It is universally known inside the fragrance industry that rose reads as “old lady” and tests poorly in focus groups. Which is why you read disproportionately more about rose in press releases (you like the idea of it) than smell rose in perfumes (the reality makes you shy away).

Paris , Sophia Grojsman’s 1983 rose perfume, paved the way for the others. Created for Yves Saint Laurent, it remains relevant today, which is saying quite a lot. In Paris, Grojsman shows how to use rose in a hybridization with violet. While the violet’s almost eerie green angle is crucial to the scent, Paris is still a crepuscular rose, one that, if it reads as classic (the polite word for “of a certain era”) does so with such subtlety and elegance that it reaches as close to timelessness as it is possible to get. Paris glows on your skin. It effortlessly resists the years, equilibrates itself perfectly and renders more beautiful everything it touches. A lovely paradigmatic rose.