Rousse

My childhood cinnamon dream, realised. Let me explain: I grew up in the UK, where cinnamon is much less A Thing than it is in the US. We didn't have much of a culture of cinnamon rolls, or cinnamon toast, or cinnamon candles, or cinnamon breakfast cereal, or chewing gum, or air-fresheners or whatever. (This has changed a bit in recent decades as the whole world got more Americanised.) Yeah, you might - if you were lucky - get a bit of cinnamon on the top of rice pudding or bread pudding or custard tarts, but usually - unless I was left on my own to make homemade cinnamon toast with about a heaped spoon of spice per slice - there was NEVER ENOUGH CINNAMON. It wasn't rationed or controlled or a luxury or anything - it just wasn't that popular. So, when I was a kid, I would long for trips abroad where I could find and eat all the cinnamon-flavoured nonsense I wanted. US Red Hot or French Hollywood Cinnamon chewing gum were LIFE to me. If I wasn't going anywhere I'd beg any friends or family who were, to come back with cinnamon contraband, and hand over my pocket money to them and hope. I just can't get enough... Cut to too-many-decades later. I've turned fragrance fanatic thanks largely to being depraved by an encounter, too late in life, with Serge Lutens scents. I've smelled my way through nearly all the small square-format bottles and fallen in love with many. Picked up a few partial bell jars on eBay. Took a deep breath and bought a bell jar of my own. Keep hearing whispers about Rousse but it's almost impossible to find - and only then then learn it's CINNAMON BY SERGE. MUST HAVE! I stalk this scent for years on end and finally get a 50ml bottle via a ridiculously complicated international route involving a global network of fragheads. (It's like the gum traffic all over again). And: Rousse is cinnamon perfection - and that's all it is. Right down to a sense of the almost-burning cinnamon-infused icing sugar dust on those tiny precious pink rectangles of prized, foreign gum. In some ways it's superlative - a definitive cinnamon soliflore; I get pretty much nothing but straight, sweet, centred cinnamon all the way through... so totally linear it's almost minimalist. It's NOT a burning spice bomb or exotic adventure; rather something upmarket, gentle, femme-ish though unisex and smooth throughout. Yet, if I didn't know better, I might think it a CDG single-note chemical experiment rather than something from Lutens, so often the house of deep, organic, weird complexity. For non-cinnamon-bun-heads, that might bring a sense of letdown: what is all the exclusivity and the high price really about, then? There's none of the deep mellow fruit, or crazy-man spicing, or really dark wood here that you might expect from a Lutens oriental scent. It's absolutely NOT complex; 5 O Clock Au Gingembre, maybe the closest thing to it from the house, is an epic saga of progression compared to Rousse. Sillage is subtle, not huge, but this may be a plus; performance is a little disappinting, to be honest - fading away more or less totally by about 5h in on skin, though it might make 9 -10 on textiles. So despite its towering reputation - this one is not a beast, or a lesson in perfumery art, or the smell of a whole landscape. It's so simple that you might not even think it adds up to a complete fragrance, let alone the smell of an entire persona. But if you have cinnamon right in your soul, like I do ... you may not care. I wear this just for myself, often just before bed: sweet, safe, cinnamon-scented dreams sometimes follow. Magic.

Rousse reminds me of the aroma of a specific (yes, there are several!), Cinnamomum verum, otherwise known as Ceylon cinnamon. Sourced from Sri Lanka, Madagascar and the Seychelles, it is less coumarinic than cassia, with a woodier-spicier warmth. Sheldrake folds this cinnamon accord into a doughy softness that has me swearing there is orris here, or maybe Orivone, or something with irones: it feels pale, powdery, and keeps Rousse from feeling too hot-spicy to the nose. It's beautifully muted and impressionistic, while still evoking the feeling of comfort and safety. There is also this phase that has a more tea-like quality, somehow feeling translucent, yet full-bodied. Anchored with a familiar cedar that has been a keystone since Feminite du Bois, here it harmonizes with the cinnamon as it transitions in the base, feeling softly earthy, with the resins feeling dusted and baked-in. As I take Rousse in, I must admit I want to do anything but work; I want to crawl back into my bed, wrap myself up in a blanket, and lose myself in a good book or film. It's one of those—it softens, rather than energizes; it's one for disconnecting. Side note: this is one of five first samples I received back in 2008 from the SL counter, and its unencumbered, unfussy beauty had my heart since.

