09/04/2019
Rivegauche
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Un Jardin pour Frédéric?
Right at the front, Rose & Cuir is neither really rose-heavy nor really concentrated on leather notes.
The top note opens tingling sour, fruity & fresh with grapefruit & black currant, so that one can immediately recognise Jean-Claude Ellena's style to continue with a rather reserved heart note of rosy germanium, accompanied by stony & herbaceous green facets, where pepper seems to contribute a fine and somewhat reserved spiciness. Elegant! At this point I feel for the first time tempted to call the fragrance "Un Jardin pour Frédéric", because everything from the famous universe of Ellena's by Hermès seems present: naturalism, airiness & reduction with fruity, fresh and woody, spicy & green facets...and not only the black double looped leather bracelet in the video on the Frédéric Malle website immediately gave me the feeling "Hermès reloaded."
The base only slowly reveals the typical leathery facets of Isobutyl Quinoline, the synthetic substitute for once natural birch tar, to achieve the scent of leather in perfumes. I perceive Isobutyl Quinoline here as wonderfully bitter brown and smoky woody. Actually I feel a bit reminded of Aramis, Bandit & Cabochard here...but more like a vague reminder of the past times of Jazz Age, as you can read on the Frédéric Malle website...here apparently still in the base flanked by green earthy woody vetiver and certainly some musk to enhance the durability. Often I have a problem with the for me rough leather notes of Aramis and his cronies, I am more inclined to the softer leather notes à la Cuir de Russie, Cuir Cannage or also the wonderful Mont de Narcisse. The airiness of the fragrance throughout and the overall sparing use of the leather note "like a brushstroke" help to turn this aversion into affirmative approval.
And even now I think it's a "Jardin pour Frédéric"? The fragrance, with its short and precise formula, clearly bears the signature of Ellena, but the execution is clearly Frédéric Malle. Fréderic Malle seems to have created his perfumes like Vetiver Extraordinaire, Bigarade, Geranium pour Monsieur, Monsieur. and last but not least French Lover for himself, because he wears them himself as he said. Rose & Cuir shows a consistently clear and cool freshness with naturalistic green leathery and floral contours, is durable & present (not very Ellena), is grown up and absolutely unisex, quite cool, it combines modernity with timeless classicism (sounds like Bauhaus, if I think about it further) and is far away from any cosy cuddliness, which wouldn't even fit to Monsieur Malle himself...and scents of this character are also fortunately almost in vain in the Mallschen fragrance portfolio.
Since Rose & Cuir neither reveals really dominant rose facets nor has a really strong leather character, it seems to be labelled almost wrong. Even those who expected a delicate rosy fragrance with warm leather notes will be disappointed. But if you're looking for a friendly markance, you might find it here.
The top note opens tingling sour, fruity & fresh with grapefruit & black currant, so that one can immediately recognise Jean-Claude Ellena's style to continue with a rather reserved heart note of rosy germanium, accompanied by stony & herbaceous green facets, where pepper seems to contribute a fine and somewhat reserved spiciness. Elegant! At this point I feel for the first time tempted to call the fragrance "Un Jardin pour Frédéric", because everything from the famous universe of Ellena's by Hermès seems present: naturalism, airiness & reduction with fruity, fresh and woody, spicy & green facets...and not only the black double looped leather bracelet in the video on the Frédéric Malle website immediately gave me the feeling "Hermès reloaded."
The base only slowly reveals the typical leathery facets of Isobutyl Quinoline, the synthetic substitute for once natural birch tar, to achieve the scent of leather in perfumes. I perceive Isobutyl Quinoline here as wonderfully bitter brown and smoky woody. Actually I feel a bit reminded of Aramis, Bandit & Cabochard here...but more like a vague reminder of the past times of Jazz Age, as you can read on the Frédéric Malle website...here apparently still in the base flanked by green earthy woody vetiver and certainly some musk to enhance the durability. Often I have a problem with the for me rough leather notes of Aramis and his cronies, I am more inclined to the softer leather notes à la Cuir de Russie, Cuir Cannage or also the wonderful Mont de Narcisse. The airiness of the fragrance throughout and the overall sparing use of the leather note "like a brushstroke" help to turn this aversion into affirmative approval.
And even now I think it's a "Jardin pour Frédéric"? The fragrance, with its short and precise formula, clearly bears the signature of Ellena, but the execution is clearly Frédéric Malle. Fréderic Malle seems to have created his perfumes like Vetiver Extraordinaire, Bigarade, Geranium pour Monsieur, Monsieur. and last but not least French Lover for himself, because he wears them himself as he said. Rose & Cuir shows a consistently clear and cool freshness with naturalistic green leathery and floral contours, is durable & present (not very Ellena), is grown up and absolutely unisex, quite cool, it combines modernity with timeless classicism (sounds like Bauhaus, if I think about it further) and is far away from any cosy cuddliness, which wouldn't even fit to Monsieur Malle himself...and scents of this character are also fortunately almost in vain in the Mallschen fragrance portfolio.
Since Rose & Cuir neither reveals really dominant rose facets nor has a really strong leather character, it seems to be labelled almost wrong. Even those who expected a delicate rosy fragrance with warm leather notes will be disappointed. But if you're looking for a friendly markance, you might find it here.
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