A Rose Like No Other
Rose is a classical flower in perfumery, along with carnation, jasmine and violet. Yet, it need not be interpreted in a classical manner. It can be made either daring or innocent, dark or pale, smoky or soft. I like roses in all of their guises, but some of my favorites are roses with a twist. My FT column, Unusual Roses, was originally prepared for Valetine’s Day, but since I wear these roses all year round, I’d like to take them further into spring.
When the Spanish actress Rossy de Palma decided to create a fragrance, she selected rose as her main theme. While the choice of such a classical flower from the star of Pedro Almodóvar’s Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown might have struck some as surprising, the perfumers Antoine Lie and Antoine Maisondieu weren’t taken aback. They were the co-authors of de Palma’s scent, and when it was released as Eau de Protection (£82 for 50ml EDP) by the niche perfume house Etat Libre d’Orange, the result was anything but staid. As the perfumers knew, rose had many faces, and it could be made as smouldering or as innocent as an artist’s skill allowed. To read more, please click here.
What are your favorite unusual roses?
Pablo Picasso, 1905, Garçon à la pipe, (Boy with a Pipe), fragment. Private collection
carole in Bitter Orange Smells Sweet : Favorite Perfumes: Oh, I have two orange colognes that I love: Bigarade Concentree, and Bond no 9 Little Italy. The Bond fragrance I bought for almost no money at Winners, and it… April 17, 2021 at 7:42pm