I've never met perfumer Jean-Claude Ellena, but from what I've seen, heard and read (interviews, his own books) I like him. I enjoy (and own) many of his perfumes and, like Georgia O'Keeffe, Ellena shows that wrinkles do not tarnish sex appeal or good looks. Best of all, Ellena comes across as unpretentious, sensible, fun.
Enter stage left: Mr. Serious (aka Frédéric Malle).
In Frédéric Malle's video of the making of Rose & Cuir,* Malle talks of Ellena's "periods" as a perfumer (and references Picasso's creative periods). Malle mentions that Rose & Cuir is like a rose photographed by Warhol. ART! There's portentous music swelling in the background (the type you'd hear in a documentary telling the story of wartime victory, the discovery of penicillin, the saving of Notre Dame cathedral from flames....) Edmond Roudnitska's name comes up as an inspiration. (In other words, the tongue is flapping away, not planted in the cheek. Perfume is SERIOUS business.)
Ellena describes his "periods" thus: 1. complex (Van Cleef & Arpels First); 2: minimalist (Hermès Hermessences); and now: "...going straight to the point...having more precise intentions...simplifying the formula even more." His quote in the video is: "Moin j'en mets, plus ça parle." ("The less I use the more it speaks.") Ellena claims Rose & Cuir has only 15 notes and he compares the composition to paintings by the artist Nicolas de Staël.
I'll start with the perfume's name: Rose & Cuir. It's commonplace. Cuir Rose (pink leather) would have been more interesting. Or Queer Rose...which fits the scent perfectly. Maybe Pink Queer (Malle could reference one of his beloved upper-class deplorables from times gone by: Guy Burgess)?
Rose & Cuir starts off with the scent of rosy geranium Bourbon, vibrant, yet creamy/cosmetic in character. There's also a sappy/green tinge to the proceedings (as if you're weed-whacking a wild meadow in spring when all the plants are juicy and young). In mid-development there's a tomato leaf-like scent and a spicy note/accord that smells like a mix of crushed peppercorns and coriander seeds (perhaps this is the timut pepper note). But what about rose? Not one person I let try Rose & Cuir mentioned it. I certainly detect a rosy note in the geranium but Rose & Cuir does not scream "rose" to me (as in genus Rosa). This could be a "rose"-scented perfume that rose haters and rose lovers can both enjoy.
Next up is "leather" (IsoButyl Quinoline). Rose & Cuir's leather was dominating on some wearings and on the mild side on other days. The leather smells tarry, like motor oil mixing with burnt vetiver. I found the leather note monotonous; to avoid leather domination, spray Rose & Cuir on clothing to prolong the geranium and pepper throughout the dry down. A rosy musk ends Rose & Cuir's development.
I was ignorant about two aspects of Rose & Cuir: timut pepper and IsoButyl Quinoline (described by Malle as "leather" and "an intensely bitter molecule, largely forgotten since its use in the daring perfumery of the Jazz Age"). I could not find timut pepper locally but I looked at the IFF Safety Data Sheet and the IFRA standard to learn more about IsoButyl Quinoline and — yikes. When in contact with IsoButyl Quinoline, one is advised to avoid inhalation and contact with skin and eyes, and keep the material away from the Great Outdoors and all who live there. An interesting warning: "Do not eat, drink or smoke while using this product." IFRA is blunt: "The material is considered as a carcinogenic/mutagenic agent and had only minor reported use in fragrances; Recommendation: prohibited." (Read the IFF fact sheet here.)
I won't be buying Rose & Cuir. Its leather note has a heavy, blunt-object "impact" on my nose. The perfume is OK but I could easily name at least 25 other Ellena perfumes I like much more, including two in the Frédéric Malle collection. Of course, give it a try if, like me, you're an Ellena fan.
Frédéric Malle Rose & Cuir is available in 10 ($67), 50 ($230) or 100 ($330) ml Eau de Parfum.
* Listed fragrance notes of geranium Bourbon, cassis, timut pepper, vetiver, cedar, IsoButyl Quinoline
I’m nodding as I read your review because a certain “heavy, blunt-object ‘impact’ on my nose” is exactly what keeps me loving many of the FMs. I think FM brings that out in most of the perfumers he works with.
While bluntness is not what we’ve come to expect from Jean-Claude Ellena, I remember being amazed when I first smelled VCA First at what a dense and blunt perfume it was.
This year, I have myself coming back again and again to Miller Harris Geranium Bourbon, which truly is rosy and neither to light nor too heavy.
Noz: I don’t mind blunt objects like vetiver, incense, cedar, cypress, even grapefruit, etc., but, BOY, didn’t like the “leather” in this one. I’ve not kept up with Miller Harris…I wish there was a store that stocks them in Seattle.
I really enjoyed this one, especially on skin. I don’t think the rose is obvious at all, but there is a fresh lift. It reminds me more of In Love Again in drag than a leather chypre.
