Les Parfums de Rosine Majalis: new fragrance

Les Parfums de Rosine is launching a new perfume, Majalis. The inspiration comes from the Rosa Majalis, a rose variant native in the Asian mountains. This flower develops an amazing cinnamon scent, which is the reason it's called the "love rose" due to its soft and captivating aura. Les Parfums de Rosine also call it the Cinnamon Rose.

The new perfume, Les Parfums de Rosine Majalis, is inspired by this unique rose to render a soft oriental with spicy complementary notes of pink pepper and nutmeg on a woody background. Bulgarian rose absolute contributes a bright and heady heart note.

The presentation of the bottle is rich and refined as usual: The Rosine bottle wears an amber cap and a silky cinnamon-hued pompon for this scent, tied with a fuchsia pink detail, while the folding box continues the theme of lozenges, but treated in bright metallic fuchsia details on a bronzed card in a cinnamon colour to reflect the mood of the Majalis perfume.

Parfums M.Micallef Rouge #1: fragrance review

Rose stands as a symbol of femininity, at least in the western world. Perfectly formed, delicately or more passionately hued, its scent combining freshness with powder and sweet liqueur can be heavenly ~or it can be hellish. All too often rose fragrances can turn sour or dusty, like moldy pot-pouri that has been sitting for ages unattended and unappreciated at the corner of the window ledge, sitting on a lace doily, fearing for its survival from the leap of a hundred cats vying for the tenant's attention. If you're nodding your head thinking "rose smells of old ladies" and the paraphernalia this cultural stigma evokes, I know you can understand my personal pained story with rose. But not all is doom and gloom in regards to the queen of flowers.

via Pinterest

So what can a perfumer and a clever conceived brand do to avoid this perilous and unpopular situation?

One solution is to go for earthy and thorny and pair rose with patchouli (and possibly white truffle notes), a time-honored, but especially galvanized by niche perfume companies recently, concept. (I think Voleur de Roses by L'Artisan Parfumeur was the pioneer in making this a niche trope).
Another, no less popular route, is to cuddle the rose in peachy lactonic materials, appearing as apricot, peach or nectarine in the list of notes. This has been a collective snuggly and hyper-feminine reference since that mega-blockbuster by Lancome, Trésor, the accord "décolleté" as its creator called it. Of course if you have ever sat next to a woman wearing Trésor you know there is such a notion as "too much of a good thing"; it's as subtle as a sledgehammer and as elegant as a 100 carat diamond hanging off your neck on a chain of thick gold. But this is where the niche brands can employ their finesse (see Liaisons Dangeureses by Kilian and Vive la Mariée by Parfums de Rosine for fine roses that won't suffocate) and M.Micallef is no stranger to the concept.

Rouge #1 by M.Micallef is part Le Collection Rouge (the red collection) which comprises two scents for now (Rouge #2 to be reviewed on another day). Rouge #1, composed by perfumer Jean Claude Astier, encompasses all the guiles of femininity and renders a fruity floral you won't be sorry to pick up for yourself and own. Polished, groomed, lightly powdery, with a fuzzy opening that unites summer fruit and rose, the floral part gains on nuance as the fragrance develops. It's unmistakably rose, but even if you don't usually like roses it manages to seduce you with a smile. The drydown has lots of (clean) musk indeed (with hints of rice pudding, a nice touch which fits with the refined gourmand successes of the brand). All fragrances in this genre are musky, but it blends in seamlessly here (after all Micallef does Royal Muska too, a lovely clean heavy-duty musk scent by itself).
M.Micallef Rouge #1 is what you'd picture a young mother wearing, a woman in love and a daughter borrowing perfume off a mother's vanity to graft some of that admired but at the same time cozy, tender feeling onto herself as an amulet against the world. Alas, not fit for most men; sorry guys, this is all ours!

Good projection and very good lasting power from the dab on I have been using. The bottles as usual are hand-decorated by Martine Micallef herself with her usual flair for the artistic and the beautiful and pay homage to the Art Deco style. This is a case where niche isn't just an excuse for charging high prices for hot air.


Notes for M.Micallef Rouge#1: 
Top: peach and tangerine
Heart: ylang-ylang, jasmine and rose
Base: white musk, vanilla and benzoin.

Giorgio Armani Si: fragrance review

It wouldn't be inaccurate to claim that Sì, the latest feminine fragrance by Giorgio Armani, is L'Oreal's (the parent company of Armani parfums) answer to the commercial success of Lancôme's La Vie Est Belle from the previous year. Both are competent but rather forgettable perfumes that are sure to capture and retain the demographic they're aimed at: 35-50 year old women seeking something a little more sophisticated than the average fruity floral at department stores, while still not shocking anyone with their limp-wristed, yet persistent, wake of scent.

They're the Empire State Building rather than the strikingly asymmetrical Reykjavík’s Harpa Concert Hall & Conference Center. The tousled hair rom-com heroine rather than Irene Dunne. And a predictably lyrical novel that reads like a self-help book by Paulo Coelho rather than Orhan Pamuk. No, strike the last aphorism out: the fragrances in question are not Coelho-bad, surely!

Several small details point to the correlation between the two scents, Sì and La vie est belle. I mean.
The blackcurrant top note revisits a theme that was forgotten for long (First by Van Cleef & Arpels brought it into the scene and it's famously giving the piquancy in niche cult L'Ombre Dans l'Eau by Diptyque). They share a small fruity lactonic chapter (reminiscent of peach and pear). They both are buttressed by the familiar contemporary patchouli with woody-smelling Iso E Super and musks, plus a cotton candy vanilla note that -especially in the Lancome fragrance- instantly references Angel to anyone's mind. In Sì, the feel of a nouveau chypre (see our article for more on those) is enhanced by a cosmetics-smelling chord that is feminine and subtly intimate: the rosy note is simply put buoyed by soft, powdery violets like in many lipsticks and face powders.
Giorgio Armani's Sì is less sweet overall, with a drier, less cushion-like ambience. The cleaned-up feel and powdery abstraction recall segments of Knowing, a forgotten 1980s perfume by Estée Lauder. As per the perfumer, Christine Nagel of Mane, the base of Armani Sì includes Orcanox, which is another name for Ambroxan or Ambrofix (an aromachemical with an abstract woody-ambery scent aiming to recall natural ambergris), that gives great diffusion and tenacity to modern fragrances; indeed this Armani is one of them.

The official fragrance notes for Guorgio Armani Sì include blackcurrant, freesia, rose, vanilla, patchouli, blond woods, orcanox.

The choice of actress extraordinaire Cate Blanchett as the fronting woman for Armani's latest fragrance ("Cate Blanchett says Sì" -i.e. "yes" in Italian- is the motto of the campaign) has created the expectation of something truly exceptional and smart, like she is herself -the modern equivalent of Katherine Hepburn. Maybe the stakes were just too high. Sì just couldn't possibly live up to it or the "chypre reinvented" perfumista-nod on top of this. That doesn't mean it's not a pleasant fragrance; you could do much worse in the department store circuit, I'd wager.
Lovely bottle (in 1, 1.7 and 3.4oz of eau de parfum at major department stores), reminiscent of the Armani Privé perfume bottles aesthetic, a nice bonus.

