We’ve long been fans of Byredo, the painfully cool Swedish fragrance brand founded by Indian-Canadian one-time basketball pro turned scent impresario Ben Gorham. The latest perfume in their range, Rose of No Man’s Land, marks the centenary of the First World War with (in their words) a ‘fragrant tribute to the nurses (often referred to by soldiers as "rose of no-man’s land”) who saved thousands of lives on the front lines’.
It’s a timely perfume, but – as you might expect of Byredo – it’s also completely of our time: a rose fragrance, but a clean, modern, pared-down rose rather than a blowsy old-fashioned one. Created by regular Byredo perfumer Jerôme Epinette, it uses an extract of Rosa x damascena, the so-called Turkish rose, which has a refreshingly light, cool scent, blended with touches of (synthetic or natural) pink pepper and papyrus.
Byredo bill Rose of No Man’s Land as a unisex scent, though I’d say it’s probably too floral to appeal to most men, lacking, say, the woodiness that gives Serge Lutens’ wonderful Feminité du Bois its universal appeal. But for anyone who likes a fresh floral fragrance it would be an appealing daytime choice.
Keen-eyed Wallpaper* readers will notice that Byredo have used the new launch as an opportunity to refresh their packaging design and typography, using a new semi-deconstructed logo designed by M/M Paris. The refreshed logo also appears on their brand-new Bibliothèque room spray and trio of Subzero scented candles based on candied fruits – Figue, Cassis and Prune Glacée. Did anyone mention that Christmas is coming?