Smolderose January Scent Project 2017 Eau de Parfum

Smolderose (Eau de Parfum) by January Scent Project

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7.5 / 10 108 Ratings

A popular perfume by January Scent Project for women and men, released in 2017. The scent is floral-spicy. The longevity is above-average. It is still in production.

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Main accords

Floral

Spicy

Woody

Smoky

Resinous

Fragrance Notes

Damask rose

Choya Nakh

Elderflower

Labdanum

Oud

Frankincense

Bergamot

Patchouli

Saffron

Cade juniper

Perfumer & Creative Guidance

John Biebel Perfume maker

Ratings

Scent

7.5108 Ratings

Longevity

8.690 Ratings

Sillage

7.989 Ratings

Bottle

7.478 Ratings

Value for money

6.925 Ratings

Submitted by Calista, last update on 06/13/2025.

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Reviews

5 in-depth fragrance descriptions

04/28/2025

6
Bottle 6
Sillage 6
Longevity 10
Scent

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.

08/19/2022

9
Pricing 9
Bottle 8
Sillage 8
Longevity 9.5
Scent

BobbyGee
229 Reviews

BobbyGee

3

January Scent Project / Smolderose

This is an artistic work for me.
The opening is a strong citrus-green hit, which quickly evolves towards the scent of Damascus rose in an edition I have not known yet. Unfortunately, I'm not a fan of the scent of roses in perfumes with very few exceptions. This is i.a. this exception. It is a strange mixture of balsamic strange rose combined with a burnt, smoky and still smoking rose from the heat. To make it more interesting, I smell a strange salty flower here - is it a salted rose after burning, or maybe it's not a salty rose? Strangely familiar smell ... warm, salty and as I wrote before - burnt. These are roasted and hot shells ... in India called Choya Nakh. And what is this creation? Well let's go....
Choya Nakh is a traditional distillation of roasted shells produced in India. The wild shells are roasted slowly in a large earthenware vessel called choya, producing a light brown oil with an intense aromatic essence. The strong and sharp aroma of Choya Nakh absolute is smoky, oceanic and mossy with notes of mineral and amber. Choya Nakh gives perfumes and fragrances an interesting depth. Includes unique notes of smoke, sea and ozone. Ok ... that's it for that Choya.
To make it even more interesting, I can sense this scent with slightly leather notes and a slightly dirty smell ... no !!!! This is a specific smell at a gas station - the smell of fuel, including burnt gas particles from the exhaust. In the center of this fragrance we still have a 'strange rose with 2 faces' and it is the epicenter of this fragrance. Now tell for yourself - is this not a unique piece of work ??? For me, John Biebel's masterpiece. Oh .... the smell is completely wearable.

Projection and durability at a very good level.

Top notes are Olibanum and Bergamot; middle notes are damask rose, lilac black and saffron; base notes are Sea shells, Smoke, Labdanum, Agar (oud) and patchouli.

02/26/2024

10
Pricing 10
Bottle 9
Sillage 9
Longevity 9
Scent

SimonaB
31 Reviews

SimonaB

1

Fresh roses

I am on a beach, I have a rose in one hand and in another a shell attached to my ear from which I perceive a sweet sound of the sea... this is one of my favorite roses, fresh, citrusy, smoky. A perfume you never stop smelling. Not the usual rose and Oud that we hear everywhere now. This fragrance is so well made that it is difficult to find another that comes close. I love January’s scents. John always managed to amaze me. Anyone who hasn’t tried at least one of his perfumes absolutely must do so.

06/13/2025

ClaireV
649 Reviews

ClaireV

1

Inky, charred seashells on the sea shore

Smolderose (the EDP version) is beautiful and arresting, but I have to admit straight up that I cannot smell the rose in it. What I smell is primarily the head-spinning fumes of a room where tins of black boot polish are stored, a smell that is tarry and (pleasantly) chemical rather than smoky.

I smell the lemony-minty green sting of geranium in a minor key, which is a rosy note, I guess, as well as the leathery undertone of choya nakh (roasted seashells), a distillate used in very careful doses in traditional Indian attar perfumery to add a marine-leathery tone. Choya nakh is also used by Mandy Aftel to give Tango its smoky, skanky-leather undertone, and indeed, there is a somewhat similar tarry boot-rubber effect in that perfume too.

But, for me, that almost benzene-like honk of black boot polish is what prevails. This seething, fizzing, gaseous miasma of fumes joins with the scent of our old Calor Gas heater, whose electric bars, when heated up, emitted an addictive aroma of heated electrical cogs and springs. I have a fondness for this accord, which I smell also in Gris Clair (Serge Lutens), because it seems to occupy a physical space in the air, charging the oxygen particles with ions and static electricity. I should mention that Smolderose takes up such a firm physical presence in the air that my head swims if I inhale too deeply.

04/08/2024

8
Bottle 7
Sillage 8
Longevity 8.5
Scent

Violett
45 Reviews

Translated Show original

Violett

Top Review 18

The big, wide world

I come from far across the ocean, unfortunately it wasn't very nice there...
It's possible that John Biebel, who created this fine droplet, lives in a wonderful, inspiring, beautiful place in America, yes.
When I ordered Smolderose, I was constantly informed of where the package was on its journey to me. I googled the respective places and have to say that my image of America has expanded a little, let's say, in contrast to exciting places like New York, Alaska, California, San Francisco, which the common German knows from various films, I saw such desolate places here day after day that I was immediately relieved to live in the Swabian province... (Well, temporarily at least...)
So after 10 days, the parcel with its valuable contents arrived, garnished with a nice, handwritten letter from J.B. Normally, this sort of thing leaves me cold. Here I was delighted.
**
And is a rose now a rose, a rose...even in America? Yes and no. John Biebel , the artist, gives the flower a frame that should make it pleasant, or at least smellable, even for rose mimosas.
The fragrance begins with an impression of velvety suede, smooth, noble, never penetrating. And while we sink into the tasteful leather designer armchairs, the man of the house offers us the next surprise. Is that champagne? The tart, slightly alcoholic, somewhat fruity aroma certainly suggests it is. Slowly, however, a 'rosy' aroma begins to emerge. I mean, there's a small bouquet of roses on the table, accompanied by the scent of the sweet balsamic vinegar next to it.
There's about to be a dish with mussels, I can even smell it from a distance! Yes, yes, while some people discover the melancholy of an artist's soul in the scent, the violet discovers down-to-earth comforts such as comfortable leather armchairs, champagne, spaghetti vongole, balsamic vinegar and rose petals.
I am happy to be a guest in this fragrance, because it is incredibly elegant, miles away from any sweet kitsch, absolutely unique and....naja... somehow delicious...
The menu also lasts 6 hours at the beginning.
And I notice: I love the fine perfume.
Nevertheless, Smolderose is somehow not a fragrance for me.
It's too restrained and tends to be too masculine, not to mention too appetizing and therefore difficult for me outside the shellfish season.
However, if you would like to celebrate a little artistic melancholy at a social get-together with food and drink and want to radiate both the finest elegance and down-to-earth friendliness, Smolderose is recommended.
Take this one-off out of the American province and show him the big, wide world.