Rose Collection from Diptique

Known as the “Queen of flowers”, the rose takes pride of place at diptyque as this year begins. Everything about it is remarkable, from the beauty of its corolla to the perfume it emits. diptyque has captured its purest expression, to reveal its full authenticity. Nature rewards those who treat her well.

The Greeks associated Aphrodite with the rose, the Romans Venus, Cleopatra used it to seduce Caesar and Mark-Antony... throughout the centuries it has acquired many symbolisms but the one that has lasted is pure, unalterable love.

The very image of perfection, the rose is intimately linked to our senses and feelings. The Romantics saw the rose, in particular the pink rose, as a symbol of tenderness. Flowers and their colours have a language known only to the poets, which diptyque has expressed in its own way. Two legendary roses are its allies.

Firstly, the Damask rose, which is harvested in May, over a three-week period, in the region of Isparta in Turkey, at over 1,000 meters in altitude. Secondly, the Centifolia, or Rose de Mai. Grown in Grasse since the 16th century, and christened the “rose with a hundred petals” by Linné, it owes its name to its abundance of petals.

Both roses are picked when they have just bloomed, in the early hours of the day, and are among the most noble ingredients used in perfumery. However, they do not easily give up their natural fragrance. To get a perfume bottle to exhale the scents of a flowering rosebush is a delicate process. As in many areas of life, perfect simplicity requires patience, research, respect and expertise.

Once more, the theme this season is union. The union of the complementary fragrances of two roses, a union of essence and infusion.

Curiously, the rose essence differs very little from the scent you breathe in the garden. To find its natural expression, it needs help from infusion. Infusion is a time-honoured method, which consists by immersing the petals in a long bath – usually for over six months – in an alcoholic solution. The sensory aspects of both roses conjure up the unique, incomparable sensation expressed by the flower.

Two years ago, Eau Rose launched the floral opus of Les Eaux with its sober, majestic scent, enlivened by bergamot and blackcurrant, and warmed by musk, cedar and honey, expressing its full sensory range.

This year, Eau Rose is divulging its scent via two new products.

Voile lacté (Body lotion) envelops the body with a breath of fresh air, moisturising and softening the skin, thanks to the olive oil derivative squalane, and musk rose oil. Émulsion pour les mains (Hand lotion), meanwhile, has a light, generous and enveloping texture, enriched with macadamia oil and aloe vera.

For the graphic design of this floral collection, a black ink drawing is added to the black and white oval, with a touch of lively pink. The different design for each product highlights the majesty of the flower. Whether in full bloom or as a rosebud, its features evoke the style of an ancient kimono, symbolising by itself all the roses of the earth, a universal rose. Placed on a trellis, as a cut flower with a drop of dew caressing its petals, or as a wild frieze, always accompanied by a ladybird, the friend of roses, it seems to be saying, like the poet Pierre de Ronsard: “Come, pluck now – today – life's so quickly-fading rose.”

To complete this celebration, a new limited edition of the Rosa Mundi candle, the companion to Eau Rose, joins the range.

The ancestor of many ancient roses, including Centifolia, the Rosa gallica versicolor, or Rosa Mundi, gets its name from Rosamund Clifford, the mistress of the English King Henry II.

The legend has it that to protect her from attackers, the King planted a labyrinth of rose bushes around the hunting pavilion where she was hidden. However his plan failed, and she was poisoned by the Queen.

Every year, the King placed sumptuous roses on her grave.

“ Rose ” Collection

• Floral scent Eau Rose (3.4fl.oz)
• Floral scent Eau Rose (0.7fl.oz - roll-on)

New products available in January 2014

• Eau Rose Hand lotion (1.7fl.oz)
• Eau Rose Body lotion (6.8fl.oz)
• Rosa Mundi - Limited edition candle (6.5oz)