Rose Praline

White chocolate and rose water pralines, originally uploaded by nadiya9.

So this is the dessert that inspired Rose Praline by Le Parfums de Rosine: a full-size rose macaron filled with rose cream and fresh lychee fruit, and red ripe raspberries dancing in a circle to keep the layers afloat. And above all - a fragrant edible rose petal and a perfect dew-drop made of honey. The full-bodied floralcy of rose is well balanced with the tartness of the lychees and raspberries. The texture of all is perfectly balanced between crunchy crackling crust and chewy macaron that melts into marzipan in your mouth, and a soft smooth cool cream with the pieces of lychee fruit, which are the real surprise in the whole thing (because you don’t see them until you bite into them!).

Isphahan by Pierre Herme, originally uploaded by Ayala Moriel.

When I visited Le Parfums de Rosine in Paris last year, the young girl at the shop was keen on conversing with me about her favourite macaron. I think only in Paris this can be a topic for conversation with a stranger. Damn, I miss Paris!

Anyway, this conversation lead to the Rosine new perfume at the time, Rose Praline, which was inspired by this dessert. I didn’t wear it much back than, but missing Paris, macarons and going to French class tonight made me try it for real today.

Rose Praline is a bright, fruity-green rose with underlining sweetness of vanilla and chocolate. The opening is tart and green, somewhat raspberry-like but not exactly realistic. It is this opening that made me avoid Rose Praline for the longest time as it reminds me of two of my green-rose vices – l’Ombre dans l’Eau and Rose Ikebana. The berry note in all three is a little off-putting for me. But in Rose Praline it’s a little softer and less in your face.

Geranium plays an interesting role here, adding a crushed leaf impression while also giving the feeling of a mouthwatering fruitiness as well as full-bodied, wine-like rose qualities. It reminds me of how I like to add geranium leaf to iced lychee tea juice…

And speaking of tea: there is the sparkling Earl Grey reference of bergamot, the classic chai spiciness from cardamom, and just a whiff of smoky Lapsang Suchong that is so subtle you can easily miss it unless someone told you about it…

The raspberry and greens never quite leave the dessert here, but stick around while the rose, chocolate and vanilla weave their way in. It’s not exactly a linear scent, but there is not much evolution except that it becomes gradually more like a soft-focus version of its fruity beginnings. The bottom line is musk, which I personally am beginning to tire of. It seems like all modern perfume must have a synthetic musk and it just stops feeling original lately. But with that being said, Rose Praline is a fun scent that I am glad to have at least a sample of to reminisce about Paris until I save up for another trip. That being said, I think Rose Praline has the potential of becoming a favourite Rosine for me, after Poussiere de Rose and Rose Kashmirie. They sure know how to highlight the roses and at the same time create distinct perfumes that are everything but boring.

And I’m even more convinced that Rose Praline was made for me because of the following description I just found on the Rosine website:
“Her universe is her friends. Around a cup of tea, her afternoons shell between candies and confidences. Exuberant and talkative, she is a sparkling and sweet young lady”.
I may not be that sweet, but this is surely my favourite way of spending an afternoon – with my friends, giving them sweets that I bake. Hm…

Top notes: Cardamom, Bergamot, Rose, (and in my opinion also a Raspberry note)
Heart notes: Rose, Geranium, Chocolate Powder, Lapsang Suchong Tea
Base notes: Amber, Sandalwood, White Musk, Cacao (and I suspect a good dose of vanilla too)

Le Parfums de Rosine, originally uploaded by Ayala Moriel.

Paris Day V - Serge Lutens & IUNX

Today was a sick day, the Jiboulee weather in Paris got the best of me (unequipped Canadian who expects anywhere else other than Canada to have better weather – I packed only summer clothes pretty much). I got up very late after trying to sleep off a head-cold or an upcoming flu and went to meet Denyse near the Palais Royal. We sat at a café for a while talking mostly about the restrictions, regulations and legislation issues – a topic that one cannot get away from especially when in Europe*.

