Ecume de Rose
by Les Parfums de Rosine

I’d be hard-pressed to think of a fragrance combination more likely to appeal to me than wild beach roses and salt spray, and this has all the atmosphere and wistfulness I could want. The opening is fresh and leafy, then it quiets for a while, but when I think it’s another short-lived waste of time, all the notes open and the vista is exposed, and there are the roses born on their tangled old wood, and a sea wind carrying salt and minerals inland. The oceanic effect is coolly created from vetiver and musk in the base, and it - thankfully - doesn’t turn sweet in the drydown. It’s never very loud on me, although I’ve gotten compliments on it long after I’d thought it had gone.

Ecume de Rose is a very light rose fragrance in which I could smell aspects of salt, soap, ozonic notes and a little musk at the end. It is a shy little scent and does not open up much. I compared/sniffed this against Rosine’s Diabolo Rose which is a rose force to be reckoned with, whereas Ecume de Rose faded into the background in comparison. However, there have been days when I’ve have worn Ecume de Rose on its own and it was quite lovely. I think Ecume de Rose would be perfect on a hot, humid day when you want to be very lightly scented.

Here are the notes of Ecume de Rose which I’ve gleaned from various perfume websites: Top: Blackcurrant leaf, Sea lily. Middle: Dune roses, Artemisia, Rose Attar and Rose Absolue. Base: Vetiver, Ambergis, White musk.

I really like Ecume de Rose, but it is not my favorite of the Rosines. I prefer the bolder Flamenca, Folie and d'Ete. Ecume is very nice, and I like the freshness added by the marine notes. But, like I said, I like my rose perfumes bolder, and this is a little bit more on the restrained side. And maybe because it's restrained, I feel like it doesn't last as long. It is definitely the 4th on my list, though, and beats out Rose de Feu, which is just a little to odd, and Roseberry, which just smells awful to me.

Third thumbs-down Rosine for me (Été and La Rose were the first two). "Metallic" and headache-inducing, I guess its the marine note that is to blame. Not my bottle of rose scent.

Ecume de Rose reminds me a bit of Stella, but where Stella has a sharp, lemony accord on my skin, this is richer rose with a clean, oceany background. Ecume is light and airy (dare I say "foamy"?), yet complex and evokative. It smells alive and real, like the perfumer managed to bottle the dusky scent of moss roses on a cliff overlooking the ocean.