Épine Mortelle – complex and intriguing and beautiful

Photo: perfumeniche

 “So, what do you think” I asked the sales assistant.

She wafted the blotter back and forth under her nose a few times before answering.“This one is a challenge,” she said finally.

“How so?” I asked.

“I like a smooth, creamy rose…not this. It’s dark and a little strange not what I think a rose fragrance should be,” she said.

I thought about that for a moment as I put my nose to my wrist and inhaled Epine Mortelle deeply again. Was it what I think a rose fragrance should be? I dunno about that, but I do know it’s an exceptional rose fragrance that brings out some kind of primal longing in me.

“I’ll take two bottles,” I said.

The sales assistant was taken aback.

“Are you sure?” she asked, “It’s not for everybody.”

“I understand” I said, handing her my credit card, “but the people I know will love it.”

Épine Mortelle is part of the Back Label Collection from LM Parfums, the niche line founded by fashion designer Laurent Mazzone in 2011. If you aren't familiar with fragrances in the line, then Épine Mortelle is a great place to start. 

It opens with dark, warm and spicy from pink pepper, black pepper, Sichuan pepper, bitter, earthy cumin and spicy-sweet nutmeg. The spiciness is tempered by licorice-like anise and angelica. The angelica is key here. It’s herbaceous, but also earthy, and sweet with powdery aspects that give Épine Mortelle an unusual beauty. The earthy powderiness of angelica is carried into the heart by a note of violet, opening the way for the roses: the sensuous Damask rose and the opulent, creamy, May Rose. These two complementary roses have honeyed, fruity, spicy aspects when combined that add dimension and depth to them. Simply put – they are better together. Blackcurrant adds a tart, sweetness that enhances the roses, making them darker and richer, while a note of mimosa adds a soft, vanilla-like sweetness that tips the fragrance into gourmand territory. Musk and vanilla at the base softens it so that the drydown is elegantly gourmand and, I think, very feminine. And, as an Extrait de Parfum of 20% perfume concentration, this juice has depth and staying power. No faded roses here.

The LM Parfums website describes Épine Mortelle like this:

"In the pursuit of the absolute essence of this dark, but comforting fragrance, I was walking inside this long and tortuous hedge maze.I thought I was lost but these deadly thorns finally revealed themselves to me. Suddenly, the absolute essence appeared from this angelic Rose."

Reading this now, I have to say that Épine Mortelle captures this description beautifully. I didn't find the fragrance ‘challenging’ the way the sales assistant did. Instead I found it complex, intriguing, unusual and ultimately beautiful.

If you love rose-based scents, there are hundreds of the out there, but not one of them is like Épine Mortelle.

 Check out Épine Mortelle in our Shop.