Welcome to the weekly Perfume Chat Room, perfumistas! I envision this chat room as a weekly drop-in spot online, where readers may ask questions, suggest fragrances, tell others their SOTD, comment on new releases or old favorites, and respond to each other. The perennial theme is fragrance, but we can interpret that broadly. This is meant to be a kind space, so please try not to give or take offense, and let’s all agree to disagree when opinions differ. In fragrance as in life, your mileage may vary! YMMV.
Today is April 24, and it’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood, to quote Mr. Rogers. My garden is flourishing, and I have several roses blooming. They are mostly David Austin English Roses, which were bred to be very fragrant, and so they are. It’s actually quite interesting, how much each rose’s scent can vary from rose to rose. Some are more fruity, others are more spicy, but all are very recognizable “rose” fragrances. I love rose-centric perfumes, too, and they were some of my first acquisitions when I began seriously collecting perfume 5-6 years ago. One of those was Jo Malone’s Red Roses, a true rose scent which leans toward fresh and green. Another, a bargain beauty that is easy to find at a good price, was Roses de Chloe, a soft, pretty rose that is very true to the flower.
Now I own many more rose fragrances, and I’ve branched out beyond the fresh floral roses (though I still love those). Another I like is Miller Harris’ Geranium Bourbon, which is a spicier rose, though still clearly floral and not Oriental. The rose is less dominant; the geranium, green and spicy at the same time, is an equal partner here. I know some perfumistas really dislike rose-based fragrances, while other love them with a passion. Where do you fall on the spectrum? Any particular likes or dislikes among rose fragrances?
Serenity Now Scents and Sensibilities 
I have a couple of rose “likes” but in general it’s not a favorite note for me. Although I wonder if it has anything to do with the fact that my late mother wore Perfumers Workshop Tea Rose often. I only have a couple of rose scentric scents – Tauer Rose Delight body oil, Yves Rocher Rose Oud, Nicolaï Rose Royale. The last one is in my purgatory box – will perhaps be swapped away, i didn’t enjoy it last time I wore it. As for SOTD- today I pulled SJP Lovely out of the back of the tray and decided it’s going to purgatory too – just not “me”. Luca Turin described it as a “cute floral” and perhaps that’s why – cute isn’t my thing! Happy Weekend!
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I adore your garden rose photo! My favorite flower is a yellow rose, and I have a bush that typically blooms full of yellow roses mid-summer. Everything is late to bloom here in CO this year, my lilac bush hasn’t even blossomed yet! We finally have a 70 degree day in our forecast!
I tend not to enjoy wearing rose soliflores very much, but love the scent of real roses and rose in a perfume blend. Amouage Lyric is a favorite. I have JM Red Roses and Hiram Green Lustre. I appreciate them, but rarely reach to wear them. Perhaps I should layer them with other fragrances?
Happy Weekend! xx
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I love Lyric! Red Roses should layer well with a number of things since the JMs are meant to be layered with other JMs. I’ve read that it does well with Earl Grey and Cucumber, and also Myrrh and Tonka. I bet it might work with Saffron, too. Other houses’ fragrances?
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Thank you for the JM layering suggestions, I don’t have those fragrances but I have English Pear and Amber/Ginger Lily. I will make it my fun little project to blend JM Red Roses with other houses’ fragrances and see what works well.
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I bet it might layer well with both of those! Funny, I even thought of the Amber/Ginger Lily, because I have a sample of that. You’ll have to let us know how your experiments work out!
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Jo Malone Red Roses and Amber Ginger Lily are gorgeous together! SO glad your suggested it! I am loving it, like I have a new perfume! xx
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Hurray!
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Lyric is my favorite as well.
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I’m afraid rose isn’t one of my favorite notes, although I’m slowly coming around on it! I’ve found a couple of rose compositions from the indie world that I like, including Rosenthal by Hans Hendley and Andy Tauer’s Tauerville Rose Flash. I also enjoy Portrait of a Lady, but I wouldn’t wear it often enough to splurge on a bottle for myself.
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Rose Flash is great!
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Your flowers are beautiful. The only thing in bloom in my Sorry excuse for a garden is the broom, but it is scenting the whole driveway. I don’t have any roses because they’re too high maintenance for my liking. My mother grew several varieties and I remember the time she spent on them. Our garden smelled fantastic though. Rose as a perfume note did not come easy to me. It’s only within the last ten or so years that I caved in and discovered its beauty. My first was Paul Smith Rose. I’ve gotten a bit bolder since, I now have Portrait of a Lady, a stunner. Jo Malone Velvet Rose and Oud, Yves Rocher Rose Oud (different facets despite the titles), Tauer Rose Flash, plus Rose Delight oil, and Papillon Tobacco Rose. I think it’s safe to say that I’m totally converted😉 I’ll probably think of another one or two that I haven’t mentioned.
