Glam Rose – complex and unique and very feminine

Photo: perfumeniche

True confession: I’m a list maker. I live for them and by them: grocery lists, Christmas gift lists, birthday lists – name it and I’ll put it on a list.

Long ago, I got into the habit of making a list of fragrances that I want to try and I carry it around in my wallet because I never know when I might be somewhere and get the opportunity to sniff/try/buy something.

So, when I was in Paris a couple of weeks ago, I was prepared. I knew what I wanted to try and what I wanted to buy and at the top of the list was Glam Rose by Les Parfums de Rosine.

I’m love rose scents, but they have to be done right or else you end with the dreaded old lady/sachet rose scents. This never happens with Les Parfums de Rosine’s fragrances. While they are all rose centric, they are all so beautifully crafted and finessed that I am always intrigued by the variations they come up with. Just catch a whiff of that heart-stopping rose/leather accord in Rose d’Homme or that deadly rose and mint combo in Diabolo Rose.

Marie-Helène Rogeon, rose cultivator, perfume lover and the creative force behind Les Parfums de Rosine has produced another stunner with Glam Rose. Here rose is blended with violet and they go together like hugs and kisses in my new scent crush.

Glam Rose opens with ambrette seed. Sweet and flowery, it has a musky facet that foreshadows the base. Blackcurrant leaves add a gentle green note. As it settles, a warm spiciness from peppercorn starts to emerge. This is when my knees weaken (even the good one), but as good as this is, I came for the roses and the violets, and here they are at the heart where noses Benoit Lapouza and Delphine Lebeau use several varieties of rose to create a full yet soft, light rose scent. One of the varieties used is the Variegata di Bologna, which has a violet facet that ushers in a note of violet that’s sweet and leafy green. Jasmine is here too, just to add a little white floral drama while lychee balances the flowers with a lovely fruitiness.

As it evolves, the florals get stronger, deeper and more complex. At times there is a sharpness, a greenness, that gives it personality while at the same time the whole scent gets lighter, almost diaphanous. Cedarwood at the base gives it woodiness, while buckskin adds a refined soft leather note. Raspberry contributes tart fruitiness and musk softens it all out and mirrors the ambret seed at the opening.

The Les Parfums de Rosine website it says that “Glam Rose is aimed at the complex woman who dares to declare her uniqueness and difference, with an intangible touch of boldness and ultra-femininity.”

Guess I'm a complex woman who dares to declare her uniqueness and difference, with an intangible touch of boldness and ultra-femininity...who knew?

Here’s what I do know: I bought this exciting new fragrance within an hour of landing in the City of Light.

Check out Glam Rose in our Shop.