Reviews of Rose & Cuir by Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle
This is a peculiar one. It's a rose, but not a rose. It's a leather, but not a leather. It's like you have all of the components of a rose, but they never really come together to make a rose accord, and it's the same for the leather. I'm hesitant to use a buzzword like deconstructed, since hype and trend put some tiresome and unfortunate stereotypes to the 'deconstructed' style of perfumery or culinary arts, etc., but that's basically what it is. Up top there is a blast of blue and black fruits (blackcurrant is stated, and I'll believe it), and pepper. Roses have a sort of fruity aspect to their accords - most roses anyway - and many can certainly be quite peppery. This works. There is a material in here through the heart and base that is meant to be rose, strictly speaking, but it's only part of the rose: very quietly floral, creamy, and just a touch soapy; you don't really notice it until the dry down. But, before that and after the top notes start to die off comes a part that I wasn't expecting: the massive green-ness.
Huge doses of geranium are riding on the big wheels of vetiver to deliver sharp, piquant, and very aromatic green notes like cut and concentrated rose stems. Geranium is one of those notes that I am quick to dislike; there's just something about it, ever since I was a kid, that is very off-putting to me. The camphoraceous geranium+vetiver combo here reminds me a lot - in both strength, stridency, and sharpness - of the camphoraceous geranium Tauer loves to use, and used with abandon in Lonestar Memories, but this is done much better and in a more elegant fashion. I cannot stand Lonestar Memories, but I'm finding myself attracted to this accord in R&C, which is sort-of blowing my mind! It must be JCE; his signature style of making notes transparent, weightless, very breathable, and full of air and light is what is making the green accord of R&C attractive and much easier for me to take, I think.
Now is the time to talk about the leather - or, rather, what's supposed to be leather - which is the quinoline material surrounded by a good dose of Iso E Super (cedar) and what might be a type of castoreum or animalic musk. These are so weightless, diffusive, airy, and "deconstructed" that you could be forgiven for saying it's not a leather accord. In fact, I'm going to go there. The woody vetiver of the dry-down plus the combination of cedar from the Iso E Super sort-of overrules the simplistic quinoline material and takes R&C in the direction of a green chypre rather than a rose leather. I get more green notes and more woods in summation from R&C than I get true rose or leather accords. And while, in most circumstances, I would deduct some points from the perfume for what seems to be a clear lack of direction or execution, JCE rides the line so well between "geranium chypre" and "rose leather" that I have to conclude it was on purpose, as if the point of this perfume is to take the line between the two genres and blur it to imperceptibility. It's fascinating. Despite the disparate and sharply angular juxtapositions of all of the notes, it's easily wearable and pleasant. I think this a tough perfume for the average consumer though, since most want their green chypres and their rose leather perfumes to be separate perfumes, and to wear a perfume that is having an identity crisis of the two genres will likely off-put the average wearer. I normally struggle with perfumes that are having an identity crisis as well, but that's usually because whilst in the midst of their crisis they display aggressive, confrontational, and histrionic behaviors towards the wearer. Not Rose & Cuir. Despite not knowing what it is, I'm thoroughly enjoying wearing it.
Huge doses of geranium are riding on the big wheels of vetiver to deliver sharp, piquant, and very aromatic green notes like cut and concentrated rose stems. Geranium is one of those notes that I am quick to dislike; there's just something about it, ever since I was a kid, that is very off-putting to me. The camphoraceous geranium+vetiver combo here reminds me a lot - in both strength, stridency, and sharpness - of the camphoraceous geranium Tauer loves to use, and used with abandon in Lonestar Memories, but this is done much better and in a more elegant fashion. I cannot stand Lonestar Memories, but I'm finding myself attracted to this accord in R&C, which is sort-of blowing my mind! It must be JCE; his signature style of making notes transparent, weightless, very breathable, and full of air and light is what is making the green accord of R&C attractive and much easier for me to take, I think.
Now is the time to talk about the leather - or, rather, what's supposed to be leather - which is the quinoline material surrounded by a good dose of Iso E Super (cedar) and what might be a type of castoreum or animalic musk. These are so weightless, diffusive, airy, and "deconstructed" that you could be forgiven for saying it's not a leather accord. In fact, I'm going to go there. The woody vetiver of the dry-down plus the combination of cedar from the Iso E Super sort-of overrules the simplistic quinoline material and takes R&C in the direction of a green chypre rather than a rose leather. I get more green notes and more woods in summation from R&C than I get true rose or leather accords. And while, in most circumstances, I would deduct some points from the perfume for what seems to be a clear lack of direction or execution, JCE rides the line so well between "geranium chypre" and "rose leather" that I have to conclude it was on purpose, as if the point of this perfume is to take the line between the two genres and blur it to imperceptibility. It's fascinating. Despite the disparate and sharply angular juxtapositions of all of the notes, it's easily wearable and pleasant. I think this a tough perfume for the average consumer though, since most want their green chypres and their rose leather perfumes to be separate perfumes, and to wear a perfume that is having an identity crisis of the two genres will likely off-put the average wearer. I normally struggle with perfumes that are having an identity crisis as well, but that's usually because whilst in the midst of their crisis they display aggressive, confrontational, and histrionic behaviors towards the wearer. Not Rose & Cuir. Despite not knowing what it is, I'm thoroughly enjoying wearing it.