Below, watch the official film for Giorgio Armani Sì (rather uninspired if you ask me, though beautifully shot by director Anne Fontaine) and a small interview with Christine Nagel where she explains the fundamental blocks of the perfume composition.

Scent on Canvas Rose Opera: fragrance review

It was the explosion of beauty in a field of saffron that captured the senses of perfumer Jórdi Fernandez. The romance of rose and saffron stamens recall the passions of Marc Anthony and Cleopatra, who infamously perfumed themselves with saffron before their romantic encounters. It was this reference which Beatrice Aguilar brought to the table to discuss further with Fernandez for the creation of this woody floral fantasy, Rose Opéra.

The scent oscillates between floral and woody-herbal with exotic woody notes (vetiver and patchouli) in the base, allied to a mossy feeling of walking through a forest with autumnal mulch on the floor. This gives a tilt into rosy chypre fragrances, but it is the cool-spicy and smoothly suede feel of the saffron essence which keeps Rose Opéra from being a full-blown retro rose and feels at home in the contemporary category of sophisticated, complex floral scents.

Cleopatra's Banquet as per Pliny's tale (wiki)

The first impression is at once fresh and floral, due to the Calabrian bergamot and the fruity notes of wild strawberries. Pepper rose, cardamom and macis (also known as the nutmeg flower) round off the mid notes of the perfume. Other ingredients are jasmine, artemisia, tagete and rose of Turkey, which unveils a mix of cedar wood, roots of vetiver with touches of patchouli and oak moss. The fragrance remains elegant, with a mysterious touch of twilight.

The new niche collection "Scent on Canvas" so far includes five perfumes created by an eclectic mix of perfumers: Jórdi Fernandez (for Rose Opéra and Noir de Mars), Shyamala Maisondieu (Ocre Doré) , Alexandra Kosinski (Brun Sicilien) and the founder, Beatrice Aguilar herself (Blanc de Paris). The collection spans five fragrance genres with nuanced olfactory work within them: the starchy, woody musk, a predetermined crowd-pleaser (Blanc de Paris); the dark musty-mossy with guts (Noir de Mars); the mysterious, coppery woody (Ocre Doré); the rosy floral with mysterious, spicy-suede tonalities (Rose Opéra) and the complex hesperidic-leathery (Brun Sicilien). Each fragrance is accompanied by a painting by a well-known painter who is inspired by the aromatics in the composition, then the painting is turned into an engraving which is used for the packaging of the fragrance: the inside of the box holds the engraving ready to be framed and hung on your walls.

Notes for Rose Opéra by Scent on Canvas:
Top: Calabrian bergamot, wild berries, jasmine, armoise, Turkish rose, tagete
Heart: Spanish saffron, cardamom, pink pepper, nutmeg flower,
Base: cyperus scariosus, Virginian cedar, Javanese vetiver, Peruvian lentisque, patchouli, oakmoss, incense.

The perfumes are priced at 130 Euros for 100 ml of perfume/eau de parfum (only Blanc de Paris is an Eau de Parfum by design, the rest are extrait de parfum). A great value sample pack of all 5 scents is offered for only 10 euros online at the official e-shop. More information: scentoncanvas.com

Acqua di Parma Colonia: Fragrance Review & Giveaway of Luxurious Body Products Set

It had been ages since I had last smelled the refined herbal, acrid top notes of Acqua di Parma's cologne, atavistically named Colonia and encased in the sunniest crocus yellow this side of the earth's "omphalos". (Seriously, if there's one shade in the beauty business packaging to rival Hermes's coveted orange and Tiffany's delicate robin-egg blue, it's Aqua di Parma's yellow; a true trademark). It was the mid-1990s, I recall, when I was first taken with the "niche" circuit and when coincidentally Diego della Valle decided to rescue not only driving shoes (establishing the famous Tod's loafer) but also credible Italian cologne resold as a refined commodity since at least the times of Jean Marie Farina. Acqua di Parma was immediately eye-catching but it was the simple, to the point elegance of subtlety (fragrance wearing for the pleasure of fragrance wearing -not announcing any deep and meaningful messages about one's self importance) which cinched the deal. My first bottle found its rightful place on my vanity. The rest is history.

via

In Alfie, the modern version of the film from 2004, this is all Jude Law, devastatingly charming*, with a full head of hair thank you very much and ruining his marriage with the help of Sienna Miller, used to have on his bathroom shelf: Acqua di Parma Colonia. And who can blame him**? Apparently the scent scored, as scads of females were hankering for his guiles, Susan Sarandon in all her mature knowingness no less. The cineaste reference isn't without peer: reportedly both Ava Gardner and Cary Grant liked and wore Acqua di Parma's classic cologne in the 1930s. Today you can feel like a movie star when stepping out of the bath of any 5 star hotel in the world where Acqua di Parma bath and body products are a sine qua non.

The story of Acqua di Parma goes like this: In 1916 Master perfumers created a new fragrance in a small laboratory in Parma using natural ingredients. It was an unusually fresh and modern fragrance – the first true Italian Cologne. Today Acqua di Parma is still true to its heritage. The fragrances and the packaging are still both hand-designed and Acqua di Parma is an iconic symbol of the refined, exclusive, and purest Italian lifestyle.

via 

The brilliance of Colonia by Acqua di Parma lies in the intensely sunny, succulent marriage of both sweet orange rind essence and bitter orange notes (citrus aurantia from which neroli, petit-grain and orange blossom absolute derive) to the soapy mossiness of the base; it gives a genuinely chyprish scent nuance, evocative of tall cypresses, proudly standing against Tuscany winds, with a backdrop of lemony verbena, delicate rose and a hint of patchouli, like spots of sienna tiles and stuccoed walls silhouetted serenely in the distance. It's enough to shed away your winter stressed shell and bask in the Italian sunshine Ava-style. Who in their right mind could ask for more?

Notes for Acqua di Parma Colonia:
Bergamot, Citrus, Lemon, Bitter Orange, Sweet Orange, English Lavender, Bulgarian or Damascene Rose, Verbena, Clary Sage, Rosemary, Cedarwood, Patchouli, Sandalwood, Vetiver, Oakmoss.

For our readers, we have a luxe gift set of Colonia bath & shower gel, hair conditioner and body lotion in the glorious yellow boxes and bags. Please enter a comment to be eligible. Draw is open internationally till Wednesday midnight. Winner to be announced sometime in Thursday.

*it is my personal quirk that I prefer his portrayal of the murderer photographer in the grim & great  Road to Perdition...don't mind me.
** this film still tells you all about the intended audience of the product placement

In the interests of disclosure, I was given the set via a PR opportunity. 

