I love complexity; the ability to dive deep into a fragrance full of notes, to tease apart the strands and dissect it down to its last molecule. If the world was full of only complex fragrances I would happily find myself within the maelstrom. Thankfully there are fragrances which come along to remind me that simplicity has its charms. One perfume house which seems to have a great track record at finding beauty in simple constructions is Diptyque, the latest bit of simple beauty from them is Eau Rose.

I was lucky enough to be able to experience a real rose garden as a child and I was always surprised at how it would change character throughout the day. The way it smelled in the morning was different than the way it smelled in the afternoon and the evening seemed to bring out something different, too. The press materials for Eau Rose mention that the idea behind it was to capture a rose as “….in its natural state, as it blossoms over time.” Eau Rose succeeds in doing just that as it captures rose in its dew covered morning coat, to its brightest aspect at high noon to finish at its sultry evening dress. It is never not rose but in Eau Rose the rose shifts with time.

When I first spray Eau Rose on it does remind me of daybreak in that rose garden of my youth. I spent a lot of my early mornings wandering among the flowers and the combination of the slightly watery dew combined with the attenuated smell of the roses is captured perfectly here. The central rose accord of Eau Rose is bracketed by currant and lychee which serve to add an earthy sweet lushness to the early stages. As the sun rises the dew evaporates and the rose and the green quality of the garden becomes more pronounced as the heat of the day dries things out. Geranium is the green aspect and hedione adds the sunniness. Finally the sun sets and as the evening cools the rose becomes more concentrated, mostly sweet. Honey is used in Eau Rose to accentuate the sweetness and a light application of musk adds a bit of sensuality to the ending of Eau Rose.

Eau Rose lasts from morning until evening and has average sillage.

Eau Rose is a study in simplicity which reminds me of a lesson from my youth in the rose garden. Sometimes you just need to stop and smell the roses. In lieu of a rose garden Eau Rose will do just fine.

Disclosure: This review was based on a sample purchased from The Perfumed Court.

We have a sample vial of Eau Rose to giveaway. To be eligible just leave a comment telling us what your favorite simple fragrances are. We will draw one winner via random.org on February 29, 2012.

We announce the winners only on site and on our Facebook page, so Like Cafleurebon and use our RSS option…or your dream prize will be just spilt perfume.

–Mark Behnke, Managing Editor