Is it worth the money? no unless u can find a deal somehow.. this scent does so much and is completely adequate for any time or situation so i have to give it an obligatory 8/10 disregarding its absurd price. the price is absurd cause theres no immaculate blending of naturals going on its just immaculate blending of synthetics
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Gertrude Stein opines in "Sacred Emily" that a" rose is a rose is a rose is a rose," but surely this is just poetic license—a rose, any rose, is not monolithic. Roses of all colors, all numbers of petals, numerous shapes and sizes, and—most importantly—all manners of scent, including no scent at all. Cultivars of rose can smell very "un-rosey" as well, including some that smell more like the rose geranium; after all, there is a sizable geraniol content in both, along with a number of other shared constituents. Still other rose varieties can smell almost leathery, or tobacco-like.
Then we have the idea of leather in fragrance, a concept that surely isn't hidebound, given the early interpretations of it through the birch tar inflected "Cuir de Russie" or the castoreum-meets-saddle-soap "Spanish Leather." The usage of isobutyl quinoline (IBQ) since the early 19th century by Coty and Caron has, over time, come to represent more an abstract representation of leather only as a facet of a whole accord. It imparts that coarse ferocity and mineral quality to a leather accord that often would include the aforementioned birch tar or castoreum, but what if it is unmarried from that which is so often associated? Does it still represent "leather" to a contemporary olfactory bulb any more than Pelargonium roseum represents "rose"?
Ellena's Rose & Cuir deconstructs both accords and this becomes obvious to many who seem deft at identifying their notes in a fragrance. Yet, when I smell it, I still feel the impressions of rose and leather: is my nose wrong? Of course it is not. The aldehydes, the galbanum, blackcurrant bud, the timut pepper, they all aid in illustrating this kabuki theater rose, massaging the geranium with tart fruitiness, stems, leaves, and luminous flesh. The vetiver shades in where the IBQ would otherwise feel somewhat stark and brittle, while there is additional alchemy that anchors it, of which I can only speculate. I smell fragments of Nuit de Noel here and there, without the carnation and oakmoss, which delights me. But what makes me most merry is how Rose & Cuir has both heft and a haunting feel, like Ellena summoned ghosts through its essence: like apparitions of rose and leather from a long forgotten past.
Then we have the idea of leather in fragrance, a concept that surely isn't hidebound, given the early interpretations of it through the birch tar inflected "Cuir de Russie" or the castoreum-meets-saddle-soap "Spanish Leather." The usage of isobutyl quinoline (IBQ) since the early 19th century by Coty and Caron has, over time, come to represent more an abstract representation of leather only as a facet of a whole accord. It imparts that coarse ferocity and mineral quality to a leather accord that often would include the aforementioned birch tar or castoreum, but what if it is unmarried from that which is so often associated? Does it still represent "leather" to a contemporary olfactory bulb any more than Pelargonium roseum represents "rose"?
Ellena's Rose & Cuir deconstructs both accords and this becomes obvious to many who seem deft at identifying their notes in a fragrance. Yet, when I smell it, I still feel the impressions of rose and leather: is my nose wrong? Of course it is not. The aldehydes, the galbanum, blackcurrant bud, the timut pepper, they all aid in illustrating this kabuki theater rose, massaging the geranium with tart fruitiness, stems, leaves, and luminous flesh. The vetiver shades in where the IBQ would otherwise feel somewhat stark and brittle, while there is additional alchemy that anchors it, of which I can only speculate. I smell fragments of Nuit de Noel here and there, without the carnation and oakmoss, which delights me. But what makes me most merry is how Rose & Cuir has both heft and a haunting feel, like Ellena summoned ghosts through its essence: like apparitions of rose and leather from a long forgotten past.
My view on this has drastically changed, i love it now...
This smells like springtime, the happy euphoric warm weather after the cold, the blue skies with 2-3 little clouds hanging around. Greenery and blackcurrant in here are a beautiful slap in the face that will wake you up. Only a few fragrances capture the feeling of true happiness, and this is one of them.
This is a genius creation, combining ingredients that make rose and leather a reality. Rose and leather are holograms here, you can sort of feel them, while knowing its all smoke and mirrors (in the best way possible).
