Yuzu Rouge 06130 - Zéro Six Cent-Trente 2003

I happened upon a sample of this one - it's not the type of scent I'd typically go for. After testing it out, it definitely didn't turn me into an instant citrus lover. However, I find that while most citrusy scents tend to sting and tickle my nose, this one is a bit quieter. The citrus here really complements the rose, creating a very clean, fresh smelling green type of fragrance. It's nice, with the same soft sillage as the other 06130's.

I no longer have a sample of 06130 YUZU ROUGE, but I reviewed it in June 2010. This perfume was selected by Chandler Burr for the Untitled Series as one of his cherished "works of perfumic art". Interestingly enough, the other two self-proclaimed perfume experts, Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez (authors of The Holey [sic] Book), gave this perfume a dismissive review and two stars, indicating what they took to be its mediocrity. I generally do the opposite of what the experts say, but in this case "the experts" disagree vehemently. Fortunately, I reviewed this perfume before being faced with the opposite receptions of the Royal[ties] Coup[le] and The Curator. Here's what I wrote, my untutored opinion of YUZU ROUGE:

...

Parfums 06130 YUZU ROUGE opens as one of the most succulent fruity florals that I have ever encountered. It's incredibly juicy and rich with no synthetic feeling whatsoever. The combination of the cassis, yuzu, bergamot, lemon verbena, and grapefruit really works here, but I would not call this a "citrus" fragrance, for the dominant fruit is definitely cassis, with rose also detectably present at this stage.

Nor is YUZU ROUGE really an "aromatic" perfume, for it next morphs into a sort of modern chypre--really an entirely different perfume altogether from the opening. This smooth, medium sillage chypre floral is no longer very fruity, as the rose becomes stronger moving toward the drydown. Yet YUZU ROUGE is not a "rose" perfume either. The oakmoss is light, and the spices--cardamom and nutmeg--are even lighter. Rather than asserting themselves, all of these characteristically strong--and sometimes overbearing--notes here merely moderate the rose, while simultaneously imparting a complexity and depth to this composition of medium longevity.

I'd love to own a full bottle of this delightful and original creation!

I am not sure if the stated theme has been properly missed here. One reason for my uncertainty is that I have never been able to smell a Yuzu, but since it is a fruit similar to a mandarin, I imagine the scent to be sourly bitter.

As for the scent color, I cannot associate anything red with Yuzu Rouge at all. Rather, the scent is more aligned with the complementary color to red, which is green.

The opening is surprisingly low in acidity for a fragrance with a citrus fruit theme. I perceive YR as very herbaceous green from the very beginning.

After a few minutes, a subtle, spicy sharpness and a restrained bitter note join the herbs.

The bitter note is then replaced after about an hour by a subtle sweetness reminiscent of honey, and the herbaceous green becomes increasingly creamy.

YR is a beautiful, almost relaxed fragrance for the warm season with good longevity and a fine, summer-appropriate sillage.

Until the base note sets in, I was satisfied with YR; however, the creaminess combined with the underlying honey sweetness abruptly dampens that satisfaction, and the urge to remove the fragrance grows accordingly.

Creamy green is neither my color in clothing nor in fragrance, and it probably won't be in this life either.