Rochas Tocade bottle, Photo by Rachel K. Ng©

 “Your fragrance is your message, your scented slogan.” – Master Perfumer Maurice Roucel of Symrise

 Master Perfumer Maurice Roucel of Symrise from Michelyn’s interviee

My own introduction to the legendary oeuvre of Master Perfumer Maurice Roucel appeared on a rainy early morning in Paris. I was running down Rue de l’École de Médecine chasing the enchanting sillage of a complete stranger that turned out to be wearing Maître Roucel’s creation 24 Faubourg for Hermès. I’ve been an unapologetic fan ever since and have collected many of his fragrances. Among my favorite works by Maître Roucel is Rochas Tocade. An abstract and modern scent that was a game-changer for Rochas, Tocade achieves warmth, class, and a streamlined complexity that speaks of Maurice Roucel’s ability to bring classic structures into the modern era in the most playful and exuberant way.

Rochas Tocade debuted 1994. This floral gourmand fragrance brings sensual and richly orchestrated style of highest quality to the table. Bergamot showcases an elevated, almost abstract, citrus within the blend with its dry, floral and green facets. Geranium picks up on the green floralcy of the bergamot and adds edges of mint. A freesia accord builds layers of florals like jasmine, rose, and muguet. Honey and benzoin add a resinous, syrupy-spicy sweetness with immense complexity as a backdrop to the warm florals. All of this manages to remain subtle and gauzy in sillage while keeping its artistry and intricacy from dispersing.

Tocade 1994 Advertising, Rochas official website

 While trends in the 1990s were often cold, aquatic, and tending toward translucency, there were other cultural currents at work. My So-Called Life also premiered in 1994 and is a legendary look into teen angst and the true-to-life emotive waters of teenage years. Grunge music from the 1990s is also full of trauma, alienation, self-doubt, love and other knotty themes. The heart of Rochas Tocade is equally as emotionally lush and soul-grappling. Rose, iris, magnolia, jasmine, and muguet tumble together in a masterful bouquet of warmth, wild undulations of floralcy, seepage of spice, and inter-netted surfaces of pillowy powder.

Rochas Tocade bottle, Photo by Jana Menard of the Fragrance Vault

Rochas Tocade transitions to a weightless base, a sillage like a silky blanket of sweet spice resting on vanilla and resins. The tune here is Chopin under moonlight, the delicate balance of sweetness without being sugared. Cedar wraps its timbered warmth around the amber and vanilla accords while patchouli’s sweet-herbaceous, earthy and musky qualities fill out the base notes. If you are looking for a warm and comforting fragrance brilliantly blended with immaculate quality that is not as ultra-cotton-candy sweet as today’s gourmands, then look no further than Maurice Roucel’s poignant 1994 Rochas Tocade, which smells as if it was created for 2023.

Notes: Bergamot, Geranium, Freesia, Honey, Benzoin, Rose, Iris, Magnolia, Jasmine, Muguet, Amber, Vanilla, Patchouli, Cedar, Musk

Bottle my own, opinions my own.

~ Rachel K. Ng, Senior Contributor

Rochas Tocade bottle, Photo by Rachel K. Ng©

We have a 10 ml  decant of the 1994 original Rochas Tocade from Rachel 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 of Tocade. Draw closes 12/23/2023

Please read Editor-in-Chief Michelyn Camen’s interview with Master Perfumer Maurice Roucel here.

Enjoy my review of Master Perfumer Maurice Roucel’s fragrance Envy for Gucci here.

Editor’s Note: Rochas Tocade is included in Michael Edwards Perfumes Legends II:  French Feminine Fragrances

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