Penhaligon's Vaara: fragrance review & free perfume atomiser giveaway

Had I been blindfolded while testing the latest Penhaligon's fragrance, Vaara, I would have immediately proclaimed "Bertrand Duchaufour" upon released and that wouldn't be in some erotic rapture 50 Shades of Grey perfume style, but in familiar recognition of the perfumer's patte all over the perfume. Is this a bad thing? Read on please, dear reader.

Duchaufour, like Jean Claude Ellena, moves his accords and ideas around, exploring them, revisiting, pushing them to their natural and unnatural limits all the time; on one level, the hallmark of a true artist. Whereas Ellena has the luxury of doing it within the context of one company, since his in-house tenure at Hermès, Duchaufour seems at the flummox of some orgasmic productivity; to map out the sheer volume of the man's creations in the last 5 years alone would take a considerable effort worthy of an ultra-conscientious librarian. And whereas some of them are questionable in their repercussions, the end result is usually what we perfume aficionados refer to -favorably- as a "transparent oriental perfume", namely a composition that can't be faulted for being too thick or dense to be wearable under the most casual of moods, nor the most refined of occasions.

Vaara by Penhaligon's is one such thing, a very deftly aerated meringue of a scent, uniting a lightly gourmand scent impression with rose, like a loukoum nugget. A moutwatering effect which has prompted originaldeftdom on Fragrantica to liken Duchaufour to Heston Blumenthal. Of course Duchaufour is no stranger to this alliance of true minds: rose and saffron is a classic Middle-Eastern and Indian combination (rose is making a comeback as a perfume note of late anyway) and the well-known perfumer has explored the lightly suede/leather-smelling facets of the precious stamens when used with rose in both Traversée du Bosphore for L'Artisan Parfumeur as well as in Mohur by Neela Vermeire Creations previously. (It is important to note that this is an interpretation far removed from the mossy-chypre and more aggressive Agent Provocateur eau de parfum which also explores the accord of saffron & rose).
Indeed many of the official notes are, if not the same, then quite close in all three compositions by the sleight-handed Bertrand (for instance the carrot seed note, referenced in Mohur too reflects the iris, ambrette is a kind of musk, the edible, lightly fruity çay note from Traversée gets a quince jelly treatment here, quince being close to apple and so on...). At least the geographical direction points the compass consistently to the East; near or far, it doesn't matter much to the Parisian and the Londoner who flock to buy Duchaufour's creations. Of course the press release goes on and on about the travels that Duchaufour has gone to, to get inspired by India in all its glory. (At this rate, he must know the area like the palm of his hand by now!)

the quirky Bertrand and the suave Maharaja (don't you just love the turquoise jacket)

The name Vaara means both "blessing" and "breeze" and stands for the granddaughter of His Highness Maharaja Gaj Singh II; the perfume was commissioned to celebrate her birth and the family’s love for the city of Jodhpur and was inspired by the Royal House of Marwar-Jodhpur in Rajasthan, India. For the launch, earlier in July, the Penhaligon's boutique in London was filled with images of Jodpur to mirror the chronology of the journey, the fragrance profiling room turned into a Rajasthani spice market with drawings from perfumer Bertrand Duchaufour’s notebook, photos taken at the market and the raw ingredients of Vaara.

The quince and coriander are the dominant allies to the rose-saffron accord in Penhaligion's Vaara scent and enhance it without drowning it. The lightly sweetish message after the top note has dissipated, warm and skin-scent-like is quite delicious with no screech from the flower notes (peony and freesia, two synthetically recreated "notes" are often a culprit).

Vaara despite the repetition of themes and the cliché exotic promo isn't just bon pour l'Orient. It's bon, period.

Notes for Vaara by Penhaligon's:
Top: quince, rose water, carrot seeds, coriander seed and saffron.
Heart: Moroccan rose absolute, Bulgarian rose oil, freesia, Indian magnolia, iris and peony
Base: honey, white musk, cedarwood, sandalwood, benzoin resin and tonka bean.

Available at Penhaligon's boutiques and online at 85 GBP for 50ml/1.7oz of Eau de Parfum, 120 GBP for 100ml/3.4oz.

  For our readers, I have a generous and sleek travel atomiser of Penhaligon's Vaara for one lucky winner. Draw is open internationally till Friday 27th midnight. Winner to be announced in the weekend. Enter a comment to be eligible.

Related reading on Perfume Shrine: Leather scents, Best Rose fragrances & scented delights, Bertrand Duchaufour perfumes.

In the interests of disclosure, I was sent the sample for reviewing purposes by the company.

Les Parfums de Rosine Vive La Mariee: fragrance review & samples draw

Les Parfums de Rosine isn't removed from the romantic notion of fragrance as a pleasure, a smile, a memento to accompany the most beautiful moments of one's life. So there was nice building up for their wedding fragrance, the newly launched Vive la Mariée (long live the bride), without resorting to histrionics; the launch was discreet and the promises complied to the image we have of Les Parfums de Rosine.
In the immortal words of the Fiona character in Four Weddings and a Funeral to describe the love interest of the main protagonist, bride-to-be, Carrie (turns out, "to be and to divorce" and then "to love and not to be"): "Used to work at Vogue. Lives in America now. Only gets out with very glamorous people. Quite out of your league."
There is just something traditionally chic, even expected, about Les Parfums de Rosine and Vive la Mariée is no exception.

wedding dress by Christian Dior 1948 via hprints.com

Vive la Mariée smells translatable as feminine right away, the equivalent of tender décolletage heaving with the emotion of the moment, conforming to the notion of a woman on the happiest day of her life. It's rather easy to accept this warm, peachy-rosy vibe which recalls the best-selling accord popularized by Lancome's Trésor in the 1990s. Marie-Hélène Rogeon, head of Les Parfums de Rosine, who put rose in the heart of the line as the surest sign of femininity and grace, envisioned a soft, gently powdery, clean yet quite musky, heaving fragrance that would lend itself to the day but also to the days to follow. Whether you're going to like this balanced fruity floral fragrance (graciously done with one lump of sugar, not two) depends on your associations with this hugging (and huggable) "accord" that takes with it a hint of retro cosmetics' violet nuance.

Perfumer Benoit Lapouza (best known for his Fan di Fendi editions and Si Lolita for Lempicka, but artistically vindicated on ICONofly's art project Attache-Moi) folded fruity notes (of which they mention lychee and peach) into the clean brilliance of orange blossom and the detectable floral note of rose, garlanded by accent notes that act the way a beautiful flower arrangement compliments the blush on a woman's cheek. It's young, but not too young, if you know what I mean. The character of the scent is lightly sweet, even if a gourmand scent fantasy of praline, choux pastries and whipped cream is evoked in the press material; and that's a good thing (contrary to -say- Repetto Eau de Toilette with its misleading ad copy)

If past collaborations are any indication, Rogeon had previously entrusted Lapouza with Glam Rose in 2011. The parallels with this new fragrance aren't as far fetched as imagined, the two sharing a generosity of past glamor and emotional directness. The eau de parfum concentration is quite tenacious, providing a rich experience, but without risk of suffocating those who will come in the perimeter of a kiss.