Than strolled through the Jardin de Palais Royal to Serge Lutens. Being a weekend, the shop was buzzing with officially dressed sales clerks and customers. By serendipity we met Thierry – a Parisian perfume connoisseur who shocked me by telling me everything about my latest Paris travel post. I was not expecting to meet a SmellyBlog reader in Paris so that was a wonderful surprise!

I tried too many Serge Lutens exclusives all at once: on my left writs Tubereuse Criminelle again, and on the upper side of that hand Sarasin. On my right wrist I tried and on top of the right hand Mandarine Mandarin, which starts like candied mandarin peel but ends up more like curry.

We than proceeded towards Rue St. Honore, to visit IUNX and Colette. Colette was quite crowded so we went straight to Hotel Costes, where Olivia Giacobetti’s IUNX line is being gradually re-introduced. The tiny shop is a dark modern catacomb of sorts, made of tinted glass and dark furniture. Red bottles of the hotel’s signature scent and candles are lined up and on the very left wall large monoclins emit the 5 scents and one is instructed by a strict sales clerk to inhale the scents in this particular order, from left to right:
Cologne Blanc, Eau Sento No. 2, l’Ether, l’Ether (for the second time), and than Splash Forte (the one that smells like dessert).

My immediate favourite was l’Ether, which smells mostly of geranium, myrrh and musk. I would have been happy to buy a bottle on the spot, but they come in a towering 1/2meter tall bottles or so, that seem impossible to operate. The candle collection is overwhelmingly beautiful albeit most of the smells reminded me of some of the outstandingly gorgeous Diptyque candles. I hope they will bring out again the Guimauve scent (marshmallow with strawberry and orange flower water) so this might be something to look forward to in a future Paris visit.

It was already the end of the day and shops gradually started to shut down. I was able to sneak into Penhaligon’s before closing even though I wasn’t planning on it – I just stumbled upon it. But unfortuantley I got to Colette just minutes after closing time (I really was hoping to get me some Kyoto and sniff other Comme des Garcons as well as Le Labo’s line which aside from Vetiver 46 I’m completely unfamiliar with) and also missed the big Annick Goutal on 14 Rue Castilligone (which was ok because I already smelled what I wanted to in St. Germain) - not to mention was not for the life of me even able to spot any clues as to the whereabouts of JAR. I will just have to go to Paris again and not get sick this time!


* And just as an aside: Since I had many opportunities to discuss this in Grasse with working professionals, I am coming back to my original conclusion that the regulations are entirely se to eliminate any sort of competition for the big aromachemical houses: this is a double-sided sword that is set to a) make it extremely difficult for small, independent companies to survive thanks to a complex system of beaurocracy that is so labour intense it is only possible for large companies to comply with, having the means to develop elaborate software and have keep on their payroll a legistlation department and b) reduce if not eliminate completely (eventually) the production of natural raw materials. And even though synthetics are also becoming restricted, banned and so on this is not really a problem since it only creates more work for the chemical companies to develop new molecules to replace them.

Paris Day IV - St. Germain & Pierre Herme

Today I mostly wanted to visit St. Germain des Pres, where Boris Vian used to live and work and play his jazz trumpet; and where now Pierre Hermé established his legendary patisserie. We were also planning to go to the Louvre after dinner but that never happened. I think my boyfriend is going to spend the entire day there tomorrow (and this way I can get away from the task and go sneak into Pierre Hermé again!)

We first headed out to Le Marais, an old neighbourdhood with narrow streets and Jewish population. My boyfriend insisted on showing me the falafel stands even though it would be the last place for me to eat while in Paris (I had to keep reminding him I am here for the macarons!). The falafel places were pretty close to the Israeli version, ran by loud Israelis of course who know how to make fast food fast. It was pretty good but I just tasted a little bit because I really do prefer the falafel back home and I can wait until than to have it. One thing to be said to their credit – they do use the proper pita bread (in Vancouver the pita bread is so think it’s ridiculous – the so-called “pita” is rolled like a wrap and everybody is suppose to pretend it’s ok). Le Marais is filled with little Jewish bakeries and on Friday the window displays are full of breaded Challas and the air was full of caramel-scent. After another mundane mission was accomplished (I had to buy a bag after the one I brought with me broke, sadly), we took the metro to St. Germain des Pres metro station.

