Róisín Dubh Cloon Keen Atelier 2018
17
Helpful Review
Long Introduction and Short Aria
First, my humble remarks on the background: Cloon Keen Atelier
is an Irish perfume manufacturer founded in 2011 by three Irish artists.
The founders are Mag Byrne, a designer and painter, Simon
Daly, a chemist and perfumer, and Roisin Duffy, a designer and
photographer. They aim to connect the world of fragrances with the
history, traditions, and emotions of Ireland. Despite the
artistic ambition, the scents from their manufactory are meant to be well wearable. In
2018, the company gained international recognition with the fragrance "Róisin Dubh," which won the UK Fragrance Foundations Best New
Independent Fragrance award that year and the Image, Business, and Beauty Award
in 2019. This fragrance was created by a young Irish perfumer, Meabh
McCurtin, a protégé of Dominique Ropion, from whom she surely learned a lot. Her mother was a teacher and instilled in her daughter from a young
age a love for Irish poetry. Here she also found her source of inspiration
for Róisin Dubh. The name is also the title of an old Irish song. According to
legend, this song dates back to the 16th century and is said to be about Róisin
Dubh Ni Néill, the daughter of the Earl of Tyrone, an unusual
beauty with raven-black hair (which I find rather un-Irish). According to
rumor, much misfortune befell her in her life, which over the centuries drew the
attention of a number of bards. Roisin, the raven-black
rose, is said to have gradually become a symbol of the unfortunate, foreign-ruled
Ireland.
In an interview for Image magazine, McCurtin described her intentions
in creating Roisin Dubh - loosely translated - as follows: "To create this scent,
I used a special rose quality called Rose Essential in
combination with a suede and ink accord, which forms the main axis
of the fragrance." The rose is a symbol of sensuality and poetry, while the
ink accord is a nod to Irish writers who lived in exile in Paris in the early 20th
century, during Ireland's struggle for independence against the
British. Life in Paris at that time, as we know, was the life of the
bohemian, free from bourgeois constraints, and so McCurtin added patchouli and
frankincense to reflect this abandon. McCurtin: "It results
in a unisex fragrance that is modern but also contains a sense of the past."
I find this scent very unusual, unlike anything I know.
A fine rose scent is at the forefront, not a fresh rose, but one that
is slowly wilting. It is neither aggressive nor loud, but sad. In this
sadness, it appears vulnerable and very seductive; one wants to protect it
and where one fails, preserve its petals pressed between parchment.
It is an autumn rose, and a scent of beautiful dying and decay lingers in
the air. In the end, patchouli and muted frankincense blend in and
soften this feeling of deep sadness. I am truly glad to have discovered this scent.
It will surely accompany me for a long time.
is an Irish perfume manufacturer founded in 2011 by three Irish artists.
The founders are Mag Byrne, a designer and painter, Simon
Daly, a chemist and perfumer, and Roisin Duffy, a designer and
photographer. They aim to connect the world of fragrances with the
history, traditions, and emotions of Ireland. Despite the
artistic ambition, the scents from their manufactory are meant to be well wearable. In
2018, the company gained international recognition with the fragrance "Róisin Dubh," which won the UK Fragrance Foundations Best New
Independent Fragrance award that year and the Image, Business, and Beauty Award
in 2019. This fragrance was created by a young Irish perfumer, Meabh
McCurtin, a protégé of Dominique Ropion, from whom she surely learned a lot. Her mother was a teacher and instilled in her daughter from a young
age a love for Irish poetry. Here she also found her source of inspiration
for Róisin Dubh. The name is also the title of an old Irish song. According to
legend, this song dates back to the 16th century and is said to be about Róisin
Dubh Ni Néill, the daughter of the Earl of Tyrone, an unusual
beauty with raven-black hair (which I find rather un-Irish). According to
rumor, much misfortune befell her in her life, which over the centuries drew the
attention of a number of bards. Roisin, the raven-black
rose, is said to have gradually become a symbol of the unfortunate, foreign-ruled
Ireland.
In an interview for Image magazine, McCurtin described her intentions
in creating Roisin Dubh - loosely translated - as follows: "To create this scent,
I used a special rose quality called Rose Essential in
combination with a suede and ink accord, which forms the main axis
of the fragrance." The rose is a symbol of sensuality and poetry, while the
ink accord is a nod to Irish writers who lived in exile in Paris in the early 20th
century, during Ireland's struggle for independence against the
British. Life in Paris at that time, as we know, was the life of the
bohemian, free from bourgeois constraints, and so McCurtin added patchouli and
frankincense to reflect this abandon. McCurtin: "It results
in a unisex fragrance that is modern but also contains a sense of the past."
I find this scent very unusual, unlike anything I know.
A fine rose scent is at the forefront, not a fresh rose, but one that
is slowly wilting. It is neither aggressive nor loud, but sad. In this
sadness, it appears vulnerable and very seductive; one wants to protect it
and where one fails, preserve its petals pressed between parchment.
It is an autumn rose, and a scent of beautiful dying and decay lingers in
the air. In the end, patchouli and muted frankincense blend in and
soften this feeling of deep sadness. I am truly glad to have discovered this scent.
It will surely accompany me for a long time.
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4 Comments

What a beautiful, leathery rose! But a dark, gloomy one, not a light, airy scent like Malone's 'Peony & Suede' or similar... I think I need to add this to my next Cloon Keen order...
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What a great review, it was fun to read. Thanks for the insightful background information!
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1
A wonderful review. I'm not sure if I want to smell so melancholic and sad, but it definitely sounds poetic.
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Great review again. Thanks for the background on the brand too.
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