This smells like springtime, the happy euphoric warm weather after the cold, the blue skies with 2-3 little clouds hanging around. Greenery and blackcurrant in here are a beautiful slap in the face that will wake you up. Only a few fragrances capture the feeling of true happiness, and this is one of them.
This is a genius creation, combining ingredients that make rose and leather a reality. Rose and leather are holograms here, you can sort of feel them, while knowing its all smoke and mirrors (in the best way possible).
The scent features a sourish rose note along with a hint of leather, which is decent but not particularly impressive. However, if you're not a fan of the typical sweet and ambery oriental style rose and leather combination, you might enjoy this fresher alternative. Some people detect the leather note more prominently, while others sense the rose note more strongly. In my opinion, both notes are present in the fragrance, but they are both very subtle and delicate.
To draw a comparison, I would say that this fragrance is reminiscent of Galop d'Hermes, but with a more subdued leather accord. The longevity and projection could be better, and if I had to choose, I would go with Galop for its more prominent leather note.
To draw a comparison, I would say that this fragrance is reminiscent of Galop d'Hermes, but with a more subdued leather accord. The longevity and projection could be better, and if I had to choose, I would go with Galop for its more prominent leather note.
Rose & Cuir by Editions de Parfums Frédéric Malle (2019) borders on the usual Le Labo trickery of saying one thing on the bottle, and delivering something else inside of it, but I still kind of like it in spite of that. Jean-Claude Ellena knows his way around potently fresh but transparent accords, and he's built a career out of it working for houses like Cartier and Hermès, plus to an extent Malle himself of the course of successive contributions to the range. With all that in mind, I sort of expected what I got here with Rose & Cuir, a non-rose sort of rose and non-leather sort of leather, hammered into something greater than the sum of its parts; true perfume wizardry, Harry. Whether or not you agree with me depends on how you feel about fresh green smells. I like this a lot, but I don't think I'll be seeking a bottle just because I already have my fill of the style.
The basics of Rose & Cuir constitute a green rose chypre-type smell, with geranium cosplaying as rose, and isobutyl quinoline going solo as leather. By itself, neither material smells like either thing they are trying to be, and there is shaping to be done, like carnation alongside geranium to make it rounder, or birch and oakmoss alongside the isobutyl quinoline to impart leather; but neither of those things happen here in Rose & Cuir. Instead, we get aldehydes, galbanum, and vetiver bringing in a really old-school 70's feel, with geranium and timut pepper (like Sichuan pepper) forming a stemmy "rose" feel alongside blackcurrant bud. Taking a page right out of something like Guerlain Chamade (1970), Rose & Cuir eventually dresses up more modern with Iso E Super, ambroxan, and sheer musks. Wear time is long and projection is great too.
Rose & Cuir is green, stemmy, and deliciously throwback to scents like Tea Rose by The Perfumer's Workshop (1973), done according to the usual Malle standard. I wouldn't say this justifies its price because no Malle really does, but neither does Rose & Cuir smell particularly cheap or crass. Ellena could have just the same made this for Hermès and pitched it as Galop d'Hermès (2016) if he had wanted, so that's right about where Rose & Cuir falls. I think Rose & Cuir is also a lot more unisex in tone than Galop d'Hermès actually is, although Synthetic Jungle by Editions de Parfums Frédéric Malle (2021) is even more so. Ultimately, this fights for space against old champions in the genre like Fleurs de Bulgarie by Creed (1980) and L'Ombre Dans L'Eau by Diptyque (1983), but fans and collectors may have room for one more in the style. Thumbs up
The basics of Rose & Cuir constitute a green rose chypre-type smell, with geranium cosplaying as rose, and isobutyl quinoline going solo as leather. By itself, neither material smells like either thing they are trying to be, and there is shaping to be done, like carnation alongside geranium to make it rounder, or birch and oakmoss alongside the isobutyl quinoline to impart leather; but neither of those things happen here in Rose & Cuir. Instead, we get aldehydes, galbanum, and vetiver bringing in a really old-school 70's feel, with geranium and timut pepper (like Sichuan pepper) forming a stemmy "rose" feel alongside blackcurrant bud. Taking a page right out of something like Guerlain Chamade (1970), Rose & Cuir eventually dresses up more modern with Iso E Super, ambroxan, and sheer musks. Wear time is long and projection is great too.
