Rose de Mai, also known as Rosa centifolia (hundred-leafed rose) or Provence rose, is a hybrid rose that grows in May and only in Grasse, a town in the French Riviera known for its perfume industry and flower fields. Its petals are usually pink and distinctively arranged in overlapping layers, and its scent profile is sunny and citrusy with honey-like hues (the roses in the pictures are not of this kind).
Perris Monte Carlo Rose de Mai is a fragrance that emphasizes the intrinsic nature of Provence rose blooms and one of the most intriguing soliflores I’ve had the pleasure of trying.
Created by the renowned perfumer Jean-Claude Ellena as part of Les Parfums de Grasse collection for Perris Monte Carlo, Rose de Mai is a tribute to Ellena’s own childhood memories of harvesting flowers with his grandmother. The rose blooms are collected and processed with nurturing and dedication to extract the precious essences and oils used in perfumery (about 60,000 roses make one ounce of absolute).
This is a natural, captivating, and poetic fragrance with the aroma of heady macerated May roses.
I was fascinated by an article published shortly after Rose de Mai was presented at Esxence 2019, in which the author described it as a fragrance where “the top and bottom notes are turned upside down”, as if to follow a reverse olfactory pyramid. This compelled me to find a sample and try it for myself. Indeed, the fragrance opens with a dense and juicy rose scent that lightens and brightens as it develops on the skin. The tart, citrus-like notes typical of the May rose bloom persist and appear to become more prominent over time.
My best friend said that Rose de Mai is an impressionistic rose fragrance. When you look at a Van Gogh painting of sunflowers or irises you immediately know it’s a flower, but after studying it you see how the individual brush strokes come together to make it so.
Likewise, when you sniff Rose de Mai as a whole, the first impression is that of a perfect garden rose. But, as you start paying closer attention to its scent profile, different nuances begin to unfold: scents of green stems, dry thorns, and soft pink petals are individually revealed with their own brilliance.
Laced with herbaceous immortelle, aromatic geranium, and airy musk, Rose de Mai is dewy, crisp, and clear. It irradiates a luminosity that shines through like sunlight rays.
Perris Monte Carlo is a family-owned business that masterfully balances tradition and innovation to create fragrances with exceptional raw materials sourced from all over the world. The line was founded in 1981 and is now thriving under Gian Luca Perris’ creative direction. Rose de Mai is one of four fragrances as part of Les Parfums de Grasse, a beautiful collection that pays homage to the region’s perfume making heritage, history, and culture.
Notes are listed as they appear on the house’s website:
Rose Absolut, Immortel, Geranium Rose, Musk.
I reviewed Rose de Mai from my own full bottle and sample. The fragrance is available in select stores in 50 ml and 100 ml bottles.
Photo by Sarah.
