WHAT I SMELL:  Rrose Sélavy has a very herbal opening with a minted tarragon sitting on top of a vibrant deep and masculine rose.  I don’t want to say that the opening is discordant, but its incredibly different and unique in a way that makes you to wonder where this perfume path is going to lead you.   After a few minutes, a mentholated and camphorous warmth helps to give the perfume a pulsating heart.  Here the perfume feels beautifully earthy as if there’s a great story that accompanies the wearer of the fragrance.  The perfume is deep, warm, slightly spicy and completely herbal and a little goes a long way as the projection is quite big, but it still manages to remain down to earth.  Even though this is a rose perfume, there’s something so darkly mysterious and beautiful about it that belies my vision of a rose.  In the end, Rrose Sélavy quiets considerably, leaving you with a faint wisp of a creamy rose that feels as if it’s holding a secret.

From the Maria Candida Gentile website:

A Velvet rose, persistent and unique, dedicated to one of the leading artist of Dadaism: a homage to Marcel Duchamp and to his “double” Rrose Sélavy.

With Rrose Sélavy Maria Candida interprets the “double” of Marcel Duchamp, and his jeux des mots Rrose Sélavy which sounds in French like “eros, c’est la vie”, or “arroser la vie”, to make a toast to life. Maria Candida pays tribute to Duchamp, making a toast to life with her velvet, soft, fresh, just harvested, with its olfactory vibration, which fill the air and the space, tridimensional just like his art crafts. The name Sélavy emerged in 1921 in a series of photographs by Man Ray of Duchamp dressed as a woman. Through the 1920s, Man Ray and Duchamp collaborated on more photos of Sélavy. Duchamp later used the name as the byline on written material and signed several creations with it.

Notes:  Rose petals, Turkish rose, May rose , Rose accord, Michelle rose, Rose stems, Rose leaves

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME:  A Victorian parlor, full of the non-air conditioned worn wood, rugs, upholstery and books – it’s earthy, natural and comforting.

THREE WORDS THAT DESCRIBE RROSE SÉLAVY:  herbal, mentholated, meditative

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT RROSE SÉLAVY: Colognoisseur, perfumesilove

BOTTOM LINE:  As I have said in the past, Maria Candida Gentile’s perfumes have a very MCG distinct fingerprint that is all hers.  Rrose Sélavy is no exception.  I find that you either really love her perfumes or you don’t and that there’s not a lot of in between.  I really like her creations, they’re bold, different and incredibly unique and to me, this take on rose is wonderfully unexpected.  Rrose Sélavy is a masculine perfume that melds to the feminine in the end and it perfectly fits the inspiration; the alter ego of Marcel Duchamp, Rrose Sélavy.

• Bone Rating:  4 out of possible 5 bones
• Scent:  Floral
• Nose: Maria Candida Gentile
• Classification: Unisex
• Expense: $195 for 100 ml or $49 for 15 ml Parfum Extrait

Sample courtesy of Twisted Lily Fragrance Boutique and Apothecary.  Opinion my own.