Glam Rose – Who knew? (February 27, 2012 New Fragrance Listing)

^{Photo: perfumeniche.com - Paris at Dusk}

I’m always interested in to learn about new launches, especially from houses I like, so I’ve gotten in the habit of making a list of fragrances that I want to try and I carry it around in my wallet – just because I never know when I might be somewhere and get the opportunity to sniff something.

In fact, this predilection is the reason why we put the ‘Decants to Try’ and ‘Perfumes to Buy’ lines on the back of the perfumeniche.com business cards we send out with orders – so you can easily carry your list around with you too.

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.

Now, I’m a big fan of rose scents, but they have to be done right or else you end with the dreaded old lady rose scents. This never happens with Les Parfums de Rosine’s frags. While they are all rose based, they are also beautifully crafted and I am always intrigued by the variations on roses 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. The first time I smelled it, I thought butterflies would come out of my mouth when I opened it.

Glam Rose opens with ambret 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 mouth begins to water, but as good as this is, I came for the roses and the violets, and here they are – at the heart where a number of varieties of roses are used to create a full, soft, light rose scent. One of the varieties used is the Variegata di Bologna, which has a violet facet that opens the door to the violet, 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 blooms, the florals get stronger, deeper and more complex – there is at times 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 a woodiness, while buckskin gives it a refined soft leather note. Raspberry adds a tart fruitiness and musk softens it all out and echoes the ambret seed at the opening.

Never sweet, or too fruity Glam Rose is an elegant, well-crafted, perfectly balanced modern rose/violet scent that no respectable old lady would dare to wear.

Speaking of, on 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.”

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

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

Glam Rose is listed in our Decant Store. Decants are $5.00 for  1ml.