Rrose Sélavy by Maria Candida Gentile

*****
Year: 2016

Notes: rose leaf, rose stem, Michèle Meilland rose, Rose de Mai, Turkish rose, rose accord
Acting as a homage to the painter, sculptor and writer Marcel Duchamp, and his female alter ego Rrose Sélavy, this marks Maria's fourth rose creation (with Elephant & Roses, Cinabre and Sideris being the other three).

It's a vibrant, elegant and multi-faceted rose outing, which encompasses herbaceous and verdant components, especially a notable spearmint accent. As for the floral aspect itself, it's vermilion in tone, wine-like, velvety and slightly candied without being too jammy. When compared to Cinabre and Sideris, Rrose Sélavy is much more sparse and translucent – focusing solely on the different olfactory properties of roses, without any unnecessary clutter or distractions.

As the composition evolves, it becomes softer, a little sweeter and slightly spicy. By this point, the herbaceous element still persists, but has now softened and intermingled more with the rest of the accords. With moderate projection and below average longevity, the drydown becomes muskier and a tad creamy. And even towards the end, one can still identify a bittersweet greenness, from the rose stems, lurking in the background.

In relation to Maria's more recent works, it's definitely one of the better ones. However, one still found it slightly synthetic and not as potent as her earlier releases. Over recent years, one has become more concerned about Maria's stylistic shift but, unfortunately, it seems to be a permanent one. Alas, as much as Rrose Sélavy could be viewed as a respectable rose soliflore, it's nowhere near as exuberant or satisfying as Sideris.

And like Andy Tauer, one feels that Maria should set aside her rose fixation and concentrate more on exploring new olfactory themes.


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