For our readers, two samples of the new pefume will be given away. Draw is open internationally till Thursday midnight. Please leave a comment to enter the draw.

La Via del Profumo Milano Caffe & Venezia Giardini Secreti: fragrance reviews & free bottles giveaway

I'm starting with the really spectacular: We have a giveaway on Perfume Shrine, one winner will win TWO free perfume bottles of the newest creations by La Via del Profumo straight from Italy, one of Milano Caffé and one of Venezia Giardini Secreti (the first two fragrances in the new Italian Series). The draw is open to all till Wednesday 19th midnight and all you need to do is comment in the comment section below to be eligible. The winner will be announced on Thursday.

Now that we got this off our chest, let's concentrate on the gorgeous fragrances themselves!

La via del Profumo, an authentically artisanal line of exquisitely crafted fragrances, composed by natural perfumer Abdes Salaam Attar (Dominique Dubrana) in Italy, is proud to present the new "Italian Series," an homage to five great Italian cities (Milan, Venice, Florence, Rome and Naples) and the Italian country as a whole.

MILANO CAFFE

A sybarite fragrance needs the proper mind-frame to work and Italy with its languid climate and smooth contours of land naturally lends itself to it. The pervading and intoxicating scent of freshly ground coffee is one small part of this luxury of letting time slip by. The mingling of chocolate in the composition of Milano Caffé recalls the dusting of cocoa powder on the white "caplet" of a hearty and filling cappuccino, drunk leisurely with a view of the impressive Duomo before taking a stroll down the Via Montenapoleone for some serious window shopping. The Milanese are nothing if not sticklers for detail, from their dog's collar to their impeccable shoes, and I can feel in Milano Caffé the vibrancy of the elegant woody and spicy background which hums underneath the culinary notes of the top. Coffee is naturally a complex smell, comprised of caramelized & smoky/acrid facets on one end, of woody, like freshly sharpened pencils, on the other.

via virtualtourist

The dry quality of the fragrance despite the tonka bean and ambery richness elevates the composition into classic resinous-balsamic level; one mistakes smelling Milano Caffé for a full-bodied vintage that peels layer after layer after layer. In fact, what is most surprising is finding a hint of the cocoa-facet of orris and something which reminds me of the fluff, the flou quality of the resin opoponax, amidst the proceedings. This caress under the dark and bitterish flavor of coffee only serves to consolidate the infiltrating appeal of that highly prized bean, that elixir of life, the coffea arabica, cutting its slightly acidic character. Although the spicy woodiness might make Milano Caffé more conventionally masculine in direction, its richness and cuddly chocolate note makes it a great choice for the woman who doesn't follow trends but rather sets them herself. After all, it is no accident that coffee and coffee shops were seen as the nursery of revolution and of anarchy, and that both Ottoman Turkey in the 17th century and the Ethiopian church banned the exotic bean's secular consumption; it's that stimulating!

VENEZIA GIARDINI SECRETI

Venezia Giardini Secreti is inspired by the small "pockets" within Venice and the tales of the very popular in Italy Corto Maltese cartoon books, specifically "Favola di Venezia" ("Tale of Venice"). Venice is also the abode of Chevalier de Seingalt, more commonly known as the greatest womanizer of them all...

The solace of the shady gardens breeds flights of fancy and the escape of the intrigue of the political world: "When the Venetians are tired of the constituted authorities, they hid in these three secret places, these doors at the bottom of the secret passages opening to beautiful places and other stories ..." Whatever the story is, Venezia Giardini Secreti is redolent of the sweetly intoxicating scent of blooming jasmine and of rose blossoming in the summertime, allied to the mysticism and the marine signature of ambergris, an emblem of the naval tradition of "La Republicca Marinara".

via 

In a way there is a kinship between Tawaf, La Via del Profumo's jasmine fragrance from the Arabian Series, which is redolent of the jasmine sambac variety, rich, heady, like an aching pleasure and a call of beauty, and the latest offering in the Italian Series. And yet in Venezia Giardini Segreti the direction veers into less of a resinous floriental, with the anchoring of the base providing the softest pungency, an animalic hint more than a mysterious, apocryphal rite. For all the secrecy of the passages under the canals—which lead to gardens of a hundred delights and of the erotically charged tales of Casanova—the elegance and grace of Venezia Giardini Segreti is manifested in a touch of soft leather, a hint of motherly milk, a whiff of salty sea ...

Les Parfums de Rosine Vive la Mariee: new fragrance

The Fragrance of happiness!
A bride likes to choose a delicate fragrance. Vive la Mariée is a very feminine and subtle perfume, in harmony with the feelings she feels in her heart. The floral composition of Vive la Mariée has been devised like a bride's bouquet. Benoit Lapouza is the nose who has made this gentle floral scent, based on an idea by Marie-Hélène Rogeon, the creator of Les Parfums de Rosine.


A gentle floral fragrance.

 A harmony of flowers and green, made from bergamot, neroli, and lychee, comes to mind. This fades gently to allow the white flowers to appear. At the heart of the fragrance are jasmin sambac, peony, magnolia flowers and freesia accompanying the rose and orange blossom. Then, toned down but still there, are the happy scents of celebration. Wedding cake, sugar almonds and little choux pastries can be found in the sweetness of the praline, the fruity sensuality of peach and the whipped-cream of vanilla-tonka beans. The fragrance keeps its magical bridal train for us for the finish. A procession of Patchouli, Cedar, Musk and Sandalwood creates a drifting note, unreal, which will be difficult to resist.

Vive la Mariée’s tender trail will make it unforgettable for brides, grooms and their guests.

Neela Vermeire Creations Mohur: fragrance review

Perfumery was so developed during the Mogul era in india that the most powerful empress of the Mughal dynasty, Noor Jahan popularly known as Mehrunissa, devoted herself to perfecting it during her days of confinement after the death of her husband, emperor Jehangir.  Mohur (pronounced mə-ˈhu̇r) by niche perfume line Neela Vermeire Créations is inspired by this period and named after the golden coin minted during the Moghal and the British rule of the country. In fact, one can still see the largest mohur coin ever smithed displayed at the British Museum, a 1000 mohur from the reign of Jehangir (1605-1628).  I'm saying all this to confirm that Mohur is a regal perfume; majestic, opulent, marmoreal, founded  in powdery rose and oud, yes, but buoyed by spices (cardamom), a note of smooth suede (via saffron) and light, vegetal musk. The rosy blossom performs double duty: symbol of the territories around the Middle East, but also synonymous with the "English rose".

