Today we have the three Eau de Parfum Radical Rose, Encens Suave and Parisian Musc by Matière Première, after I presented the brand itself and the fragrances Cologne Cédrat and Neroli Oranger to you yesterday in my article Matière Première – The natural beauty of a raw material.
We remember that each creation of the French niche fragrance label revolves around a special raw material, and the entire composition is designed to show it from its most beautiful and expressive side. Today we are dealing with three wonderful fragrance components, namely rose, incense and musk.
Radical Rose – Rose extreme
Radical Rose pays homage to the rose. But not just any variety of the queen of flowers, but the Rosa Centifolia. The rose blossoms used in the Eau de Parfum come from orchards in the area around the perfume metropolis of Grasse, which belong to the brand founder and perfumer Aurélien Guichard himself. This direct connection to the product, to the raw material, naturally makes Radical Rose a very special fragrance.
Provence rose, patchouli, saffron, labdanum (cistus) and pepper are the ingredients of this creation and I just noticed that the two previously reviewed Cologne Cédrat and Neroli Oranger also consisted of five fragrance notes each. We’ll see if this is the case throughout the collection. The rose blossom oil of the centifolia was used in the composition in a particularly high concentration and exquisite quality, and was thus intended to evoke a rose fragrance that should have the predicate radical in some form.
Cheerful, radiant and very present from the very first moment, Radical Rose opens and reveals a rose that blossoms in a magnificent and vibrant pink colour. Darker nuances then slowly creep into the rose, creating depth and a mysterious aura that is both fascinating and seductive. Patchouli brings earthy, woody aspects to the composition, while saffron quietly and calmly takes its place in the eau de parfum. Its striking and medicinal nuances combine with the rose to create a beautiful melange, which is gradually emphasized by the smoky sweetness of the labdanum. Radical Rose is a femme fatale, a floral seductress in the true sense of the word. Not a juvenile Lolita, but a woman who has both feet on the ground, who knows what she wants and takes it and won’t let it be taken away. A really great and glamorous fragrance that is elegant and grown-up, daring and sexy, classic yet modern. More suitable for going out in the evening than in the office and everyday life, but wearable all year round. Super! 🌹
Encens Suave – incense with addictive potential
Our second candidate today is dedicated to incense. Perfumer Aurélien Guichard combines the incense resin with benzoin resin, bourbon vanilla, labdanum (cistus) and coffee. That sounds really tempting and since suave means “lovely” and “gentle” in German, it makes me all the more curious.
Here, too, the five fragrance notes already mentioned confirm my above-mentioned assumption. According to the press release, the frankincense used in Encens Suave is a Somali variety which, together with the other ingredients, is said to create “a blend with addictive potential”.
Encens Suave opens right away with the protagonist. The incense is extremely sophisticated, lucid, bright, transparent, with a greenish tinge and underpinned by delicately spicy and subtly leathery nuances. This incense is well-tempered and therefore significantly less cool than usual. The labdanum brings gentle, sweet and smoky facets to the composition by Matière Première, which combine with the bitter and dark notes of roasted coffee. The benzoin resin provides fine, creamy accents, while the vanilla underlines the sweet moments of the cistus. A beautifully composed, elegant and very harmonious homage to incense that I absolutely love. Wearable for any occasion and a wonderful companion on cooler days. Chapeau!
Parisian Musc – Musk or fig?
Urban, modern, woody are the keywords that Matière Première associates with today’s third fragrance. I am generally a fan of musk, as long as it is well implemented. Although I don’t really have to worry about that with Parisian Musc, because Aurélien Guichard is an absolute creative expert at work.
The fragrance notes – five in number, of course – also make me prick up my ears: Ambrette seed, ambrette, ambroxan, cedarwood and fig leaves. I like figs even better than musk, so the mention of fig leaves makes me feel extremely happy and confident. Let’s see how the leaves of the delicious fruit are used in the creation.
What can I say? Parisian Musc is really great right from the start. It’s not a clumsy powdery scent, but a modern, bright, fresh and lucid mix of lush green fig leaves, clear ambrette nuances and clean cedarwood that smells of spring and summer and should be a delight for fig lovers. Cool, summery and radiantly bright, the eau de parfum is more of a fig fragrance for me than a musk fragrance, even if the ambrette brigade certainly picks up speed as it progresses. The ambroxan is restrained and has more of an underlining effect rather than being overly cotton wool, which I really like, as I often find the fragrance too much. But here, the interplay of the ingredients is perfect, incredibly harmonious and wonderfully composed. A fig without any sweetness, which I would describe as pure, clean and crisp and fresh, suitable for spring and summer and wearable for any occasion. A fragrance that is high up on my must-have fig scents list. 💚
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