JANUARY SCENT PROJECT
SMOLDEROSE

2017

PERFUMER
John Biebel

frankincense
Bergamot

Damask Rose
Black Elder
Saffron

Seashells
Smoke
Labdanum
Oud
Patchouli

Seashells is not a note that you come across every day, but this has it. However, this is all about the rose.

And it’s beautiful. It’s a nice contrast between the bright, sparkling lemonade rose scent, reminding me of Impression Rose Oil Isparta from Ostens, and a rich, warm and opulent rose. There’s a bit of green from the stem as well. I have to admit that in my testing, I don’t smell any aquatics, no seashells, no salt.

What I do get that’s not listed is a tart berry fruitiness. Smolderose is deceivingly heavy in its base, with the oud, saffron and patchouli creating a thicker experience as it dries down. It’s almost as if the rose has been compressed into a dense wet paste. It keeps the essence of the rose throughout, and it doesn’t go into a rose-oud territory for me (luckily). A beautiful scent with some good projection as bonus.