It was again one of those terrible weather days when the weather couldn’t make up it’s mind. It repeated endless cycles of sunny-rainy-sunny-rainy etc. I was wearing l’Ecume des Jours and feeling particularly moody. Searching for Pierre Hermé we stumbled upon another Laduree location on Rue Bonaparte, where I bought some macaroons for later (the train ride to Grasse) and also some guimauve for my daughter. I was a bit disappointed – though not surprised - to learn that macaroons don’t travel well; but since she loves marshmallows, I think the guimauve will be perfect – especially when they come not only in white (orange blossom) but also in purple (violet) and pink (rose). I guess I will have to learn how to make flavoured macaroons until I’m able to take her with me to Paris again!

Pierre Hermé is a tiny little patisserie and everything there just looks spectacular. For some reason, I was particularly attracted to a vanilla tart and also wanted to try a few macaroons: Pink Grapefruit, Mint, Jasmine, Cassis, Pistachio with a clove-soaked redcurrant in the middle, Rose, Passionfruit-Chocolate. We walked to the nearby square to sit and eat our newly found treasures. The macaroons were hopelessly amazing. We just had two to start with: the mint – a flavour I would have never picked, and that was actually spearmint (with the leaves ground or chopped very thinly into the filling) and it was really delicious with the jasmine macaroon (which was obviously pure happiness).

And than came the vanilla tart. I’m afraid I’m unable to describe this without being profane, so I will just let you stare at this picture and imagine to yourself tasting something that is more creamy and vanilla than vanilla every thought it could be. It was like biting into a piece of cloud and a few minutes later I felt happy again.

We walked aroud a little bit more and went to Café Deux Magots where they serve Ispahan, a large rose macaroon with rose cream and lytchee fruit in the middle and rapberries all around. On top there was a rose petal with a dot of honey, which looked like a dew drop. It was perfect.

We than walked to Luxemburg Gardens, watched the people playing speed chess than walked towards the tennis courts and sat in lounge chairs to munch on the rest of the macaroons (the other flavours were unabashedly amazing – but what else to expect from Pierre Hermé?).


In the evening we went to the Morrocan restaurant l’Atlas on St. Germain for a couscous dinner. The restaurant was very pretty and the staff very friendly and hospitable. The chef even came out to check on the guests and see how they enjoy the food. The appetizer-salads we very flavourful and suprising – for example, sweet tomatoes with cinnamon and anise. We had Morrocan tea before we left, which is gunpowder green tea with fresh sprigs and leaves of spearmint, and sprinkled with orange flower water. A good way to end the day!

Paris Day III - Le Chateu de Versailles

I spent most of today in Versailles, mostly outdoors, and smelling the Royal French countryside. The Petit Trianon and the stables/hamlet/little fake village that Mary Antoinette escaped to are so pastoralle and beautiful. I even loved the smell in the food-heating room. It smelled like old stones in ancient places like Jerusalem or the Bar Kochvah tunnels in Askelon.

The gardens were full with luscious lilacs and wisterias in bloom and the scent of moist leaves, dirt and cut grass was liberating and refreshing after being in the noisy city for a few days (Paris is so much noisier than Vancouver, not surprisingly!).

After Versailles we went back to Paris for a visit to the Musee d'Orsay, but on the way to the restaurant for dinner I noticed the tiny Annick Goutal shop and stepped in to sniff some unfamiliar scents - the new Musc Nomade, Un Matin d'Orage and Vetiver. I tried Un Matin d'Orage and found it to be too sharp for my taste. Magnolia, gardenia, citrus and the signature Annnick Goutal leafy-green sharpness prevent me from fully enjoying this scent.

As an aside: the l'Air de Rein is no longer available. I think they took it off the shelves because it changed overtime (that's how much I gathered from the sales person). They sold some perfume named "Reverence" in the gift shop that smelled horrible and definitely not authentic, and some Napoleon cologne that I didn't even bother trying.

Paris, Day II - Perfumed Day

Today was a perfume day. And although I wasn't able to visit ALL the perfumeries I intended to visit, it was a great day!