Source: aashhi.tumblr.com via Glorynn on Pinterest

The magnificence of Neela's Mohur lies in its surpassing and transcendence of olfactory tropes: where rose usually reads as dusty, like pot pouri, it is in Mohur elevated into jammy and lightly powdery; where oud in contemporary fragrances usually smells like Band Aids, here it is discreet and only reinforces the earthiness; and finally where the two combined would end up feeling deja vu, a classical tradition seen a hundred  times  over  thanks to every niche (and some non niche) firm of the last decade, this marriage by perfumer Bertrand Duchaufour feels neoteric. Although the composition feels radiant and classically French at moments (I was briefly reminded of the feel of the classic Madame Rochas perfume and of aubepine aldehyde, then more potently of the rose and saffron in the original Agent Provocateur eau de parfum), with a lightly soapy facet, Mohur satisfies both the lover of soft woody florals and the one who is after an orientalized take on rose. The richness of the floral accords creates the rich facade of a temple where the vibrancy of the tiles beckons you to come closer to fully experience them. The depth of the spicy and earthy notes recalls mendhi decorations on the nimble hands of Shriya Saran. And the plush is evocative of silk cushions at some old palace in Rajastan where the British find themselves mesmerized strangers to a mysterious land.

Interestingly, the dabbing method yields more of the saffron rose impression of Mohur, while the spraying method accounts for the French soapy aldehydic segment which is less detectable on dried down skin. Less predictably exotic than Trayee and Bombay Bling, but nevertheless a refined, golden fragrance for those who can appreciate the mastery of true artists. It was enough to have my rose-hesitant heart ambushed and kept captive.

Mohur is part of the original trio of fragrances issued by Neela Vermeire Créations which also includes Trayee and Bombay Bling (the fourth instalment, Ashoka, is launching soon). These Indian inspired perfumes, like Chants of India, draw upon the tradition, history and cultural milieu of that vast Eastern sub-continent in which Neela herself has roots. These are truly "transparent orientals", modern and wearable, and therefore it comes as no surprise that Neela commissioned Bertrand Duchaufour to compose them for her niche line.

Notes for Neela Vermeire Creations Mohur:
Cardamom, coriander, ambrette, carrot, black pepper, elemi, Turkish rose oil, jasmine, orris, hawthorn, almond milk accord, leather, sandalwood, amber, patchouli, oudh Palao from Laos, benzoin, vanilla, tonka bean



Mohur is available as an Eau de Parfum 55ml (in refillable flacons), available at select stockists and on www.neelavermeire.com, where you can find a discovery set. As of mid-2013 a new parfum version of Mohur will be available as well.

Disclosure: I was sent a sample by Neela.

M.Micallef Le Parfum Couture Denis Durand: new fragrance

Le Parfum Couture Denis Durand for M.Micallef has just been released on the occasion of the Cannes Shopping Festival. Creating for 20 years, the fashion designer from Lyon has achieved real fame with a demanding clientele permanently looking for exceptional pieces able to combine future trends, timeless elegance, and a perfect hand-made savoir-faire. Since the showroom opening in Cannes in 2010, the Denis Durand brand evokes wonderful creations, evening and wedding dresses. Each one is a unique piece, made in the most delicate fabrics and embroidered with semi-precious stones and Swarovski crystals, and recalls his personal universe referring to classic movies and legendary stars.



Through Martine Micallef's and Denis Durand's close friendship and artistic cooperation, a glamourous, mystic and sophisticated perfume was born: Le Parfum Couture Denis Durand for M. Micallef. The fragrance composition explodes on citrus head notes spiced with cinnamon. Intense and complex, the heart and the base cleverly balance the rose, orange blossom and honey softness with the strength of animalis and woody notes.

Notes for Les Parfum Couture Denis Durant for M.Micallef:
Head Notes: Ceylon cinnamon, Italian tangerine
Heart Notes: Bulgarian rose, orange blossom, honey and animalis
Base Notes: sandalwood, patchouly, amber and white musk.

Dressed with hand sewn delicate Chantilly black lace, the bottle is adorned with a little satin bow and a golden medal with the initials of the two artists. Available as Eau de Parfum spray 50ml/1.7oz from April 2013 at select stockists, retailing at 145€.

Tauer Perfumes Noontide Petals: fragrance review & draw for (unreleased yet) samples

From the noontide sun depart
Here belov'd awhile repose
And the murmurings of my heart
Let me tenderly disclose,
to my forest rose.[1]

Alles ist Licht (Everything is light)

Source: google.com via Perfumshrinee on Pinterest

Writing the first review on Noontide Petals, the as yet unreleased newest Tauer perfume, means I get to -in a way- shape how the fragrance might be examined by those who will experience it next. So if I were to give a direct image it would be light, blinding light scattered through a vitrail pane with geometrical designs, imbuing everything in its path, softening the delineations of objects, creating a haze of happy numbness. It was Luca who had long ago envisioned an apparition of light in regards to a Bernand Chant composition: seraphic angels singing a concert of clean notes with bits of an organic chemistry treatise and a woman dressed in white, with an impeccable silvery blow-dry, descending from the skies smiling, like an Atlantis TV-hostess. Different though the scent in question may be, the impression is nonetheless simpatico to the one that Noontide Petals created in me upon smelling it. This hugely aldehydic floral fragrance is simultaneously clean, very floral and sweetish in the White Linen, Estee by Lauder (a Bernand Chant composition, by the way) and Chanel No.22 mold, with that impeccably "coifed" feel of retro aldehydics, of which Tauer's Miriam fragrance was one great paradigm. In fact the turn that Noontide Petals takes for a while after the initial spray is referencing a segment off Miriam, with an even more retro, more sparkling soapy manner than the rather more soft-spoken Miriam.

Geranium and ylang ylang are commonly used as modifiers to leverage the intensity of the fatty aldehydes in classic fragrances. The trick works; a ton of aldehydes is almost too much to stomach without it, such is their engine combustion for flight that you feel like you're straddling the side wing of a Boeing 747. This sheen opens up the flowers, giving them the propensity to unfurl unto the ether. A giant rose is immediately perceived in Noontide Petals, much like in White Linen or No.22, soapy and warm, bright yellow [2] and strikingly spring-like under the winter sun. The citrusy touch on top serves as balance to the sweet floralcy of white petals (natural jasmine and tuberose), cradled into a soft, perfume, posh base with a warm, very lightly smoky effect that recalls things like Chanel, Van Cleef & Arpels and other insignia of class and refinement of another era. Simply put, Noontide Petals makes me want to press my jeans, break out the Hermès scarfs and the long, 20s sautoirs of shiny pearls and go out for a morning sip of champagne for breakfast and laugh and laugh with spirited company.

copyright Andy Tauer for Tauer Perfumes

In short, if you're a lover of aldehydes in perfumes and have been longing for a good, potent, gorgeous dosage to hit you over the head in infinite style, look no further than Noontide Petals. If you have a problem with aldehydic florals you should also try it for the heck of it: it's definitely an impressive fragrance, very well crafted. For those of you who have identified a "Tauerade" base common in most of Andy's work, I can see no sign of it here, as I couldn't see it in Miriam either. In that way these are fragrant releases apart. But none the less beautiful for it!

