One of my goals in writing daily about rose-centric fragrances during this “Roses de Mai Marathon” is to cover a wide range of scents: niche, mass market, designer, etc. Naturally, this also means covering a wide range of prices, from “bargain beauties” to stratospheric. I should note that I myself am unwilling to pay stratospheric prices for almost any fragrances. The lone exception has been Guerlain’s Muguet 2016, which I found on Amazon a while ago at its original retail price and bought with accumulated Amazon points. I bring this up because Aerin Lauder’s fragrance line, of which Evening Rose is one, is at the higher end of designer fragrances that can be bought in department stores. Although I’ve tried and liked some of them, I wouldn’t pay the listed retail price of $180 for 100 ml. Instead, I have five tiny 2 ml sprayers that came as a cute little set in a “matchbox” type box. That’s plenty to satisfy my curiosity! And that tends to be my cautious approach with most of the more expensive fragrances. I love discovery sets and coffrets! (I also love my monthly subscription).

That said, Evening Rose is a high-quality, pretty fragrance. It comes in eau de parfum concentration. Interestingly, I immediately felt it smelled familiar, and commenters on Fragrantica have said it reminds them of Jo Malone’s limited edition Tudor Rose & Amber. I tend to agree; so if you were sad that you didn’t grab Tudor Rose earlier, you might try Evening Rose. On the other hand, you might try more of a “bargain beauty”, which has also been commented about as similar to Evening Rose: Yves Rocher’s Rose Absolue. Although that has been discontinued, it can still be found online at reasonable prices. And here’s the kicker: both Rose Absolue and Tudor Rose & Amber were created by perfumer Christine Nagel! Most of Aerin Lauder’s fragrances’ information doesn’t list an individual  perfumer for Evening Rose, just that the line was created with perfumers at Firmenich, but Olivier Cresp is also mentioned on Fragrantica as a contributor.

As many of you know, the brand Jo Malone was acquired 20+ years ago by Estee Lauder Companies, which is also the parent company of Aerin Lauder. One of the signature marketing features of the Jo Malone fragrances is the concept of combining more than one fragrance from the line to create a more individualized scent, according to the customer’s wishes or mood. The website even suggests specific combinations to achieve certain effects, like warming or cooling the chosen scent. Aerin Lauder’s website does something similar, such as suggesting two sprays of Evening Rose with one spray of Tangier Vanille. I really don’t find that necessary, though it might be fun.

Evening Rose is pretty linear on my skin. Although the website lists the obligatory scent pyramid, I smell most of the notes all at once, together. They are: blackberry, cognac, rosa centifolia (Rose de Mai), Bulgarian rose absolute, and incense. I smell the rose notes from the start, but it is true that the first couple of hours of Evening Rose are boozier than the latter hours, when the incense is more prominent and even the rose starts to take a back seat. The website also describes it as a “day-to-night” fragrance, which also makes sense to me. I could see applying this in the afternoon at one’s office before going out after work, for example; as the evening goes on, one could apply a stronger, heavier rose like Portrait of a Lady. The two would not clash, with the incense and rose notes providing a bridge. They are certainly in the same category of “warm, spicy roses”, albeit with different vibes. I wouldn’t wear Portrait of a Lady to my office, but I might wear Evening Rose there in the afternoon, as it’s a bit lighter. For mornings, I really do prefer a very fresh rose, like Clair Matin.

On my skin, Evening Rose has decent longevity of at least 4+ hours. I spray fragrance sparingly most of the time, so sillage is not huge in my experience; it might carry further for someone who sprayed more liberally. It is not a weak or faint fragrance, but neither is it a powerhouse. If you can get it at a reasonable discount, you might find Evening Rose quite appealing.

Have you tried any Aerin Lauder fragrances? Thoughts on them?