First I made my way to Palais Royal, where both Salons Shiseido (aka Serge Lutens) and Le Parfums de Rosine reside. It was a little tricky to find the place, and I ended up approaching the place from the back. I tried to sneak in through Stella McCartney’s shop, and a kind sales associate opened the back door and advised me to go around the building where the real entrance is. The Palais Royal are like a secret garden in the middle of Paris (practically just across from the Louvre, to the direction of St. Honore). Green coifed trees line up in the middle, leading to a central sitting area in front of the fountain and near a little mysterious garden that is fenced off.

Le Parfums de Rosine was closed for lunch, and Serge Lutens was so dark I thought it was closed too. I entered the shop which seemed empty, and suddenly from outside of the wall a friendly clerk appeared all smiling and apologetic in case I got startled. The walls and ceilings are all purple with moon, sun and starts designs that resemble a wizard’s magic box. Any place in the wall can open to reveal new sales clerks, or just another makeup collection… In the middle there is a winding staircase that leads to what one would think is the magician’s chambers where all the concoctions are made, but in fact is “just the office”…

The shops’ exclusive collection of perfumes, bottled in bell-jars, lay in three corners of the room, and only one was dedicated to the export line. I sniffed a few scents that I haven’t had a the opportunity to try before – Mandarin Mandarine (more spicy than citrusy, but with an opening of juicy candied mandarins that really appealed to me), Sarasins (an intense jasmine), Rouse (rich cinnamon oriental with a hint of black Russian tea if I recall correctly), Gris Clair (lavender and mineral), Flouve and La Myrrhe (plasticy and aldehydic for my taste but I wanted to re-visit in the future when less pressed for time and precious skin space) and Nuit de Cellophane (an Herbal Essence hair conditioner in a Serge Lutens bottle). On the back of my hands/wrists I let the sales clerk dab some Tubereuse Criminelle with a blotter strip (which begins with medicinal vapors of camphour, fuel and an overload of heady floral tuberose and jasmine) and came back later for a bit of El Attarine (which unfortunately I had to wash off as it had too much of Safranal - a leathery-saffron molecule in it that doesn’t agree with my skin). Tubereuse Criminelle smelled more creamy and agreeable as time passes (the aggressive camphoreous opening disappears after 5 or 10 mintues). It’s an interesting, multi-faceted tuberose, much darker than real-life tuberose and with only a little bit of green and powdery aspects. I was also given the little book of wax perfume, which is perhaps the most explicit Serge Lutens souvenir one could hope for that can make a very interesting scrap-book item!

When Le Parfums de Rosine finally re-opened after lunch a most vivid young sales lady expressively explained to me the concept behind each fragrance. I have many samples from this line thanks to a generous perfume-friend; so I sniffed a few scents that I was not familiar with. Rose Kashmirie (warm oriental rose, I think with allspice and musk – a little like Parfum Sacre but different), Rose de Feu (also spicy oriental, but with the bracing sharpness of freshly grated ginger) and the newest in the collection – Rose Praline, which was inspired by rose macaroons! The girl was so was eager to tell me how she is particularly smitten with Laduree’s Ispahan macaroon – rose macaroon with raspberries and lytchee. I made a mental note since I did plan on another visit to Laduree; however, later on I learned that this is a signature creation of Pierre Herem, which he may or may not I believe this is a creation of Pierre Herme, which he may or may have not given away to Laduree before establishing his very own patisserie on Rue de Bonaparte.



We than continued walking towards the Opera house, and had an espresso at Café de La Paix and than continued to Place de Madeleine to find a Fleur d’Oranger fragrance for my neighbour next door from Fragonard (which was swarming with tourists). On the way there I stopped at Divine, where I smelled for the first time l’Homme Sage (sensual oriental for men, with unusual aromatic and ambery notes), l’Homme Ceur (a beautiful masculine iris that is equally soft and cool with violet leaf, vetiver and angelica) and l’Inspiratrice (rose-patchouli, dry and voluptuous at once). The lady at the shop was very knowledgeable, friendly and helpful as well and the tester cards had all the information about the fragrance, and folded into three parts to cover the centre, which is sprayed with the scent. It was than placed in a cellophane envelope, which retains the scent for days on end even after leaving the shop (even some of the alcohol seems to stick around…).

