Rouge Assassin

Esxence "The art of perfumery" exhibition in March 2013 was the first holiday I've ever taken purely for the sake of perfumes. Wandering among fragrance aficinados, noses and business owners was an amazing experience, not to mention that I also had the honor of meeting and talking with Elena and Zoran (the founders of Fragrantica) on location! The winning perfume of that heavily scented weekend for me is Jovoy's Rouge Assasin. It's no secret that Yours Truly is a sucker for iris. In my video blog I sometimes mention Dior Homme for its powdery, cosmetic, lipstick qualities. You know, it has the makeup bag effect. But Frederic Malle's Iris Poudre and Dior Homme are a far cry from Rouge Assasin, which refers to a woman's scarlet lips by both its name and smell. The opening is quite powerful considering this is a powdery fragrance. Other people will definitely know that you've just sprayed some good stuff on. This phase will pass in about ten minutes and settle into a qualified, very very well done lipstick perfume. The rest of it is linear as far as I know, because my nose sort of loses track of the suave Rouge Assasin before the it gets to the drydown. Anyway, this stuff is absolutely marvelous. It's hardly overpowering, it's very feminine and classy.. and the bottle cap is luxuriously heavy. Mmm. I could go on and on, but will simply end this lovestruck babble by claiming that the queen of lipsticks has been found. Thanks to Amélie Bourgeois for crafting this stunning perfume.

Rouge Assassin by Jovoy is the perfect vintage cosmetics scent! It makes me feel nostalgic for the lipsticks and face powders of the 1940’s. I can’t help but think of old Hollywood style glamour! Rouge Assassin definitely is more powdery than waxy. I think it’s really difficult to get the cosmetic scent mixture just right without it being too sweet or too rosey, but Jovoy had no doubt achieved that with Rouge Assassin. The ambrette compliments the iris exquisitely , it develops so smoothly on the skin. Rouge Assassin is sexy and comforting at the same time because it brings back memories, but still offers this irresistibly vintage feminine allure. I am so in love with lipstick and cosmetic type fragrances and once I heard that this was a similar type of fragrance to my beloved Moulin Rouge 1889 (totally a lipstick scent, has a waxy vibe to it!) I had to try Rouge Assassin. I am so glad I did because I absolutely love it! Rouge Assassin is definitely my new “holy grail” vintage face powder scent!

I blind bought this a year ago and, at the time, I was working in a high-pressured City environment. I liked RA, but it didn't fit the life/ workstyle I was living - not enough GRRRRRRR! - and I wore it only twice. Fast forward to December this year and, I unearthed it from the depths of my wardrobe as I was foraging for things to sell on eBay. Praise be that I had the presence of mind to try it again! My life's changed a great deal in 12 months: I'm now working from home and I find the demure, musky iris of Rouge Assassin perfect for my work and mind set. It's comforting and unobtrusive but with a backbone of steel. At first spritz, I catch myself thinking I'll have to overload on it because it won't last but it always finds a way. It's the most subtle longevity powerhouse in my collection. I'm surprised not more people have this in their collections. It was the ultimate sleeper hit for me; now I couldn't bear to be without it.

Rouge Assassin by Jovoy Paris created by Amelie Bourgeois evokes the burlesque atmosphere of 40s / 50s pigalle. That's right, the fragrance brings back to the dusty, sparkling boudoir of Crazy Horse rather than Moulin Rouge or Carrousel: the scent of the floral tributes of the admirers (often roses and why not elegant Iris) the environments imbued with the intoxicating and fabulous scent of scandalous and forbidden lipsticks creamy scarlet red, volatile powders with rice powder, the scent of musky mallow (ambrette seeds) of the corsets and the very tight and sensual guêpière, of the warm woody scents of the theatrical environments of yesteryear. This is the vintage / bohemian thought that strongly arouses in my nose this incredible and perturbed feminine fragrance from Maison Jovoy Paris. Paradoxically mild and unobtrusive sillage.

One day one of my coleagues weared a new perfume which smells great. It was a woody perfume with powdery accords with a lot of musk scent. Somedays later when I was browsing in a perfumeshop as usual to find some new fragrance, I smelled a same scent. It was Rouge Assassin. I got a 2 mil. sample to test it at home. I can say rhat the Iris as a middle note is dominant which meticulously mixed with musk and sandalwood. It was really an interesting scent. Both projection and longevity are moderate which has made it soft perfume. An all season fragrance for young girls!

