Review of Sa Majeste La Rose by Yaroslavna Lasytsya

If you wish to feel the purest essence of the rose, this, my dear friend, is the perfume to which your thoughts must inevitably return. Its opening is bright and resolute, like a bouquet whose stems have just been bound together, the fragrance of unopened buds mingling with the cool green of their leaves. A few moments later, the red roses reveal themselves in all their bold and unapologetic splendour, as if suddenly unmasked. The scent is rich, endowed with a depth and a purity that I have scarcely encountered elsewhere. There is no powder here, no sweetness diluted by the company of lesser flowers; there are only roses, and nothing but roses. At a certain point, a honeyed note dares to appear, adding a luminous, almost sharp contour to the petals. It lends the fragrance a slightly candied, faintly alcoholic character, though never in excess. This honey does not pretend to rival the rose, nor does it seek to merge with her; it serves, rather, as a discreet accomplice, a backdrop which allows the singular beauty of the rose to stand out more clearly still. It is as though, in order to exalt the truth of this flower, a subtle contrast had been required. The perfume is enveloping, luxurious, and utterly unmistakable. One has the impression of being both in the presence and in the thrall of Her Majesty the Rose, whose dominion is gentle yet unquestionable. It speaks differently according to the temperature: for my part, I prefer it in the crisper, cooler air, where the rose appears most faithful to her nature—intensely present, yet never suffocating or overwhelming. You will be noticed when you wear this perfume; its trail is brilliant, its projection nearly perfect. It lingers for hours and shows itself to greatest advantage on the bare skin of the hands and chest. Sa Majesté La Rose is the one that stands unapologetically honest, proud, and astonishingly beautiful. After her, no other rose will ever quite suffice; they will seem, at best, like distant echoes of a truth you have already known too well.