Another interesting stop, just by Divine, was a chocolatier on Rue Scribe – unfortunately I did not take a card and did not remember the name, but the store was very chic and the package was impeccably elegant and simple with etching of large cocoa bean on everything. The flavours seemed unusual too – there were beautiful shapely truffles with Violet, Rose and Orange Flower (a flavour I never heard of existing before my own Guilt chocolate truffles).

But my restraint with this chocolatier went out of the window as soon as I spotted nothing less than Tonka-Chocolate ice cream and an Apricot-Rosemary sorbet in front of Le Maison de Chocolat. I had to try both of course (shared with my boyfriend to reduce the guilt factor and also to enjoy his facial reactions to tonka!) , and while the rosemary was toned down in the very jammy apricot sorbet, the tonka was intense even with the dark chocolate ice cream. In both cases, these aromatics were only at 1% concentration. I was very, VERY impressed. And thankfully I survived carcinogenic attack of coumarin. So far so good. After that we wandered around in Place de Madeleine – I window shopped at Fauchon, which was an almost disnified version of French pastries – éclairs with pink frosting and little daisies on top, cakes that look like a bunny rabbit’s garden, and so on and so forth. We continued to a few other very interesting spice, pastry and tea shops, including Mariage Freres which had an overwhelming selection of scented teas and quite impressive tea-scented candles (I was particularly smitten with the mint candle and the red tea candle). While the teas may not be the best or most authentic teas (and many seem too artificially flavoured to my taste), the atmosphere there was mysterious and calming. It was quite dark and felt a little bit Asian. I only wished they had a place to sip on some teas as it started getting quite gloomy outside… In fact, it started pouring a couple of mintues after we left the shop.

We decided to take the metro to the Louvre and skip the rest of the plans for that day (i.e.: Colette, Chanel, IUNX, JAR and all the perfumeries I was not planning to visit Paris without seeing first). But than we ended up in a maze of metro transfers because we were looking for passes for Le Chateau de Versailles for tomorrow first, and by than it was too late for the Louvre…

My First Day in Paris

I arrived in Paris late on a gray morning and on the way from the airport was able to view the many chestnuts in blossom while experiencing some Parisian morning traffic jams. The apartment I’m staying is close to everything (walking distance from the Champs Elysees for one thing) is quite old and has very steep swirling staircase leading to it. There I met my boyfriend and his sister and we spent the entire day together.

After spending a couple of hours recovering from the longish trip and its various side effects (via Montreal – over all about 11-12 hours flight), which included eating fresh strawberries from the market and some baguette and trying to taste a ripened cheese with a sharp taste of cooked cauliflower, we left the apartment for the first little tour of Paris on the Champs Elysees. Our first stop was Sephora, a very short stop that is because the entrance was infested by what I could only describe as petroleum fumes. I had to leave before getting an idea of what’s in the store, but I did notice it was gigantic – almost like an entire mall of perfume and makeup! – and that there is some lighter version of KenzoAmour already out in France, that comes in a beautiful white bottle with gradually transparent edges. I left as soon as possible and immediately spotted Guerlain, which is almost the next door neighbour but decided to cross the street and have some tea at Laduree so I can recover some of my strength before the strenuous mental activity of perfume sniffing…

Laduree had the nicest muted turquoise-green entrance in a somewhat art-deco style with a butterly motif and purple accents. We sat at the bar at the back and had some of Laduree’s house-blend tea (very fragrant with roses and violets I suspect), and accompanied by some of their newest macaroons – mango & jasmine, muguet, bergamot and the violet-cassis ones. The mango and jasmine was mostly mango, with the slightest hint of jasmine and quite delicious with an almost jelly-like texture of the mango filling; the muguet tasted primarily of almonds, the bergamot was intense and impressive and the violet-cassis was a heavenly balance of floral sweetness and tart red fruits.
On the way to Laduree we spotted an Arabian Oud boutique and now was a good time to check it out. I smelled 5 types of oudh – two Indian and 3 Cambodian ouds, ranging from light and woody to smoky and animalic. My favourite was one mild Indian oudh and also another more smoky Cambodian oud. This is the first place I’ve seen that actually sells real oud as well as the oud wood chips. The shop owner was kind and knowledgeable and even let me take picture of him and the shop.

