Rome

[aquazoo]

Refined, austere and graceful. A recipe gleaned from Classical Rome: cypress, juniper, chamomile and rose.

 

Rose, but not thay horrible cloying rose, a really nice mix instead! I like this, I would wear this, There is a bit more to it than straight up rose, but that’s mostly what I’m getting.

Edited October 13, 2006 by aquazoo

[Jishin]

In the bottle: green piney goodness and old-fashioned roses

 

On me: all rose, nothing but rose. Pink girly Victorian underwear rose. So very not-me.

 

I really wanted the Resphigi ... I guess this will go in my swap pile and I'll be looking for a different pine scent.

[supremegoddessofall]

Roses in the woods, but this is the more chemical-feeling rose that doesn't work well with my skin. It's okay, but not fabulous, and there are definitely other rose scents I like better.

[PilotKitten]

Very intriguing. This is a woodsy scent but it's not like I'm standing in the middle of the Black Forest or anything...lol. More like a small courtyard with one or two trees scattered about and a heady white rose wafting about the breeze. Not sure I adore this scent, but the woods not amping up horribly on me like usual are enough to raise the score just a touch.

[ashbloem]

Wet: all grassy and green, with just a hint of rose.

 

Dry: The rose comes out full-force, but it isn't a sweet smell. Just a lovely wandering through a rose garden smell, mixed with the greenery trampled underfoot.

 

I got a couple compliments on this, so the throw is pretty good the first hour, but on me this faded fast. Went through the imp in about 4-5 days.

 

Love it. A great safe-for-work floral.

[Electra]

I should have known better. I ordered imps of Florence and Rome because I was feeling nostalgic about my trip to Italy, even though both have Notes That Do Not Work On Me.

 

Here it's rose. Now, this scent actually isn't awful on me. It's just thoroughly mediocre. Rose, on me, almost always overpowers everything else in a blend, and it almost always smells like dryer sheets. In this blend it's doing the first but not the second. So I more or less smell like I'm wearing a rose single note. That's fine as far as it goes, but what I *really* liked was the scent in the imp - fresh, green, bracing. It would be a great room scent, actually. Almost spa-like. I wish it smelled like that on me, not a rose soliflore.

[columbus]

In the bottle, this is a very green scent! Mostly juniper with a bit of cypress, and no sign of roses whatsoever.

 

On the skin: Ah, there are the roses! I’ve never realized until now that pine and roses go together really well. There’s just enough tang in the juniper to balance out the really strong, almost cloying scent that I usually get from roses.

 

As it dries it becomes more and more of a traditional rose scent. There’s still a sense of “green” about it but I can no longer pinpoint the actual source of it.

 

Overall? A very nice, very fresh rose scent. The rose gets a bit to strong after it dries, so I guess I’ll just have to continue my search for the perfect rose

[tempestteapot]

This one started out very sharp. It almost stung my eyes. I'm missing all the roses and other light smelling things.

 

I think I'm with the other poster who put it in with Vicks. :-(

[oh_the_horror]

In Bottle: Soft roses, something evergreen. Pretty.

 

Wet and drying: More rose- soapy, fresh or rotted, it's going from one to the other. I think I smell the chammomile underneath but barely. It smells "aquatic". A little too sharp and soapy on me. It kind of reminds me of a blue sporty deodorant for men. I think part of it is my skin chemistry turning something kind of sharp.

 

Dry: Sharp, soapy, aquatic with rose that smells kind of dry and slightly rotted at times.

 

It's a little too sharp for me. I can see this smelling really clean and soft on someone whose skin chemistry is a little more agreeable.

[lady_pandora]

Rome makes me think of a house built of golden-yellow stone, with roses climbing the walls, lit by warm sunlight.

 

This is just very, very lovely. The rose is the only note that jumps out and says "Hi, my name is Rose!" The other notes just sort of create a golden glow in the background, warm and comfortable and just plain happy.

 

It fades quickly, as rose often does on me, but I don't mind reapplying! I need to get some of this at some point, methinks.

[PirateMaggie]

Oh, rose, what have I done to make you hate me so?

 

Wet, this is the green, herbal, slightly floral blend I'd hoped it would be, as austere, elegant, and refined as the description promises. Unfortunately, upon drydown the rose comes shrieking to the foreground, comp,etely obliterating the lovely cypress, juniper, and chamomile. the rose is so strong it gave me a perfume headache.

[sookster]

straight sniff from imp is cypress, juniper and a touch of rose...

 

once applied the cypress and juniper amp up to a dizzying degree...

with a touch of rose...it turns to turpentine at this point

after 15-20 minutes this does settle a bit...i think i need to try

this in a scent locket for better results...love the concept and the notes...

it's my dawgawn chemistry that makes this out of wack with me...

[lucida]

Oh dear. On me, this is the dreaded Play-doh smell. Oh well. This and Persephone are the only BPAl oils that have turned weird on me.

[SultryWolf]

So, a couple of months ago, Hubby and I got hooked on the HBO series Rome, thanks to a friend who loaned us the first season DVDs. I had forgotten that I had an imp of this among the horde, but ran across it and gave it a try. Wow! Loved it and immediately bought a bottle.

 

in the bottle: Juniper/cypress and rose.

on: Marvellous and complex, despite seeming to consist of two notes: the herbal and the rose. The rose has a bit of spice to her, and the cypress keeps the juniper from being too JUNIPER. I can't quite pick out the chamomile, but I'm sure it's doing something wonderful in there.