Rose & Cuir is green, stemmy, and deliciously throwback to scents like Tea Rose by The Perfumer's Workshop (1973), done according to the usual Malle standard. I wouldn't say this justifies its price because no Malle really does, but neither does Rose & Cuir smell particularly cheap or crass. Ellena could have just the same made this for Hermès and pitched it as Galop d'Hermès (2016) if he had wanted, so that's right about where Rose & Cuir falls. I think Rose & Cuir is also a lot more unisex in tone than Galop d'Hermès actually is, although Synthetic Jungle by Editions de Parfums Frédéric Malle (2021) is even more so. Ultimately, this fights for space against old champions in the genre like Fleurs de Bulgarie by Creed (1980) and L'Ombre Dans L'Eau by Diptyque (1983), but fans and collectors may have room for one more in the style. Thumbs up
You're not a fan of spicy and dark rose fragrances?
Even though Malle is famous for his spicy and oriental roses - there is a fresh and green rose offering from the house of Frederic Malle!
It is actually a rose without a rose. Geranium will make you think that you are smelling the best wet rose petals on a woody base.
Opening is peppery and green rose. Fresh and clean. More masculine than feminine.
It is a bit citrusy, but there are no citruses in it! It's citrusy because of the Sichuan pepper.
Just after a couple of minutes, your lungs will get an enormously high dose of blackcurrant. Green and calm.
Then, your nose will be able to detect a whole rose. Petals, stem and thorns. Vetiver and cedarwood will give you a vivid feeling that you're smelling a freshly picked rose from a garden.
I can pickup the idea of leather, but it is not that prominent. It's more like a chypre leather rather than a leather fragrance. Leather is here to give us some kind of a deep 3D feeling.
It is very long lasting and projection is great. It will do the job for the whole and it is a great performer even on a hot summer days.
Rose & Cuir is definitely JCE's strongest fragrance he did for FM.
Even though Malle is famous for his spicy and oriental roses - there is a fresh and green rose offering from the house of Frederic Malle!
It is actually a rose without a rose. Geranium will make you think that you are smelling the best wet rose petals on a woody base.
Opening is peppery and green rose. Fresh and clean. More masculine than feminine.
It is a bit citrusy, but there are no citruses in it! It's citrusy because of the Sichuan pepper.
Just after a couple of minutes, your lungs will get an enormously high dose of blackcurrant. Green and calm.
Then, your nose will be able to detect a whole rose. Petals, stem and thorns. Vetiver and cedarwood will give you a vivid feeling that you're smelling a freshly picked rose from a garden.
I can pickup the idea of leather, but it is not that prominent. It's more like a chypre leather rather than a leather fragrance. Leather is here to give us some kind of a deep 3D feeling.
It is very long lasting and projection is great. It will do the job for the whole and it is a great performer even on a hot summer days.
Rose & Cuir is definitely JCE's strongest fragrance he did for FM.
Stentorian is not what one expects from J-C Ellena but that’s what one gets here. This is in-your-face-stuff with the geranium quite overpowering the rose – that’s fine if one is in a brash, get-the-job-done-will-yer frame of mind, less compelling if susceptible to headaches. But with the stridency come rewards, too – geranium has oddly compelling somewhat metallic and neon green tones among its gifts, warping its essential sweetness. Everything about it seems to be in primary paintbox colours and that can be off-putting to some – but remember the colour palette of a Miró or a Mondriaan. Here it beds down into an earthy but strangely one-dimensional vetiver with a sprinkling of black pepper and that’s about the evolution of this rather linear perfume – the saturated brightness dimming a bit into the vetiver-pepper accord. I’m undecided on Rose & Cuir: while I quite like the statement it is making, I’m less convinced by the too-clear mode of its expression and would have preferred something with a bit more texture and gradation.
Alchymia. Perfumare. Magnum Opus.
Spare your sense and spare your senses!
This is another crudely masked silicone rendition by the house of Frederic Malle. Posh and plastic. And straight to the point.
I find such concoctions not only an olfactory violation, but also an insult to a person's intelligence. Their structural and conceptual design is cheap and simple:
1. The emotional trigger. Obviously supposed to inundate your balanced assessment of the perfume and manipulate you into an emotional buy.
2. A flattening that passes easily as complexity due to the initial dulling of your senses. It also tricks you into expecting that something new might lie ahead. This never happens, of course.
3. The disclosure of the synthetic skeleton that has kept the whole thing underneath.
4. An arrogantly high price to fool you into believing you are getting something worthy.
Certainly, many houses rely on similar gimmicks, but it seems to have become a prominent mark of niche houses that would target a more naïve audience. Or snobbish.
I don't think I have come across any other house that puts so much effort into hiding that underlying synthetic skeleton. Usually this is detectable from the beginning.
All of the editions of Frederic Malle that I have tried, share this common idea and design. Even their higher-level ones, like Promise. However, Rose & Cuir is remarkable in its direct and shameless parading. And considering the price tag, this is short of being a scam.
