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As a creative myself, I love discovering other craftsmen’s creative approach and their development process. What’s their big idea? That’s why I’m always excited to learn about new brands and their brand story. I imagine the reasons why a lot of people are drawn to niche perfume houses, not just because they usually are of high quality but also they have fascinating concepts.

Aurélien Guichard, born in Grasse and coming from a family of perfumers for 7 generations, signed over 100 creations including Gucci Guilty, Eros by Versace and Narciso by Narciso Rodrigue before creating his own brand: Matiere Premiere. The idea behind this niche perfume brand is in its name ‘Raw Material’, each fragrance was created to showcase one central ingredient in the formula, allowing it to shine without question. There are 7 fragrances launched since 2019, Radical Rose is the latest addition. All of them are structured with only a few notes, they are not complicated but they are all beautiful. Sometimes minimalistic or simplicity is harder to achieve because you have to be very decisive and disciplined in your approach. If you have followed my blog, then you’d know I champion ‘Less is more’ approach.

Matière Première uses only the best natural ingredients in the world with a strong focus on organic and sustainable harvests. They don’t use any synthetic colouring either, so any colours are derived naturally from the ingredients.

Let’s start

Packaging

This came in a lovely black cardboard box, the branding is very minimalistic and sophisticated. Onto the bottle itself, it’s a very clean line and very weighted glass bottle which still feels nice to hold in the hand. It has an equally substantial black cap. The glass bottle screams luxury in style, not brash in anyways. I’m obsessed with their contemporary aesthetics.

The spritzer is good, it dispenses the perfume evenly, not too light nor too harsh. All their perfumes are packaged in the same bottle design with different labels.

Concept

“An Overdose of Rose Absolute” – Radical Rose, which launched in September 2020, is said to have the highest concentration of Rose Centifolia absolute in any perfume. This ingredient is organically grown in Guichard’s own farm in Grasse, France. He’s the only perfumer to own and produce his own Rose Centifolia.

Growing our own Rose is a way to reconnect with the essence of the work of a Perfumer: creating the fragrance itself, but also supervising the quality and production methods of the raw material

Aurélien Guichard

Scent

Top Notes: Saffron, Pepper Berries

Heart Notes: Rose

Base Notes: Patchouli, Labdanum

Without a doubt, this is a rose perfume and it’s a bold one at that. While you have the other notes in the composition, as Guichard explained in his video, the spicy notes Saffron and Pepper Berries are there to bring out the brightness of the rose, extract the heart of Patchouli through the molecular distillation to emphasise the woodiness without the camphor-like scent and finally with warm Labdanum helps to amplify the resinous part of the rose. I think everything he described is spot-on, all the ingredients are so well blended. You can certainly pick up the individual note but not in anyway outshine the rose. It’s like the rose is the lead singer and you have the backing singers help to support and elevate the song, all coming together in harmony.

This is a floral fragrance which in all honesty, not the first family I would go for usually. I like oriental woody and some gourmand, the types that are darker and heavier, at least in theory. When I was offered to the chance to smell the whole collection on blotters, Radical Rose came first in my picks (along with Bois D’Ebene and Santal Astral… I also did like Parisian Musc, actually all of them!). There’s something so captivating about Radical Rose that I was drawn to. On blotter, it came across a little more powdery and musky, but not so much on the skin. I think one of the reasons why I like this is the presence of Patchouli and Labdanum give me a very familiar grounding feel, after all, they usually appear in a lot of orientals. It’s comforting and warm with a hint of sweetness in the base without feeling heavy. Overall it smells modern and almost a little edgy, not an old-fashioned rose.

This is a perfume that’s good for all seasons, at least in the UK. We rarely have extreme heat or cold seasons. Personally, I wear perfumes based on my mood of the day and I’d adjust the number of sprays accordingly. This goes to the time of the day as well. I know some people prefer a lighter perfume in the day and heavier for nights out. If that’s you, then do 2 – 3 sprays and maybe double the amount for night time. For the last few weeks, on average I have 2 on each side of my neck and 2 on the wrists. I think this has moderate longevity, about 6 hours on the skin, a bit longer on clothes when I’m out and about. As for projection and sillage, hard to determine, but I did receive a compliment from someone who’s at a talking distance from me. So, my guess would be 2 feet?

The overall scent profile I don’t think it changes much over the course of the wear, there aren’t any distinct layers to unfold i.e you are not going to find the notes unveiled as the perfume is drying down. But that’s not to say it’s linear because you are definitely going to get the depth and breadth of the roses, as intended.

Is this a unisex perfume? Well, it all depends on your personality. From my interpretation, this is for the woman who’s confident in her own skin, quite sensual and seductive. She’s a grown-up, sophisticated and well put-together. She’s not girly, just a feminine modern powerful woman. I can picture this being worn in a boardroom but equally perfect for an intimate dinner at a very fancy restaurant. Now, if you are a man and you love rose, I think there’s no harm in trying it out as our body chemistry plays a part in how the perfume smells, so you might bring out more of the masculine side of the Patchouli and Labdanum. I picture someone who is quite flamboyant or wear pinstripe suits is likely going to rock this. All that being said, perfume has no gender or matching clothes, so if you like something, just wear it!

Does this perfume remind me of any others? Maybe a little bit. For example, Dior Oud Ispahan without the Oud but you have the rose and saffron, and Juliette Has A Gun Lady Vengeance for its rose and patchouli but without the heavy powdery and musky notes. I guess the final answer is no as tiny nuances don’t really count.

Final thoughts? I love this perfume a lot. And I’ll be sure to get the others in their discovery set to sample them properly. 💕 

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Available: £190/100ml

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