I agree with Sly and The Family Stone when they say “That’s when I had most of my fun” on their anthem to summer, “Hot Fun in the Summertime”. Now when I think of fun and fragrance together I would have to admit that Parfums M. Micallef is usually nowhere near the top of my list for fragrances I would deem fun. Usually they exude a very continental sense of style which is more preoccupied with beauty over trivia. This was why I was so taken by surprise by the matched pair of fragrances released for the summer of 2013 by Martine Micallef and her husband Geoffrey Nejman called Rouge No. 1 and Rouge No. 2. Both of these fragrances have a more carefree fun loving quality to them then I usually expect from a Micallef fragrance. Perfumer Jean Claude Astier was employed to create both of these fragrances and while they are still undeniably Micallefs they also seem to be a little bit looser and freer than their stable mates.
I have recently moved to farm country near Washington DC and my scent touchstones of summer are slowly modifying themselves from beachside to orchards full of ripe fruit. Rouge No.1 takes one of these new scents of summer for me, peach, and places it dead center within a bouquet of party ready florals. M. Astier takes the peach and really captures the smell of the whole fruit while still hanging on the tree. There is the luscious pulp here but there is also the slightly tart skin and the green aspects of the leaves and bark of the tree. The opening isn’t just the juicy fruit it is a complete peach experience. At this point Rouge No. 1 could just go through the paces of strong floral heart to a musky or woody base. M. Astier instead throws a party and invites the notoriously extroverted florals, spicy rose and indolic jasmine, who take peach out for a wild ride. The responsible friend ylang-ylang is the designated driver. All throughout the heart of Rouge No. 1 it feels like a party on the verge of spinning out of control but M. Astier definitely imposes discipline on the development and instead it just seems breezy and carefree instead of chaotic. The end of the party must come and benzoin applies the calming influence with a tiny bit of white musk and vanilla around too. This is falling asleep in the backseat while your designated driver gets you home safe.
Rouge No. 2 also opens with a whole fruit accord too but this is much mellower as the fruit in play is black currant. There have been a number of recent releases which have attempted to go for the cassis accord, M. Astier just goes with dark berry as his opener for Rouge No. 2. He uses a bit of nutmeg to add a gentle sweet spiciness while heading away from the green and more towards the fruity. The nutmeg offers a hint of the bush but it is just that, a passing reference to a woody foundation. Jasmine is the main player in the heart of Rouge No. 2 and this is not the slightly dangerous jasmine of Rouge No. 1 this is the cleaner less indolic version and it complements the black currant as it envelops it. Violet adds some needed astringency to keep it from turning too saccharine. Now that the table has been set a rich vanilla and amber take the attenuated sweetness and make it decadent. It almost seems like M. Astier is trying to see if we will yell “Enough!” but it never gets that intense. It stays fruity and floral and gourmand-like for a long time and it is so much fun sitting back and letting those personalities come and go over the course of a few hours. A bit of castoreum and labdanum are used very late in the development to add a bit of animality to the mix and it is a nice addition by the time it makes its way to the foreground.
Rouge No. 1 and Rouge No. 2 have all day longevity and above average sillage. These are not wallflower fragrances if you’re wearing these you’re in the mood for some fun and asking to be noticed.
Closing with the lyrics of Sly and the Family stone while I was wearing these fragrances I realized they allowed me to “cloud nine when I want to”. When I’m looking to wear something in the summertime I can’t ask for much more than that.
Disclosure: This review was based on samples provided by Parfums M. Micallef.
–Mark Behnke, Managing Editor