For our readers, 3 samples of the unreleased fragrance by Tauer: Enter a comment, saying what you would most like or dislike about aldehydes, and I will draw three winners. Draw is open internationally till Tuesday 19th midnight. Winner will be announced on Wednesday.

[1]Rexford, George C., compiler and arranger; Lover, S.; Woodburry, I. B.; Thomas, J. R.; Wurzel, G. F.; Lavenu. Beadle's Dime School Melodist: A Choice Selection of Familiar and Beautiful Songs, Duets, Trios, Etc. Arranged in a Simple Manner for School Singing, with Elementary Instructions Suited to Children of the Most Tender Age . New York: Irwin P. Beadle and Co., 1860. [format: book], [genre: song]. Permission: Newberry Library Persistent link to this document: http://lincoln.lib.niu.edu/file.php?file=beadle.html
[2]It could be Pantone 7404

Ormonde Jayne Nawab of Oudh: fragrance review

I remember walking around an exhibition on Moghul India at the British Museum, resplendent in the opulence we associate with this particular region and time. The curlicued rupees bearing intricate names alongside triangular flags, ears of wheat and fishes were not strictly limited to Moghul rule, the curator explained; the Nawabs had seized control of their own regions by that time, issuing their own coins, but continuing to cajole the Mughal emperor by keeping his name on the currency. Similarly the latest India-inspired Ormonde Jayne fragrance, Nawab of Oudh, draws upon two different wells: the silk Banarasi saris of India, with their Moghul motifs and their heavy gold work, on one hand and the mystic Muslim tradition of roses and oud resin rising in the air from a censer at the mosques of Persia on the other.

Source: Uploaded by user via Melissa on Pinterest

Understandably, given those references, the perfume smells the way a metallic brocade looks: lush, rich, opulent, draped for elegance. But the artistry of perfumer Geza Schoen makes it modern and wearable too. Despite the by now tired trope of "oudh",  the note so often smelling more like a pack of Band-Aids than the exotic resin obtained by the pathological secretion of the Aquilaria tree when attacked by a fungus, there is none of that contemporary nonsense in Nawab of Oudh. There is a powdery, soft like cat's paws, ambery trail in the drydown, reminding me of Private Collection Amber Ylang (E.Lauder), which envelops the higher notes of green-citrusy brilliance into a cradle of plush. The distinction between phases (drawing upon the classical pyramid structure of perfumes) is here apparent, at least in a binary pattern: the introduction is distinctly separate from the prolonged (really impressively prolonged) phase of the drydown. In essence we have the interplay of raspiness and velvety softness, aided by the texture of the rose. Oud-laced roses have become a dime a dozen lately in niche perfumery, but I will withhold a place in my heart of Nawab of Oudh because it's so extraordinarily beautiful indeed.

And the name? How did it evolve and how does it unite those two worlds, India and the Middle East? Awadh or Oudh was a prosperous and thickly populated province of northern India (modern Uttar Pradesh), its very name meaning "capital of Lord Rama", the hero of the Ramayana epic. Its turmoiled history began with becoming an important province of the Mughal empire, soon establishing a hereditary polity under Mughal sovereignty; but as the power of the Mughals diminished, the province gained its independence. The opulence in the courts of the Nawabs (ruler kings of the Awadh, originating from a Persian adventurer called Sa'adat Khan) and their prosperity were noticed by the British East India Company, resulting in their direct interference in internal political matters, which reached its zenith in the eventual total loss of power by the Nawabs in 1856.

The official info on the scent by Ormonde Jayne runs thus: "Nawab (Ruler) of Oudh is a province of central India. Our perfume is inspired by the Nawabs who once ruled over it. It is a potent blend of amber and rose with a soft oudh edge. Yet surprisingly not one ingredient stands out from the others. It achieves a perfume synergy that defies traditional analysis, releasing a pulsating pungency, brooding and hauntingly beautiful, a rich tapestry of fascinating depths, a jewelled veil to conceal its emotional complexity and extravagance."

Notes for Nawab of Oudh:
Top: green notes, bergamot, orange absolute, cardamom, aldehyde.
Heart: rose, magnolia, orchid, pimento, bay, cinnamon, hedione.
Base: ambergris, musk, vetiver, labdanum, oudh.

Nawab of Oudh along with the rest of the "Four Corners of the Earth" collection by Ormonde Jayne, inspired by Linda Pilkington's travels, is exclusive to the London Ormonde Jayne boutiques at 12 The Royal Arcade and 192 Pavillion Road and at the Black Hall perfumery at Harrods.

Serge Lutens La Fille de Berlin: fragrance review

Much as Serge has always dwelled in the aesthetes of the 19th century, if there is one art movement of the 20th century which would reflect his innermost demons that would be German expressionism; the intensity of the play of light & shadow on the silver screen is a metaphor for the battle of good and evil. La Fille de Berlin, cool, powdery rose spiked with spices, and the latest Lutens fragrance in the canon, reflects the struggle of a soft feminine flower with the naughtiness of animalic winks; the two faces of Eve, which had fully prepared me to expect a Metropolis-rising Lang vision, real and artificial blurring. But I soon found out that Serge was influenced by Josef von Sternberg and his classic Der blaue Engel instead, not strictly in the genre but smack-down in the midst of it in 1930.

artwork by Alexey Kurbatov via artonfix.com

 

She's a rose with thorns, don't mess with her.
She's a girl who goes to extremes.
When she can, she soothes; and when she wants ... !
 Her fragrance lifts you higher, she rocks and shocks.
 ~Serge Lutens

German Expressionism never left us, really. The angular, shadowed architectural specimens encountered in places like New York City, reflected in the fantastical Gotham of the Batman series, and the numerous homages to emblematic leitmotifs of the movement, such as in the films of Burton, Proyas and -to a lesser degree- Allen, merely prove that the juxtaposition of light & shadow (a more schematic carry-over from the chiaroscuro of the Masters) is as relevant today as it ever was. After all, humans are a mix of the two, aren't they? More apropos, Serge Lutens might be making a cultural commentary of our times, right in the heart of the melting pot that is modern Europe: much as Siegfried Kracauer's study "From Caligari to Hitler" examines the trajectory from this strained, anguished cinema images of the Weimar Republik to Nazi Germany, today's world in crisis with the darkness prevailing in fashion & design might be a reflective prologue to an even darker, more sinister era. Respectable professors turning into ridiculed and despaired madmen, the light of the blond hair of Siegfried eclipsed.
Let's hope not, but it's a poignant and potent omen nevertheless.