Coumarin: the opening is my favorite part…the “fresh lift” you mention.
Whereas I found the drydown better! I don’t know if I “need” it at Malle prices but I am up for negotiation.
Isobutyl quinoline: not an easy note, always smells profoundly of itself in all circumstances.
It’s the reason I can’t cope with Bandit or Cabochard, though I fully appreciate that IQ’s stubborn, bitter quality is what makes those perfumes special to many people. I can almost deal with it in Knize Ten, where it’s been smoothed out a little.
So I doubt that Rose & Cuir will appeal to me but I’ll give it a go if I see it. I do like the simplicity of the name. Should be more of it.
AM: I do enjoy Bandit, Cabochard and Knize Ten…perhaps Isobutyl Quinoline is allowed to slap the other notes in this one…or the mix of notes just gives it free rein.
I wonder if it’s something more IFRA-friend they are using to imitate or extend the isobutyl quinoline? Like how some of those patchouli fractions are actually quite unpleasant…
noz: who knows!? It’s all double-speak.
Idk I think I have liked maybe two FMs..a harsh leather note doesn’t surprise me for the Malle line. I prefer a smooth leather. Not airy..smooth.
Hi! This review made me chuckle! I do have one comment though: The msds actually isn’t anything out of the ordinary for fragrance materials. Even orange oil will have many of these same warnings (Including the dead fish dead tree symbol!), but as they say, “the dose makes the poison”, and these things are perfectly safe at the dilutions they are used at in fragrances. Where did you find that isobutyl quinolone is Ifra prohibited? As far as I know, it is not ifra restricted. Please correct me if I’m wrong!
Still, fm definitely missed an opportunity with Queer Rose! I’ll still smell this if I get a chance though 😉
Hi, Katen, …just go to the IFRA site and do a quinoline search…you’ll get the latest info…it’s in the Standards Library section for download.
Oh! Quinoline is prohibited. But Quinoline is different than Iso Butyl Quinoline, IBQ has that iso butyl group, and it is not restricted by ifra 🙂
I believe the safety sheet refers to pure undiluted IBQ, and the safety warnings are for those technicians dealing directly with the pure material. The IBQ used in perfume, especially when it’s diluted as an EDP, is far far far from that. And I don’t think FM would be able to sell this perfume legally if it wasn’t IFRA-conforming. So I don’t think there’s any danger in using Rose & Cuir. If it was that dangerous in perfume I would have died several lifetimes from wearing my vintage Bandits.
I wouldn‘t say “even” orange oil… this is the one component guaranteed to bring my skin up in red welts, and I‘ve noticed one or two perfume-mad friends have had unusual skin reactions to the rose & orange perfume by April Aromatics. So if the comparison is with orange oil, I’m happy to avoid IQ like the plague;)
Haha, fair enough! Actually a good point that often natural ingredients often have much more allergenic potential than many synthetics. I just used orange oil as an example because it’s something that we come into contact with in small doses in our daily life (whenever you peel an orange) and never worry about, but the msds still looks quite scary.
I am a Cabochard lover and a rose lover, so I was mad to try this. Disappointing–no rose exactly, no leather exactly. Just bitter and, like you say, blunt.
CobraRose: so many “anticipated thrills” this season have been dull…thank goodness I no longer buy on impulse without smelling or it would have been a sad time!
I have tried a few Malle offerings and the only one that I like/get along with is En Passant. Will I try this? Nope.
Hi Kev,
do u worry that Frederic or Jean-Claude will see this negative-ish review, and that it may hurt their feelings?
Kev: I doubt they’ll see it…and I bet if they do see it, they’ll be unfazed.
I rank Now Smell This as one of the best perfume review websites, so they ought be reading the reviews here! And I think perfumers and those in the perfume industry do read the reviews. The reviews written by u, Robin, Angela and Jessica here are sensible, unpretentious and easy to read!!
Thank you!
Well said, kevtronic!
Sad to say, but some of the perfume sites I used to read regularly have become more like PR than frank reviews.
It seems to happen as people write more for magazines or newspapers. If you’re making a living as a writer, I suppose you can’t be too blunt about the advertisers. We’re really indebted to those who have day jobs and find the time to write out of their love for perfume.
Blunt leather, huh? Not my preferred type. I give a wide berth to the Tom Fords at Sephora specifically because of their nauseatingly strong leather accords. Oddly, Ellena usually has a deft, light hand with leather – Terre d’Hermes, Kelly Caleche, and Cartier Declaration have lovely, elegant leather notes. I even enjoy some vintage heavy-hitting leathers, but even the boldest of them don’t strike me as obnoxious or one-dimensional like a lot of the new stuff.
For some reason (probably misreading Luca Turin) I was under the impression that IBQ had been banned. Interesting that it’s in a new perfume, and apparently a starring player. Honestly, though, are there any aromachemicals that *don’t* have scary-sounding MSDSs?