We than crossed the street and went over to Guerlain, where the walls of two story shop are stacked with shelves of perfume and eaux de cologne vats ranging from 500ml to 1 and 2 litres. On the second floor is where the exclusive perfumes reside – including Sous la Vent, which I had planned to impulsively buy on this trip and wear it in my 5 days in Paris so it would be how I remember the trip by. .. I tried it at Montreal once and was immediately smitten… I also smelled a few other perfumes there: Vetiver pour Elle, which I had hard time not buying on the spot as well (and my boyfriend loved too – he seems to be really into the vetivers I like – i.e. Sycamore and Vetiver Tonka and always comments on them). He was also smitten with white florals and I think Cruel Gardenia was his favourite. But than he’s also smitten with my gardenia plant that blooms in the middle of my living room…! I love the dry gin beginning of Sous la Vent. It is quite herbaceous and dry with only very little florals and gradually warms up into a chypre base with only the slightest hint of tonka bean. This is how I'm going to smell in the next few days...

By now it was time for dinner and we wanted to check out l’Atlas – a Morrocan restaurant at St. Germain. Unfortunately, 5pm was too early for them to be open and we had to find something else. Of course we knocked into another parfumerie on the way – Diptyque – and I got a chance to check out all the candles I was curious about (Flouve, Figue Vert, etc.) and their new eaux. I was particularly taken with the freesia soap though above all things.

We went on and had some cheese fondue in a little side street and got scratched by a friendly yet aggressive resident cat and than went home all the way through Notre-Dame and along the Sienne, going through the Louvre and Jardin de Tuilleries and than all along the Champs Elysees and Arc de Triumph.

Paris

I have always intended to review Paris in a larger context of a feature series about Sophia Grojsman and her (many) roses. There is perhaps no other perfumer who uses roses so often and in such a distinct manner as she does. So this is by no means going to be the last time Paris will be mentioned in SmellyBlog. Hopefully, by the time I’ll write about it next I would have actually been to the city and could draw from my own personal experience rather than that of books I’ve read and movies I’ve watched.

YSL Paris is the Paris of everybody fantasies. It’s the Paris Carrie Bradshaw hopes to fulfill a true love in before she learns how lonely can beauty be (especially when you don’t know the language and your lover is a selfish Russian painter that looks like a ballet dancer); it’s the Paris that Parisians criticized was too fluffy and pretty in the film Amelie. You will not, however, find any of the darkness and romantic idealistic poverty of Les Miserables or the conspiracies of The Black Tulip. If that’s what you are looking for, you will be better off overdosing on Rive Gauche; or many other French perfumes that I can think of but don’t have room to list here.

Paris is pink, pretty, and rosy. It’s a day without a cloud and love without quarrels. It’s too good to be true. And that’s because it is a fantasy, thought up by a Russian perfumer for the most Parisian and French couturier alive at the time. There probably isn’t any better house to have made a perfume of that name. And this is also probably the most popular from this house.




Paris has Grojsman’s signature rose-peach- vanilla -violet accord. It opens bright and clear, with sheer citrus and peach and while it is sweet it is certainly not as sweet as other perfumes from that genre (i.e.: Bvlgari, Nahema, Tresor). There is something just a little more lighthearted about it. As the brightness of rose bergamot and peach dissipate, the more powdery aspects of rose take over, backed up with violet and the seductive vanillic whispers of heliotropin. As sweet as the base may be, it still has that dry edge to it, from woody notes of cedar and sandalwood. After a couple of hours of wearing, Paris becomes smoother again, this time developing a hint of wet-petal texture, the rosy sweetness tampered with a certain coolness (perhaps the mimosa?). The last breaths of Paris are redolent of dead roses whose life preserved in a glass coffin filled with amber and musk.

Paris may be too pretty for my style and taste, but it sure can put a smile on my face.

Top notes: Bergamot, Geranium, hawthorn, Hyacinth
Heart notes: Mimosa, Rose, Violet, Lily of the valley
Base notes: Cedar, Sandal, Heliotrope, Amber