Throw and lasting power are moderate.

Love, love, love this one.

[sd357]

Wet: sweet, comforting, pine-y. The woods are marvelously softened by the chamomile here.

 

Dry-down: the woods and the rose come up more, in a marvelous blended scent that is fast becoming one of my absolute favorites.

 

Dry: A wonderfully light blend of woods with a hint of rose that is softened perfectly by the chamomile. Almost no throw, however. I love this, but I'll need to find a way to get it to last longer!

[Nia]

There is a combination of herbs that Lush uses with some modifications in all its relaxing range. For example there's Deep Sleep, a shower jelly; Sleepyhead, a massage bar, and my favourite, Dream Time temple balm. Maybe because of the chamomile, Rome smells on me like Dream Time gone wrong: bitter, and too strong. After many minutes it smells like Dream Time gone floral.

 

It does smell more Mediterranean than Dream Time, but there's something in it that doesn't work with me.

[Extispex]

Today's test-o-rama begins.

 

Considering my fetish for all things Roman, its surprising that I haven't grabbed a bottle or three of this before now. Even more surprising because it contains one of my favorite notes - cypress. But it was the rose that was steering me away from this one. You see I believed I hated rose, but then I received a frimp of Bess and bravely tried it and... a miracle. BPAL rose smells nice on me.

 

So I dared to try the Rome.

 

In the bottle, OMG its incredible. That cypress note tickles the sinuses, the juniper nice and prettily sharp. The rose lingers in the background, barely there, and I don't pick up the chamomile at all.

 

Wet on my skin I do get the chamomile and the woods, the bite of the juniper contends with the gentle warmth of the chamomile. At this stage, its truly gorgeous.

 

The dry-down sees the rose asserting itself, but its a woodsy rose, warmed by the chamomile and given complexity by the woods. Its lovely and intriguing. Not a dark femme-fatale rose, or a flirtatious rose, or a sweet victorian rose, but something stately and elegant. More confident than most rosy scents would be, with maybe the slightest hint of austerity.

 

However to me, there's something that smells 'devotional' about this oil, and I may end up consecrating it and using it as an offeratory oil in my lararium.

[maribouquet]

I agree with Extispex, there is something about Rome that smells "devotional"...good for augury and freshening up before you visit the oracle, I think.

 

On me the juniper is strong enough that I can't see myself wearing this as a personal fragrance. It's really lovely though - especially as it dries down and the cypress emerges a bit...the rose stays soft throughout.

[Myotis]

Unfortunately this one does NOT work on me. I don't know what it is because most of the notes in it work on me and I like!

But even sniffing it, all I got was PAINT THINNER! O_O

On me....PAINT THINNER!!!!!!!

I was really looking forward to trying this one. Oh well, guess they can't ALL work on me eh?

[Phaedra]

Wet this is dewy flowers, chamomile maybe, with a hint of rose. This feels yellow. When first on it's rose and chamomile with a hint of sharpness- like pine. That must be the juniper. This stays mostly a soft rose and chamomile blend on me. Although this is a light scent it's very long lasting. I really like this one and will enjoy my imp.

[Miss Lynx]

This is a very gentle scent on me -- much more so than you'd think from the list of notes. It's softly herbal and woodsy, with just a faint touch of floral. It also smells relatively gender-neutral despite the rose, probably because the rose is fairly light in the mix, even on my rose-amping skin.

 

It's quite pleasant, and something in it makes me think of summer fields and forests and warm sunshine. Definitely a bit of a mediterranean feel, appropriately enough for its inspiration. And definitely not conventionally perfumey at all -- it smells more like a ritual or aromatherapy oil. But in a good way.

 

Unfortunately, it fades away quite quickly -- within an hour, I could only barely smell it with my nose pressed to my wrist. Oh well. It was pretty nice while it lasted.

 

Grade: B

[sabina_k]

Man oh man. Rose scents just do not tend to work out on me- I've tried Dee, La Bella Donna Della Mia Mente, Catherine, Persephone, Zombi, Titania, Viola, Whip, Alice, and Ouija, and of all those, only Ouija worked at all on me. Until now.

 

Rome, somehow, is a fantastic rose on me. Not cloying, loud, sickly, or sour, like it so often tends to be, but just nice and... rose-y, like the smell of an actual flower. I don't know what it is, but since I liked Ouija, I'm guessing there's something about rose plus woods that works well on me. I think the woods calm down all the harshness of the rose and make it behave a bit.

 

Rome is definitely "rose with x y and z" on me- the other notes seem to compliment or hold up the rose, without really vying for attention themselves.

 

I'm keeping this one around!

[hipslike___cinderella]

With Rome, each note is apparent: first cypress, then middled with herbal chamomile, then rose, and a small zip of juniper. There's something very classic and cozy about this... I can't help but picture a tall, darkly upholstered armchair, a dim room, an old radio and a fireplace. I think this is because chamomile has always given me that warm and fuzzy cup of tea feeling. After some time the cypress and juniper drop into the background and chamomile and rose stand out, very much so. This teeters on that odd "burning hair" smell that some roses give me, and the chamomile seems to add fuel to the fire.

 

I'm undecided about this one. I think it's a good SMELL, like something I'd love a room smell like, but I don't think I like what it does on my skin. Oh, well.

[camaro199183]

If gold had a smell, it would smell like "Rome."

[Skirt]

Very soft, but I definitely smell all of the notes individually. It's a bit too green for me, but I do really like it. I'll most likely keep imps, but not go for a bottle.