Atelier Materi Rose Ardoise

The challenge in creating Rose Ardoise was to strip a rose-based fragrance of any connotation of an old-fashioned, overly feminine perfume—a perception that often follows the rose—and instead give it an androgynous and contemporary tone.

The inspiration, therefore, was not a romantic rose garden: it’s a flower growing from a crack in the concrete, in the heart of a bustling city—a rose with an urban, mineral tone.

Perfumer Céline Perdriel masterfully played with contrasts between masculine and feminine elements, textures, and transparency to bring this concept to life. Two types of rose—Damask rose from Turkey with fruity-spicy nuances, and May rose from Grasse with honeyed notes—are enhanced with pink pepper and nutmeg, then immersed in warm, animalic layers of ambroxan. The addition of leather gives the fragrance a distinct unisex character.

Balancing the ingredients took over two years, and Rose Ardoise has since become one of the brand’s most popular perfumes.

Top notes: nutmeg, pink pepper
Heart notes: rose, sage
Base notes: vetiver, leather, ambroxan
Perfumer: Céline Perdriel