Soie Rouge

The all-too disparaging remarks about grandmothers do not apply here; this is exactly what I would get for my granny--and then steal on occasion. It is elegant, spicy, carnation-forward with a bit of fruity-powder and a loaded blast of iris; the first few seconds are iris-carnation (lovely and unusual), and then the the rest of the bits follow. I think it's pretty true to the profile presented, except that I don't get as much jasmine (which is good, imho) and not much apricot (a bit sad imho), and I do get soap (if that's not your thing, stay away). I agree with a previous review which describes this an "oriental floral" and a "spicy little number"--yes! This is grandma with some soap, of course--and kick! It is a lush, lovely and elegant, "throwback to older times" perfume. I don't see this with jeans and a white T, but with a floral frock in summer, or PC faux-fur in winter. Not particularly heavy, and lacking enormous silage with soapy to it, this can be worn year-round. Clean carnation, soapy-iris, and then lightly fruited goodness. Does not disappoint!

When I decided to try a few perfumes from Maitre Parfumeur et Gantier, I assumed that this must be an old house, along the lines of Guerlain, Caron, Creed, Floris, et al. After all, are there really perfumers today who also make gloves? Apparently so, as MPG has not been around for very long at all! (1988? really?) Nonetheless, I am happy to be able to report that SOIE ROUGE has a substantial, old-school perfume feeling, at least insofar as strength and sillage are concerned, although it is essentially linear. This is all about velvety dark red carnations, from start to finish. No true development beyond the first minute or so. Instead, SOIE ROUGE offers a high-quality presentation of the carnation note, which turns out to be surprisingly spicy when effectively unadorned. The two carnation frags most familiar to me, Caron BELLODGIA and Etro DIANTHUS (which I only recently tested) both also pack a hefty dose of clove, a note which has the effect of muting the intrinsic spiciness of dark carnations, which here is quite clear. SOIE ROUGE is more like an oriental floral than a floral, a simple yet very spicy little number which I can recommend for cold weather wear.

So I'm revisiting this brand after many years and they were actually among the first niche perfumes I tried with L'Artisan, Serge, Goutal, and Nicolai. I found this one fascinating, partly because it's transition from slightly bizarre, not so rouge, pineapple, fruity musk fragrance, into a kind of rose/geranium and probably my favourite floral, carnation fragrance is nothing short of miraculous. Genuinely not fond of the opening, has an 'off' sense to it but that's just the wonderful, clove tinged, creamy scent that emerges underneath possibly not jiving with the tropical top notes?? I'm not sure. I liked it when settled after an hour or so. I don't get the comparisons to Rochas femme, other than a carnation note there's no similarities to me but there you go.

So lovely and femme! The carnation gives this a vintage powdery edge, but it’s sharp and spicy-floral rather than iris musky. A florist’s aquatic greenness is also mixed in here a bit. Elegance, class, and timeless luxury in a bottle. It makes me think of hotel soap or a polished lobby. I don’t think this is for me, seeing as I don’t swagger around in a mink coat smoking a long cigarette, but this scent effortlessly makes me long for that shameless opulence. It feels so right to wear with bright lipstick and a red dress.

Wow. I wasn't expecting to like this. I actually bought samples of the entire MPG collection, thinking I'd end up with one of the famous Ambers, but none of them wowed me. Instead I'm drawn to this carnation number? As a person who isn't too fond of floral fragrances? Wild. Love a good surprise. I'm going to keep sampling throughout the spring and see if there is ever an occasion where I genuinely /want/ to smell like a carnation before I go full-bottle with this one, though...