When I first smelled it I remember my reaction. Did Christmas came early this year? Don't get me wrong. But all that cinnamon . But with all creations I learned to judge them after you evaluate them for at least a few hours after the first encounter. And it changed a lot. The cinnamon was always predominant but cinnamon does that is one of the most strong modifiers in perfumerie (I personally in my creations rarely use cinnamon I prefer cloves, nutmeg, and even pepper after all you can compose a similar scent of cinnamon but more subtle) so with cinnamon you have to be very light handed or use it in trace . After the hours past it became more woodsy the tangerine started to give it shinning face and the orange appeared. Then the woods ( give me woods and take my heart) came out cedar and maybe some Caucasian pine ? Anyway for me is still my Christmas perfume very gourmand like baked cinnamon cookies and all those Christmas smells in the house. For a cinnamon addict one of the best .

Rousse is a true oriental spicy, but a calm, gentle one. The initial moments are poignant due to the strong cinnamon notes. But they calm down and cloves can be detected. And then we have a perfect chord of those two notes in beautiful balance. We can also sense the mandarins and the cedar, but they are soft, nearly silent, for cinnamon and cloves are more prominent. As mandarins and cedar work, everything gets in the second perfect balance and everything is in its due place. Rousse is a comfortable fragrance, but it takes some time to get to this point: cozy, warm, calm, perfect for cold days. Those days when you step inside and enjoy a fine hot beverage on your old smooth couch.

A beautifully done woody Oriental showcasing the most perfect use of the cinnamon note in perfumery. The perfume opens with notes of mandarin orange, clove, candied fruits and slight iris. The heart is all cinnamon including cinnamon wood and bark. The perfume settles on a powdery bed of cedar, vanilla, amber and balsamic resin. The unisex scent has moderate to strong sillage and very good longevity. Sophisticated, a bit dessert like, and just delectable. Enjoy!

The most cinnamon of cinnamon scents. Classy, warm. On application I feel cloves then cinnamon appears rounded up by amber. It is a perfect autumn scent. To my surprice it warms up considerably in winter and becomes very ambery in the style of Ambre Sultan but instead of the spices there we have cinnamon with a hint of cloves on a cedar canvas. A dreamy scent. The projection in winter is intimate, it lasts 10 hours and is easy to love.

Sexy, Classy and Mysterious ... Those are the three words that come into my mind when i wear Rousse. It starts with a woody Cinnamon. Than the woody turns down and cinnamon stays a little sweeter, but not too much. I wished i could describe better how wonderful this scent is. My Boyfriend just loves when i wear it. Definitely one o the bests in my opinion!!

Of entire wax pack of samples Rousse is my favorite so far. Loved it from the first sniff and knew I will be getting a full bottle, even though it discontinued and overpriced now. It is such a pleasant and comforting Christmas scent. Cinnamon is not overpowering. Rousse is the perfect mix of cinnamon and cloves with resins and amber. Gorgeous!

Doc Elly, you basically said what I would have about this fragrance. The only thing is, the lasting power with me was less than what you experienced. I ended up liking it a bit more, after another testing. I'll see if I will buy a decant of this. To anyone else trying Rousse, you really have to like cinnamon.

At the begining it's spicy cinnamon, a bit sweet something like cinnamon bubble gum and I love beggining part the most, drydown is not that sharp it's like cinnamon tea smooth calm and not that intense, all in all it's very nice fragrance.

Reminds me so much of those red hot fireball candies. I love this one so much, it actually smells "hot" when you sniff it, particularly in the opening. Might not be for everyone but I'm still bummed this is discontinued.

A wonderful smell, my second favourite from the Lutens.... and another remedy for migraines... soft, warm but not sweet, magical !!!

