Roméa d'Améor is a new French niche house that debuted earlier this year with seven perfumes created as tributes "to real women throughout the ages who have touched history in tangible ways". All of the fragrances were developed by perfumer Pierre Bourdon.
Les Espionnes du Tsar / The Secret Heroines of the Tsar ~ "...a fragrant story dripping with intensity (patchouli and Malfi lemon), sweetness (caramel, apple) and intrigue (sandalwood, musk and amber)..." Additional notes include grapefruit, melon, jasmine, rose, lily of the valley, magnolia, iris and vanilla.
Les Grandes Amours du Taj-Mahal / The Taj Mahal's Eternal Love ~ "The year is 1610 and Emperor Shah Jahan is in love with his wife, his kingdom and the gardens of his residence, in that order. The lush beauty of the garden rivals Eden with its fruits (grapefruit, bergamot, melon) and flowers (lily of the valley, rose and jasmine)…even the water that flows from the garden itself is legendary and scented with the wild beauty of nature (lotus) and the soothing clean of water notes..." Additional notes include black currant, green notes, sea water, iris, vetiver, raspberry, peach, vanilla and musk.
Les Grandes Pretresses Incas / The Grand Inca Priestesses ~ "...Machu Picchu, May of 1462. The harvest is complete and the King calls a celebration day to be led by a priestess. While the shaman priests usually officiate at the grand ceremony, the King points out that the year will be ruled by the Moon, the feminine half of the masculine Sun. But who to choose? Who can create the bond between the Inca gods and his kingdom? He decides to select a priestess by her very fragrance..." The notes feature mandarin orange, grapefruit, orange, red apple, mango, orchid, sea water, lily of the valley, jasmine, sandalwood, oakmoss, teak wood, nectarine, dark chocolate, caramel and musk.
Les Impératrices Japonaises / The Great Empresses of Japan (shown at right) ~ "...Suiko (reigned: 593-628), the daughter of the Emperor, is entering her second year as the first woman to rule Japan. As she gazes out on magnificent garden on the palace grounds, she is besotted with the tender white floral notes (peony, lily, ylang-ylang, heliotrope) scenting the wind. Another breeze brings the soft and powdery notes of iris and violet..." Also has notes of freesia, melon, violet, rose, lily-of-the-valley, orris root, vetiver, teak wood, sandalwood and tonka bean.
Les Princesses de Venise / The Princesses of Venice ~ "Venice, 1721... The jumble of fresh fruits (orange, melon and pineapple) from the open market fill the air as composer Antonio Vivaldi walks the streets, seeking the choir of angels he’s heard in his wanderings but can never see..." Additional notes include black currant, cloves, champaca, orange blossom, jasmine, cassis, sandalwood, raspberry, iris and pistachio.
Les Maitresses de Louis XIV / The Mistresses of Louis XIV ~ "The scent story of The Mistresses of Louis XIV begins in 1668 in the grand park of the Palace of Versailles. The King desires a woman who possesses both the earthy and wild majesty of the garden (lily, rose, and green notes) and the opulent splendor of the castle (wood, amber, cloves and galbanum)..." Additional notes include black currant, melon, glory lily, jasmine, narcissus, lily of the valley, iris, nectarine and musk.
Les Souveraines d'Egypte / The Sovereigns of Egypt ~ "The year is 1346 and Egypt’s XVIII Dynasty is thriving. Nefertiti rules by the side of her Pharoah and husband Amenhotep IV (Akhenaten)...More than the breadbasket of Egypt, the Nile nourishes fragrant flowers and fruit, some that can be found nowhere else. Nefertiti recognizes the magical scent on the wind and immediate commissions a perfume that encompasses all its beauty to serve as an ambassador across borders… something sweet (melon, passionfruit) yet very creamy (lychee, balsam of Peru, vanilla) and with a dash of freshly ground spice (clove)…like a Middle Eastern desert served with rose water." Additional notes include orchid, jasmine, magnolia, rose, heliotrope, vetiver, iris, coconut, peach, amber and musk.
The Roméa d'Améor fragrances are available now at Luckyscent, in 100 ml Eau de Parfum; $135 each. (via luckyscent, additional information can be found at dameor.fr)
I look forward to reviews of these. I was impressed by the schtick about them being “last perfumes” from Bourdon and had my finger on the sample pack button but declined to press it when I read the notes. Melon, melon, melon, and more melon. Would you like a little melon with that?
Why?
Melon has really infiltrated niche in a big way this year. Met it (unannounced) in one of the new By Mark Buxton scents last night and was not pleased (although by & large that's an interesting line and I liked a few of them very much).
Don't ask me why, it's a mystery to me too!
Wow – they certainly have a profusion of notes. I dunno – “sandalwood, raspberry, iris and pistachio” (among others). I don't know much about blending perfume, but these seem like some unusual mixtures.
No kidding! And I just read on 1000 Fragrances that the new Del Rae will have melon as its premiere note!
I started sampling these this morning. They are well done, but smell very much like fragrances from the nineties.
Hugs!
I'm glad that I didn't break my “no perfume expenditures whilst not working” rule and get the samples for these. Too much fruit!!!! And yeah, it's the melon that will put me off. I like a little honeydew now and again but that never seems to be the one they use.
Although I did break my rule for a few little purse sprays at Avon and the one I like the best is plum-fruity (Imari Seduction) so maybe I'm just being a snoot.
I know, that broke my heart — I've been waiting so long for a new Delrae 🙁
I think that's more just a function of providing detailed lists of notes, which many brands don't bother with.
melon, LOTV and rose in almost all of them…..kill me now! While I can deal with LOTV & rose, I need melon (in fragrance) like I need a hole in the head.
It's like Bourdon had to use up all the melon left from other perfumers who didn't want it *LOL* Maybe they were on a budget :” I'm sorry, we ran out of the really good stuff, but there's a lot of melon left, see what you can do with it”.
Pretty funny – could be true, who knows? I was sort of nonplussed by all the grapefruit as well as the melon. To eat, ok, to smell of, not so much.
' created as tributes “to real women throughout the ages who have touched history in tangible ways”. ' Spies, princesses, empresses, mistresses?!!! Those are 'real women'? *shakes head in disbelief*
I think they're supposed to be tributes to women who really existed, meaning they were real women
J, conceptually, it doesn't say much for women, does it?
What can I say. Melon/aquatic notes are big this year, and since Bourdon pioneered their use I guess it's an area of interest.
All i have to say is that all of these sound ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC! I want to smell the all and QUICKLY! 🙂 These sound like Magic in a bottle, some more than others! And, yes, I ADORE MELON, so it doesn't bother me that most of them feature it!
Luckyscent has a sample pack w/ all of them if you must have them!