Rose Recommendations - which blend is for me?

[aedes]

I really think you should try Seance. It's my personal favorite next to Hades. Smells like a wonderfully beguiling, ghostly rose. The rosewood and dried rose leaf give it its rosiness, the hazel makes it a little spooky. A perfectly unique rose scent, if you ask me.

 

Rose Red, too, is the must-have for rose lovers. Peacock Queen also has its devotees.

 

I'll also toss in Black Rose. Smells a bit like London, though, from what I remember.

[Imptress]

I'm throwing in my two cents by recommending Santa Muerte (lovers’ roses, solemn chrysanthemum, dark vetiver and dazzling cactus flowers). I was a bit worried about the vetiver when I tried this but I really couldn't detect it.

[Chrysantza]

You might also like to try Black Rose - rose, amber, and musk. On me it smells very rosy with the amber and musk deepening it and keeping it true (not too sharp or soapy).

 

And I second the votes for Spellbound. It's also rose/amber/musk but this one has more musk and amber, balanced between all the elements. Black Rose is rosier. But both are absolutely gorgeous.

[yellowrose]

What? No love for Black Cat?

 

If you can find 'em: Love in the Asylum and Parlement of Foules. Check the swaps/sales.

 

Moon Rose and Rose Cross are beautiful, but Black Cat.

[Orodemniades]

What, no EVE??? No Delirium??

 

Santa Muerte is quite rosy, and I'm surprised by the lack of love for Maiden, too...

 

Oro

[dnipbhsw]

How about Pride? Moroccan rose with a hint of narcissus.

[ajcj213499]

Rose scents usually go wonky on me but I've found three I really like:

 

Rose Red- if you can find it for sale on the forums is a wonderful long lasting rose scent.

 

Wolfsbane- a unique herbal rose scent.

 

La Bella Donna Della Mia Mente- a nice sweet blend with a bit of rose in it.

[Thursdae]

My favorite rose scents are

 

2, 5 & 7

Blood Rose

Wanda

 

I love Spellbound but it doesn't read like a rose fragrance to my nose.

 

Rose scents that I wouldn't go back to include London, Marie, and Parlement of Foules. I'm also not a fan of Moon Rose but that's not because of its rose but because moonflower doesn't work very well on me. I think it's quite pretty and worth chancing.

[jarvenpa]

I like rose scents a lot and am fairly new to BPAL (and will be making my roseate list, sigh). One that smells like wildrose and other interesting things to me, which I just tried (free imp from lab) and love, love, love is La Belle Dame sans Merci. But reading other reviews I see I may have a strange nose or skin (so you might take a look at the reviews and think about your mom). I suspect I may be of your mom's generation too, not that that necessarily means a thing.

[juniperus]

Thank you so much! There are so many ideas here, and I think I know what to get her now.

 

Late, I know, but if you want to order for her again for Mother's Day I am particularly fond of <b>Wicked</b>: A paean to all the Wicked Queens, Evil Stepmothers, and other misunderstood villainesses throughout history and lore. Lends an aura of majesty, refinement, strength, and a deep, brooding malice. A sophisticated, womanly scent: rich myrrh and jasmine draped in the subtlest rose.

 

The jasmine doesn't get all out of control on me as it is usually wont to, and the rose plus the myrrh is a slightly sinister, not at all sweet, gorgeous rose.

 

 

And, to me, dragon's blood resin has a scent that's like sweet rose with a hint of black cherry...so I find that Dragon's Musk (which is the one draconis blend I do like a lot, as it's not as sweet as the others) smells like a very musky rose on me - I have described it as Wicked in heat. LOL

[ivyandpeony]

I merged a number of threads asking for rose recommendations and discussing the differences between different rose blends. I hope you guys find it helpful - as always, please feel free to PM me if you are having trouble finding anything in Recommendations or if you have forum questions in general.

[gloom bear]

Hi all,

 

My rose quest is what led me to BPAL, and I'm about to put in my first lab order. I want a scent that is ROSE...unadulterated and unashamed...just straight rose in all it's glory.

 

Tell me if I'm going astray here with my first lab order.

