Photo: Roses by the Sea, courtesy of the Mediterranean Garden Society.
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 neighborhood and work in the same industry, we don’t connect nearly as often as we’d both like to. So, while waiting for our over-priced lattes, we caught up on each other’s news. I told her that I just got back from Venice and asked if she had any travel plans for the summer. “I’m going to spend the month of July in the house I bought on the southern coast of France near Cannes.” she said.
“You bought a house on the southern coast of France?” I said. Jeez, it has been a while since I saw her, I thought to myself.
“Yep. I bought it with my sister. We’re each spending a month in it and then renting it out the rest of the year.” she said.
I wanted details but she was running late for a meeting, so as she walked out the door she said over her shoulder, “It’s listed. Just Google “louer une maison au bord de la mer France.” Later that day I did and up came sites like, Location bord de mer de maison, villa, appartement; Location vacances mer – France. Then I found this: Une Rose Au Bord de la Mer and my search shifted from travel to perfume. Funny how it always comes back to perfume…
Une Rose Au Bord de la Mer is a limited edition eau de parfum from French niche line Les Parfums de Rosine. It was designed to evoke a summer vacation by the sea – warm, rose-scented air carried by a gentle sea breeze.
Les Parfums de Rosine specializes in rose based fragrances and when you only focus on one thing, you become an expert at it pretty quickly. To my mind Les Parfums de Rosine create some of the best rose frags out there, including Une Rose Au Bord de la Mer, one of my new summer favourites.
Une Rose Au Bord de la Mer 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. At the heart, rose is centre-stage again, with an herbal facet that is warmed by immortelle. Jasmine adds lushness to the rose and adds another floral dimension to the fragrance while calone (the synthetic that creates a ‘marine’ note in perfumes) gives it a watery lightness. At the base, the rose gets resinous from labdanum and sweetened by ambergris. White musk gives it a smooth, animalic finish.
Une Rose Au Bord de la Mer is a skin scent and the drydown is light, airy and watery but not aquatic or ‘beachy’. It smells like roses growing by the sea - the gentle see breeze wafting over and drying the roses, carrying their scent over warm sand. When I smell it, it fills all my empty spaces.
I’ve emailed my friend to ask for more details about her rental property on the French coast. Now that I know what it smells like, I’m eager to be there.
Une Rose Au Bord de la Mer is listed in our Decant Store. Decants are $5.00 for 1 ml.