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. Continue reading
Diptyque’s Eau Rose is one of its line of eaux de toilette, but the same fragrance is available in several different formats. I have a sample of the EDT and a bottle of the hair mist. This is a very appealing, fresh rose. Continue reading
Okay, enough messing around with neon roses and such. It’s time for May to get serious, with a heavy-hitter, rose-based, niche fragrance: Portrait of a Lady, by Dominique Ropion for Editions de Parfum Frederic Malle. Wowza! Continue reading
Neon Rose is one of the original fragrances released in 2017 by Floral Street, a relative newcomer to the scene. The fragrances were created by perfumer Jerome Epinette. Floral Street also sells home, bath, and body fragrances, all based on the same set of scents. I discovered Floral Street in 2018, on a visit to the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, where they had a pop-up store. Continue reading
Les Parfums de Rosine is, famously, a perfume house dedicated almost entirely to the scent of roses. Every one of its fragrances has a central rose note, even if it is named something like Le Muguet de Rosine. Most are openly rose-centric. The line has an intriguing history, described in this article in Vanity Fair: Les Parfums de Rosine: A Beloved Parisian Import. Continue reading
So this Roses de Mai Marathon has finally inspired me to try a fragrance I’ve had in my collection for a while: LM Parfums’ Epine Mortelle. LM is Laurent Mazzone. The perfumers with whom he has worked include Jerome Epinette and Richard Ibanez, though it’s not clear which one worked on Epine Mortelle. Continue reading
In 2006, Bvlgari launched Rose Essentielle with Voile de Jasmin and the reissue of Bvlgari Pour Femme, in matching bottles. All the fragrances have now been discontinued, but the pleasing shape of their bottles has been continued in the Bvlgaria Splendida line. More on that later! Continue reading
Stella was the first fragrance launched by Stella McCartney, English fashion designer and daughter of Beatle Paul McCartney. (I’ll never say “ex-Beatle” — once a Beatle, always a Beatle!). The version I have is Stella 2014, the relaunch of the 2003 original. Continue reading
Serge Lutens’ La Fille de Berlin is a straight-up Rose with a capital R. The first hint of what you’ll smell is the color of the juice in the bottle — a deep, purply red. Continue reading
The Perfumers Workshop Tea Rose is something of a legend in the fragrance world: people seem either to love it or hate it, mostly depending on how they feel about strong rose scents, but most agree on a few things: it is cheap-cheap-cheap; it is STRONG; it is a linear rose, without much else going on. If you have a half-hour to spare and want to be amused, go to Basenotes.net and read the reviews there! And if you like rose fragrances but are looking for a bargain beauty, try Tea Rose. You can still buy 4 fl. oz., or 120 ml, for less than $15. Continue reading
Serenity Now Scents and Sensibilities 