Agree with maistylz. Instant love, and I like it more every time I use it. The elemi and bergamotte in opening is to die for. I’m getting a powdery iris on a base of ambrette and sandalwood as it dries down, and it is gorgeous. Nothing juvenile. It’s dry, powdery and not too sweet. Ageless and timeless.

i got a tester of this with a purchase. pretty unisex/masculine if u ask me. actually REALLY nice...rose/iris/cedar. quality iris vibe

this smells cold to me. the vanilla is there, but flash-frozen amongst the flower petals and rice powder. one for the heartless days.

I am a little confused by this scent. From the notes listed, the back story etc I thought this would be a sure fire winner and couldn't wait to get my hands on a sample. Yet I was so underwhelmed by this when I tried it. It is so light as to be almost imperceptible - and it wasn't just me, my hubby could barely smell it either, it was as though within 10 minutes it smelled like the faintest skin scent drydown from the previous day. Such a shame, I was ready to fall in love. What little I could smell of it was nice but this is so so delicate and faint. If they could just triple the strength maybe...but as it is, it just doesn't fit the name, the story. Longevity about 2 hours and no sillage.

Finely-milled rice powder on sweet tonka and resinous goodness base. Rice note is too strong for it to ideally become a rouge lipstick scent. Very sensuous, delicate, pristine, and relaxing. Powdery but does not smell old-fashioned/vintage dusty. The combination of iris+ambrette+rice+tonka creates that calming chamomile accord minus grass that I enjoy. This would make a great Mrs for Mr Dior Homme Parfum as a couple. It is sexier than many other perfumes that are lipstick accord oriented. I get a hint of Santal Austral Matiere Premier in the drydown but far superior. Absolutely impressed, despite disagreeing with the concept.

Im hit with iris and ambrette on the opening. A lipstick waxy iris with musk. There is a touch of sweetness from the rose and tonka. I can just about make out sandalwood and cedar. If there is rice in here then its overwhelmed by the other more strident notes. Its a shame the iris is so fleeting with the rose, tonka, ambrette and musk lasting ages. I think I love it most after an hour or two. Im perplexed by its name as there is nothing dangerous about this very pleasant iris fragrance. I think you could wear this day or night. It doesnt have a strong sillage but has long longevity. Its an easy to wear unisex fragrance.

"Rouge Assasin" is a very feminine creamy scent that wraps you like a blanket. Low silage, but excellent longevity - around 8 hours. Worth a try if you don't mind creamy perfumes that develop around ambrette. Opening greeted me with powdery old-lipstick iris, but soon it settled to a very creamy, almost milky feminine scent perfectly suited for colder evenings. Very versatile and with excellent quality. Def. worth a try or even a blind buy if this sort of scents are your thing.

As an iris lover, I was so excited to try this scent. The dry, powdery, earthy scent of the iris combines with the musk gives it such an ethereal, alien quality that I love. I expected (given the name and the notes) that this would be more feminine/lipstick/boudoir in profile, but it is much earthier and loamier than the name implies. It has a very strong throw as well. I sprayed it once on my arm, then put a jumper on and the scent still wafted around me in a cloud for hours.

Delicate and refined. A powdery rose based scent, you can also smell the familiar comforting amidaceous note of cooked rice and the iris. To me its mainly a domesticated rose sitting on a nice amber and resin bed. Elegant to wear, very subdued, not as potent as other frags im the Jovoy collection. A solid like and different from the rest (i couldn't find any " reminds me of " section. The comparison with Dior Homme is totally out of consideration). Medium longevity.

new born babies/baby wipes x atelier materi bois d'ambrette, u can smell the rice before knowing it actually has rice. also, kinda does smell like OG makeup but for a short period of time, it's quite complex for what it is. it's essentially a niche baby/newborn scent, super soft and easy to reach on a daily basis.

I would like it it wasn't there the ambrette, which I can't stand. Pity.

Basically, it is a weaker rose scent but very capable if the creators amp up the longevity and potency a wee bit. However, I respect Jovoy's decision to keep it the way it is. I like it but don't love it and I am a rose/patchouly/oud lover. It has a rose onset and an iris/inky offset. this is a personal scent that is creative so definitely very haute style perfume.

I love iris, in fact I’m quite obsessed. But this only whispers an almost mute iris on my skin, and all I get is rice and white musk. It’s loveliness is so far, far away. I’m getting my nose closely stuck-in and it’s just an almost invisible skin-scent, like I’ve washed it off but something slightly lingers.

The opening smells just like that vintage lipstick scent. Then it dries down to papery iris and i also get some rice notes. Very dry as others have noted. Not my favorite from Jovoy and this is coming from an iris fanatic.

You’ve heard of sweet and sour, well this is sweet and stale. Makeup vibes. Misplaced and inharmonious balsamic vibe. Crumby, powdery rose accord. Hard pass.