury stands as a rare and elegant beacon of craftsmanship, authenticity, and innovation. Not just another luxury brand, RHR Luxury is reshaping the entire concept of home fragrance, offering an experience that transcends the simple act of lighting a candle. At the heart of it all is Riccardo himself, the founder, CEO, and, most notably, the master perfumer behind every scent, a role he never expected to play.
RHR Luxury defies the industry’s conventional standards. While most fragrance companies depend on pre-blended scents and automated production, Riccardo’s approach is deeply personal. He doesn’t rely on ready-made fragrance oils; instead, he meticulously crafts each fragrance from the ground up, combining rare botanicals, cutting-edge molecular chemistry, and his own artistic vision. His passion for this craft is a result of years of self-taught research and development, not just the theory but the hands-on science behind perfumery, biochemistry, and the complex art of blending.
The result? An exquisitely unique line of home fragrances presented in luxurious crystal vessels where the hand finishes are self-evident. These aren’t just candles, they are pieces of art. Every vessel, designed in the spirit of Italian Mid-Century Modern aesthetics, is a celebration of clean lines, bold forms, and luxurious materials. Each scent tells a story of distant lands, historical trade routes, and the mingling of cultures that has shaped modern perfumery. Lighting one of these candles is more than an olfactory experience; it’s an invitation to journey through time and place.
What sets RHR Luxury apart isn’t just its dedication to authenticity and craftsmanship. Riccardo has crafted a philosophy for the brand that goes beyond product creation. “When conceptualizing luxury home fragrance, a home scent should engage you emotionally,” he explains. “It’s not just about a room smelling good; it’s about creating a connection, a narrative you can align with.” This emotional engagement is central to the brand’s identity. By embracing the rare, the forgotten, and the historical, RHR Luxury offers customers something truly unique: a personal and intimate experience with scent. “If you analyze our behavior over the ages, we went from masking odor to using fragrance as a symbol of status and a tool to seduce. Now, translate that into our dwellings, and the purposes are similar: we may want to mask smells at home, true, but we can also set or communicate a mood when we light a candle, or when we place a diffuser on a console by the front door. So, picking a candle or a diffuser is not only going to satisfy a functional need, but it will also be an emotional purchase,” he says.
Unlike many CEOs who are hands-off from their products, Riccardo is deeply involved in every aspect of RHR Luxury. From researching the rarest raw materials to perfecting each fragrance formula, his role as both the visionary and the craftsman allows him to maintain the utmost quality and artistry in his work. “I see myself more as a ‘perfumer-in-training,'” he says, acknowledging that he’s never been content to simply follow in the footsteps of others.
In this interview, we asked Riccardo what he considered the most important aspect of his creative process, and without skipping a beat, he responded, “Blending. Learning perfumery requires not only considerable financial resources but a daily dedication to the craft. Not only you have to assemble a respectable library of materials, what we call a perfumer’s organ, but you have to learn how to blend those materials. There’s some theory, it’s true, but when you study perfumery, an accord or a full formula doesn’t come to life until you have gathered all the materials listed on it, blended them at the recommended quantities, and smell the result on a paper strip. In other words, you have to be willing to be hands-on.”
The results are evident in the complexity of his candle fragrances. They smell like niche perfumery, with layered accords that slowly diffuse their molecules into the air. A leather and incense fragrance called Milonga, for example, inspired by speakeasies of old Buenos Aires, smells like leather boots and bourbon at first, the easiest notes to identify. But a second whiff reveals the complexity of iris, violet, and raspberry combined, “Ah, yes, he says, I wanted to add the smell of makeup and represent the sweetness of lipstick. What’s a speakeasy without the scent of a woman? Iris powder, orris root, was for centuries used as face powder. Today, the scent continues to be associated with make-up” he explains.
Above, Milonga luxury scented candle sitting on a flawless white onyx slab tray, with candle care accessories, all RHR Luxury.
Another candle called Oxypétala, inspired by the elusive queen of the night flower, smells like jasmine at first, but a second take reveals complex accords of marzipan and cherimoya, an exotic fruit originally from the Andean valleys of South America; “Well, the queen of the night blooms only once a year, during the night. If you are lucky to smell one, it has hints of vanilla and heliotrope; the marzipan accord represents that sweetness. But it also has a ripe fruit connotation, somewhat similar to the fragrance of live irises. Then, I discovered the flower perfume includes a chemical in common with cherimoyas, so voilà! Fruity accords, what we call gourmands, are an effective way to add a touch of the exotic to a floral fragrance,” He explains.
Above: Oxypétala luxury scented candle, sitting on a matching pink quartz solid block riser tray. All RHR Luxury.
This meticulous approach to fragrance formulation results in a complexity of perfumery accords impossible for other brands to compete with. Mass-compounded fragrance needs to be more generic to have mass appeal, for big brands to sell thousands of candles a year, which in turn demands astronomical marketing and advertising budgets. So in his opinion, “You are buying into the brand, not the product itself, and the price tag? It goes 90% to advertising.” While many in the luxury industry are caught up in the race for likes, followers, and influencer endorsements, he remains steadfast in his belief that true luxury does not need to shout. Instead, it speaks through its rarity, authenticity, and quality. “The world doesn’t need more noise. It needs more substance,” he shares. “I want my customers to feel they’ve discovered something real, something precious. By its very nature, what I make is scarce. So it doesn’t make sense to be out on social media with a megaphone, that’s what everyone else is doing, to pay their marketing and advertising bills,” he adds.
RHR Luxury’s decision to forgo mass production and marketing gimmicks also stems from Riccardo’s skepticism about an industry that has become increasingly commercialized. “When your product is mass-produced, it’s easy for it to lose its soul,” he explains. “I prefer to create scents that will evoke a memory, or will instantly transport you somewhere cherished, or will simply help create a specific mood at home, when you are taking a bath or entertaining.”
Fragrance is an extension of our personalities. And when you prepare a product that’s full of intention, you must look at it from all angles. “That’s why I prefer to work with noble materials,” he adds, “When you connect the dots between authenticity and intention, the result seldom translates into mass appeal. My clients have already been purchasing other luxury brands for decades; many of those brands have become ubiquitous. When they come to me, it’s because they want niche perfumery for their homes.”
This dedication to craft and authenticity has recently earned RHR Luxury a spot in Europe through Scentissime, a niche platform that celebrates niche and artistic perfumery. For Riccardo, the focus is on the long-term journey, not quick trends. “A returning customer who truly loves your product, that’s a real influence. I don’t measure success by follower counts or algorithms. My goal is to build something timeless.”
In an era when brands are expected to have millions of followers, RHR Luxury’s deliberate slowness and focus on quality over quantity make it a breath of fresh air. It’s a reminder that luxury doesn’t have to be loud to be heard. Sometimes, the quietest whispers are the most powerful.
Explore and discover the captivating scents of RHR Luxury by clicking below:
Website
Instagram
