“It’s the time that you spent on your rose that makes your rose so important… People have forgotten this truth, but you mustn’t forget it. You become responsible forever for what you’ve tamed. You’re responsible for your rose.” ~ Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Leave it to Jean Claude Ellena to bring a sliver of summer into the first flush of winter. When the metallic gray tint of snow carries on the sky, the idea of a rose may feel far and distant, but Ellena’s exquisite ‘Rose & Cuir’ for Frederic Malle defies the seasonal doldrums, injecting a fresh, bright glint of glorious summer spark into the day.
With its notes of rose and green freshness, a verdant lush garden dream comes to olfactory existence. ‘Rose & Cuir’ is a wonderful start to the day, a morning greeter that kick-starts the nose and thrills the memories of summer. Like the rich earth that gives sustenance and home to the roots of a thorny young rose, this scent begins with a dirty blast – the Cuir – which I detect in the opening intro, and a couple of times later on, but this is mostly a gorgeously watery floral that blossoms into a green herbaceous jewel, set in an almost invisible setting of leather that gives it just enough edge to keep it away from the powdery side of perfume.
This could have possibly found a home in Ellena’s Jardin series for Hermes, but it’s so good it deserves its stand-alone status as part of the Frederic Malle house. I might even be tempted to make the claim that ‘Rose & Cuir’ surpasses that Hermes line, which always tended to be a little too sweet for my bitter preferences. Here, it’s a grounded bit of herbaceous beauty, a greenhouse-like respite in the midst of trying winter.
This is when a fragrance becomes more than accessory to show off or leave a lingering trail in your office wake; this is an instant way to brighten a day when you’re alone and trying to face the gray overcast winter on your own. In the stillness and silence of such a morning, when the winter wants to creep into your home, into your soul, the simple spritz of this immediately conjures vistas of rose gardens and summer days and suddenly even the winter becomes a thing of beauty. It is at such times that fragrance can become a work of art.
“Won’t you come into the garden? I would like my roses to see you.” ~ Richard Brinsley Sheridan
