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Perfume lovers - vol. 6

999 replies

FrugalFashionista · 19/02/2014 19:57

This space is for anyone who wants to talk about perfumes - ask for recommendations, tell us which scent you are wearing today (=SOTD), list your favorites...

Continued from here

OP posts:
SheherazadeSchadenfreude · 17/03/2014 17:24

I hated La Fille de Berlin - it smelled like squashed ladybirds on me!

florascotia · 17/03/2014 18:21

Oh Sheherazade what a wonderful/horrible description. Ladybirds look so jolly but do smell awful.

SOTD is another splosh of Les Scenteurs sample of Farnesiana. I am currently smeared with mud - have been taking down old/broken fence this afternoon - but at least my wrists smell glamorous.

hebdenkate · 17/03/2014 18:44

Hello, I've been on a mission to find the loveliest rose perfume for ages......just wondered what you think.......I want one that smells like a deep red rose, but the ones I have found either make me smell of my Grandma, or are just not rosy at all!......any suggestions?

SheherazadeSchadenfreude · 17/03/2014 19:16

Have you tried Sa Majeste La Rose, by Serge Lutens? It's my daughter's favourite. She also likes Rose Imaginaire (not strictly a rose, hence the name, I think) by Roger & Gallet.

FuzzLightbeard · 17/03/2014 20:07

Hebdenkate my favourite rose is Perfumers Workshop Tea Rose- it's worth looking at the reviews on Fragrantica to see how many people love it. It's also only about £17 on Amazon but sadly pretty impossible to try out before committing to a full bottle.

FrugalFashionista · 17/03/2014 20:19

I'm not sure what a red rose smells like - those that I get from my florist are pretty much odorless (the odor-releasing process goes hand in hand with withering) Wink

When you smell a real rose, you smell dozens or hundreds of different molecules. There are two roses cultivated for perfumery, Rosa damascena and Rosa centifolia ('Rose de Mai'). Rose in perfumery consists of a handful of aromachemicals that are the main constituents of 'rosy smell' (recognizing the molecules that float around live roses is called 'headspace technology') - betadamascenone, rose oxide (also found in wine), geraniol, rhodinyl, ionones (shared with violets), phenylethanol are some of them. If you want to extract the smell of rose, there are two main methods. Steam distillation 'cooks' the rose, smelling jammy and edible. So although the process uses real roses, the outcome is not 1:1 flower-like - rather, it's like marmalade is to oranges. Solvent distillation gives you a fresher rose. The naturals are very expensive, so these days most roses on the market are made from synthetics. But because rose perfumes have a long tradition, you'll find the jammy styles too, because that's what traditional rose absolutes smell like. Depending on the proportions used, perfumers can emphasize the jammy, raisin-like qualities or the dewier, fruitier, more translucent aspects of rose.

A great budget rose - Tea Rose by Perfumer's Workshop
Light modern rose amber - Stella
Rosa rugosa type simple wild rose - Une Rose by Malle
A slightly darker, more melancholic rose - Rose Noir, Byredo
Steam-distilled jammy rose - Une rose vermeille, Tauer
Detergent rose - Romance, Especially Escada, Chloe L'eau
Rose with dirt - patchouli roses like Hippie Rose from Heeley, Voleur des Roses from L'Artisan
Traditional fruity oriental rose (can smell old ladyish to many) - Nahema
Traditional makeup rose-violet - Lipstick Rose from Malle, YSL Paris
Green rose - Un jardin sur le toit, L'ombre dans l'eau
Rose chypre - Knowing
Opulent oriental rose - Portrait of a Lady
A whopping amount of damask rose absolute - Sa Majeste La Rose

Feel free to continue...

OP posts:
SheherazadeSchadenfreude · 17/03/2014 20:51

Wow, Frugal! Just, wow! Grin

ScienceRocks · 17/03/2014 21:53

Frugal, you are astonishing! My answer would have been joy by Jean Patou or la rose by Lyn Harris. We will carry on in your sporadic absence, but will be lacking insight without you.

cosikitty · 17/03/2014 22:48

I would try Rose Absolute or Rose Splendide from Annick Goutal. I have the latter of these and it is a very fresh rose, like one that is still growing. Very natural smelling, a soliflore as it doesn't have any other notes much except rose. The first one is stronger and lasts a long time and is VERY rosy.

Apatite1 · 17/03/2014 23:08

Since we are talking rose, I'll add the only rose in my collection: Amouage Lyric Woman. Gorgeous.

wiltingfast · 17/03/2014 23:18

I have the lyn harris one from m&s, I would call it a green rose, it was my sotd... Sorry not to be more descriptive but I've just doused myself in vol de nuit for bed and it is drowning my memory of la rose!

