La Rose Le Galion 2014

...that it is not fully appreciated here. When a perfume is called "La Rose," all rose fragrance lovers naturally sense an opportunity and are likely to be disappointed by this scent. The watery notes are also not likely to spark enthusiasm among flower lovers. I fell for it myself, because when a perfume is classified as floral-fresh by most users, my curiosity tends to be limited. However, it was reignited when I saw that "La Rose" was developed by Thomas Fontaine, as his creations are often well-worn, rarely provocative, but never banal.

My impression now: The rose is just one voice in the orchestra. An important one, but not a soloist. I find the violet leaf and the creamy peach note much more prominent. And no one needs to fear the lily. As for the watery notes - I perceive them like the softening technique of a wet-on-wet watercolor. So, nothing that dilutes the scent, but rather makes it appear transparent and flooded with light, dissolving hard contours. The scent thus becomes ethereal and almost a bit dancing.

In the dry down, the vanilla I feared so much is kept in check by cedar, and Thomas Fontaine has measured the patchouli with a pharmacist's scale, as I simply cannot detect the note, and that is a good thing in this case, as the character of the perfume remains intact until the end.

I like the scent and will add it to my wish list. It’s not something that I really miss in my collection, as for occasions when I would reach for La Rose, I have a bottle of Grisette by Lubin in my cabinet, but that will eventually run out too.