conditioner and eau de cologne rollerball add to this fresh, lighthearted way to wear the scent. For the perfumer, rose is invaluable. “It is a chameleon,” says Lizzie Ostrom, co-curator of a recent exhibition, Perfume: A Sensory Journey Through Contemporary Scent, at Somerset House in London. She cites a rose scent called London, from French perfume house Gallivant (gallivant-perfumes.com). For the British, rose fragrances often spell National Trust houses, potpourri and Miss Marple. Not this one. “It is a street rose – very smoky and leathery and quite messed up,” she says. In a similar vein is Rose Atlantic by David Seth Moltz of Brooklyn-based perfumers DS & Durga (dsanddurga.com), whose work played a part in the London exhibition. “It’s a salty, sea-foam rose,” Ostrom says. “I think he has brought something new to rose because he is American; he is not plundering the usual territory when it comes to scent. His rose is coastal rose, so is interesting because it is slightly briney and brackish,” Ostrom explains. Like all natural fragrance ingredients, rose can be split into different scent molecules with their own particular aromas. “There are ionones that give you the violet smell; citronellol is lemony and adds lightness,” says Ostrom. Muskethanol by Aether (aetherparfums. com), a new perfume brand that celebrates the technical cleverness of perfumery through an imaginative use of synthetic scent molecules, contains damascenone, which is also found in rose and gives a boozy, plummy note. Teamed with the most unusual olfactory rendition of sand pouring into alcohol, it is a far cry from a traditional rose fragrance. How does Izia by Sisley (sisley-paris.com) break new ground? Izia’s rose is realistic like an olfactory photograph – so, a new kind of realism perhaps? If so, it is thanks to the use of aldehydes (synthetic scent molecules). “They enabled us to recreate … aspects of the flower that we can’t obtain using natural extraction methods,” says Isabelle d’Ornano, the firm’s president. Where aldehydes are classically associated with the abstract fizz and sparkle of N o 5, with Izia they help recreate the scent of a real rose – in this case, an unnamed flower from d’Ornano’s garden in the Loire Valley. The boundary-pushing stable of Editions de Parfums Frédéric Malle (fredericmalle.com) has introduced another enigmatic rose-heavy fragrance known as The Night, by perfumer Dominique Ropion. Ropion’s Portrait of a Lady, said to contain the strongest dose of rose essence, is critically acclaimed by connoisseurs, and Night is an ode to the Middle East, containing unprecedented levels of oud and high doses of Turkish rose and amber. It is rose reimagined in its sheer, unashamed amplification – perhaps the ultimate choice for the rose connoisseur seeking a new perspective on the most venerable of flowers. Gallivant LONDON A floral leather scent inspired by London and the unexpected. A fresh cucumber and violet-leaf opening reveals intense Rose de Mai absolute with powdery orris (or iris) underpinned with leather, sandalwood and patchouli. gallivant-perfumes. com Aether MUSKETHANOL Its name alone might suggest an unusual afterdinner liqueur. The rose element adds a soft, smooth, moreish accent that melds with synthetic musks creating an elusive yet comfortingly familiar skin scent. aetherparfums.com Sisley IZIA A modern, extraordinarily realistic rose. “I used top notes of white bergamot for pizzazz,“ says perfumer Amandine Clerc- Marie. “Angelica essence adds slight spicy green notes that counterbalance the floral effect of the rose,“ she adds. sisley-paris.com Atelier Bloem NIEUW AMSTERDAM A rich, spiced riff on the rose in an ode to the official flower of New York, a onetime Dutch colony. Its oud and woods drydown gives longevity and the rose used is the honeyed, slightly peppery Centifolia. atelierbloem.com Scent Notes Editions de Parfums Frédéric Malle THE NIGHT One of the most costly fragrances owing to high levels of oud, and plenty of amber and Turkish rose, this is opulence in a bottle – the jewel in the crown. fredericmalle.com Aerin GARDEN ROSE Inspired by roses growing in English gardens this is as easy to wear as a cologne. It captures the summer spirit with notes of three varieties of rose becoming all the richer thanks to sandalwood, amber and soft musk. aerin.com DS & Durga ROSE ATLANTIC For men and women, this is light, fresh, floral and green thanks to unusual heartnote fragrance accords of salt spray rose and dune grass, with bergamot and lemon oil as it opens and a soft musk base. dsanddurga.com Vilhelm Parfumerie HARLEM BLOOM A beautiful and rebellious floral concoction or “blossoms in an urban jungle“. Angelica seed and saffron notes create a spiced opening. Violet and Damascena rose are given darkness and intrigue with ebony wood and leather accords. vilhelmparfumerie. com CENTURION-MAGAZINE.COM 65