 

London (I think I'm going to take the plunge and get a 5 mL of this one)

plus and imp 6-pack with:

Maiden

Moon Rose

Eve

Empyreal Mist

Jezebel

Alice

 

I didn't love Two, Five, Seven. The first time I tried it on, it was super sweet but mellowed into roses after 15 minutes. The next morning I tried it again...it stayed super sweet for hours and I had to wash it off. What's going on?

 

I've also got a few other rose scents on the way from other nice forumites.

Persephone

The Empress

The Peacock Queen

Kurukulla

[oakmoss]

Alice is one of my constant top ten, but it's much more carnation than rose, on me, anyway. Don't let that discourage you from trying it, just don't be surprised. My favorite rose blends (besides Two Five and Seven, which you already said didn't work on you) are the Peacock Queen, Ouija, Kurukulla, Lucy's Kiss, Marie (if you also like violet) and the absolutely divine Parlement of Foules.

[juniperus]

Hi all,

 

My rose quest is what led me to BPAL, and I'm about to put in my first lab order. I want a scent that is ROSE...unadulterated and unashamed...just straight rose in all it's glory.

 

Tell me if I'm going astray here with my first lab order.

 

London (I think I'm going to take the plunge and get a 5 mL of this one)

plus and imp 6-pack with:

Maiden

Moon Rose

Eve

Empyreal Mist

Jezebel

Alice

 

I didn't love Two, Five, Seven. The first time I tried it on, it was super sweet but mellowed into roses after 15 minutes. The next morning I tried it again...it stayed super sweet for hours and I had to wash it off. What's going on?

 

I've also got a few other rose scents on the way from other nice forumites.

Persephone

The Empress

The Peacock Queen

Kurukulla

 

My favorites are Lucy's Kiss and especially Wicked; love Othello and Parlement of Foules and Black Rose; Eve is nice, but not amazing on me, Moon Rose was pretty ok, Jezebel was ugh. I have Two, Five, and Seven and Marie coming from the lab (someday). Love Rose Red, but that's pretty difficult to find (as is Foules).

[Chrysantza]

My favorite GC rose is Black Rose, hands down. The musk and amber give it ballast and richness. It's a dark, femme-fatale rose.

 

I also really, really love Spellbound, which is also a rose/musk/amber combo, but in this case much more musk and amber than rose. Black Rose is more rosey.

 

My favorite LE rose is The Peacock Queen. It's another velvety rich rose. It conjures up those deep red Mr. Lincoln roses for me.

 

Now my all-time twu wub, All Saints 2005, has been described by many as strongly rosy. For me, it's very resiny and the rose plays second fiddle. If you like incensy roses, you might want to search out All Saint's (it's an LE) but YMMV on its rosiness.

[selkielass]

I adore The imps of Seance that I have found, but the bottle I purchased here on the forum is much woodier than any of the imps I have- I am hoping it will mellow and become rosier as it ages.

 

Which other Rose fragrances have that same creamy, misty, edible rosewater quality as Seance?

 

Alice turned to 'Loves Baby Soft' on my skin.

Two, five and seven turned to sugary cotton candy.

 

Black Rose, and rose cross were all resiny incense overpowering the rose.

Blood rose was sweet and resinous. Spellbound was rosier, but the rose was very mixed in with the resins

 

Mata Hari was just weird and unpleasant.

 

I love Zombi and Whip, but these are strong gardeny roses on me- more similar to Peacock Queen than Seance.

 

I also love Highwayman and Libertine, but I'm looking for a truer rose here.

 

The Peacock Queen is gorgeous, but I'm having trouble getting more, and it is distinctly different- a more assertive rose.

 

Osun is a Rosey floral, but definately a mixed floral, not rosewater.

 

Venus is very pretty- especially in my hair where it holds and remains true for hours, but it reminds my husband of '...the smell of a freshly opened package of diapers or a diaper Genie refill."

...I'm not sure how to take that.

 

Any suggestions?

[erin.kogan]

Rose scents I <3

 

Harlot: It's my brazen, feminine, in-your-face-woman scent. It's my fishnet and big boots scent, and casts a great impression of both roses and fire.

Rose Red: It's my dressy, clean, fresh rose scent. For when I'm dressed like a grown up, and really want that edge of "pretty" without being *super girly*

Whip: It goes right up there with Harlot as brazen, but it's rose and leather instead. It's a rich, rich red rose, lying on a sheet of freshly cut leather. The rose is luxury, brought down to earth by the smell of the leather.

