Rouge Assassin

Rouge Assassin starts from Jovoy's idea that a colour can have a smell. The brand links it to the powdery nuances of a carmine lipstick, the kind a woman in love might use to write a message on a mirror.

Perfumer Amélie Bourgeois describes it as a first encounter with François Henin. The stated theme is the atmosphere of the Années Folles and French cancan dancers, a blend of makeup, petticoats, skin, stage boards and velvet, sensual but as delicate as lace.

Bright rose and bergamot meet the musky seed of ambrette, a dry powder note and light resin, while iris, vanilla and benzoin deepen a soft, lipstick-like sweetness. Cedarwood and sandalwood keep the composition close to the skin, a powdery portrait of makeup rather than a showy red floral.