Rose Ebène (2021)

I'm a long time Caron fan and I really love Rose Ebene. I've now worn it for a year before writing my review to confirm my sentiments and moving it to my 'want to buy' list. This is a peppery, snappy rose which perfectly suits my mood now that I'm menopausal. I wear it whenever my tolerance for B.S. has bottomed out and I need a boost. What I really appreciate: Rose Ebene doesn't morph into something harsh or fade into a skin scent; it holds its own. Historically I have never liked cardamom or saffron because they are too masculine, but there is just enough rose here to keep it unisex. A nice addition to Caron's line up

I've tried couple of samples of Caron discovery sets but I don't "get" most of the scents, like this one, as something seems off. I can't say I detect a lot of cardamom, but it's a soft leathery scent. 100% unisex but I don't detect any rose, perhaps only in the opening. It's nice to have and wear, but a bit generic. It also has a slight booziness to it, so give it a try and judge for yourself.

Hate it. I tried it again because I still had a sample. Yuck. I should have put that sample on my swap shelf. It seemed tolerable at first, especially when I was also wearing a couple of other rose scents at the same time. But 2 hours in the leather note became so overwhelming I didn't smell like a lady in black leather but like a poorly tanned handbag from a grimy market stall in front of a tent where you could see and smell them slaughtering the animals to skin them and make hastily tanned hides to sell out front. I got overwhelming animal hide with lingering blood. There's a reason "leather perfume" originally did not mean "smells like leather" but rather "hides the hideous smell of this awful animal hide product that would otherwise smell like all the bad things about an animal corpse."

I thought it was a bit odd that Rose Ebene had 2 different versions 2 years apart from each other, but perhaps they are just different bottles? I'm not sure which version I have in my sample vial. Neither version officially lists an amber note. I liked this fragrance when I tried a single dab, but today I put on a lot of it and also was drinking my morning coffee which made me lose the coffee note in this, and now I can detect That Chemical. A modern superamber. :( I will never be able to unsmell that so I shall not be acquiring a full bottle.

Rose Ebene 2021 sample from flagship store In my wearing I get a turkish rose, lemon faceted simmering in cardamom coffee and and a strong leather. The smoky leather comes out as the heart opens, and detect a woodiness of some sort (perhaps vetiver) the earthy patchouli adds some depth to the base. I like the styrax as it supports leather well. Its surprisingly light for the configuration. Its not a thin sharp chemical production some houses decide to do, but it isnt as rich from their vintage history. One cant help to compare this to Tom Fords cafe rose, so this isnt a novel idea, however, I do like this particular rendition with the leather. I will caution Caron about most of their offerings in the new line seem to have patchouli/cedar/vetiver. I understand it reads unisex for more sales, but truly feminine frags at Caron is getting hard to come by. Thus house used to be known for sumptuous unique blends that took risks. I hope they find their modern footing they seem to be looking for. I feel Rose Ebene and Tabac Equis are the best of the new releases for women looking for unisex wear. Sincerely, A very old Caron customer .