The Fragrance
Rose Desgranges is a story of women.
This is a line of Roses …
Only an original perfume bottle Rose Desgranges 1961 remains, created by a master glassmaker, dressed in his original label highlighting statue in alcove enthroned in the courtyard.
Fragrance pyramid
Rose Desgranges is not a typical Oriental, is a sensual floral, more textured, silky, rich musk notes, supported by a slightly woody-patchouli accord foam and coated with an Absolute Vanilla.
Head notes: Rose, Bergamot, Mandarin
Heart notes: Ambrette, Jasmine, Iris, Ylang-Ylang
Base notes: Vanilla Absolute, Musk, Patchouli, Oak moss
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his is an invitation to travel, to find the know-how of the French perfumery and make room for the imagination.
An olfactory experience is offered with a 3-step ritual: since the discovery of the floral composition in the world or how to view the cascade of flowers and surprised to feel one by one major species contained in the pitchers of the organ perfumes and imagine the difficulty of playing Parfumeur floral symphony.
Finally, last gesture borrowed from medieval and ecclesiastical world, discover the wake through a pomander, goldsmith object enclosing a fragrant ceramics.
THE NOSE : BENOIST LAPOUZA
The jealously guarded formula has resurfaced from the family coffers for reinterpretation by
the Perfumer, Benoist Lapouza. His task is to revive the fragrance while retaining its original structure.
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raining cellist Benoist Lapouza dream from a young age to become a perfumer. After graduating, Pierre Bourdon takes him under his wing. First at Takasago in 1986 and at Quest in 1991, before joining Fragrance Resources two years later. In 2014, he joined the Parisian fine fragrance Drom team. He is the author of Live Jazz YSL (1998) Dolly Girl by Anna Sui (2003) or British Bouquet of Atkinsons (2013). He worked as a team on Si Lolita from Lolita Lempicka in 2009, with Christine Nagel (then at Fragrance Resources) and, more recently, Fan di Fendi for men in 2012 and Acquarossa Fendi in 2013, Delphine Lebeau (Fragrance Resources) and François Demachy, LVMH perfume.
« Interview with Benoist Lapouza »
Q : Benoist, you are a Perfumer at DROM International.
Can you tell us your story?
A : I grew up in Normandy where I divided my time between the Music conservatory and the sea. My meeting with Pierre Bourdon was a revelation. I was his apprentice at Takasago for 4 years, then I followed him to Quest before creating Fragrance Resources with him in 1993. Finally, I joined the team at DROM International for a new adventure.
Q : You have been chosen to revive the original Rose Desgranges fragrance. You must feel very privileged, a bit like being asked to wake the Sleeping Beauty?
A : It’s a wonderful story. And a great opportunity to be able to work with the beautiful, natural, fine raw ingredients and top-quality essences that go into the making of such a rich fragrance.
Q : Rose Desgranges is a glamorous 50s fragrance; it’s floral and sensual, and all about a woman’s story. Some of the raw ingredients are now prohibited, and some concentrations no longer comply with today’s legislation. How do you set about reinterpreting the fragrance for the modern world, without doing an injustice to the original elixir?
A : First of all, I recompose the fragrance using fine, top-quality raw ingredients including sublime florals such as Rose, Egyptian Jasmine Absolute, Ylang Ylang and Iris concentrate.
Rose Desgranges is not a typical oriental; it’s a sensual floral, far more textured and silky, enriched with notes of musk boosted by a harmonious woody/mossy accord with a hint of patchouli and wrapped in Vanilla Absolute.
Q : You use Rose, of course…
Rose is timeless, but it is also overused and even something of a cliché.
How has it been treated differently in Rose Desgranges?
A : The Rose essence I use comes from Turkey. It is very special, somewhat reminiscent of lychee, and very fruity.
I choose the finest fractions of Rose essence for the flower’s distillation, which I then combine with a top-quality Absolute to prolong its persistence.
Q : Do you have anything in particular to say about the other components in this floral tribute?
A : It’s interesting to note that a subtly fruitiness was obtained by adding certain floral notes. For example, pear undertones were achieved by adding an accord based on Vanilla/Ambrette.
Resonant notes are provided by adding a touch of Bergamot from Calabria and Sicilian Mandarin to inject life and light into the formula.
Q : You are like an orchestra conductor working with scented notes that vie with each other to produce a genuine harmony of fragrances. It’s almost as if you were invited to reinterpret an original score?
A : As a trained musician and avid music fan, I must say it’s sometimes difficult to play a score, as there are so many different interpretations!
In the case of Rose Desgranges, the focus was essentially on the sourcing of raw ingredients in order to draw out the quintessence of the fragrance, and balance the different floral notes in an accord with the woody, musky notes.
The result is a harmonious, elegant composition, extremely feminine and refined, capturing the spirit of the times, while complying with the standards and restrictions imposed by the new cosmetics regulations, which can differ so much internationally.