Une Rose by Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle, 2003

A rose, roots and all, is how the person in the shop described it to me as I tried it on, and my first impression was of finding the holy grail of rose scents. Till date well over 400 aroma molecules have been discovered that comprise the scent of roses, so there is plenty of room for variation, and those who pooh pooh the idea of rose soliflores or of smelling like a rose should really know that a rose can be suggested in thousands of ways. Une Rose made my senses tumble, it was like stopping after spinning round and round in a rose garden the earth, the roses, the grasses, the leaves all seemed to weave in and out while I tried to steady myself. What fine drunkenness! I held on to that for over a year before finally buying. Well, familiarity showed a somewhat different creature. The earthy scent that had so captivated me seemed to be much more subdued than on first impression (or maybe it was an unfortunate difference in batches), a certain sharpness to the rose which brightened it considerably seemed to be more in evidence, and at times there was that uncomfortable feeling of tasting the perfume at the back of my throat. So, not quite the miracle I had waited so long for. But I have always loved the rose-geranium combination: its ballsy, piercingly sweet but with tart edges if done right. The geranium not only brings additional honey but foliage and refreshment. And in Une Rose, the wine dregs rounding the creation carry it so much further than the blended flowers of other, lesser perfumes. The woods in the base could have been better, with more depth, there seems to be something quite like Iso E Super lurking in there. I can now see that this isnt quite as perfect as I had thought. But love rarely is, and I still love this with a passion.

It just figures! Both Une Rose and my favorite perfume (Montana Parfum d'Homme) are made by the same perfumer -- Eduoard Flechier. Both of these perfumes share a particular characteristic -- nuclear sillage and massive longevity. But their notes differ. Une Rose has a harsh opening -- I almost figured it for Tea Rose by the Perfumer's Workshop (which I hate). And it was this sharp rose top note that I disliked a lot. But, one hour later, I could smell incense. Roses and incense. And as it progresses, the incense comes out more and more. Longevity was incredible. Some of it got sprayed on my wool sweater by accident, and I hung it up in my closet after the end of the day. Two days later, my closet still smelled completely of Une Rose -- not the incense part, just the roses smell. Apparently it took the heat from my wrist to get the incense to come wafting out. I agree with Endless79's review, in that Une Rose is a "bright" rose and remains so, for the 24 hours it continues to give off fumes, whereas Guerlain's Nahema has a more creamy mellow drydown. I've only tried two perfumes by Flechier, but if these two are any indication, Flechier likes to do things big and long.