Five Indie Roses Worth Your Attention

It's Spring and I haven't posted anything about Spring perfumes and I have decided to not do that particular list. Instead I decided to do something in the vein of my Five Indie Vanillas post. I know I started the year saying I was maybe done with so much roses, but who am I kidding, I love rose scents. On the other hand rose scents are easily the scents that frequently end up in the breaking the bank category of perfume. So like my Five Indie Vanillas post I decided I wanted to make some suggestions for roses that won't break the bank, are indie, and most of all smell really good. What I love about this particular list is the diversity of the rose scents. None of these smell like the other and they all work with a different concept of the rose.

1. Musk Warda N.3 by Abdul Karim Al Faransi
I don't think I gave Musk Warda N.3 a fair chance when I reviewed it the first time or maybe the weather wasn't quite right for it. This last week I wore it twice and found myself happily in the presence in what made me think this is a Middle Eastern take on the tea rose category of rose scents. For me wearing Musk Warda N.3 is like wearing tea rose scent with splashes of saffron and rose water.  Tea rose scents have the reputation of getting screechy at times Musk Warda N.3 turns into a creamy rosy musk on me with hints of saffron. I am reminded of rose water scented desserts at times, but please understand this is in no way a gourmand scent. Try if you like Sonoma Scent Studio's Velvet Rose or Perfumer's Workshop Tea Rose. 

2. Cassis, Rose, & Sandalwood by Dame Perfumery
In some ways this scent makes me think of Cacherel's classic Noa, that creamy musk scent, I suppose it is the peony note. On the other hand Cassis, Rose, & Sandalwood is a far more fun scent. As much as there is a peony note in this perfume there is also a rather delightfully fruity rose going on. The addition of cassis gives a green zing to the scent. To my nose this is a perfectly pink perfume. It is fun, easygoing, and romantic. I wore this last year for a friends wedding weekend and it brings me happy memories every time I wear it. Try if you like Cacherel's Noa or Hermes's Jour d'Hermes. 

3. Brune Melancolia by Sabe Masson
A good dramatic spicy rose is always worth having in your collection, well at least it is for me. Brune Melancolia is just that, it has the freshness of roses with the hinting of greenery of from cassis but after that the story is mainly rose accented by pepper and plum. It is dusky and fresh. Try if you like Diptyque's L'Ombre Dans L'Eau or Serge Luten's La Fille de Berlin.

4. Summer Afternoon by A Wing & A Prayer Perfumes
This really should be far better known in the rose perfume loving community. Summer Afternoon is one of the most vintage-y rose perfumes I have smelled in a long time. It is akin to Guerlain's Mitsouko with the use of peach and clove, but where as Mitsouko never goes beyond the top notes on me Summer Afternoon turns into a joyous lush combination of rose, peach, and spices on me. The rose used in this is sweet and fruity yet not cloying or jammy, the combination of it with the peach and apricot notes makes it ambrosial but it is kept grounded with the addition of patchouli and clove. Try if you Like Guerlain's Mitsouko, DSH Perfume's La Reine des Fleurs, or Ann Gerard's Rose Cut. 

5. Rose Musc by Sonoma Scent Studio
For dusky sensuality I am going to recommend you get your hands on Rose Musc. Rose Musc is the perfect combination for me of deep rose with labdanum animalic musk. It blends into the wearer and creates that alluring indigo halo effect that I associate with really good musks. The rose here is soft and plush there is no green or spice notes, the combination of the scent is all about the rose and the musk. Try if you like Ava Luxe's Rasa or Lancome's Mille & Une Roses. 

image from Behance.net

Musk Quest, Smooth Operator: Dark Horse by Dame Perfumery

Sometimes you want to kick yourself for not trying something sooner. Dark Horse by Dame Perfumery is definitely one of those scents that I should have tried awhile ago because it is definitely worth your perfume loving time. Dark Horse is a scent on par with Frederic Malle's Musc Ravegeur for across the board sex appeal, man or woman you will smell very alluring wearing this scent. Yet, Dark Horse is a bit more on the the tasteful side, easier to wear. You can wear this in the office and no one is going to accuse you of being showy.

