Star rating: 5 stars–outstanding/potential classic, 4 stars–very good, 3 stars–adequate, 2 stars–disappointing, 1 star–poor.

I love rose. I am drawn to its ravishing beauty that beguiles and fascinates me. My love causes me to seek out rose in as many forms as possible, from rose absolutes and attars to fragrances containing rose notes. Comme des Garçons Rose with its modest ornamentations is what I return to after wearing darker and richer rose fragrances, from Guerlain Nahema to Les Parfums de Rosine Ecume de Rose. It is like a Persian rose sherbet, a refreshing drink, the taste of which lingers pleasantly on the lips.

Rose was created by Yann Vasnier (see an interview) in 2001, in collaboration with Françoise Caron. The initial notes spill into a shower of rose petals, caressing my skin and dazzling me with their opulence. Laced with chili pepper, rose casts an iridescent glow, ranging from rich crimson to pale pink. There I stand in the middle of my grandparent’s rose garden in Poltava, Ukraine, intoxicated by the blossoms releasing their aroma under the hot midday sun. As the composition dries down, lush red petals become layered with crushed raspberries, faintly sweet, warm, and delicate.

Star rating: 5 stars–outstanding/potential classic, 4 stars–very good, 3 stars–adequate, 2 stars–disappointing, 1 star–poor.

Nelly Rodi is a French forecasting agency, focusing on fashion consulting and analysis of fashion trends. For its 20th anniversary, the company commissioned eight perfumes from several noses, providing them with ample budget to exercise their creativity, limited only by the genre. The first set from Scent Factory is oriental, with fragrances in eau de parfum concentration including such traditional notes as cinnamon, saffron, incense, rose and cardamom. Having sampled all eight, I would characterize them as fairly minimalistic takes on an oriental theme, with varying results.  However, as fragrance highlights a particular note, I would imagine that many of them would layer well.

Parfum 1: Incense
Created Alexis Dadier of Mane, Incense is a swirl of sweet spices folded into resinous smooth foil of frankincense. This is my favorite of the first four fragrances, due to its interesting rendition of incense. Although Armani Privé Bois d’Encens stands as unrivaled incense in my mind, Nelly Rodi Incense is a beautiful composition. The pairing of frankincense with nutmeg results in an almost floral chord of carnation petals caught in the wave of resinous sweetness. Supported by dark vanillic notes and cinnamon dusted sandalwood, the composition has a dusky richness that I find very alluring.

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These reviews are written by Tania Sanchez.

Who is Nelly Rodi? Any relation to Nelly? Do Oompah Loompahs work in Nelly’s Scent Factory? These things I cannot tell you. Instead, I will tell you what the scents smell like to me. Even though I have a cold. And because of that, I will also tell you what some of the scents smell like to my husband, who’s a real sport about these things.

#1: INCENSE I’ve smelled a lot of incense scents in my day. Or at least, that’s what I feel like. People are always telling me, “Such and such a scent is a beautiful incense scent!” and I smell it and think, “Does incense not smell like I think it smells?”

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Star rating: 5 stars–outstanding/potential classic, 4 stars–very good, 3 stars–adequate, 2 stars–disappointing, 1 star–poor.

Keiko Mecheri Gourmandises always makes me think of trying rose rahat lokum for the first time in Istanbul. Amid the marketplace, with its diverse noises, rapidly spoken sentences of bargaining partners, endless stream of people, clinking of cups containing dark tea, smells of cumin, fenugreek and grilled kebabs, the sensual sweetness of rose scented delicacies stands out as a vibrant memory. Whether it was really the most amazing thing I have tasted hardly matters.

Gourmandises, created by Yann Vasnier in 2004, is a fragrance that embodies both a concept of travel via scent and of abstract dessert. For all of its sweet notes (praline, bitter almonds, rose jam), it is not a conventionally gourmand fragrance. It does not smell of any particular dessert, but its dark sweetness with a somber, rich rose note hints at the presence of a mouthwatering confection. It opens up on a lush red rose heated by the sun. Rose petals are then immersed into sugar syrup, which is underscored by saffron. Saffron is what conjures a vision of jalebi, a North Indian dessert of golden fritters soaked in saffron syrup—a delectable interplay between crispy exterior with the soft spongy center. Shedding its radiant sweetness, Gourmandises caramelizes into a darker, spicier composition.

The drydown offers a whisper of my memory of rahat lokum, its sinful sweetness folded into the opulence of rose. Creamy richness embellished with sugared rose petals and bitter almonds is very enticing. Suddenly, I envision myself in Poona shopping for a sari—the rolls of brocaded silk and lavishly embroidered georgette are unfolded in quick succession. Next door is a halwai shop, the scents of its sweet offerings reaching the fabric store. Sumptuous color of silk, shimmer of gold embroidery, fragrance of almond fudge and rose syrup soaked milk balls are blurred in a mélange of sensory images that both overwhelm and mesmerize me.

Gourmandises is certainly a sweet fragrance, however what keeps it from becoming cloying is a beautiful medicinal tinge of saffron. A small amount suffices to be embraced by this comforting and sensual composition.

Photo: rose rahat lokum, lannicesnyman.com.

A honeyed wave of warmth spreads out slowly, its languorous movement revealing a glitter of lily redolent note of rosewood—that unique sharpness of white petals caught in rich woodsy duskiness. A luminous note of saffron falls into the hot wood shavings impression of the composition. A honeyed sweetness underscored by beautiful wood notes reminds me of opening an antique jewelry box—a scent of rare woods, spicy, smooth and alluring. The fragrance in question is Palisander, from Comme des Garçons Red Series created by Yann Vasnier of Quest International. He is a perfumer for the Fine Fragrances division, a position to which he was promoted in December of 2004, after joining Quest in 1999.

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