Peacock Queen: It turns light and almost sweet on me, but it really does start out haughty, really a rose with thorns to go along with the bright red blossom. It transforms into being a bit more girly on me than Rose Red.

Delirium: Cute!! Fortunately, the lemon hides for the most on this one (for me) and it's rose and apple and is cute and great to wear with my crazy printed T-shirts.

[fiddledragon]

I have a love/hate relationship with the Lab's rose...it either works stunningly beautifully on me, or hates me and goes all musty. I should really try more rose blends...they'll come in the GC Circle Swap I suppose.

 

Persephone: a beautiful juicy rose, but something about it went wonky on me (Swank worked, so I think it's the rose rather than the pomagranate)

 

Jezebel: on me, the rose was very very subtle in this; the orange was much more dominant

 

Blood Rose: didn't quite work on me, which made me very sad, but it's a marvelous room scent. It's quite similar to Persephone, but darker and less innocent.

 

My personal favorite rose blend is Rose Cross, which really doesn't seem to get enough love. It's such a glorious sweet clear rose scent, without being dusty or fruity, and the frankincense melds with it perfectly. The rose fades before the frankincense does, leaving a quiet warmth behind on your skin after most of the scent is gone.

[gloom bear]

Ok, so I've found a rose for me that I absolutely love...of course it's the LE one. Love at first sniff with Peacock Queen. It's exactly what I wanted, it is a rich centifolia type rose smell, very rich and full. Def my fav by far of the rose scents I've tried to far.

 

Peacock Queen - love it, favorite rose scent so far

London - like it, but not as much as peacock queen

 

Maiden - like it, but it's not rosey on me, more spicy carnation type scent

Persephone - love the rose in this, but instead of pomegranate, on me, it's salami

Lucy's Kiss - starts out nice, but the skin scent amps then morphs on me, and ends up smelling like hot kleenex

 

2,5 & 7 - didn't care for - it was sickly sweet and no rose

The Empress - didn't care for - didn't get any rose from this

Queen Mab - didn't care for - ditto

Blood Rose - didn't care for - really stickly sweet and winey and no rose

 

Update...my chemistry must have changed because Peacock Queen doesn't smell as good as it used to. Or maybe it's just the difference between the imp and the bottle I purchased...I wonder. Was the Peacock Queen sold in two different years? Maybe that's the difference...

 

Eve and Alice and Moon Rose are on their way!

Stay tuned....

Edited September 5, 2007 by gloom & doom bear

[Roses Ablaze]

Sorry if this has been asked already, but the thread is six pages long, so...

 

Anyways, I'm looking for a rose scent that's not too girly and flowery and not too musty, just...rosy. A light scent, rather than a heavy scent. Red rose sounds like it would have been perfect, but since it's no longer available, is there a buyable scent that's similar?

[smallvoice]

Moon Rose was, on me, a lot like what you're describing. You may see if you can snag an imp of 2, 5 and 7 from the Mad Tea Party. London might also be a good one to try.

[oakmoss]

Two Five and Seven is the lightest and freshest of the rose scents, in my opinion. It's the one I never get tired of, and it never goes over-heavy-rosy.

[Shug]

recommending London also!

 

you must try London. imo, it's the perfect rose blend. rose red was too sharp for me but London was just right. it's by far my favorite of the rose blends.

[Inanna9]

I'll second (or third or fourth...) 2, 5 and 7. It's the purest, fresh rose scent in the GC. It can go a little plastic depending on skin chemistry. Persephone has the same rose note, made juicier with pomegranate, so you may want to try that. I adore roses, but found London too heavy on the tea rose for me. It didn't stirke me as fresh, but that could be chalked up to that dang skin chemistry thing.

Edited October 23, 2006 by Inanna9

[Chrysantza]

Normally I love rose scents (hence my user title! ) but 2, 5 and 7 was the one I couldn't wear - I think it was the grass note.

 

Rose Cross is a lovely rose - the frankincense balances it out but on me, at least, it's very rosey.

 

Another wonderful rose - and the closest GC equivalent to Peacock Queen - is Black Rose. The musk and amber add a deep, dark, velvety note to the rose, but it's still mostly roses (unlike Spellbound, same notes, different proportions, and much more musky amber).