I love roses. I love them growing in my yard, I love them in perfume.
It was roses that introduced me to the world of niche fragrance, and I don’t think I’ll ever tire of beautiful rose perfumes. Amouage Lyric, Czech & Speake Dark Rose, Montale Aoud Queen Roses, JHAG Lady Vengeance, and Parfumerie Generale Brulure de Rose are just a few fabulous rose-based compositions in my collection. Serge Lutens Sa Majeste la Rose, as a rose soliflore, is just about perfect, and Montale’s Ta’if Roses is an incandescent, worthy, runner up.

It might seem a little odd, then, how little I know about the Rosine line of fragrances, given that they all revolve around that most lovely note. Alas, due to a sad lack of access, I remain mostly ignorant (to my personal dismay). I have, however, managed to acquire a sample of Un Zéphir de Rose.

Launched by Les Parfums de Rosine in 2008, and created by François Robert, the notes include anise, basil, rose and ambrette.

There isn’t much more to be said about Zéphir—smelled in a side-by-side comparison with Sa Majeste la Rose, it seems softer, more delicate, more dewy. It is beautiful, and before I applied Serge’s version for the purpose of comparing the two, I was impressed— thinking that it might even be a superior soliflore (it is very much a true rose).

Of course, it comes down to personal taste, and in this case, I’ll stick with the Lutens.