Perfume Review: Les Parfums de Rosine Rose de Feu

A deeper glow: a rose of fire: A rose of passionate desire Lone burning in a lonely heart. Victor James Daley, Years After Rose de Feu is a new addition to one of my favorite fragrance lines, Les Parfums de Rosine. According to Robert from Aedes, Rose de Feu has only been released in Europe and is not expected to be launched in the US till the next year. My Google search for information about the new Rosine only revealed one store carrying Rose de Feu, namely First in Fragrance; this tells me that perhaps the fragrance right now has a very limited release or have not actually been released at all and First in Fragrance has just happened to miraculously obtain pre-launch bottles. If anyone has any more information about Rose de Feu and when and where it will be available, please comment! As far as I can judge from the description on First in Fragrance, Rose de Feu’s list of ingredients includes “green notes”, cardamom, bergamot, ylang ylang and magnolia. It also may or may not contain cinnamon, honey and gingerbread. To my nose, the most apparent notes in Rose de Feu are apple, thyme, rose, cardamom, magnolia and sandalwood. No cinnamon and gingerbread in sight, at least on my skin. The scents starts with what I can only describe as a scent of very ripe, sweet red apples, that accord is strangely accompanied by thyme, and I must tell you it is not a bad combination at all. It gets even better when the rose joins the composition. It is a sweet, honeyed rose and is gorgeous combined with the fruity and herbal notes. As the scent progresses, a note that to my nose smells like a mix between frangipane and jasmine and what I assume is actually magnolia, brings a certain spring-like, joyous quality to the composition. The smell of thyme disappears but cardamom steps in to keep things interesting; the note is spicy and creamy at the same time and adds a little “kick” to the blend. Cardamom vanishes before the drydown; the latter features soft sandalwood, rose and the “magnolia” note described above. The fragrance does not strike me as particularly “fiery”. It is softly sensual and is neither too sweet nor overly spicy. I can see why First in Fragrance would advise to wear it for candlelight dinners, there is a certain romanticism in this scent, but I would say that Rose de Feu is subtle enough to be worn at any time of the day and for any occasion. This complaint will sound awfully vague, but as far as I am concerned, beautiful though it is, Rose de Feu lacks an oomph and a depth. I will not be rushing to order it from Germany and will wait patiently till it is released in the US. Rose de Feu is available at First in Fragrance, where 50 ml retails for EUR 68.00 and 100ml for EUR 90.00. Samples are available for EUR 3.00 each. *The ad for Rose de Feu is from http://www.ausliebezumduft.de/ (First in Fragrance). *The painting is De la Pomme aux Levres by Georges Barbier.