One of the things that makes independent perfumer Vero Kern so interesting is that she releases three different versions of each of her perfumes. What is special about this way of composing perfume is it is very similar to a visual artist or musician doing variations on a theme. If you have the skill you can give the person an experience with similar signposts but a different destination.
Anna Magnani
Last year Ms. Kern released the Eau de Parfum and Voile D’Extrait versions of Rozy. Her muse for this perfume was Italian neorealist actress Anna Magnani. The Eau de Parfum was an intense version befitting the screen persona of Sig.ra Magnani. The Voile D’Extrait was the opposite as it captured a joyous explosion of an intelligent woman laughing. I thought the Voile D’Extrait was the best perfume I tried in all of 2014. When I attended Esxence I met with Ms. Kern and she pressed into my hand the final version of Rozy the Extrait de Parfum.
Vero Kern
I have to admit I think Rozy Voile D’Extrait is such an amazing piece of perfumery it was difficult to start my process of getting to know Rozy Extrait de Parfum. If I am going to continue with my version of the olfactory Three Faces of Anna the Extrait de Parfum is the pensive one. This is a perfume which is full of complicated interiors. As I would wear it and follow one set of notes to another I often found myself taking a very different path as it seemingly changed its internal architecture like an Escher lithograph. Nothing exemplifies this more than the supporting amount of tuberose she uses in the heart. As I am continually circling the central rose a bit of indolic funk would cause my focus to waver. Drawing me in a different direction. There were days where I felt the tuberose was a figment of my imagination. There were other days it let me catch it and enjoy the skanky rose accord it formed. The entire Extrait de Parfum has pleasures like this to discover.
The Extrait de Parfum opens on the same notes that the Voile D’Extrait does but instead of bursting to life this time they are kept deeper and more focused. That means the peach and cassis, leavened with a bit of melon provide a core from which the central rose can flower upon. The peach in particular stays around a little bit longer and it provides a rich fruity contrast to the rose. Honey again provides texture but as less of a provocateur and more of an enabler for the rose. It is during this part of the development that the indoles played mind games with me. This all closes out with sandalwood, labdanum, and vanilla providing a final destination after a variable trip.
Rozy Extrait de Parfum has 14-16 hour longevity and very modest sillage.
I have been home from Milan for almost six weeks and I’ve spent at least one day a week examining Rozy Extrait de Parfum. I finally had to write all of this down because I feel that I will never cease discovering something new each time I wear it. There are very few perfumes which reward this kind of scrutiny. That Ms. Kern has finished off what is probably her strongest set of fragrances with this perfumed brain teaser is why I consider her one of the very best perfumers working in the world right now.
Disclosure: this review was based on a sample provided by Vero Profumo.
–Mark Behnke
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