Rouge Bunny Rouge- Muse & Allegria

Muse and Allegria are the two most recent perfume releases in Rouge Bunny Rouge Fragrant Confection Collection (the stuff in the white bottles). The white collection belongs to the light side. It's all about being cheerful and pretty, which makes sense when you remember that Rouge Bunny Rouge made a name for themselves by making truly exquisite makeup. It makes sense to offer the RBR customer an extension of the cosmetics, just as you'd find at other upscale counters. Those of us seeking something a little darker may find it in the black bottles of Rouge Bunny Rouge Provenance Tales, which will soon gain two more perfumes, but right now we're looking at the more innocent Muse and Allegria.

Muse:
I was probably supposed to like Muse best out of these two. The structure and flow from crisp bergamot to a floral heart to a dark base are done right, and there is something mossy about it (moss=good). But Muse lost me when the very artificial sort-of-oud note took over the fragrance and banished the chypre promise it held. The very late dry-down, when the perfume has burnt down to an almost nothing, is an interesting green oud hybrid, but it's not enough to make me want to sit through the rest of it.
Notes- bergamot, freesia, gardenia, green leaves, jasmine absolute, jasmine sambac, labdanum, moss, musk, ambergris, cedarwood, agarwood (oud)


Allegria:
This was a nice surprise. I'm not a fan of passionfruit in perfume, and the addition of blackcurrant makes Allegria an obvious fruit juice kind of perfume. But what this perfume has going for it is a sunshiny yellow nectar that flows through its core. Musky and slightly honeyed, tastefully sweetened, Allegria is the nice teenage neighbor girl you befriend and trust enough to babysit your kids (or cats), knowing she won't have a wild house party when you're away.
Notes- bergamot, sour orange, grapefruit, passionfruit, blackcurrant leaf, mint , basil, buchu (agathosma), eucalyptus, mimosa absolute, cedarwood, amber, moss, musk, hawthorn, tonka bean.

Rouge Bunny Rouge- Muse & Allegria ($129, 50ml EDP each) is available from beautyhabit.com. Samples for this review were provided by the company.

Art: Will Hicok Low - An Arcadian Pool , 1891