Everyone in my perfume circle, and not only there, knows about my oldest and most persistent olfactory obsession: roses! I know it sounds trivial, but rose in perfumery is so multifaceted that, despite the oversaturated market and the shamefully large number of bottles I already own, I never stop searching for and discovering new rose fragrances. I'm a fan of dark, sweet and rich compositions, but it turns out there was still something new to learn about roses, courtesy of Atelier Materi. Their Rose Ardoise is a bold interpretation of an urban, contemporary rose, blooming amid a concrete and marble city square, reflected in countless office windows, against a backdrop of car horns and sirens.

The Rose and the Perfume

Sound-wise, the fragrance follows the path of a mineral leather chypre with a subtle yet perceptible rosy inclination, and credit must be given to Céline Perdriel, who has masterfully crafted a rose of such complexity. Here, a game of ambiguity is played, blending femininity and masculinity, transparency and texture. The fragrance opens with the fresh, spicy notes of pink pepper and nutmeg, which mirror the clear, crystalline vibration of clary sage. The rose then fully expresses itself and becomes dominant, before gradually dissolving into an overdose of ambroxan, leaving behind an almost imperceptible trail. It sounds simple, but don't be fooled: this is neither an easy nor a safe fragrance for a blind buy. Yes, the rose is the star here, but it's somehow non-floral, unsyrupy and an Un-Rose. This is the rose of the white shirt, of mirrored glass windows and the corporate dress code. An absolute unisex perfume for a corporate environment!

It took me several tries to fully understand and appreciate Rose Ardoise, largely because of the countless traditional and killingly sweet rose fragrances I already own, and on the other hand, because of the abundance of ambroxan here. A great deal of skill is required to tame this note, and I've come to realize that its presence in a fragrance directly affects my impressions of it and, in general, my willingness to try it. On a blotter, the ambroxan isn't all that pronounced, but on skin it explodes with the force of a hundred fanfares. This intensity manages to mute some of the honeyed nuances of the rose, but it also reveals others: a striking purity of mineral notes and a burst of raw leather. The sweetness of this remarkably interesting Un-Rose emerges in the drydown, but it's very refined and precisely dosed, and the fragrance softens like an involuntary smile. Extremely practical: leaning neither masculine nor feminine, a slightly seductive urban perfume that carries its own mystery, lasts a solid 7 hours on skin, and is perfect for late autumn and certainly for early spring. I recommend trying it for anyone ready to step off the beaten path. Approach it with patience and a dose of olfactory adventurousness, and it just might surprise you very pleasantly.