Aurélien Carine Roitfeld 2019

She will never forget this vacation in the luxury hotel on the French Riviera. The ambiance, the rooms, the food - simply a dream. And: There he was. He worked at the reception. A Southern type with dark eyes and a muscular body. A wonderful smile. And always that look when she walked through the door. His name was Aurélien. French.

She enters the lobby and breathes in the intense scent of the room. Characterized by orange blossoms, typical of the south and the sea, and a fine note of jasmine is also noticeable. A very elegant scent, it could easily pass as a perfume. Myrrh, opoponax, and benzoin convey a sweet, resinous impression, grounded by patchouli. The whole hotel smells of it. It is the scent of the house. An element of corporate identity. The staff must also wear this scent, that is mandatory, Aurélien once told her when he kept her company at one of the pool bars during his break over a café au lait.

He always smiles when he sees her and seizes every opportunity for a short conversation. And one night, when she returns from a night out, he finally takes her in his arms. After a passionate kiss, he pulls her into the washroom and they surrender to each other.

Here, the scent is particularly pronounced. Additionally, the development of the perfume on his skin makes the patchouli note seem even more refined to her. She took a small bottle of the house scent home with her. And every time she applies a few drops, she is back in the luxury resort and with Aurélien.

A little romance, from my pen. Not really my area, but these images immediately came to mind with Carine Roitfeld's Aurélien. Yes, this is a very fine orange blossom perfume, very fitting for this region and also very typical for such luxury resorts, which tend to overdo it with the scenting. In short, I couldn't wear Aurélien, even though those are fundamentally my notes. I find myself mentally in the hotel lobby and then I also have to think of the restrooms, where one often has to cut through the scent clouds. Nope, that's not for me, which can only be attributed to my personal associations. Not even a dime novel can get me out of that. But technically, it's absolutely top-notch, so I give it an 8 for this dashing Frenchman.

Thanks again to Licorice for the testing opportunity.

Aurelien shouldn't have appealed to me according to the description. Orange blossom and jasmine, I don't really like that. Well, the resins sounded decent.

Then, two weeks ago, I had a first, spontaneous meeting with the lover of Roitfeld, and I was surprised.

Let me explain it this way. You are introduced to a person who would normally leave you cold, only to fall for them the moment they start to speak.
That's how it was for me with Aurelien.

The mix of orange blossom and jasmine is downright addictive to my nose. Loud, sweet, and slightly bubblegum-like, but with an underlying herbaceous-spicy note. Somehow, it has a tuberose-like quality for my nose and briefly reminds me of Vierges et Toreros by ELdO.

Gradually, the resinous components come into play and tone down the floral notes without completely losing them.

Dominant in the scent is mainly the opoponax.
Patchouli adds a bit of earthy spice, while myrrh provides a creamy melt.

Aurelien is initially quite loud and unruly, but then becomes soft and enveloping. Moreover, it has good longevity. A steady hand in dosing is necessary here; otherwise, the environment will get quite a strong whiff.

Like all seven lovers of Mrs. Roitfeld, I also perceive Aurelien as unisex. However, I can imagine that overly conservative people might assign it more to the feminine side. But, who really cares about that.

With Aurelien, I have a second fragrant lover in my life. Vladimir is for every day, Aurelien is only for certain hours. ;)

All in all, all the fragrances from the brand are good and worth a try.