Grossmith London Saffron Rose via the brand
“Of all flowers, methinks a rose is best” – William Shakespeare, The Two Noble Kinsmen
Roses… they are often the first flower that comes to mind when imagining fragrance and have been used in perfumery for a millennia.
British-French painter Sophie Gigembre Anderson detail of Roses late 19th century
Grossmith London is a fragrance house with a history of Victorian luxury still producing classic perfumes today. Victorian culture took roses very seriously and used them to express a secret language of emotion. Color, number, and arrangement of roses all imparted complex messages about love and affection in a tightly laced society. Twelve red roses meant: I love you. Be mine. A single white rose indicated: I am worthy of you. Yellow roses could indicate jealousy. Orange roses could indicate desire. Pink roses generally meant gratitude. A single red stem meant passion. How does our contemporary society want to experience a rose? Grossmith London’s Saffron Rose moves from honey to the deepest red velvet and is an elegantly modern take on the king and queen of perfumery.
Grossmith Saffron Rose, courtesy of the brand
Saffron Rose opens with a rose note that is especially petal-like and honeyed. There is a dewy lemon facet to the rose that unfolds in layers crenulated with spice. Cinnamon warms with almond, balsamic and woody-vanillic tones. Saffron’s rose ketone floral aspects pair beautifully with the opening and add a dark, leathery-spicy shade to Grossmith Saffron Rose. The leather aspect of the saffron in particular seems to be subducting the top notes into the heart notes, creating a lovely sense of movement in the fragrance.
Rose photo by Michelyn 2021 © NYC
As Grossmith Saffron Rose moves to its heart, the leather note becomes more complex with an addition of oud wood. The rose is still dominant and develops into a richer, more carmine color, almost invoking a red berry jam. Texture becomes slightly rough-hewn as smoky myrrh and tobacco rise to greet the deepening rose. The cinnamic, lemon and anisic aspects of myrrh amplify the freshness of the rose and its leathery facet continues to interplay with the hide-like saffron-oud weavings. Tobacco’s hay and smoke add movement with a hint of animalic depth.
Castoreum gathers the animalic traces of other materials together in the base of Saffron Rose to provide a purring stealth and living heartbeat to the fragrance. This delicate undertone of animalics is achieved with balance and restraint. Tensile and taut, guaiac wood adds lift and modernity to the perfume. Sandalwood and amber round out the base of this well-blended autumnal rose. Spray it all year long and enjoy its versatility and beauty.
Notes: Saffron, Cinnamon, Rose, Myrrh, Oud Wood, Tobacco, Castoreum, Sandalwood, Amber, Labdanum, Guaiac Wood
Disclaimer: Sample of Grossmith Saffron Rose my own. My opinions, as always, are my own.
~ Rachel K. Ng, Senior Contributor
Art Direction: Michelyn Camen, Editor-in-Chief
Grossmith Bottles, courtesy of the brand
Thanks to generosity of Fragrance Vault we have a 100 ml bottle of Grossmith London Saffron Rose for a registered ÇaFleureBon reader in the USA ONLY, (if you are not sure if you are registered click here – you must register on our site or your entry will be invalid). To be eligible please leave a comment on this site with what strikes you about Rachel’s review. Draw Closes 10/7/2023
To learn more about Jana Menard and Fragrance Vault, please read WE LOVE THAT STORE here
For more on Grossmith London, please enjoy my review of Grossmith Golden Chypre here and Senior Editor Lauryn Beer’s review of Grossmith Phul-Nana here.
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