Une Rose Au Bord de la Mer – elegant and refined and summery

I ran into an old friend a while ago while standing in line at a local coffee shop. Even though we live in the same neighbourhood we don’t connect nearly as often as we’d like. So, while waiting for our overpriced lattes, we caught up with each other’s news. As I reached for my coffee, I asked if she had any travel plans for the summer. “I’m going to spend July in the house I bought on the southern coast of France near Cannes.” she said.

“That’s exciting,” I said.

“I’m so excited. I plan on spending a month there and then renting it out the rest of the time,” she said.

I wanted details, but she was running late, so as she walked out the door, she said over her shoulder, “It’s listed online; just Google “louer une maison au bord de la mer France.” Later that day, I did and up came all kinds of tempting rental sites. Then this popped up: Une Rose Au Bord de la Mer, and my search shifted from a month in France to perfume.

Une Rose Au Bord de la Mer is a limited-edition fragrance from French niche line Les Parfums de Rosine, which specializes in rose-based fragrances. When you only focus on one thing, you become an expert at it and to my mind, Les Parfums de Rosine has produced some of the best rose fragrances out there, and Une Rose Au Bord de la Mer is one of them.

Une Rose Au Bord de la Mer translates as A Rose By The Sea and was designed to evoke a summer vacation by the sea – warm, rose-scented air carried by a gentle sea breeze. It opens with a powdery, dry rose note gently freshened with citrus - neroli and bergamot at first and then bitter orange and sweet, juicy tangerine. I love the way the citrus complements the rose, letting it shine but keeping it light and airy and cheerful. At the heart, rose is centre stage again, with an herbal facet that is warmed by curry-tinged immortelle. Jasmine boosts the neroli and adds a velvety lushness to the rose while giving another floral dimension to the fragrance. Calone (the synthetic that creates a ‘marine’ note in perfumes) gives it a watery lightness and creates the impression of a breeze blowing over the sea. At the base, the rose gets resinous from labdanum and is sweetened by ambergris and ambrette seed. White musk smoothens it, giving Une Rose Au Bord de la Mer an elegant refinement.

 Une Rose Au Bord de la Mer is a skin scent, and the drydown is light, airy and watery but not ‘beachy.’ It has a lyrical beauty that really smells like I’ve been walking among roses growing by the sea on a summer’s day whenever I wear it.

I’ve emailed my friend to ask for more details about her rental property. Now that I know what it smells like, I’m eager to go there. 

Check out Une Rose Au Bord de la Mer in our Shop.