The metallic opening in La Fille de Berlin fragrance predisposes for the treatment withheld for rose in Rive Gauche by Yves Saint Laurent; chilling and distant, as if hailing from the tundra. But give it a few minutes in the warmth of a Blue Angel's skin, hot off the beckoning performance on the stage, and it turns into the softest, velvety rose with a cardamom impression and the tartness of a hint of raspberry. But even warmer things hide in the background with an intimate and dirty musk and civet allusion (so very familiar in the Lutens opus) surfacing to wrap things in plush and sex.

Those who have found Sa Majeste la Rose too green-fruity for their tastes and his Rose de Nuit marvelously creuscular but too elusive, would find a good ally in La Fille de Berlin. I find it more feminine than shared, but if like Serge himself, oh gentle man you're of the "perfume is a celebration" frame of mind, you might want to try it out for yourself.

Le Galion Snob: fragrance review & history

Many state that Snob by Le Galion is a poor man's Joy, referencing "the costliest perfume in the world" ~as the Patou perfume was being advertised post-Crash~ as the litmus test for understanding the lesser known fragrance. It's all because Le Galion (Neuilly, France), a brand founded by Prince Murat and acquired by perfumer Paul Vacher, was engulfed by the passage of time; all but vanished by 1990, and its remnants vintage palimpsests crying out for a studious scholar. If we simply go by Snob's name, nevertheless, the literal scholar might as well be in absentia.

aromania.ru

It is perhaps as well that not many people are keenly aware that the word "snob" began as a notation on English colleges' records, notably Cambridge, of entrants who were devoid of an aristocratic strain circa 1796. "S.nob" supposedly signified "sine nobilitas", "of no aristocratic bearing". The exact etymology is lost on us, though it was originally used for shoemakers and local merchants. The lauded democratic inclusion of more people gifted in the head department rather than in the name & pocket department in those bastions of class distinction is of course the basis of modern civilization as we know it. Yet, that very distinction was not amiss to those who were participating side-by-side with those possessing "nobilitas" for many decades to come; hence the deterioration of the word to the one  signifying the aping of aristocratic ways and its further decline into its modern usage of one who shuns anything they consider low-class.

It is this very element, re-appearing in a perfume name from 1952 and coming from an aristocrat originator no less, which makes me think that there's either a heavy-handed irony of the Parisian clientele choosing it or it was primarily aimed at the American market to begin with. If names of Le Galion's other long-lost perfumes, such as Indian Summer (1937), Shake Hands (1937), Cub (1953), and Whip (1953) are any indication, their perfumes were certainly not only reserved for continental Europe, but whether they succeeded abroad hinged on complex parameters as we will see further on.

Snob was composed by perfumer Paul Vacher, famous for his hand in the original Miss Dior in 1947 (with Jean Carles), and Arpège for Lanvin in 1927 (with André Fraysse), as well as for Diorling, but Vacher also worked for Guerlain). Snob is a "flower bouquet" perfume, a mix of several floral notes which intermingle to give an abstract impression in which one can't pinpoint this or that blossom. The rose-jasmine accord in the heart is classical for the genre and in good taste, with the opening displaying intense, sparkling, lemony-rosy aldehydes. The more Snob stays on skin the more it gains the musky, sweet & powdery timbre of classic ladylike Chanels, like No.5 and No.22. The fusion of vetiver and sweet musk plus orris gives a skin-like quality that remains oddly fresh, especially in my batch of "brume". The fragrance was dropped almost immediately, making it a rare fragrance collectible. The reason? Fierce antagonism with none other than...Jean Patou!

Parfums Jean Patou had registered a trademark for a Patou "Snob" fragrance in the United States as early as 1953 (just months after the Parisian launch by Le Galion the previous year!), a venture resulting in less than 100 bottles sold in total, but effectively excluding the Le Galion fragrance from the American market. Importing any infringing trademark was naturally prohibited and this exclusion lasted for almost 2 decades, thus blocking Le Galion's perfume chances in the vast USA.

Snob by La Galion was launched many years after Patou's Joy, a bona fide inspiration, unlike Patou's own practices, in an era that clearly exalted the ladylike florals with the fervor of newly re-found feminine values of classiness, obedience, elegance and knowing their place; the New Look mirrored this change after women's relative emancipation during WWII.
In that regard Snob is something which I admire, but cannot really claim as my own in the here & now, much like watching reels from the 1950s, when the Technicolor saturation conspired to an almost unreal quality of the people on screen; such was their visual perfection that they stood out as Platonic ideas rather than actors playing a role.

Notes for Le Galion Snob:
Top Notes: aldehydes, bergamot, lemon, neroli, estragon, hyacinth
Heart Note: rose, jasmine, ylang ylang, carnation, lily of the valley, orris
Base Note: vetiver, musk, civet, sandalwood, cedar, tonka beans.

(added notes with the help of 1000fragrances)

A Dozen Roses: Best Rose Fragrances List & Valentine's Day Tips

There is a Persian proverb I love that goes "The world is a rose. Smell it and pass it on to your friends". If, like me, you have always found yourself challenged by the double edged sword of rose perfumes (veering into either screechy bathroom deodorizer or stale, dusty pot-pourri), you know that finding the perfect rose fragrance is an order as tall as the Himalayas. Yet landing on a satisfying, nuanced, fresh and yet deep (or even thorny) rose scent can be like savoring a great Bordeaux; the satisfaction lies in anticipation as much as in the aftertaste, prompting you to intellectualize what is fundamentally a sensual experience. Rose fragrances can be petulant or in histrionics, sometimes sour and pinched, or they can be powdered in granny cardigans & sensible brogues, but these are just the tip of the iceberg, there's a wealth of discoveries underneath. Roses can take on myriad of nuances: from soft and powdery, to childlike & tender, to green with a hint of the dew still on its rosy petals, to the nectarous and honeyed roses, passionate and full, all the way to dark, angular and gothic with thorns still attached. So when Smelly Blog suggested I select my rose favorites I knew this would be a rewarding exercise!

Therefore, here you can find a selection of what I consider some of the top rose fragrances for women & for men and a guide to some other rose-scented delights which are precious to me, including rose petal jam, rosy skincare and scented tea.
I classify them through idiosyncratic categories which are more mood & character driven than according to notes. And remember, if you're offering actual roses this Valentine's Day, all roses are beautiful, but not all are equally fragrant.

The ancient Greeks believed that the first rose was created when Chloris, the goddess of flowers, came upon a dying wood nymph and transformed her into a flower. Then the goddess of love, Aphrodite, gave the flower its beauty and the god of wine, Dionysus, contributed an intoxicating fragrance. 'Beauty~love~intoxication and death all in one package; add thorns for a hint of sorrow and danger, and you have the perfect symbol of the human condition'...

Real Rose, All the Time
Creed's Fleurs de Thé Rose Bulgare is that rare thing; a true rose fragrance, composed of the choicest rose essences of tea rose, fresh but never sour, and as beautiful as the dawn of your wedding day to the partner you've loved all your life. The fact that the scent has been discontinued in its older guise is criminal (I hear the newer one just isn't the same).

