La vie en rose

In this age of individuality, when consumers define themselves by the kind of products they buy, whatever is new and, preferably, unusual, is celebrated. It’s the same in the fragrance world, where the current trend is to smell different from everybody else. Even in Japan, one of the most brand-conscious countries in the world, young people are breaking the rules of conformity and seeking to stand out — if not in fashion, then in scent.

“The Japanese are fed up and looking for something more personal, more distinctive, more exclusive,” says Marie-Hélène Rogeon, founder of Les Parfums de Rosine. “That is why they are turning to niche brands.”

Rogeon’s niche perfume line is the perfect case in point: 15 years ago few had heard of Les Parfums de Rosine, and her very feminine, rose-based fragrances were relegated to the men’s section of Isetan, a Japanese department store. Today, however, Rogeon’s “little brand that could” is outselling the big, established designer brands, so much so that Rosine has been assigned its own special area in the store.

It’s a phenomenon happening in department stores worldwide. At Rustan’s, for instance, the success of niche brands has warranted individual boutiques for brands like Acca Kappa, and small but singular lines are constantly being brought in, like Juliette Has A Gun, Hierbas de Ibiza, Rancé 1795, and now Les Parfums de Rosine.

While every brand has a hook, though, like an affiliation to a famous fashion designer or a heritage of serving European royalty, Rosine has both.

“At the end of the 19th century my grandfather Louis Panafieu created eau de cologne for Emperor Napoleon III and pomade for his moustache, or pommade des mousquetaires,” relates Rogeon, “and he became famous.”

Decades later Panafieu met with famous couturier Paul Poiret, who had the idea of developing a complete range of perfumes based on the multi-faceted rose in 1911 — 10 years ahead of Coco Chanel, who produced her line in 1921. Poiret was passionate about roses; even the logo for his fashion house was a stylized rose by famed illustrator Paul Iribe, who also designed the logo for Lanvin.

Poiret’s collaboration with Panafieu resulted in La Rose de Rosine, a dramatic rose-and-iris confection that was the first fragrance launched under a fashion design house. Poiret, who wanted to keep his fashion separate from his perfumes, named the business after his eldest daughter, Rosine.

Born into this family of perfumers, Rogeon was fascinated by the perfume bottles tied with silk tassels that populated her childhood. Her grandparents continued to manufacture Les Parfums de Rosine for Poiret until World War II, after which they closed up shop.

“I decided in 1991 to relaunch these wonderful lines of perfume,” says Rogeon, who shares Poiret’s passion for roses. Her own garden in Picardy, in the north of Paris, boasts over 300 different kinds of rose bushes, all different in size, color and fragrance. It’s this garden, along with her travels abroad, that inspire her fragrances. If, for instance, she has a brainstorm to combine rose with anise, as she did with Zephir de Rose, or with lavender, as happened for Rose d’Homme, the first rose fragrance for men, house perfumer François Robert takes all her ideas to full bloom.

As we found out when we sampled roughly half of the 16 Rosines Rustan’s is carrying, rose can smell completely different in combination with various notes, but still retains its character and elegance no matter how modern or daring the juice.

Rogeon’s personal favorite is La Rose de Rosine, a classic powdery floral that combines roses from Morocco, Turkey, Bulgaria, and precious Rose de Mai from the south of France. This is a must-try because it’s what the house built its name on. In fact, when the first boutique opened at the Jardins du Palais Royal in Paris, it offered just this one fragrance, leaving French fashion and beauty editors agog.

Roseberry, the first fragrances to mix wild rose with raspberry leaf essence and blackberries, was the instant love of our local beauty editors. “Women who love it are addicted to it,” Rogeon affirms.

Rose d’Ete, with its cut-grass smell and heart of green apple and yellow rose, is the bestseller in the US.

Diabolo Rose, a mint rose that’s rapidly gaining popularity, is one of the line’s most distinctive scents. Rogeon created it after a walk in the forest inspired her to plant mint next to her mossy rose.

One I only tried on the blotter but would love to test further is Rosa Flamenca, a sweeter bouquet Rogeon made in Spain and patterned after Seville’s Maria Luisa gardens, which were redolent with roses, jasmine and orange blossoms.

But my favorite Rosine so far is Un Zest de Rose, which gives new meaning to “tea rose” with its combination of citrus notes, rose and green tea. Robert told Rogeon that mixing citrus with rose was a crazy no-no in perfumery but she persisted, and I’m glad she did, to come up with such a lovely, wearable, individual scent.

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Les Parfums de Rosine are available at Rustan’s Makati, Rustan’s Tower in Shangri-La Plaza Mall and Rustan’s Alabang Town Center.