I went to the Lancôme stand recently to refresh my memory of their excellent niche line and found it gone. It is replaced by a panoramic thing of plastic, glass and gold called Absolue, displaying 12 fragrances, all variations on a rose theme. An all-rose range might appeal to the extreme ends of the perfumery spectrum: those who know nothing about fragrance but are aware that roses smell great; and professional perfumers, who know that natural rose oil contains so many aromachemicals that they would barely feel the pinch if IFRA, the industry’s self-regulator, decreed that henceforth perfume could only ever be made with rose materials. Firmenich apparently stopped its rose analysis program some years ago after identifying, synthesizing and assessing some 800 different compounds. The good thing about the Absolue line is its clear and commendable intent to use high quality naturals. A possible drawback is its lack of variety at a time when most niche fragrances are aiming for shock value.
A theme-and-variations range can be a hard sell because it elicits two reasonable anxieties in the customer. “Can I tell them apart?” is one, and “Do I need to buy the entire set?” is the other. The latter would set you back over £2000 at the current price. As to the first question, the problem with roses is that they contain high concentrations of ionones, famous for desensitizing the nose almost instantly. This is pretty apparent when you smell one after the other in quick succession. You end up only smelling the differences between them after subtraction of what they have in common. I had to wait longer intervals between fragrances to get the full picture. Looking at the testers on display, I noticed they were all pretty full, except for Le Parfum in the middle, on a raised pedestal like a gold medallist, half full, and Oud Bouquet, almost empty.
For paid subscribers: reviews of 1001 Roses, Rose on the Moon, Oud Bouquet, Storm and Roses, Not Your Rose, Le Parfum, Rose or Die, I Flamed a Rose, 6AM Rose, Hell Of a Rose andHot as Rose.
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