Serge Lutens- Sa Majeste La Rose

It doesn't get any rosier than Serge Lutens' Sa Majeste La Rose. This perfume is a round, full and dewy rose. It feels ripe and so realistic you can almost touch and even taste the flower, which has an optimistic and unexpected honeyed apple note. As far as rose soliflores go, Uncle Serge (and Christopher Sheldrake, his apostle) might have created the perfect scent here. My problem is that I don't get along with so much rose- it becomes too sour on my skin and loses most of the other notes in the process.

But on good chemistry days I actually get more from Sa Majeste La Rose, including a hint of wood and a very musky drydown that makes it a lot sexier than I ever expected. I wish it would develop like this every single time, instead of forcing me to layer this rose with other Serge Lutens perfumes to ward off the sourness. Not that layering Sa Majeste is not fun. Actually, sometimes it seems this scent was meant just for that. I've gone through countless of samples just experimenting and enjoying how nicely it plays with almost every other Lutens (just avoid Borneo. That combination was a disaster). Ambre Sultan is an obvious choice, but other good combinations include Un Bois Vanille, Fleurs d'Oranger, Miel de Bois (if you dare) and Clair de Musc. Separately.

Sa Majeste La Rose ($120, 50 ml) is available from all the usual suspects that sell Serge Luten's export range. My samples came with various other purchases, mostly from Aedes.

Photo: Into A Sea Of Dew by MissyV110 on flickr