As you all know I am getting buried under the new spring rose releases. There are some good ones in there, but most are just so generic. When things show up in the mailbox I tend to go with a brand which I think might have a different take on it all. When I received my box from Sephora there was one in there which I thought might be that rose fragrance; Miu Miu L’Eau Rosee. If you look at that name you expect a light rose perfume. I certainly did. When I sprayed it on and didn’t get even a hint of rose I thought I picked up the wrong sample. What was incorrect were my impressions based on a name.
L’Eau Rosee is the third Miu Miu perfume all of them composed by perfumer Daniela Andrier. The original was one of the best designer releases of 2015. It was mainly focused around keynotes of lily of the valley and a new ingredient akigalawood. The first follow-up came last spring and was called L’Eau Bleue. This was that rose alternative I was looking for as the lily of the valley was given the dewy treatment. L’Eau Rosee is the simplest of the three Miu Miu fragrances which means the lily of the valley and the akigalawood have more prominence. Mme Andrier allows them to have a fresh impact and she surrounds them with cassis and musks to create the freshest of the Miu Miu collection.
Daniela Andrier
Cassis can be a tough ingredient to keep from tripping into harsh green territory. Mme Andrier uses a light hand in L’Eau Rosee. She wants there to be just enough green to lift the lily of the valley without getting sticky. That’s what happens. As the lily of the valley comes forward the cassis takes its place underneath enhancing the green freshness of the floral. Then akigalawood provides the same depth as it has in the previous two with its light spicy woodiness. The difference for L’Eau Rosee is the accord of laundry musks Mme. Andrier constructs as the base accord. I have found in the past that once you use enough of these types of synthetic musks you move past the scratchy fresh cotton to something resembling a high thread count Egyptian cotton linen. Mme Andrier takes one of those musky accords of soft sheets and envelops the entire thing in a final fresh embrace.
Miu Miu L’Eau Rosee has 8-10 hour longevity and moderate sillage.
This is the kind of fresh spring fragrance I have wanted for years. Like many other perfumes released at this time of year it isn’t terribly original. What it does bring is a different look at the supposedly desired aesthetic by focusing on fresh lily instead of dewy rose. I’ll probably take L’Eau Rosee over anything which has rose in it this year.
Disclosure: This review is based on a sample provided by Sephora.
–Mark Behnke
