So this Roses de Mai Marathon has finally inspired me to try a fragrance I’ve had in my collection for a while: LM Parfums’ Epine Mortelle. LM is Laurent Mazzone. The perfumers with whom he has worked include Jerome Epinette and Richard Ibanez, though it’s not clear which one worked on Epine Mortelle.

Epine Mortelle is a bit of a puzzle, as it is clearly not a rose soliflore. Fortunately, the truly great fragrance blogger Kafkaesque at Kafkaesque wrote a very thorough review of it before she took a break from blogging. (I miss her reviews!) I kept smelling my arm and wondering why I was smelling powdery florals that weren’t terribly rosy, and she (of course) had the answer. Epine Mortelle has a very strong dose of mimosa, as well as violets. Really, read her review. Where my own impression departs from hers is that she got a very dark, green opening, and I really don’t. I do get the rose petal meringues she describes so well, a good way into the fragrance’s development — yum!

I really wasn’t expecting Epine Mortelle to turn into a vanilla-oriented light floral gourmand, but that’s what it became. Again, I was sort of relieved to see my experience echoed at least in part by Kafkaesque’s review, which I didn’t read until I had been wearing this fragrance for a while and found it puzzling as vanilla emerged. Rose macarons! But she is also right that there is a mysterious herbal undertone that is evident throughout; Kafkaesque identifies it as angelica, which is listed among its notes on Fragrantica. I wouldn’t say I can confirm that, as I’m not that familiar with its scent, but it makes sense since angelica can be used as an ingredient in cakes and preserves, especially if candied. Victoria of the blog Bois de Jasmin has written about it: The Soft Musky Warmth of Angelica. To my nose, the dry herbal note I smell could just as well be the scent of rose pot pourri, or dried rose petals.

Epine Mortelle is also a parfum extrait, so its price online of less than $150 for 100 ml is actually a pretty good buy; and you can find other LM Parfums extraits on eBay for even less (that’s how I got this one).  Have you tried any of LM Parfums’ fragrances?

Featured image (and a recipe) from Baking Mad blog.