Rogue Perfumery's creator and perfumer, Manuel Cross, describes Rogue's inception best: 

"Chef, by trade, since 1993. My independent perfumery study began in 2007 when I tried (and failed miserably) to produce a fragrance with some essential oils purchased from the local health foods store. It immediately became an obsession which led me to ten years of researching and studying perfumery principles, history, and aroma chemicals.

I began creating fragrances out of pure fascination. The more I learned and practiced the more I began to discover recognizable accords and effects in many of my favorite fragrances. It became addictive!

Eventually, after much time and trial and error, I began composing fragrances as a push-back to the systematic destruction of the classics. Between IFRA recommendations and EU regulations entire genres of classic fragrances are being either discontinued or completely reformulated.