Perfumes like this are suited more to silicone-based brains, not carbon based. Then again, I can't help but wonder, why a silicone-based brain would even appreciate perfumes or any aesthetic interaction for that matter.
And here is a hint for all lovers of more natural essences: if the perfume affects only your nose and frontal lobe, but cannot penetrate deeper into the brain and lower into the lungs so that you could also breathe the aromas, not only smell them this is a sure sign of attempted or ensuing synthetic entrapment.
Spare your sense and spare your senses!
This is another crudely masked silicone rendition by the house of Frederic Malle. Posh and plastic. And straight to the point.
I find such concoctions not only an olfactory violation, but also an insult to a person's intelligence. Their structural and conceptual design is cheap and simple:
1. The emotional trigger. Obviously supposed to inundate your balanced assessment of the perfume and manipulate you into an emotional buy.
2. A flattening that passes easily as complexity due to the initial dulling of your senses. It also tricks you into expecting that something new might lie ahead. This never happens, of course.
3. The disclosure of the synthetic skeleton that has kept the whole thing underneath.
4. An arrogantly high price to fool you into believing you are getting something worthy.
Certainly, many houses rely on similar gimmicks, but it seems to have become a prominent mark of niche houses that would target a more naïve audience. Or snobbish.
I don't think I have come across any other house that puts so much effort into hiding that underlying synthetic skeleton. Usually this is detectable from the beginning.
All of the editions of Frederic Malle that I have tried, share this common idea and design. Even their higher-level ones, like Promise. However, Rose & Cuir is remarkable in its direct and shameless parading. And considering the price tag, this is short of being a scam.
Perfumes like this are suited more to silicone-based brains, not carbon based. Then again, I can't help but wonder, why a silicone-based brain would even appreciate perfumes or any aesthetic interaction for that matter.
And here is a hint for all lovers of more natural essences: if the perfume affects only your nose and frontal lobe, but cannot penetrate deeper into the brain and lower into the lungs so that you could also breathe the aromas, not only smell them this is a sure sign of attempted or ensuing synthetic entrapment.
The opening blast is a fresh-ish green grassy and herbal affair with a fresh and slightly fruity transient blackcurrant undertone. A hint of bitterness and some white peppers comes and go at times.
With the intensity of the components gradually weakening over time, some florals are deciding to make an appearance. A geranium, hints of an orange blossom, and a medium-dark rose impression. On occasionas a vetiver contributes to the mix and brightens it up; it is a vetiver without any significantly earthy or woody component.
A bit further into the drydown, and nonspecific woodsiness appeared with a smidgen of a cedar evident occasionally. This is intermingled with a good dose of isobutyl quinoline, which attempts to conjure up a suede-like leathery impression - not very successfully as far as I am concerned when smelling this chemical pseudo-suede. This all coalesces into a slightly sweetish laboratory emanation.
I get moderate sillage, good projection especially at the beginning, and nine hours of longevity on my skin.
A A scent for spring or for cooler summer day, with a starting phase that is quite original. Most of the the rest, alas, is a bit pallid for some stretches of time, and fairly generic. Overall 2.75/5
With the intensity of the components gradually weakening over time, some florals are deciding to make an appearance. A geranium, hints of an orange blossom, and a medium-dark rose impression. On occasionas a vetiver contributes to the mix and brightens it up; it is a vetiver without any significantly earthy or woody component.
A bit further into the drydown, and nonspecific woodsiness appeared with a smidgen of a cedar evident occasionally. This is intermingled with a good dose of isobutyl quinoline, which attempts to conjure up a suede-like leathery impression - not very successfully as far as I am concerned when smelling this chemical pseudo-suede. This all coalesces into a slightly sweetish laboratory emanation.
I get moderate sillage, good projection especially at the beginning, and nine hours of longevity on my skin.
A A scent for spring or for cooler summer day, with a starting phase that is quite original. Most of the the rest, alas, is a bit pallid for some stretches of time, and fairly generic. Overall 2.75/5
Weird but I like it. As someone else here said it's basically new car smell with a bit of rose thrown in. I've got a little 7ml bottle that will probably last years.
L'Avventura (English: "The Adventure") directed by Michelangelo Antonioni 1960...
My review is of the EDP that I received in the mail a month ago from a major department store. It is the 7ml mini that is part of Frederic Malle's Roses: A Collection edition.
This is new-car smell. With roses. I think I would have named this Cuir & Rose instead of the other way 'round, because the leather is much stronger than the flower note-- this is absolutely positively not a floral, in spite of the name.
I can tell it's a well-crafted fragrance but I don't know if there's enough depth or roundedness here for me.
It's dawning on me that this is much more masculine than I expected. A man who might not otherwise wear a rose-scented fragrance could be quite happy with Rose & Cuir.
