New Perfume Review: Rosine Rose Griotte- Cherry with a Rose on Top

Posted on by in Mark Behnke, New Perfume Reviews and tagged , , , .

I know that for most of the world the floral scent of spring is rose. I live in a place where that isn’t true. In the Washington DC area we are obsessed with the phases of the cherry blossoms. It is only after living here that I know the difference between peduncle elongation and full bloom. When peak bloom is achieved it is one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. There is a delicacy to the blossoms which is magnified when the entire tidal basin is covered in trees sporting them. I have become one who views the evolution of each season’s cherry blossoms as my spring fever thermometer.

Marie-Helene Rogeon

Which is why I carry my seasonal grumpiness about all the rose perfumes that come out in these early months of every year. They have a way of affecting my mood in a less positive way. I always ask for a different spring flower as keynote. Another thing I could ask for is to create a rose accord as an abstraction of the real thing. That would be appealing. When I received my samples of this year’s releases from Rosine I didn’t know that Rosine Rose Griotte was going to satisfy both wants.

Nicolas Bonneville

One thing I always undervalue with Rosine is the creative direction of Marie-Helene Rogeon. She has developed a brand which has explored everything there is about rose in perfume. It has remained a relevant brand because she never rests on the same old tired tropes. She collaborates with perfumer Nicolas Bonneville for Rose Griotte.

The keynote floral is cherry blossom. There is little chance any rose essential oil woudn’t trample the delicacy of that. So they make the clever choice to use a rose accord of three fresh florals as its balancing partner.

It begins with a juice dripping, fruity top accord around pear. There is a bit of citrus and baie rose to provide some rounding effect, but the earliest moments are a ripe pear. Then the heart finds the beautiful powdery fragility of the cherry blossom matched with an expansive rose accord of peony, jasmine, and heliotrope. The last also has a bit of cherry in its scent profile which allows it to act as complement. A clean woody base of cedar and white amber complete things.

Rose Griotte has 10-12 hour longevity and average sillage.

This is not the first time Mme Rogeon has worked with a rose accord. It shows the creativity of the brand is still in good hands even after thirty years. If you want to have your rose and cherry too; Rose Griotte should be on your to-try list.

Disclosure: This review is based on a sample from Rosine.

–Mark Behnke

New Perfume Review Rosine Ballerina No. 5- Candied Rose

Posted on by in Mark Behnke, New Perfume Reviews and tagged , , , .

When my seasonal rose grouchiness appears this time of year it is because the new rose perfumes all sing from the same hymnal. Dewy debutante rose constructs meant to be fresh and spring-like. Insert grumpy harrumphing from the author here. I can count on being bored every spring. I can also count on some brands deciding to go their own way with rose which is what I found in Rosine Ballerina No. 5.

Delphine Lebeau-Krowiak

Rosine has been making perfume under the creative direction of Marie-Helene Rogeon for nearly thirty years. Her signature has been variation on rose fragrances. This is not a rose line of perfumes which summons my inner curmudgeon because Mme Rogeon has rarely designed rose perfumes to anyone else’s playbook but her own. The Ballerina Series is a good example of that. Most of them are distinctive interpretations of fruity floral including Ballerina No. 5. The exception is Ballerina No. 3 which befitting its Black Swan-like bottle is a dark woody perfume. Perfumer Delphine Lebeau-Krowiak has produced all the Ballerina Series fragrances except No. 2. The twist this time is to make the rose as if it was coated in crystalline sugar providing a gourmand patina to the fruity floral.

Ballerina No. 5 opens with juicy tangerine along with a rich rose petal accord. This is no blushing debutante rose from the beginning. A fuller rose essential oil deepens the rosiness. Violet helps enhance the candied effect of chunky sugar crystals covering the velvety spicy rose. This is a compelling rose accord which is where Ballerina No. 5 chooses to pirouette for a quite a while. Slowly benzoin and patchouli add in a faux-chocolate undertone to the candied rose. The clean woods of cedar and guaiac frame it all in the end.

Ballerina No. 5 has 10-12 hour longevity and average sillage.

There is another way to create a spring rose and Ballerina No. 5 is it. The gourmand aspects are not so heavy this would be too much for a May garden party. You would likely turn heads because you chose not to smell like every other fresh rose perfume in the room. The candied rose of Ballerina No. 5 can dance circles around those.

Disclosure: This review is based on a sample provided by Rosine.

–Mark Behnke