I love cinnamon and this perfume is the most luxorious way to wear cinammon...it's a jewel in my perfumes' collection

Some scents you love with your heart, and some you appreciate with your head because of how well-made they are, even if they don't make your heart beat any faster. For me, Rousse falls into that second category. To love this, you have to really love cinnamon as a perfume note - if you do, I don't think you can do much better than Rousse. But I don't, really: I personally like the smell of cinnamon a lot more in real life than in perfumes, where it's a note that I can take or leave. So I should have seen it coming from a mile away that this wouldn't really be my thing, and I think I got my decant more out of some kind of Serge Lutens completionism: gotta smell them all... But like I said, I do like it: it's warm and spicy without being overwhelming, with some balancing lightness added by the orange note, and a woody aspect to keep it from smelling like a bakery. Also, it does smell a little like lipstick, which I like. In fact, if I smelled it on someone else, man or woman, I'd think they smelled wonderful, and I'm glad I got to test it, even though I think I'll probably never even use up my small decant. Which is just as well, since it's been discontinued, so all's well that ends well.

A dreamer of pictures I run in the night You see us together, chasing the moonlight, My cinnamon girl. Ten silver saxes, a bass with a bow The drummer relaxes and waits between shows For his cinnamon girl. Whenever I wear Rousse, Neil Young's "Cinnamon Girl" is sure to be stuck in my head all day. Despite being more of a cold weather fragrance, I find myself reaching for Rousse lately to counteract the damp, rainy blahs. Rousse positively exudes warmth with lots of amber, spicy cloves and musky base notes, in addition to a large dose of cinnamon. Even though it is not as daring as some of the other Lutens scents, I enjoy it as an approachable, easy-to-wear addition to the line. And yes, it would suit a redhead to a tee, so Rousse is appropriately named.

Oh, I am so glad I got to try this! Thanks Solvita :) Straight up: cinnamon tic-tacs, Big Red chewing gum. Bold, strong, sweet &....well, just very, very candy-cinnamon. After some time the clove-tinged cinnamon mingles with a note that reminds me of orange peel beeswax oils rubbed into ancient, dry woods....but all-in-all this is one big, dusty, cinnamon bomb. I love a good spicy scent, but worn alone this is a little linear for my liking. I am in concord with Nuppu - layer this up to add interest to more genteel orange-fruity frags & spritz liberally to corrupt those innocent rose scents. Would I fork out for a big bottle...probably not....but this would be a nice scent to own in decant-size to perk up some of my more calm frags.

Creado como una esencia de canela, no es más que la imagen de un niño pelirrojo de cabello ensortijado con la cara llena de pecas; travieso y afable a la vez y que espera con impaciencia la tarta que su abuela tiene en el horno mientras desprende efluvios aromáticos embriagadores de canela, mandarina y vainilla. Un intenso perfume que recuerda el arte de la repostería hogareña y tradicional, los caramelos, la infancia y los placeres por lo dulce y tierno, todo ello “sobre alimentado” por la intenso estilo de Sege Lutens, aderezado por el ámbar, el clavo, la madera y el almizcle, con un toque empolvado que le proporciona de una longevidad etérea y cálida.

This is a wonderful fragrance for winter. Exclusively warm, oriental, exotic, sweet, but within limits, it's a magic liquid of cinnamon perfection. This scent is a fusion of mandarin, cinnamon, cloves, spices, floral & aromatic notes, fruit, cinnamon wood, precious woods, amber, musk, iris and vanilla. This perfume has a misty, mysterious, dark, sexy vibe. I love that the floral part of this fragrance is quite indistinct and unobtrusive. But the fragrance is quite heavy for me, even though I definitely enjoy the smell. This is a great value for money in my opinion in a simple, classy, elegant, minimalistic bottle. A definite repurchase.

Cinnamon! The first thing out of the vial. A dry, woody cinnamon, not a sweet candy one. There are some other things underneath the cinnamon that were hard to define, but as the scent dried down it took on a little bit of a floral character. I did not smell amber at all, at least not anything that I’d define as amber. Rousse is mainly dry spice, cinnamon with a hint of cloves, all the way through. The longevity was moderate, about half a day, maybe a little more. To me, it’s a pleasant scent, but not one of my SL favorites.

This definitely shares DNA with Five O'Clock Au Gingembre. Just amp up the cinnamon, get rid of the ginger and tea notes and add resins. I now have both. Rousse does seem to have slightly better performance, but still lacks in that regard. It's a pretty good cinnamon scent, and I had hoped it would be my holy grail of cinnamon scents. But I think I would place both Hermès Equipage, Cinnabar, Opium, Aramis JHL, CK Obsession for Men, and even Serge Lutens Arabie ahead of Rousse as cinnamon scents in my collection.