After about fifteen minutes the roses (and that bit of dark fruit, the description says blackcurrant, so it must be that, but there's something like rum or brandy here too) are all but gone. And then I smell cedar, strong but soft. It's a bit like Feminite du Bois in a white suede jacket.
And although I didn't detect it, when I asked my 18 year-old son to use one word to describe this fragrance he said, "Grass."
Rose & Cuir is for someone, but not me. I would be very happy to smell it on someone else, though.
This is new-car smell. With roses. I think I would have named this Cuir & Rose instead of the other way 'round, because the leather is much stronger than the flower note-- this is absolutely positively not a floral, in spite of the name.
I can tell it's a well-crafted fragrance but I don't know if there's enough depth or roundedness here for me.
It's dawning on me that this is much more masculine than I expected. A man who might not otherwise wear a rose-scented fragrance could be quite happy with Rose & Cuir.
After about fifteen minutes the roses (and that bit of dark fruit, the description says blackcurrant, so it must be that, but there's something like rum or brandy here too) are all but gone. And then I smell cedar, strong but soft. It's a bit like Feminite du Bois in a white suede jacket.
And although I didn't detect it, when I asked my 18 year-old son to use one word to describe this fragrance he said, "Grass."
Rose & Cuir is for someone, but not me. I would be very happy to smell it on someone else, though.
One of the best from Malle in some time ... I would say since Superstitious.
A peppery geranium-'rose'accord on a base of leather. A bit preppy initially but with lots of depth, hint of berries - but apparently Malle/JCE didn't use any rose. The base is a smooth leather, isobutyl quinoline, that's used in Tuscan Leather, but here it is different - sharper and drier. The leather base is similar to the one in Arsene Lupin Dandy. Malle has lots of roses, and the ghost rose note in this one is a cross between something like Portrait of a Lady and ... La Fille de Berlin. It's less retro than Superstitious, but is still evocative - it strives to bridge the past and the present in a way Lipstick Rose does.
I always thought there was a gap in the Malle range due to the absence of a leather perfume. Here is finally a wonderful addition that fills that void. It is refreshing to see a bold perfume from JCE in contrast to his translucent Hermessence compositions. I like Rose & Cuir a whole lot more than many other recent ones from Malle. It is a perfect example of the qualities I love and appreciate in a good perfume - it is abstract, complex, distinctive and smells damn good.
4/5
A peppery geranium-'rose'accord on a base of leather. A bit preppy initially but with lots of depth, hint of berries - but apparently Malle/JCE didn't use any rose. The base is a smooth leather, isobutyl quinoline, that's used in Tuscan Leather, but here it is different - sharper and drier. The leather base is similar to the one in Arsene Lupin Dandy. Malle has lots of roses, and the ghost rose note in this one is a cross between something like Portrait of a Lady and ... La Fille de Berlin. It's less retro than Superstitious, but is still evocative - it strives to bridge the past and the present in a way Lipstick Rose does.
I always thought there was a gap in the Malle range due to the absence of a leather perfume. Here is finally a wonderful addition that fills that void. It is refreshing to see a bold perfume from JCE in contrast to his translucent Hermessence compositions. I like Rose & Cuir a whole lot more than many other recent ones from Malle. It is a perfect example of the qualities I love and appreciate in a good perfume - it is abstract, complex, distinctive and smells damn good.
4/5
The initial blast of knife-slicing bitterness, the mellow down is very slow, at the end there is a nicely balanced scent with good longevity. Don't read it as a male or female scent.
Every now and then, I smell something like this that gives me a jolt. But these days, I wait and see if my mind spits out a duplicate warning. Rose et Cuir by Frederic Malle is a big geranium-ash-leather bomb that immediately smells arresting to me, chock full of the bitter, crushed-stem greenery of Mediterranean kitchen garden scents like Un Jardin en Méditerranée by Hermes, or the opening of L'Ombre dans L' Eau by Diptyque minus that scent's screechy, burnt-jam rose that ruins the rest of the composition.
It didn't bother me that I was able to scent match' the front half of Rose et Cuir so quickly, because a) the green topnotes are, for me, an improvement over what had gone before, and b) an interesting overlay of record vinyl, condom rubber, and cigarette ash rescues the greenery from the sort of simple naturalism that's always affecting at first but eventually boring.
Without looking at the reviews, the second half was a challenge to place, but place it I eventually did. Cabochard de Grès. Voila. If you like the peculiarly ashy, meaty, acrid bitterness of that Cellier-esque leather (à la Bandit et al), then you'll be in seventh heaven. Me? I can quite happily go without. Interestingly, though, despite the clear references, Cuir et Rose doesn't feel derivative or jaded. It's a gutsy fragrance that doesn't feel particularly Ellena-esque (nothing watercolor' about it). Actually, it's downright grimy.
