Rousse - Serge Lutens - Review

Ahhh my recent clove addiction has found me delighted in several new fragrances I don't know how I lived without. One of which is Serge Lutens newest - Rousse.

I know this is supposed to be mainly a cinnamon infused scent, but I get clove. Lots of clove, simmering pots of potpourri at Christmas, orange studded clove pomanders, and yes cinnamon. Dry cinnamon sticks stirred into hot cider. Foody and rich gourmand spicy, mouthwatering and reminiscent of my childhood.

Some of you may remember my reference to my childhood experiments in my Grandmother's kitchen with my grade school friend Marcia. We loved to cook and bake as a diversion over the long summer vacation. One speciality was adding clove to orange Jell-O. A lot of clove. The taste was ummm … interesting. But the smell … divine. These scents bring back those smells from my Grandmother’s kitchen some 40 years ago. They are poignant and bittersweet.

I know some have been disappointed in this scent, and I think I know why. My guess is by the notes, what people may have been expecting was a dry, spicy, woody fragrance. But rather, they are greeted by a strong, foody, gourmand. Ahh well, their loss is my gain. I am sitting here with my nose glued to my arm on this warm and sunny spring-like day drifting back to those summers in Ohio and my Grandmother's kitchen.

I LOVE The Scented Salamander's Review where she identifies the "Tiger Balm accord" that is the theme of Heeley Spirit of the Tiger, another strongly scented clove fragrance that I find irrestible. Read her review here: The Scented Salamander

Notes:
Top: Floral Notes, Aromatic Notes, Fruit
Middle note : Cinnamon-Wood Note, Spices
Base note : Amber, Musks, Vanilla