MissBattleaxe · 17/03/2014 23:20

I wore Tauer's Une Rose Chypree today and it is stunning. It also lasts about fourteen hours, so although it's pricey, it's actually good value.

hebdenkate · 18/03/2014 08:41

Wow.....thanks so much......a good few there I'll now look forward to trying. My favourite so far has been Evelyn Rose from Crabtree/Evelyn or the Diptyque one.

Stokey · 18/03/2014 09:52

Frugal your knowledge is astounding, safe travels.

I would add on a more common note Paul Smith Rose & Roses de Chloe.

Would advise sampling the Tauers before buying - I can't get along with Une Rose Chypree despite loving some of his other creations.

SOTD Frederic Malle En Passant, loving the smell of rainy flowers.

teta · 18/03/2014 10:47

SOTD is Six Scents Beau Bow from Bloom.I loved this yesterday but this scent smells ordinary now.It definitely is a 70's smell ( maybe Charlie? crossed with Clarins "eau dyn.")

FuzzLightbeard · 18/03/2014 11:23

Wowzers Frugal my to try list has grown again!

The rosy topic has prompted me to wear Tea Rose today, which should come with a warning as it is STRONG. I love strong, in your face perfumes but this is like a nuclear rose bomb. I've sprayed it on my lower back so instead of suffocating me, it just wafts up nicely every now and then.

FrugalFashionista · 18/03/2014 15:58

A quick hello from airports. I'm tired and bored of work-related travel but duty frees offer a nice respite Wink In the morning, found one with a fantastic selection and enjoyed sniffing some of the older Estee Lauders - loved the bracing sappiness of Private Collection on strip but chose Cinnabar on skin and it has a really really retro 1970s vibe, like a brown corduroy suit.

Right now at another airport wearing Vanille Narcisse from L'Occitane. Hyper sweet and with a strong tonka vibe, but worth sampling if you like sweetness.

OP posts:
OneLittleLady · 18/03/2014 16:07

SOTD is M&S Florentyna White Flowers. very pretty and delicate but lots of sillage and longevity. Lots of lovely lillies. Very cheap too at £3.50 for 10mls. Will be buying again

MissBattleaxe · 18/03/2014 16:35

I love that one OneLittleLady! It's great quality and long lasting- white flowers all over.

OneLittleLady · 18/03/2014 16:44

it's lovely isn't it MissBattleaxe I'm really impressed by it especially considering the price. I also bought the original version of it, will try that one out tomorrow

florascotia · 18/03/2014 17:35

Very sorry to sound paranoid (and I am definitely NOT fishing for thanks) but can I please ask whether the little bottle and the tiny sample (two small separate packages) that I sent by first-class mail last week have arrived?
The Post Office here seems to regard people posting perfume with very, very deep suspicion. It's not dangerous, for heaven's sake!!!

wiltingfast · 18/03/2014 17:58

I assume the little bottle is coming to me Flora? The nicolaii? If so, it hasn't landed yet, it can take a bit of time, hopefully it will turn up this week Smile.

Did you fancy any of my Tauers in return? I have samples of un rose chypree, une carillon pour une ange and reverie au jardin.

I actually also have

Tom Ford White Patchouli
Hermes Pamplemousse Rose

Let me know if you are interested in any of those...

Housewife2010 · 18/03/2014 18:05

Hello Flora
The bottle hasn't arrived yet. I'll PM you as soon as it does. I'm waiting excitedly. Thanks again x

ScienceRocks · 18/03/2014 19:40

Hermes Osmanthe Yunnan today. Long lasting but not as nice as the Roger and Gallet Osmanthus I have from good old M&S (have noted your recommendations OneLittleLady and BattleAxe).

My package has arrived from WiltingFast so I am looking forward to a little Pamplemousse Rose action tomorrow. Thank you!

FrugalFashionista · 18/03/2014 22:07

Whoops I may have impulse purchased L'Occitane Vanille Narcisse Shock - it cost about 10 € less at the airport and I was really bored Wink

It has about three minutes' worth of delectable narcissus somewhere in its early part. Otherwise it's a curious mixture of slightly rotting narcissus and dense marzipan, with something cool, sheer and green running through it. Its closest relatives are YSL Cinema and a trio of pricey Guerlain exclusives, Tonka Imperiale, Cuir Beluga and Bois d'Armenie. It's pretty high quality and nicely crafted. The entire Grasse line at L'Occitane is worth sniffing. Prices are 49-59€ depending on where you buy (vs. 187€ for Tonka Inmperiale).

OP posts: