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
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