04/28/2025

kittea
53 Reviews

kittea
Helpful Review
2
Roasted roses
This fragrance was my introduction to choya nakh (roasted seashell attar). Smolderose puts the emphasis on the 'roasted' part, less on the 'seashells'— there's no briny mineral notes here, but it is definitely not your average smoky fragrance.
There is something extremely edible about this. The choya nakh doesn't smell like any particular food I've ever tasted, but those roasted notes give the impression of something worth eating. The rose is dark and vegetal and has been dunked in a balsamic glaze. I think these rosebuds would have the texture of a charred pearl onion or shallot if I bit into them.
Luca Turin described this as 'perverse', and while I completely disagree with him, I can see why. The rose-oud formula is obviously what Smolderose is riffing upon, and if you're used to that, I imagine this being a bit of a shock. Rose and oud is usually a study in contrasts, with a pink/red/purple rose standing out against the dark oud background. Smolderose paints both rose and oud with the tarry brush of choya nakh, marrying them together seamlessly.
There is something extremely edible about this. The choya nakh doesn't smell like any particular food I've ever tasted, but those roasted notes give the impression of something worth eating. The rose is dark and vegetal and has been dunked in a balsamic glaze. I think these rosebuds would have the texture of a charred pearl onion or shallot if I bit into them.
Luca Turin described this as 'perverse', and while I completely disagree with him, I can see why. The rose-oud formula is obviously what Smolderose is riffing upon, and if you're used to that, I imagine this being a bit of a shock. Rose and oud is usually a study in contrasts, with a pink/red/purple rose standing out against the dark oud background. Smolderose paints both rose and oud with the tarry brush of choya nakh, marrying them together seamlessly.