I'm glad I didn't cheat and take a look at the reviews for Rose et Cuir first, because since everyone and their cat identified the main building blocks of the scent right away, I can't be sure that my nose would have landed on the right reference on its own. Because sometimes, you know, I see words like ashy' or rosy' or metallic' and I start to smell it that way too, even if my own nose says otherwise. The truth is, I'm very open to suggestion.
It didn't bother me that I was able to scent match' the front half of Rose et Cuir so quickly, because a) the green topnotes are, for me, an improvement over what had gone before, and b) an interesting overlay of record vinyl, condom rubber, and cigarette ash rescues the greenery from the sort of simple naturalism that's always affecting at first but eventually boring.
Without looking at the reviews, the second half was a challenge to place, but place it I eventually did. Cabochard de Grès. Voila. If you like the peculiarly ashy, meaty, acrid bitterness of that Cellier-esque leather (à la Bandit et al), then you'll be in seventh heaven. Me? I can quite happily go without. Interestingly, though, despite the clear references, Cuir et Rose doesn't feel derivative or jaded. It's a gutsy fragrance that doesn't feel particularly Ellena-esque (nothing watercolor' about it). Actually, it's downright grimy.
I'm glad I didn't cheat and take a look at the reviews for Rose et Cuir first, because since everyone and their cat identified the main building blocks of the scent right away, I can't be sure that my nose would have landed on the right reference on its own. Because sometimes, you know, I see words like ashy' or rosy' or metallic' and I start to smell it that way too, even if my own nose says otherwise. The truth is, I'm very open to suggestion.
Love conquers all
It is difficult to write about Rose and Cuir without considering its nose and the history that comes before it. Its very name is suggestive of Jean-Claude Ellena's Hermessences, a line for Hermès that epitomizes the minimalist style he is best known for, a number of which were named after two contrasting ingredients, "Vetiver Tonka," "Epice Marine," and so on. However, if Rose and Cuir's name and short ingredients list have left you hoping for another light-wearing and pared-down olfactory haiku, it will surprize.
Rose and Cuir is a forceful fragrance. It opens with a bright, fresh rose briefly rounded out with berries and then heightened by pepper. After about fifteen minutes or so, the IsoButyl Quinoline kicks in. If you are unfamiliar with the note, think of the fantastically bitter and smoky opening of Bandit. This eventually dominates the scent. For a couple hours following, Rose and Cuir remains a harsh leather wherein the rose and other notes like vetiver all play a supporting role. On one wearing, the aggressive gasoline tinge of the leather became so commanding, the rose was barely discernible, and yet it still provided a major tempering influence to the leather's brusqueness. It's like the cinnamon in your chili. You'd never guess it was there but you'd immediately notice if it was forgotten.
The scent slowly shifts its emphasis in the dry down. By the third hour, it is perceptibly a rose geranium and berry infused leather. And it is very much rose _geranium_. By the fifth hour, the floral note has come to the fore as the leather recedes to serve as a smoky foundation.
It's a ballsy move to present a harsh note like IsoButyl Quinoline in such a pared down perfume. Take Bandit, which has a lot going on, adding creamy tuberose, animalistic musks and a symphonic host of other notes as a counterweight. It's an elabourate costume, the whole nine yards of SM leather: the cage harness, the overbust corset, the skin tight pants, the lace up thigh high boots. If Rose and Cuir is a domme like Bandit, she's waxed every inch of her body and is wearing naught but a pair of Louboutin So Kate stilettos. While tapping the ashes of her cigarette onto your tongue.
If you can set aside your expectations of watercolour transparency that typifies Ellena's previous fragrances, you will find the simplicity and dynamism of the Hermessences is still evident with Rose and Cuir. Here, Ellena has paired two contrasting notes and let them play off each other. Rose is luminous and uplifting, guileless and sanguine; Cuir is sharp with shadows, dangerous and brooding. But if this is a haiku, it is not one of serene, zen-like contemplation, but of stark, noire-ish drama.
Personally, I adore the bitterness of IsoButyl Quinoline but I'm a maximalist at heart and I already have Bandit. Rose and Cuir will probably prove to be too challenging to rank among Malle's more commercially successful perfumes but I am so glad it exists. Bravo!
It is difficult to write about Rose and Cuir without considering its nose and the history that comes before it. Its very name is suggestive of Jean-Claude Ellena's Hermessences, a line for Hermès that epitomizes the minimalist style he is best known for, a number of which were named after two contrasting ingredients, "Vetiver Tonka," "Epice Marine," and so on. However, if Rose and Cuir's name and short ingredients list have left you hoping for another light-wearing and pared-down olfactory haiku, it will surprize.
