After achieving tremendous success as a fashion designer house that was established in 1997, the famed Narciso Rodriguez, the American designer who made notable designs for many celebrities and politician among whom is Michelle Obama, decided to enter the world of perfumery. The first ever Narciso Rodriguez perfume was Narciso Rodriguez for Her, which came out to the public in 2003. The rising perfume house gained fame and prominence in the early 2000s for its well-rounded and modern creations that rely solely on simplicity, yet elegance and luxury at the same time.  With a distinct view on how fragrance bottles were designed back then, Rodriguez’s minimalistic, rectangular tar black bottle received the British FiFi Award for Best New Fragrance that year and the Fragrance of the Year/Women’s Noveau Niche award in 2004. It is said that this particular fragrance was inspired by a gift Rodriguez had received as a teenager, which was the Egyptian musk oil, and he’s been obsessing over the musk accord ever since. Rodriguez’s passion for musk accords is quite apparent to us all, for all he likes to do is to tinker with fragrance compositions that are centered on musk. His perfumes are always targeting the modern, liberated and daring ladies who are well-aware of their femininity and try to capture this essence in minimalistic, modern perfume bottles. Narciso Rouge Eau de Parfum by Narciso Rodriguez is a Floral Woody Musk fragrance which was released to the world in 2018. The prominent noses of Nadege le Garlantezec and Sonia Constant were behind this creation. They both scored a number of hits for a number of well-known fragrance houses. In Constant’s case, you have La Belle (2019) and its Flanker Le Parfum (2021), Mugler’s Angel Nova (2020), Narciso Musc Noire (2021) and its Flanker Musc Noire Rose (2022), Narciso Rouge EDP (2018) and EDT (2019), and Valentino Donna (2015) and all its flankers. As for Nadege le Garlantezec, she was the mastermind behind Lancôme’s iconic Idôle (2019) and all its flankers; L’intense (2020) and Aura (2021). We wanted to create a vibrant, elegant, carnal and sensual femininity. We were thinking of a Baccarat rose, with some pink peppercorn on top. The ardent sensuality was to be revealed with an accord of sandalwood, cedar wood, tolu balm and myrrh. We also had in mind some tones of red sequoia and, of course, musks and tonka beans. Nadege le Garlantezec, co-creator the fragrance. Like all its predecessors in the Narciso line, it arrives in the signature cubic bottle which is so minimalistic, stylish and aesthetically pleasing. The bottle feels good in your palm, with a doubled and quite heavy glass. The sleek red bottle reminds me of bold red lipsticks. That’s why every detail about this fragrance screams femininity. The face of the advertising campaign is model Raquel Zimmermann, a Brazilian model who started modeling at the age of 14. Thanks to her remarkable beauty, she starred in campaigns for brands like Gucci, Fendi, Dior, Prada Jimmy Choo, Louis Vuitton and of course, Narciso Rodriguez. Raquel was featured on the covers of fashion magazines such as American Vogue, i-D, Vogue Brazil, ELLE Brazil, Vogue Japan and Vogue UK. For all musk, powder and floral accords lovers and fanatics, you’re invited to try a daring and bold concoction like no other. Before trying this perfume, I had only tried the famed ‘For Her’ line and I was quite pleased. I thought that ‘Narciso’ line would be something of less significance. Nevertheless, how wrong I was! This perfume was one of the few blind purchases I have ever made, which is something I rarely do, and I’m so glad I did in this case. As for my experience with this fragrance, the initial blast is like someone’s playfully blowing the dust of a vintage makeup powder kit in your face. This powder kit that sat for ages on our mothers’ vanities when we were younger, but with a modern, stylish twist befitting an equally young, modern lady. It’s also far from suffocating. Upon application, Rouge EDP lures you into a themed party where musk is the star of the show. A collection of white florals start to intertwine with the warm heart of musk to gift us this classy, delicate and fluffy bouquet of musky flowers. Iris in perfume concoctions is always used to convey the airy and powder-y quality. It’s exactly like a fluffy makeup powder with a passionate dose of well-rounded musk right in the very core of the perfume. Musk doesn’t leave the concoction, not even for a bit because it is here to stand its ground. After quite some time, orange blossoms start to illuminate the blend with the help of musk in the background as a solid base for the perfume, and that’s how it starts to dry down. On the skin, it emanates a somewhat sweet and powdery feel, while on fabrics, it gives off sharper blends of musk, cedar and iris since the musk is fresh and the cedar is dense, and together they create a lovely waltz of woodsy, powdery and floral smell. With this new chapter, I wanted to elevate the seductive nature of the original Narciso. The Eau de Parfum Rouge is not only sexy; it arouses passion…the new fragrance has a heightened sensuality. There’s a deliberate new spirit that’s bold and intoxicating. Narciso Rodriguez. As for the longevity on skin, I have to say that it is a bit poor. All I got was around a 2-hour mark, or maybe less, but on clothes, it lasts up to a little over 12 hours. I believe this can be worn all year long, day or night because it is that versatile. It is definitely suitable for young adults in their mid-twenties and up, so it’s not for teenagers at all. However, I must warn you not to spray it too close on light-colored fabrics. You must be careful while spraying because the red juice is unfortunately staining, so spray it from afar with caution. Narciso Rouge is a provocative, wild and tastefully playful. It offers an amped up and sensual take on the original Narciso. So, have you tried Narciso Rouge EDP? How was your experience with it? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below. We’d love to hear from you. |
