In Conversation: Lazarus Douvos on Passion, Signature Scent, and His Mother's Advice
As featured in Business Stories Magazine, September 2026.
Some conversations reveal more than a biography ever could. When Business Stories Magazine sat down with Lazarus Douvos, hairstylist and founder of the house, he spoke the way he works: with warmth, candour, and not a single wasted word. Here, lightly edited, is that conversation.
Where it began
Tell us about yourself.
I'm Lazarus Douvos, a hairstylist and the founder of my house, Lazarus Douvos, home to my haircare line and the acclaimed ROSE 1845 eau de parfum. I was born in Australia to Greek immigrant parents, and New York has been my home for the last seventeen years.
One thing you love about New York?
The surprises it showers me with, every single day.
Love stories, bottled
What does the house create, and how did it begin?
Each fragrance is linked to one of my own love stories. I share the story, and then it becomes yours, to connect with in whatever way you wish. Above all, it's about making people feel beautiful. Life is beautiful. Why not feel it too?
A piece of feedback you'll never forget?
So many tell me they feel beautiful and smell divine, and that no one cuts hair like me. But you are only as good as your last haircut.
On trends, and signatures
The biggest misconception about your industry?
That hair should simply follow fashion. It's far more personal than that. You can't give a client bangs just because bangs are in this season. What matters is that she always feels she has options, and that I know what's happening when she asks.
Fragrance is the same. I don't believe in a winter scent and a summer scent. Choose the one that is you, and keep it for life. That is a signature.
Building the house
Where do you see the company in the future?
I've never thought of it as something with an end date, or somewhere it must arrive in five or ten years. It has no start and no end. As long as I do what I love every day, the house is exactly where it should be.
Your biggest struggle, and how you met it?
In the beginning, I wasn't clear enough with investors about a budget that included marketing. You can have the most beautiful product in the world, but without marketing, no one will find you. Be clear when you present your vision, and always include marketing.
Advice for someone starting out?
Start with passion, and don't be shy to ask for the budget you need.
A little more
Favourite artist growing up?
Madonna. Sports, I'm sorry to say, never interested me.
Any shoutouts?
To my mother. She always told me: “Chase your dreams, never explain yourself to anyone, and always be you.”
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Read the original feature in Business Stories Magazine. Discover the signature that could become yours in the collection.