Bulgarian rose otto is a treasure in its wooden amphora with the pyrocaustic motifs. I first got some as a child when a relative travelled to Bulgaria. I didn't understand then why it smelled so much like pear liqueur and why it was so heady, when real roses in the vase were velvety soft and rather airy. It's a prime example of how essences do not smell exactly the same as the living thing.
But this thing is alive, oh yes, it's alive!

via arsaromatica.blogspot.com

Roses, Roses in the Woods: Gothic & Thorny
The dark green foliage, the mossy earthiness, the exacerbation of scents when the air is pregnant with the promise of rain render the rose sweet and nectarous, like sweet preserve. Some of these roses are in the chypre mold, others in the woody floral, others yet have oriental elements, but they all display their thorns with pride and defiance. My favorite category!

L'Artisan Parfumeur Voleur de Roses: the perfect marriage of rose & patchouli (with a hint of plum), making the rose unfurl to infinity. Perfect in rainy weather and delicious when shared by lovers. Juliette Has a Gun Lady Vengeance is its little sister, a thorny gothic woody rose fit for modern heroines.
Aromatics Elixir (Clinique) hides a candied rose in the heart like the great big woods boasts a Red Riding Hood alongside the Big Bad Wolf and all the other enchanted creatures. Full of starlit mossy notes and patchouli and starched, dry elements that perform amazingly well from a little distance.
Tauer Perfumes Une Rose Chyprée: a delicious oriental rose on a chypre base, like the name suggests, long lasting and rich with chocolate-y patchouli and "rutting animal" labdanum resin, a bit retro and yet totally modern.
Serge Lutens Rose de Nuit: Although Sa Majesté la Rose is more of a stand-alone rose in the Lutens line, it's rather too literally green rosy and fruity-like for me (with lychee, chamomille, honey). I prefer this other, nocturnal version with Turkish rose, yellow jasmine, apricot, amber, musk, sandalwood and beeswax, which softly shimmers like opal earrings in the dusk. If you like this, also try the discontinued L'Arte di Gucci. 

Arabesque Orientalized Roses
Guerlain Rose Necrée du Désert: in the new line Les Déserts d'Orient, this is a prime example of how Arabian tradition has metamorphosed rose into a creature of a 1000 Nights. Oud and rose, eager bedfellows, revel in mystery and languor.
Caron Parfum Sacré: a spicy rose steeped into mace and cardamom, folded into resinous, bittersweet myrrh, seeimingly as old as the world itself and as promising as a kiss on the eye lids. Real love!
Ormonde Jayne Ta'if: Named after the locale of some of the most gorgeous roses in the world, this fragrance (which can be worn by men as well as women) pairs the rose with dates, resulting in an orientalized take that is succulent and rich, yet not wildly calorific.
L'Artisan Parfumeur Traversée du Bosphore: Saffron and golden spices, almond and pistachio rose loukhoums, softest suede, an Istanbul sensual panorama, this is beyond just a rose fragrance; among the loveliest things to try if you like your roses not immediately identified and plenty nuanced.

via www.fond-ecran-image.com

Feminine Roses, as Soft as Goose Down
Yves Saint Laurent Paris: an ebullient rose, sweetened with tender violet and sparkling from all angles like a precious gem, Saint Laurent's tribute to the city he loved and one of perfumer Sophia Grosjman's greatest hits for a reason.
L'Artisan Parfumeur Drôle de Rose: candied rose with a violet, cosmetics-reminiscent retro facet, lighter and less waxy than F.Malle's similar Lipstick Rose; playful and teasing like a pink baby doll. Notes of rose, aniseed, orange blossom, white iris, violet, almond, honey, rose powder, a hint of leather.

Fruity, Jammy Roses
Liaisons Dangeureuses (By Kilian): Surely there is no more beautiful fruity liqueur-like rose fragrance, this side of Guerlain's Nahéma (which can feel a bit much sometimes). Not a femme fatale rose or evil, gothic rose, but instead an erotic one, lush, succulent, almost gourmand. With plum, prune, peach, cinnamon, coconut, moss and vanilla.

Roses for Men Who Aren't Shy
Rose d' Homme (Les Parfums de Rosine): a woody rose which can be worn by men or women, somber, stable, and very fetching.
Hammam Bouquet (Penhaligon's): musty, musky roses never smelled so good. Spicy and warm yet totally Victorian in character (powdery, heavily floral). I can see how this is an acquired taste, but one worth exploring all the same.
Amouage Lyric Man: Spicy, oriental, lush, very complex, sensual, intimate. Superb! With orange blossom, angelica, nutmeg, saffron, ginger, sandalwood, incense and musk.

Lastly, a word of advice: Rose lovers will find a lot to recommend them in the Les Parfums de Rosine range of perfumes. The brand is focused on rose interpretations with intriguing twists.

via eastmediterranean.e-lasithi.gr

Edible Rose
If you have never taste rose petal jam/preserve or rose petals spoon sweet (a local Greek delicacy) you are missing out. Making it is even more delicious as the whole kitchen fills with the aroma of ripe roses kneaded into sugar paste, so I'm going to actually encourage you to make some if you have access to non-pesticide-sprayed roses. You can check out this recipe, it's really not hard to make. (You can thank me later). And if you have a Greek or Arab ethnic deli around you can buy it ready made. Delicious by itself, spooned over Greek yoghurt, on cheesecake, on mastic-flavored ice-cream...
Trying a rose-scented tisane is also a richly rewarding experience. Here are a few options.

via escentual.com

Rose-scented Skincare
Annick Goutal Creme Spendide is a rose lover's dream come true. Applying this rich yet non greasy cream onto my face is an aromatherapeutic experience if there ever was one and it only takes one step to finish the routine; it's supposed to be anti-ageing, hydrating and soothing at the same time. The delicate, fresh yet true scent doesn't irritate my sensitive skin and lulls me to sleep in no time. The box is a cutie too!

Korres Wild Rose is my other beloved rose-scented face cream and one I have been faithful to ever since Korres hadn't launched beyond the confines of its apothecary in old Athens. This one smells musky rosy, as it's based on the variant rosa moschata (a rich variety which doesn't yield enough for perfumery, but is often used in skincare instead) and is a dream to apply for any normal to sensitive skin like mine. Decleor's Aroma Night is another option, its scent a bit more orientalized rosy and the texture thicker, more balm-like.

Last but not least, I have long ago abandoned toners in favor of natural organic rosewater. I buy it by the half liter locally at the chemist's and use it on a cotton pad for refreshing the complexion in the morning. And of course to spray on my cookies too before I roll them in sugar. "Bad" habits are hard to break :-)



Please follow the links to the other participating blogs:
All I Am A Red Head
EauMG
Katie Puckrik Smells
The Non Blonde
Roxana Illuminated Perfume
Scent Hive
SmellyBlog