While waiting for all of my fragrant impressions of Pitti 2019 to macerate properly to choose perfumes which I’ll review in more detail, I decided to give you a short overview of a few newly launched and some already known rose-themed perfumes which were exhibited, right after writing about The Man Who Stole The Show, Jean Claude Ellena – here – Rose&Cuir included.
Not saying that this is a new “trend” – just a bouquet of roses I personally picked for you at Pitti 2019!
Every year I manage to fall in love with at least one rose-themed perfume, and since this is my “Year of Roses”, I’m still on the hunt for the most amazing, different rose interpretations of all kinds.
Most recently I’ve been smitten by Hendley Perfumes Rosenthal – that’s again yet another story, written here. I’m still enchanted by my dear Dangerous Rose he created for Maison Olibere – you can find my complete review here.
Back to Pitti! Let’s start from the darker side of the spectrum:
New! Coreterno: Rose and Me – A Goth Fortress Rose
Coreterno is a lifestyle brand and a totally new niche perfumes brand, founded by sweet Francilla Ronchi (photo) and Michelangelo Brancato, and managed from New York. Luca Maffei of Atelier Fragranze Milano created 4 new fragrances for the brand: Punk Motel, Catharsis, Hierba Nera, and – Rose and Me.
Let’s say that Luca knows his contemporary “dark” roses: Rose and Me is a Rose–Patchouli fragrance revealing a fully bloomed burgundy rose at the beginning, with sharp geranium teeth. It carries a certain broody dustiness within layers of styrax and patchouli, with all aspects of the dark side but somehow remaining fresh at the same time. Mmmm!
Notes: Deep Black Rose, Geranium, Jasmine, Saffron, Styrax, Patchouli, Guaiac Wood, Musk.
Pekji Perfumes- Calligraphy of Oriental Roses
Meeting Ömer Ipekci and getting to know better his line of perfumes was definitely one of the Pitti 2019 highlights for me! His creations are strangely addictive, different, mouthwatering! Ruh – Sun Rose Again (2015) is an Oriental Floral.
Prepare yourself for a firework of sensations, ranging from bright and spicy to smooth ambery, from freshly brewed Turkish coffee tones to goat cheese Oud and patchouli bitterness, and through the whole breathtaking experience – there’s a jammy rose, at first covered with most vivid Cardamom, moments later dipped in a fruity Jasmine, smiling right at you straight from the opening of this calligraphic composition.
Intense at first, like any first impression of a souk but later on, with time, you start noticing that in all this there is a certain order of things, a pattern in a composition, leaving you with a warm, almost vanilla-infused cozy sweetness at the end of the day. If you want to experience a very different Rose, this is just it. Very artisan, one of the Pitti 2019 best of.
Notes: Amber, Cardamom, Coffee, Jasmine, Musk, Oud, Patchouli, Rose, Saffron, Sandalwood.
Sultan Pasha – Attar Roses
We met in Florence (thank you, Pitti 2019!), spent some time chatting and sniffing: it’s crazy. I spent hours and hours inside Stazione Leopolda, talking about perfumes, sniffing and applying them on my skin, and you’d think that’s enough? No, it isn’t. Not when something wonderful appears right in front of your nose.
Just when I thought I was tired of everything, there comes Sultan and off we go with his samples kit…and let me tell you, it is worth every second. I won’t drool here and now about his Irisoir attar (a captivating iris-centered fragrance) or Ensar Rose (I’ve seen people write poems to it), but let me tell you that he showed me his new creation – better said he carefully applied some attar on my skin…and first sniffs almost made me cry.
Juriah is the new attar blended by Sultan with love and passion that’s almost palpable. Rose/Oud centric, a Ta’if beauty, liquid poetry…
Now I can’t wait for my sample to arrive and it seems to me that I’ll end up writing poems about it, definitely one of the most memorable moments during Pitti 2019 for me.
That’s not all: Sultan is adorable and fun. I can’t count the times when I burst into laughter while reading his FB posts so hard that I had to clean the screen afterward.
These off-campus meetings were so inspiring, and I’ll list some more in reports to follow!
Rose&Cuir / Frederic Malle – An Illusion of a Rose
This perfume deserves a category of its own: if you are expecting a jammy, smack-in-your-face rose, or smoky-dirty explicit leather – you’d better look elsewhere. I can suggest a few.
It gives an illusion of a beautiful pink-faced rose skiing a parallel slalom race with a not-so-watercolors-light-at-all, fine-crafted genuine leather.
If you’ve ever watched Night Parallel Slalom Alpine World Cup races, you’ll know what I mean. And the winner? It’s definitely Marcel Hirscher of this perfume, technically perfect beyond being human, precisely executed to the point of esoteric grace – IsoButyl Quinoline!
Airy and transparent meets raw and dense, watercolors hit the grainy, rough, dry paper, and I can almost see JC Ellena smiling: he did it his way. Well, better said his “new” way…
Rose&Cuir is a perfume that polarized the fragcomm to the extremes of yes/no opinions ever since it was released, just a mere month ago. I haven’t yet seen an indifferent comment, just indecisive ones like “I don’t know what to think yet.” – correct me if I’m wrong. One more thing: inspiration, the feeling behind this perfume is experiencing Mistral wind blowing in the south of France, not literally rose&cuir…if that helps…
Enjoy your read, pick your favorite rose, and drop by for yet another Pitti 2019 report: Scents and Tastes of Mediterranean & Back to Nature – coming up soon!
P. S. While I’m writing this my thoughts and prayers go to Robert Herrmann, Sr Editor at ÇaFleureBon, and his loving husband Ron. I keep thinking about the quote Robert uses as his FB cover: Life is too short for boring fragrances!
1.10.2019. Robert has passed on. I’ll never forget his kindness and smile.
The Plum Girl
Elena Cvjetkovic
Photos: The Plum Girl at Pitti 2019, Pekji, Frédéric Malle website
5 Comments
So many fragrances I would love to try, Elena. But top of my list has to be the new Jean-Claude Ellena.
Do let me know your impressions when you do!
Will do.
Found it! Great description of Rose & Cuir! I am fascinated by Ellena’s work and a fan of Frederic Malle!
Yay! ❤️