GALA ROSE : : : : ROSARINE by DUSITA (2023)

If someone were to ask me if I had any unfulfilled dreams, they might include: going to Brazil, India, and pre-war Russia; being allowed to roam and rifle through the Guerlain archives at my leisure as well as an afternoon at the Versailles Osmothèque; visiting the ylang ylang essential distillation centres at Nosy Bé, Madagascar; and coming across a giant, glass tear-studded vintage bottle of Caron Poivre parfum.

The thing that makes me yearn the most every year, though, is definitely the Cannes Film Festival. I would love, absolutely love, to get up early every day and sit through hours and hours and hours of premières by all the world’s cinematic leading auteurs until nighttime, lose my world in their films and come to my own critical conclusions on their merits before the nail-biting presentation of all the Palmes D’Or, the Grand Prix, the Jury Prizes; I don’t think there is anything I would find more exciting or enjoyable. To be at the centre of all that visual, intellectual, aural, aesthetic stimulation would thrill me. The Oscars, for me, don’t remotely hold the same level of interest except for all the pizzazz of the red carpet bling; the film selections are simply not in the same class. How amazing to see the latest Almodovar or Jonathan Glazer: to see these films first before all the media critiques blur your own imagination ; to have witnessed all the furore and futuristic glamour surrounding Titane.

Maybe – in an alternate universe – I would even bestride the red carpet (now for that I really would actually make sartorial effort: a silk tux by Anthony Vaccarello for Saint Laurent and black rose corsage? An elegant ensemble finished with the most exquisite 1970’s Leonard tie?). At the very least, to just be present in all the clamour and pretentious hubbub of the proceedings; to watch the glamorous attendees swanning past; catch a glimpse of what scents they are wearing…

An excellent choice for this very situation, the Cannes Film Festival 2023 – unfolding right now as we speak in the south of France – would undoubtedly be the very uplifting, and ebullient, new Rosarine by Parfums Dusita.

By far Pissara Umavijani’s most exuberant and celebratory creation, this lavish, raspberry patchouli rose definitely creates the required statement and sillage needed to underscore the panache of all the gala screenings; an orchestrated, full, and complex contemporary rose fragrance that bursts with excitement and positivity.

Expecting a far more bashful, romantic, even tender rose perfume, the immediacy and briskness of the peppery lychee and mandarinish bergamot jasmine sambac that grace the Bulgarian rose and Rose De Mai at the centre of the perfume were something of a surprise – this one practically leaps from the bottle – all bolstered thickly with a rich heart and base (incense, amyris, cacao) that almost approaches the classic Angelic fruitchouli gourmand (in the press kit, the competing two main accords – a rich rose that reminds me of Shiseido Rose Royale, even Courrèges In Blue, and a dry, biscuity, almost savoury chocolate patchouli that is quite similar to Serge Lutens’ Borneo 1840) evolve to a very yang, polished and depression-killingly upfront perfume that has the power to dazzle. Like a sister to Sisley’s unforgettable rose chypre Soir De Lune, this has great staying power and will suck up surrounding attention.

While I myself in reality would probably rather wear the subtle and more ‘sensible’ Douceur De Siam, another, more gentle rose perfume in the Dusita pantheon that in comparison is a shy, retiring wallflower (with much more room to breathe), Rosarine, a fruity, woody, profusion of confidence, demonstrates the other side of the emotional scale. We can’t all wear a spicy, exultant modern rose. After all, I am not a film star – and this is a perfume for the budding diva.