You’ve all been treated to my grouchy spring impatience with all the debutante rose perfumes out there. I get contacted by many readers who want to know what the alternatives are for a nice spring floral. It turns out this spring has seemingly wanted to answer that question on its own. Orange blossom has featured in more releases this spring than I can remember in previous years. It turns out that it can be as much a beguiling innocent floral as rose. Rochas Girl proves the point.
Rochas is one of those perfume brands I keep hoping for bigger things from. Their fragrances are a running history of perfumery in the post-war world. They have helped to steer the major trends of modern perfumery through their releases since then. They always manage to catch my attention with their interpretation of current modern trends. Girl takes on the transparent floral.
Anne Flipo
One of the things about this fresh-faced style of floral perfume is I wonder if it is even relevant anymore. Are today’s debutantes looking for a partner or to become a partner in a business they start? Which is one of the things I found enjoyable about Girl. Perfumer Anne Flipo forms a more vibrant style of opacity which seems to me more representative of today’s girl.
What has made orange blossom come out of its shell as a fresh floral has been perfumers pairing it with neroli. It adds some depth to the floralcy while adding in a spring green underpinning. It is here where Girl begins. Mme Flipo uses the sticky green blackcurrant buds to add a hint of fruit and a hint of green each working with the orange blossom or the neroli. Baie rose is used as the bridge between while its fruity and herbal nature bring it all together. This is a spring floral with intent. The green adds some power underneath the floral. With all this, it is a transparent construct. It is as opaque as a stained-glass window. It is framed with a woody base accord of vanilla impregnated sandalwood and cedar. The vanilla draws the floral accord into a warm embrace at the end.
Girl has 10-12 hour longevity and average sillage.
This is my idea of a spring floral. It doesn’t skimp on a fresh floral effect it also has a little bit of attitude to go with it. Which is befitting the new spring debutante in town.
Disclosure: This review is based on a sample provided by Rochas.
–Mark Behnke
