Welcome back, everyone! Time to start sampling for the New Year, and as promised, everything's coming up roses (I know...groan...I couldn't resist. I'm back at work and struggling to stay awake or focused or anything. Why didn't I take today off?!), starting with Les Parfums de Rosine Poussière de Rose. I'm not at all sure that Poussière de Rose, or Rose Dust, is the right name for this first rose fragrance. After receiving this sample several months ago, I've worn it four or five times, and Soûlerie de Rose, "rose booze," seems more fitting. The notes in Poussière are as follows:
Top: apricot, prune, ylang-ylang
Heart: rose, cinnamon, tea, frankincense, more rose
Base: sandalwood, incense, opoponax, benzoin resin, cedar, musk, amber, rose dust
Actually, an even better name for this would be Tisane de Rose, as tisane means both herb tea and booze (well, as a slang term), and Poussière has a bit of both. The opening of this spiked rose tea is a liquory jam that moves into a rich heart. The cinnamon thankfully does not overpower the tea and incense. I wonder if the name, rather than connoting actual rose dust, actually represents something more like that "faded rose from days gone by," as the song goes. Poussière is both genteel and slightly daring, like a 1950s woman from a small Southern town on her way home from an afternoon "tea party" in the waning light of day.
To compare, a true dusty rose to me would be more like Etro's Shaal Nur, with its herbal quality, much moreso than this floral fruitcake of a scent. (Wow, I still have holidays on the brain!) This is much closer in spirit to Lipstick Rose or Drole de Rose to me, all though it's less sophisticated than the former and much boozier than the latter. Also, a little bit goes a very long way: I wear this on my wrists only, and it surrounds me all day.
*photo from LusciousCargo
