№ 08 - Une Rose Chyprée Tauer Perfumes 2009
3
From Deep Appreciation to Deep Infatuation
Did you ever have a complete change of heart with any of your perfumes? If so, which one is it?
For me, it was Tauer's Une Rose Chypree. Of course, I have a few others. But with none had I experienced such a dramatic turnaround, from deep appreciation to deep infatuation, to even go as far as seeking out several backup bottles.
I now feel that I have a better understanding of the fragrance and have reached the final stage in coming to appreciate it. It is a highly complex work that requires time to fully acknowledge.
As the name implies, this is overall a "Rose-Chypre," however, to make the description more thorough, I'd also add "Spicy" and "Oriental" to its name. It is a unique creation. As much as I try to draw a comparison, there is nothing that comes to mind. It has become my favorite Rose perfume, although I'm someone who is not keen on rose. It can be placed in the family of Oriental-Chypres next to perfumes like Chypre Palatin, because of how the Oriental and Chypre-like parts blend. It also features strong spicy facets from a heavy note of bay leaf/laurel that is sublime and goes perfectly with the rose accord envisioned, and cinnamon. The perfume has three distinct stages that blend into one another seamlessly:
First, you get a blast of bay leaf and cinnamon, with a sparkling and juicy clementine, followed immediately by one of the main players in the composition, the rose. The latter is constructed in a way I have not experienced before. If you can picture a red, velvety rose sitting lonely in a garden during a gloomy and rainy Autumn afternoon, that is what it smells like. You can sense the droplets dripping down the petals and smell the flower in its entirety, from the stems to the floral corolla, and the earth from which it rose. You can feel the dampness of the soil. It's a wet, green, and spicy rose. It is aloof but well aware of its beauty. A touch of geranium helps to emphasize its verdant qualities. The bay leaf complements the sweet, spicy, and green nuances while adding its piquant aroma. It is a prominent facet in this perfume, mind, for those who are not fond of this aromatic.
The heart of the perfume is where the chypre-like facets emerge: lots of oakmoss, vetiver, some patchouli, and plenty of natural Ambergris. At first, I was quite impressed with how much the ambergris pushed out of my skin, giving away a beautifully salty and slightly mineralic nuance.
Finally, the resins in the base help to warm up the composition, which can come across as a bit cold and austere till this point. I mostly detect the cistus labdanum, perhaps bits of vanilla and styrax, which create a dusty, resinous, and slightly smoky amber accord that envelops the remainder of the perfume like a warm cocoon. When I first discovered Une Rose Chypree, I felt it was too sweet at this stage for my taste, but now I don't mind that anymore. On the contrary, I now find the sparkling ambergris and the oakmoss to overshadow the resins in the base, which only push out enough to smooth out the edges and throw a smoky-dusty veil over the frame of the fragrance.
I would claim with no hesitation that this is Andy Tauer's best creation to date. Quality, complexity, and originality-wise, it is unmatched, and I could see several reasons why it is no longer part of his line. I also don't find it to share much in common with his other fragrances. It truly occupies a place of its own, not just in the Tauer catalog, but as a Rose, a Chypre, and an Oriental perfume, as there is nothing quite like it.
As much as I shy away from rose-heavy compositions, I have to admit that I find it difficult to resist this aloof, green, wet, earthy, and laurel-imbued rose.
IG:@memory.of.scents
For me, it was Tauer's Une Rose Chypree. Of course, I have a few others. But with none had I experienced such a dramatic turnaround, from deep appreciation to deep infatuation, to even go as far as seeking out several backup bottles.
I now feel that I have a better understanding of the fragrance and have reached the final stage in coming to appreciate it. It is a highly complex work that requires time to fully acknowledge.
As the name implies, this is overall a "Rose-Chypre," however, to make the description more thorough, I'd also add "Spicy" and "Oriental" to its name. It is a unique creation. As much as I try to draw a comparison, there is nothing that comes to mind. It has become my favorite Rose perfume, although I'm someone who is not keen on rose. It can be placed in the family of Oriental-Chypres next to perfumes like Chypre Palatin, because of how the Oriental and Chypre-like parts blend. It also features strong spicy facets from a heavy note of bay leaf/laurel that is sublime and goes perfectly with the rose accord envisioned, and cinnamon. The perfume has three distinct stages that blend into one another seamlessly:
First, you get a blast of bay leaf and cinnamon, with a sparkling and juicy clementine, followed immediately by one of the main players in the composition, the rose. The latter is constructed in a way I have not experienced before. If you can picture a red, velvety rose sitting lonely in a garden during a gloomy and rainy Autumn afternoon, that is what it smells like. You can sense the droplets dripping down the petals and smell the flower in its entirety, from the stems to the floral corolla, and the earth from which it rose. You can feel the dampness of the soil. It's a wet, green, and spicy rose. It is aloof but well aware of its beauty. A touch of geranium helps to emphasize its verdant qualities. The bay leaf complements the sweet, spicy, and green nuances while adding its piquant aroma. It is a prominent facet in this perfume, mind, for those who are not fond of this aromatic.
The heart of the perfume is where the chypre-like facets emerge: lots of oakmoss, vetiver, some patchouli, and plenty of natural Ambergris. At first, I was quite impressed with how much the ambergris pushed out of my skin, giving away a beautifully salty and slightly mineralic nuance.
Finally, the resins in the base help to warm up the composition, which can come across as a bit cold and austere till this point. I mostly detect the cistus labdanum, perhaps bits of vanilla and styrax, which create a dusty, resinous, and slightly smoky amber accord that envelops the remainder of the perfume like a warm cocoon. When I first discovered Une Rose Chypree, I felt it was too sweet at this stage for my taste, but now I don't mind that anymore. On the contrary, I now find the sparkling ambergris and the oakmoss to overshadow the resins in the base, which only push out enough to smooth out the edges and throw a smoky-dusty veil over the frame of the fragrance.
I would claim with no hesitation that this is Andy Tauer's best creation to date. Quality, complexity, and originality-wise, it is unmatched, and I could see several reasons why it is no longer part of his line. I also don't find it to share much in common with his other fragrances. It truly occupies a place of its own, not just in the Tauer catalog, but as a Rose, a Chypre, and an Oriental perfume, as there is nothing quite like it.
As much as I shy away from rose-heavy compositions, I have to admit that I find it difficult to resist this aloof, green, wet, earthy, and laurel-imbued rose.
IG:@memory.of.scents