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Rose Flash gets a lot of love, and deservedly so. It’s also a great value for the quality. And ooh, Tobacco Rose! I have to pace myself with Papillon perfumes. I own Dryad and Bengale Rouge, special treats. But Tobacco Rose was the first one I tried, and it’s lovely.
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A drop or two of rose oil in my bath is my idea of luxury. I see a few of my favourite toses here, I think, though I could be mistaken. Is the last one R. ‘Queen of Sweden’?
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I think so, that one is a neighbor’s. The cut ones in the other photo are from my garden, including some you had recommended! In that photo are: Teasing Georgia, Lady of Shalott, Olivia Rose Austin, Carding Mill, and Munstead Wood. All thriving here!
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That makes me smile!
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I have a couple of Parfums de Rosine scents: Rose d’Amour, and Clair Matin. The one I reach for more is Clair Matin, so pretty. I had planned to visit the Rosine boutique in Paris this summer, but alas! Trip had to be cancelled. Some day …
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I’m sad that de Rosine’s perfumes are not easily available around here. Barney’s stopped carrying them long before it went out of business. I think, I would have picked up at least a couple more from their line have I had a chance to explore them freely.
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I prefer a lighter Rose perfume. I have Guerlain Rosa Pop and Rosa Rossa.
Beautiful Rose pictures.
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I bet those Guerlains are lovely!
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Your roses are so beautiful! I love “real” roses (vs. those almost artificially looking that are sold in supermarkets).
If I had to say “Yes” or “No” on rose-centric perfumes, it would be definitely “Yes.” But if to go into details, there are certain rose perfumes that just don’t work for me. Jo Malone’s is an example of those. It smells awfully soapy on my skin. Another example of such disaster would be everybody’s darling Tea Rose. But there are dozens that I love. To name a few, JHAG Miss Charming, FM PoaL, Keiko Mecheri Mogador, De Rosine Rose d’Amor, Tauer’s Phi and Une Rose Vermeire and Hermes Rose Ikebana.
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Thanks! I have and love Rose d’Amour too, and I have Keiko Mecheri’s Attar de Roses, which is beautiful, as well as Tauerville Rose Flash. I should try Miss Charming, don’t know why I haven’t yet. I haven’t really tried most JHAG, I think I’m afraid to get interested in another line!
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I think, ScentBird still has Miss Charming (that’s where I got my decant). Luckily, the rest of the line doesn’t work for me, but there are at least several perfumes there worth trying. And, if you like them, they won’t break the bank.
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I also love Tauer’s One Rose Vermeire.
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Rose perfumes are not heavily represented in my collection. I own and love Tauer Une Rose Chyprée, but find I wear it very seldom. I like rose best in combination with jasmine or in combination with green notes. I love the smell of traditional roses (English?), but not for more than an hour or two at a time, so potent rose perfumes are not something I would normally wear. But I am sure there’s a few rose perfumes I would happily wear, I just haven’t tried very hard to find them. It is a shame how modern roses often have very little smell, but they do keep better than some older varieties when cut and put in a vase.
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Most of the roses I grow in my garden are David Austin’s “English Roses”, which he spent decades breeding to recapture that heirloom rose fragrance and form with modern disease resistance, reblooming, and colors. Truly, they are just wonderful; and they have different scents, too! Some are more fruity, others more spicy, some more lemony, etc. He was a genius. I like green with my roses, too; I like green florals and green scents generally.
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Hi there OH and crew,
LOVE roses in the garden, pots and perfume. We used to have a rose garden at the house. One of David Austin’s roses is called Wise Portia, small shrub BIG scent. Violet pink flowers and when happy blooms like crazy.
Perfume wise there are so many but the queen of them all for me is Mohur by Neela Vermeire Creations. Roses with the works but first and foremost, rose.
Most recently I fell in love with the Turkish delight roses of Viktoria Minya’s Hedonist Rose Absolute. Beautiful, strange and mysterious.
Portia xx
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I haven’t tried either of those, they sound great! I remember that rose Wise Portia, it’s in one of the books I have with photos of the English Roses.
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Beautiful post
https://www.mensparfum.com/2020/05/calvin-klein-eternity-for-men-eau-de.html
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