Rose and Cuir is a forceful fragrance. It opens with a bright, fresh rose briefly rounded out with berries and then heightened by pepper. After about fifteen minutes or so, the IsoButyl Quinoline kicks in. If you are unfamiliar with the note, think of the fantastically bitter and smoky opening of Bandit. This eventually dominates the scent. For a couple hours following, Rose and Cuir remains a harsh leather wherein the rose and other notes like vetiver all play a supporting role. On one wearing, the aggressive gasoline tinge of the leather became so commanding, the rose was barely discernible, and yet it still provided a major tempering influence to the leather's brusqueness. It's like the cinnamon in your chili. You'd never guess it was there but you'd immediately notice if it was forgotten.
The scent slowly shifts its emphasis in the dry down. By the third hour, it is perceptibly a rose geranium and berry infused leather. And it is very much rose _geranium_. By the fifth hour, the floral note has come to the fore as the leather recedes to serve as a smoky foundation.
It's a ballsy move to present a harsh note like IsoButyl Quinoline in such a pared down perfume. Take Bandit, which has a lot going on, adding creamy tuberose, animalistic musks and a symphonic host of other notes as a counterweight. It's an elabourate costume, the whole nine yards of SM leather: the cage harness, the overbust corset, the skin tight pants, the lace up thigh high boots. If Rose and Cuir is a domme like Bandit, she's waxed every inch of her body and is wearing naught but a pair of Louboutin So Kate stilettos. While tapping the ashes of her cigarette onto your tongue.
If you can set aside your expectations of watercolour transparency that typifies Ellena's previous fragrances, you will find the simplicity and dynamism of the Hermessences is still evident with Rose and Cuir. Here, Ellena has paired two contrasting notes and let them play off each other. Rose is luminous and uplifting, guileless and sanguine; Cuir is sharp with shadows, dangerous and brooding. But if this is a haiku, it is not one of serene, zen-like contemplation, but of stark, noire-ish drama.
Personally, I adore the bitterness of IsoButyl Quinoline but I'm a maximalist at heart and I already have Bandit. Rose and Cuir will probably prove to be too challenging to rank among Malle's more commercially successful perfumes but I am so glad it exists. Bravo!
This is a God awful heavily feminine cloying fragrance.
Leather and rose in the most wince inducing combination you can imagine. It starts off a bit too sharp so you think 'Phew, let's see if it settles maybe some room for a more subtle leather woody dry down'. Not a bit of it. Just becomes more dandy and drier.
There are some of us who would call it a work of art. One basenotes reviewer of new perfumes described it as his favourite FM ever. For me that goes Angeliques Sous La Plui and above that in the number 1 slot : French Lover.
However I have worked out how I can hold my head high if anyone mentions Rose and Cuir being a FM creation and say, don't be ridiculous its a female fragrance. If you like this kind of thing Boudicea the Victorious do their own much nicer one which is more subtle and frankly less offensive.
Fragrance: 4/10
Projection: 6/10
Longevity: 7/10
Leather and rose in the most wince inducing combination you can imagine. It starts off a bit too sharp so you think 'Phew, let's see if it settles maybe some room for a more subtle leather woody dry down'. Not a bit of it. Just becomes more dandy and drier.
There are some of us who would call it a work of art. One basenotes reviewer of new perfumes described it as his favourite FM ever. For me that goes Angeliques Sous La Plui and above that in the number 1 slot : French Lover.
However I have worked out how I can hold my head high if anyone mentions Rose and Cuir being a FM creation and say, don't be ridiculous its a female fragrance. If you like this kind of thing Boudicea the Victorious do their own much nicer one which is more subtle and frankly less offensive.
Fragrance: 4/10
Projection: 6/10
Longevity: 7/10
I really like this one! Full disclosure...I am a big JCE fan.
A lot of this reminds me of his Rose Ikebana from Hermès, but with a little more bite to it. Little more animalic, perhaps? Sorry, I'm not very good at describing. I don't get much leather from this. Maybe a tad once it's settled.
FM, the company, has this listed as unisex. However, the press releases have FM, the person, mentioning this as a feminine fragrance. I have to agree, this leans feminine for the most part. However, as a male, it won't stop me from wearing. I do think the dry down smells more masculine and maybe even a bit like a cologne?
A lot of this reminds me of his Rose Ikebana from Hermès, but with a little more bite to it. Little more animalic, perhaps? Sorry, I'm not very good at describing. I don't get much leather from this. Maybe a tad once it's settled.
FM, the company, has this listed as unisex. However, the press releases have FM, the person, mentioning this as a feminine fragrance. I have to agree, this leans feminine for the most part. However, as a male, it won't stop me from wearing. I do think the dry down smells more masculine and maybe even a bit like a cologne?