What if I told you there was a perfume brand which had some of the greatest perfumers designing fragrances for them. What if I further told you that brand would also be considered a Discount Diamond as the entire line can be had for $50 or less. You would think that brand would be front and center at the local mall. Instead that brand, Roger & Gallet, can be frustratingly hard to find. It is extensively available at multiple online sellers. If you’re looking for a great value perfume purchase here are five to start with.
Roger & Gallet was founded because they were the exclusive producer for the Eau de Cologne invented by Jean Marie Farina. Now called Jean Maria Farina Extra Vieille it is perfume history in a bottle as the original eau de cologne formula of lemon, neroli and rosemary is faithfully recreated. This is as close as you get to owning the alpha perfume.
Until 1990 Jean Marie Farina Extra Vieille was the only real fragrance the brand produced. There were a couple of attempts in the !970’s and 1980’s but it wasn’t until 1990 when the fragrance arm was really expanded. In 2003 Eau de Gingembre was released by perfumer Jacques Cavallier. This is a natural follow-on to Extra Vieille as it is the cologne structure fused with the gourmand note of gingerbread. When you first smell it the neroli is very cologne-like and then the bake shop where the gingerbread is cooking comes in behind that. Ambrette seeds provide a very light botanical musk to finish it. This is one of those early gourmand experiments which works on every level.
Bambou was released in 2007 by perfumer Alberto Morillas. It is also another one which builds upon the cologne ancestry of the brand. M. Morillas works a different set of ingredients as grapefruit segues into the green damp woodiness of the bamboo accord before turning more aggressively green with vetiver in the base. Bambou is a fresh woody perfume ideal for warmer days.
My favorite perfumes by perfumer Dominique Ropion are many of his more intense compositions. Which was why I was shocked to find out he was responsible for 2009’s Bois D’Orange. M. Ropion fashions a cheery voluptuous citrus fragrance. It is very reminiscent of the smell of the orange orchard as it captures the fruit the leaves and the trees. A fun perfume from a perfumer who is not necessarily thought of that way.
The most recent release is 2013’s Fleur de Figuier by perfumer Francis Kurkdjian. M. Kurkdjian wanted to also capture the entire fruit tree experience. This time it was fig. One of the reasons I enjoy this perfume so much is he uses caraway instead of bergamot with his citrus in the top notes. I have long thought caraway could be a great substitute for bergamot. In Fleur de Figuier it shows how good it can be as a replacement. This leads to a fig accord of the still-ripening fruit on the tree amidst the leaves. M. Kurkdjian in fact lets the fig leaves dominate for much of the middle part of the development enhancing the green of the unripened fig. This gives way to a creamy woody effect as cedar stands in for the trunk of the tree. I still think this is one of the best perfume bargains out there as it is some of M. Kurkdjian’s best work of the last few years at a very affordable price.
As I mentioned above these fragrances can be difficult to find but when you do these five will make the reward worth the hunt.
Disclosure: I purchased bottles of all the perfumes reviewed.
–Mark Behnke