Sometimes a good non-suffocating warm musky scent is hard to come by. Frequently they can veer into a heavy stifling zone with no complexity. They smell good the first hour and then hours later you realize there is no letup. It's a bit like if the Hans Zimmer's trombone section from the Inception music kept going on and on. Sure it sounds cool and then after awhile you are exhausted from the never ending drone. Thankfully, Dark Horse is not that. Nope instead what you get is a lovely woody cider of a musk.

Dark Horse has one of the loveliest clove notes I have smelled in awhile. In fact I would say Dark Horse has one of the loveliest use of spices I have smelled in awhile there is no veering into the medicinal esoteric territory nor into the cupcake land of fake spice. No this is spices with clarity and warmth. Clove is coupled with sweet tangy citrus with hints of cinnamon. All of it is wrapped in cozy wood and musk with hints of sweet vanilla.

You will get wafts of Dark Horse through out the day. At times you will catch hints of roses and carnation, others will hint at the entwining of musky golden amber and lemon. Frequently you will get a spiced woods note that will leave you feeling embraced.

I will say this now if you are a fan of Fendi's now legendary and long discontinued Theorema then I must implore you to try Dark Horse. Is it a dupe no, but they are clearly of the same family of delicious easy going wooded musk scents.

Try Dark Horse if you like Frederic Malle's Musc Ravegeur, Lolita Lempicka's L de Lolita Lempicka, Fendi's Theorema, and Nicolai's Ambre Cashmere Intense. 

First image from Dameperfumery.com
Second image: Viggo Mortensen by Norman Jean Roy

Putting Spring in Your Perfume

In California it has been Spring for awhile, so I have actually had the chance to get out my spring perfumes, and really figure out which ones are the most spring-ful to me. So without further nattering my picks for Spring. Also, this following list is only for perfumes still in production.

1. Elie Saab Le Parfum. Do you need a resplendent orange blossom with a bit of earthy cedar and honey? Which is also easy to find? Then pick up the original Elie Saab scent. You will glow in this scent and get compliments. It is the best orange blossom on the mass market at the moment and I still love it.

2. Jour d'Hermes by Hermes. Do you often wonder what a modern spring goddess would smell like? I suspect it would probably be this. A tart tangy grapefruit opening followed by a bouquet of flowers. The funny thing with each wearing I get a different emphasis on different flowers or notes. Sometimes it is tiare, other times freesia, in other moments sweet peas, and one time delicious musk.

3. Le Temps d'Une Fete by Nicolai Parfumeur Createur. A glowing yellow field full of earth, musk, narcissus, and sweet herbs. Utterly gorgeous and just makes you want to keep inhaling. A unique take on oakmoss that I actually like.

4. Cassis, Rose, & Sandalwood by Dame Perfumery. Juicy current and peonies followed by roses and woods, I am reminded of easier going L'Ombre Dans L'Eau by Diptyque. If you have ever found the L'Ombre Dans L'Eau too harsh and green try this one.

5. Trefle Pur by Atelier Cologne. Need to feel fresh, earthy, and completely classy? Pick this one, I am always reminded of rolling green hills and green ferns when I wear this one.

6. Neroli Blanc Intense Eau de Parfum by Au Pays de la Fleur d'Oranger. The great orange blossom gourmand, sweet and lively, this scent is for feeling joyous. It makes me think orange blossom cream and first stone fruit of spring.

7. Lieu de Reves by Sonoma Scent Studio. Rainwater violets, sweet rose water, heliotrope and with a sweet amber iris dry down. A lovely rainy spring day at a pastry shop.

8. Pepper Ylang by Smell Bent. The hot cold sweet scent of heady ylang ylang with a smooth drydown of vanilla and myrrh. A happy yellow scent.

image from ili-ili.net

Indie Perfume House Spotlight: Dame Perfumery

In a bizarre way I have a long history with Jeffrey Dame of Dame Perfumery in that my first perfume haunt in the heady days of the early aughts was at the message board Perfume of Life that he created. It was a great place to learn about perfume and at the time one of the few places to meet like minded fumeheads. Things change Mr. Dame went on to new projects, Perfume of Life is closed now, and the world of perfume lovers is far larger. In the years since it appears Jeffrey Dame has worked in many perfume projects but I feel that in 2014 he made the big transition, to what I suspect is a lifetime passion project, Dame Perfumery.

