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Teo Cabanel Early Roses: fragrance review

"One day, its Royal Majesty, our Self, should get out of the throne room and with its Court, the mind and the heart, sit down and decide about its life".
~Tasos Athanasiadis, The Throne Room

There are fragrances which are complex like symphonies and then there are fragrances which take on a gorgeous essence as a point of departure into exploring subtle nuances. Early Roses by Teo Cabanel belongs in the second category, imparting a morning-dew fresh rosiness with woody-musky undertones, as delicate and tender as that first kiss on the lips on a warm May's day when happiness is so overwheling that it's ripe with the burden of a budding melancholy already.

Jean François Latty (the perfumer of YSL's classics, Jazz and YSL Pour Homme) signed the latest and fifth opus of Teo Cabanel, a small exclusive perfumery originally established in Algiers in 1893 and reborn by a young heiress, Caroline Ilacqua in 2005.

Early Roses is a floral rose étude, subtle and pastoral like walking in a garden covered by dew, with fragrant notes of roses, red berries, jasmin, bulgarian rose, sustained by amber, musk and woody notes. Although Cabanel features another rose perfume in their portfolio, Oha, the comparison couldn't be more pronounced: While Early Roses is a budding young woman eagerly anticipating the miracle of life unfolding before her, Oha is a mature chypre floral when some heartache has left its indelible mark. The prettiness without vulgarity of Early Roses comes as confimation that Teo Cabanel, producer of the amazing warm floriental of amber & ylang ylang Alahine as well as another floral named Julia, is a niche brand to watch out for.

Early Roses pretty much begins as it ends, structured in an almost linear style. The first hit is unmistakeable fresh rose, cut with a little fruity tanginess, no powder or real sweetness, very fresh like in some Rosine fragrances. A complimentary rosy note of pink pepper is there as well, making the scent feel contemporary and keeping it from any sourness probably aided by some hedione (fresh green jasmine note). The warmer underscore of woodiness (comparable to that in Stella but a little bit creamier) comes almost immediately, blossoming into lusher rosiness. The floral core is flanked by clean musky notes, producing a skin-like effect throughout which lasts well although always in the lower, subtle register. If you are searching for the embullient roses of Paris by Yves Saint Laurent, or want your Eaux de Parfum to have ooomph, you might find it too sotto voce for your tastes.
Decidely girly, I think most men who are adventurous in their fragrance choices would find some challenge in borrowing it, but the experiment wouldn't be without merit.

Available as Eau de Parfum in 50ml/1.7oz and 100ml/3.4oz.



Music by Greek composer Evanthia Reboutsika from the album The Star & A Prayer.
Painting Roses by William Whitaker.