Byzance

It is also to her that we owe the house's greatest fragrances as well as its international renown. As if to pay tribute to her determination, the house has now decided to reinterpret Rochas's greatest olfactory successes. Thus, the iconic Byzance has just been brought back up to date…

The impetuous, oriental character of Byzance

The very name of this new perfume is enough to transport us to a distant world of opulence and pleasure. This perfume immerses us in the distinctive atmosphere of a bygone empire. It evokes the warm, baroque riches of the East. As such, it is intended for a captivating, provocative woman, far removed from innocence. While the inspiration for this fragrance comes from the Italian city of Ravenna, it is indeed intended for a creature with a strong Mediterranean character. This fragrance undeniably draws its inspiration from the splendors of Byzantine art. It is like a journey to the heart of a tale from the Thousand and One Nights. Its scent, in turn, seems to emerge straight from a Mediterranean garden. It opens on a blend of citrus. Byzance brings together mandarin, cardamom and citron. It is thus a highly energizing fragrance, but one quickly softened by the delicacy of lily of the valley. This plant paves the way for a heart that is more floral and imbued with an intense femininity. Byzance features Turkish rose, tuberose and jasmine here. However, it is in its base that the full personality of the Rochas woman comes through. Byzance closes with a blend of amber, musk and patchouli. The result is a highly opulent fragrance in which vanilla adds more sensuality. Iris then further enhances its elegance while sandalwood makes the whole more enveloping.

The revival of an iconic Rochas bottle

As in the past, Byzance is presented in a magnificent blue bottle. In fact, this color evokes the source of inspiration for Nicolas Mamounas when he created this perfume, in 1987. It was inside the San Vitale basilica that he decided to compose this perfume, fascinated as he was by the blue-hued mosaics of the place. However, that is the only element retained from its original bottle. In fact, Byzance is presented in a container with a shape similar to that of the 1960 perfume Madame Rochas. That bottle took the same shape as a janusette, that is to say a small eighteenth-century smelling-salts bottle, found by Marcel Rochas himself. The whole is fitted with eight cut facets and topped with a gold cabochon for a particularly elegant result. Byzance thus becomes a timeless perfume, a true journey into the past and into an oriental world.