Rossy de Palma Eau de Protection Etat Libre d`Orange

Desirability: Sample

Source: iperfume.ru

Unless my sample was labelled wrongly, Rossy de Palma has to be the tamest scent that I've tried from Etat Libre d'Orange ever. I kept waiting for a twist in the tale but the lack of shock tactics was notable from the start to its drydown.

Rossy de Palma is a peppery spiced rose, whose place on the "Scoville" score of spiciness lies between Paestum Rose by Eau D'Italie on the milder side and Epic Woman by Amouage on the spicier side. Pasteum Rose is too mild tempered for my liking and Rossy de Palma is more affordable than Amouage, so it is a good in-between scent if you are having problems deciding between them. Rossy de Palma opens with a peppery spiciness tinged with the sharpness of fresh-cut ginger. There is a green rose that appears from behind the spices, a little sour, a little sweet and plenty realistic as if you were leaning in to smell the rose itself perched on its bush, the scent of wet dirt type of patchouli rising from below. Mingling with these smells is a gentle breeze carrying a light incense that completes the picture of Rossy de Palma. 

I've heard the scent termed so many things from sensual to cozy and I believe it encompasses both and everything else in between. It has a moderate projection but a decent longevity and I feel it can be comfortably worn by both males and females. A nicely done spiced patchouli rose that doesn't go screechy or powdery like some roses do but despite singing its praises, my heart and purse still belongs to the opulent, breathtakingly beautiful Epic Woman.

Trivia: The Scoville scale is a measurement of the spiciness of a particular food or chili pepper, measured in Scoville Heat Units (SHU) which is related to the concentration of capsaicin in the food but is an imprecise method of of measurement in contrast to methods such as high-performance liquid chromatography. 

Mon Nom Est Rouge Majda Bekkali Sculptures Olfactives

Source: Fragrantica

Spiced rose contenders that I've had the good fortune to sample: Mon Nom Est Rouge, Epic Woman by Amouage, Noir Epices by Frederic Malle/ Michel Roudnitska, Paestum Rose by Eau D'Italie and Rose Poivree by The Different Company. 

The Different Company's Rose Poivree was too peppery for my liking with the barest hint of rose, I didn't get any delicious sweaty animal that some other perfume lovers did but there has been some muttering about batches smelling different so maybe I should revisit Rose Poivree. Eau D'Italie's Paestum Rose is a smoothly blended rose with a touch of incense and spices, feminine and beautiful but I'm looking for more than that. Noir Epices from Frederic Malle/Michel Roudnitska is big and dramatic, spiced roses and citruses as if it's always Christmas time and a finalist that made it to my want list when funds allow. Ditto Amouage's Epic Woman, a luxurious spiced rose and heavy incense affair. 

Mon Nom Est Rouge is regularly compared to Epic Woman and while I agree that there are similarities, I mean they are both spiced roses with the same nose behind them but I find Mon Nom Est Rouge to be lighter and highlighting the rose more than in Epic Woman where the rose shares the limelight and sometimes gets pushed back by the incense and spices. Mon Nom Est Rouge starts out very richly spiced( I smell cardamom and ginger very distinctly) and peppery but not as blindingly so as in Rose Poivree, it stays like this for about an hour or so before gradually fading into a smooth sweet rose and woods, the spices a shadow of their former selves ( I smell cinnamon towards the drydown) and the scent bears more resemblance in its drydown to Paestum Rose than Epic Woman. Mon Nom Est Rouge starts with a resounding opening and shows promise but loses its interesting nature to become a lovely but a been-there-done-that ending. I will stick with Epic Woman instead. 

Five O'Clock Au Gingembre Serge Lutens

Source: Fragrantica

This takes me back to Sunday afternoons spent in my favorite out of many humid and noisy coffee-houses away from the outside cold, with faded peacock colored wallpaper that has seen legions of university students in its time, the massive palms busy exchanging carbon dioxide for oxygen, days when smoking indoors was not yet considered a crime to fellow humans. 

Masala Chai ingredients.

Us bright young things would exchange the previous night's gossip over endless cups of drinks ranging from actual coffee to a few tipples to help tide the hangover. It was here that I had my first Chai latte which became my pet drink for the longest time. I couldn't get enough of the spices-the pepper, cloves, nutmeg and green cardamom pods, the fiery fresh ginger and the decorative cinnamon stick, that reposes in the the piping hot milky Assam tea with a tinge of real vanilla beans. Unlike the coffee giants, this cafe made it all from scratch and the baristas would internally curse at the order of a Chai latte due to the extra preparation required. It's still the best Chai latte I've ever had.

When I met Five O'Clock Au Gingembre, the scent instantly took me back to that period of pure freedom, when the biggest responsibility was passing exams. Unlike a Chai latte, Five O'Clock Au Gingembre has a sheerness despite the bold and luxurious flavors it contains. The green cardamom is dominant among the spices, the others supplementing with some heat and herbal accords. The amber and patchouli add a dark, resinous texture and the honey instead of vanilla, adds some sweetness to the spiced concoction.

It does last for the better part of the day but due to its gossamer nature, you catch whiffs of it now and then, whiffs of nostalgic feelings and coziness like the laid back company of good friends.

In case this triggered a craving for Chai...

Spicy Chai Latte