I can almost hear the sarcasm in Miranda Priestly’s voice as I open the panoply of spring floral fragrances that recently hit my desk. “Florals? For spring? Revolutionary!”
I guess the same can be said for floral fragrances that are centered around rose notes. It’s been one of the biggest trends in perfumery this year - harvesting rose notes and predominately using them in the fragrance formula - but I’m always left thinking…how creative can a perfumer be when there are a countless number of debutante rose, wild rose or garden rose fragrances already available?
When I opened the box for Rose Pompon by Annick Goutal, the dewy and faint rose accords took me on a journey; a sensory refuge - somewhere that I haven't been since I was a little girl. You see, when I was younger, I was fascinated with hybrid tea roses. My mother used to take me on trips to the New York Botanical Garden so that I could learn more about the various textures and two-toned ombré color combinations - the same thing that made my heart flutter when I was first presented with the pink-blushed ombré packaging of Rose Pompon.
It also didn't help that two of my favorite childhood shows had roses as a major focal point in their storyline. Do you remember Tuxedo Mask from Sailor Moon? To this day, I still get butterflies in my stomach when I see his red rose fly across the screen - a symbol of love and justice - as he arrives to save the Sailor Scouts.