Flora Rosa - here it stands before me, the honeycombed bottle of Guerlain Aqua Allegorias, filled with the pale pink EdT. I got the fragrance today after I bought it on ebay at a relatively low price. Why? Because Flora Rosa is a limited edition, "Travellers Exclusive", as it says on the box. That means the perfume is only available in duty free shops, airplanes, ships, etc.
So that's how I became a traveller, without even having travelled from Vienna-Mariahilf to Vienna-Floridsdorf. But in subways Flora Rosa is not offered anyway.
It was another blind buy. I was curious about this fragrance because the descriptions are so promising to enthusiastic. The EdT is described as floral-fruity and is said to be - according to the scents - a mixture of red berries, rose, iris and musk.
Perfumer Thierry Water is no stranger to me. That's why I dared to buy it without testing it first. I already own the refreshing Pera Granita and the gentle Rosa Rossa from the Aqua Allegoria series - both of which are highly esteemed creations by Monsieur Wasser, although I only rediscovered Rosa Rossa for myself not so long ago. Although I liked the fragrance, I was disappointed by its short shelf life. So Rosa Rossa was hardly the first choice among my fragrances. It was a pleasant fragrance for almost all occasions, for everyday life, for leisure time & Co., which I like to use generously and would rather not buy again. I discovered that I was slowly becoming fond of the fragrance and that I turned to this bottle more and more often, almost automatically. Due to enthusiastic comments, I became aware of Flora Rosa and started to be interested in a comparison with Rosa Rossa.
For both perfumes, Monsieur Wasser operates with berries, rose and musk. But the fragrances aren't very similar - except that both unfortunately have a rather short shelf life and sillage.
Flora Rosa starts off by simply thinking, "Wonderful!"
The fragrance is unexpectedly fresh, pleasant, light and lively.
I imagine the stewardess walking through the airplane with this scent, smiling and spraying around a little, so that soon the whole passenger compartment is filled with this wonderful, powdery rose scent. There's hardly anyone who could resist the charm of this perfume. Flora Rosa may be a women's scent, but most male travellers know ladies who would love to have such a souvenir. And the women are probably almost all taken with so much grace and freshness anyway.
Rose scents are not always fresh. They are often too sweet or heavy. Flora Rosa bears the signs of the times and surprises with this fruity freshness of red berries, which surrounds you almost explosively - unfortunately only for a short time - after spraying. When I think of red berries here, I think mainly of raspberries, sweet but dry raspberries that remind me a little of the raspberry juice or raspberry candies of childhood.
After this first bomb of freshness, the rose quickly appears, accompanied by the powdery iris, which ensures that the fragrance does not become too sweet and remains beautifully dry. That's how you like roses today. No kitsch, no synthetic sweetness, nothing overloaded, heavy, but an uncomplicated sophistication to which one can simply say yes. The fragrance is an ideal companion for leisure time, everyday life, travel, city strolls, walks, shopping tours, bathing trips ... For the evening it seems too light, not intense enough.
For me, Flora Rosa is first and foremost a summer scent, but it is also suitable for any occasion when you want to feel fresh or refresh yourself - like travelling.
It is a good, light rose-raspberry scent that makes you feel cheerful and gives you a feeling of being well-groomed.
The musk stays rather in the background. But it rounds off the fragrance and "grounds" the airy, light, buoyant a little, without diminishing these qualities.
I can't imagine there's much wrong with Flora Rosa. It is a fragrance that suits every woman, young or old, blonde or dark-haired, dreamy or business lady. It adapts itself as a discreet companion, pleasing, pleasant, fresh - like pink roses, wetted by dew or just after the rain. The raspberries play an almost equal role and bring something youthful and lively into the fragrance.
"Sophisticated" or an intellectual, elitist niche scent that poses riddles or provokes analysis, it is not. Instead, it is likeable, easily accessible and modern.
I like this scent and will like it even more when the hot days come. It may not be a "big", "special" scent, but it is all around lovable and universally wearable.
Rosa Rossa from the same workshop, only five years later, is a bit more substantial and has more depth. The summery raspberries have turned into blackcurrants, accompanied by bergamot, lemon and lychee. Plum and a romantic peony have been added to the rose, and the (white) musk has become fine sandalwood and aromatic cedar. I read at fragrantica.de that Rosa Rossa even contains ISO-E Super. So I am not surprised that the fragrance seems so interesting to me. And not only that: Rosa Rossa seems to me more noble, elegant, mature, softer, very feminine and - due to the more contained scents - more complex, even though it is also an EdT - I took another look. The lovably impetuous, natural freshness of Flora Rosa is unbeatable.
Conclusion: One should not compare the two, but wear them alternately.
Top Notes 
Heart Notes 
Base Notes 