What I find really refreshing about Dame Perfumery is the enthusiasm, heart, and joviality behind it. It is very much in line with wonderful Andy Tauer of Tauer Perfumes and Tauerville, there is a respect for the perfume lovers that support them, and the appearance of joy in sharing their creations. I find this refreshing because while there are the great noses of the world that work for the big houses, the reality is that those of us who are perfume lovers will never interact with them and frankly they don't particularly want to interact with us. Dame Perfumery is of the new school though, that if you have people loving your creations, interact with them.

So what can you expect from Dame Perfumery perfumes? Well I haven't tried them all but I have tried four and I can tell you there is a definite common aesthetic in them. They are clearly modern perfumes but and here is the part that takes Dame out of the mundane there is real craft in them, a real value in note transition and transformation. These scents are about smelling good and enjoying yourself, if you are looking oddness look somewhere else but lets not think that means his scents are boring, they're not. They are tailored and as far as I am concerned tailoring is one of the great crafts of the world. To tailor is to know your ingredients and how they play with others. A finally tailored perfume knows how to cut the harsh edges and awkward angles but knows how to emphasize the best facets and facets should be interesting.

The first perfume that I had real experience with in the Dame Perfume collection is Black Flower Mexican Vanilla and it I am going to be honest it is one of the best recent vanilla releases. What Dame did with this perfume is frankly pretty daring when it seems like most vanillas released these days are either gut bombs or insipid cupcakes, he instead chose a middle vanilla, it's dry but not boozy, it keeps the sweet but the sugar won't kill your teeth. The opening is love letter to the iconic Shalimar in that it begins with animalic lemon tinged vanilla but then it takes a turn to the drier side the lemon is gone the musk backs down and out steps spicy dry cocoa dusted vanilla. At this point I am reminded of the lesser loved Guerlain vanilla, Cuir Beluga, a vanilla that wasn't about booze like Spiritueuse Double Vanille, but rather about skin and vanilla. Black Flower Mexican Vanilla is able to emphasize the beauty of musk and vanilla together, it is a common combination, but one that recently has been ignored and has been due for a reinvention. Dame Perfumery does a fine job in giving vanilla its sex appeal back with an actual reference to the muskiness of skin.

The next perfume I fell in love with is Cassis, Rose, and Sandalwood. So what are you getting with this scent? Well, for me this is a lovely take on two types of fragrances the berry musk category best identified with L'Artisan's Mure et Musc, Philosophy's Falling In Love, or Bath and Body Works Black Raspberry & Vanilla and my other favorite combo berried rose jam scents such as Tauer's Une Rose Vermeille, Keiko Mecheri's Attar de Roses, or the scent of LUSH's Rose Jam. Dame combines the two to make a lovely easy uber pretty perfume. The start is tart cassis, grapefruit, and green notes followed by a heart of velvety soft pink peony that is softened with musk and vanilla. The dry down rose jam with hints of vanilla and woods. The dry down is my favorite stage and thankfully stays around a long time, the longevity and strength of this perfume is excellent.

Next up is the spicy opulent brand new release Desert Rose. If you are a rose fan you owe it to yourself to try this scent. The opening is an intense rush of spicy pink carnation followed by a satiny smooth pink rose scent that retains the spice but blooms on the skin with musk, a hint of peach, and vanilla. It is lovely and sonorous and belongs in the category of queenly roses such as Neela Vermeire's Mohur and Jo Malone's Velvet Rose & Oud.

Finally there is Herb Man, Dame Perfumery's first men's offering. I like to think of this as smoothed out herbal scent, on my skin I mainly get sage, lavender, and rosemary that are supported by sueded  iris and vetiver. This is a very polished scent that blends well with the individual wearer. I think a wearer of Infusion d'Homme would really enjoy this.

What I love about these scents is that they are complete scents, they do not feel unfinished. Finally I must say that the price point for these is excellent and because he is a perfume lover himself, Jeffrey Dame smartly sells the perfumes in smaller sizes.

Disclaimer: I received these scents in a giveaway done by Dame Perfumery.

All images from fragrantica.com