The Coveted Duchess Rose Penhaligon's 2016

I can't imagine who would covet this rose. With tax, this almost comes up to 500 euros where I live. I'm sorry, but I have smelled way better roses in this sweet rose profile, some that I love, but none of those ask such a steep price. Even for my favorite roses, Crimson Rocks and 9 Arcana Rosa I couldn't bring myself to pay such a steep price, but for this one I don't even have to ponder much to know it's not worth it. The oud is weak and anemic, barely discernible, the silage is almost non-existent, the longevity is barely there.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nu știu cine ar râvni la acest trandafir. Nu că nu ar fi drăguț, Doamne fere, dar e mult prea scump pentru ce oferă. Cu taxe, aproape ajunge la 500 de euro unde locuiesc. Îmi pare rău, dar am mirosit trandafiri mult mai misto în acest profil de trandafir dulce, unii pe care îi iubesc, dar niciunul dintre aceștia nu cere un preț atât de mare. Chiar și pentru trandafirii mei preferați, Crimson Rocks și "9 Arcana Rosa | nu m-am putut hotărî să plătesc un preț atât de mare, dar pentru acesta nici măcar nu trebuie să mă gândesc prea mult ca să știu că nu merită. Oudul este slab și anemic, abia perceptibil, siajul aproape inexistent, longevitatea nu prea există.

Opens with a sweet fruity rose that swiftly fades into a straightforward candied rose. If there are woods or vanilla in the base, they’re too subtle for my nose — it’s just rose all the way down.

Projection and longevity are ehhhh who cares, you’ll get bored well before it wears off or anyone else smells it.

I’ve smelled this same profile in a thousand other (more reasonably priced) fragrances. If you told me this was a designer scent you got on clearance, I wouldn’t bat an eye. To be clear, I’m not hating on designer frags (there are some bangers out there) BUUUT Penhaligon’s markets itself as a high quality, upmarket, niche perfumery, and frankly this ain’t it.

In a word: underwhelming.

I wasn't expecting too much out of this fragrance. There aren't many notes and it's a pretty straightforward fragrance. Syrupy, sugary sweet roses with a subtle hint of freshness make up most of this fragrance and then I get some woodiness somewhere after the one hour mark and the sweetness of vanilla. The drydown is a non-descript woody sweetness that's pretty faint.

The thing is, why would I pay such an exorbitant price when there are better rose fragrances out there that perform better? 410$ CAN is absolutely insane for a fragrance that becomes a skin scent after about an hour and a half (at least on my skin). Hard pass and a sign of relief from my wallet. On to the next!

Y'all know how I feel about rose scents... Alas, it is in the set and I will give it a fair chance.

From the first spray, this is giving me Chloé vibes - pure and clean florals, however, a little more mature and a little soapy. Yet again, this is more of a spring scent than for autumn. Though I dislike florals, I have to say Duchess Rose is more inviting to try on my skin than Lady Blanche was.

On skin, Duchess Rose has the same Chloé-esque quality to its florals. Somewhat soapy too. It is quite light and airy for a rose scent. It is in fact a fine fragrance, light, feminine and soft.
Duchess Rose is so light that I reapplied generously just after it dried down. Even though I was generous to begin with!
In all honesty, the fragrance is barely there. Very personal and only those passing you by or standing next to you, would be able to smell it.

I usually wear a fragrance for some hours and write my final take then, but I completely forgot. Why? Because Duchess Rose is so faint and lasts only a few hours.
I can only smell her close to skin.
What I do smell is a pleasant, light take on a classic rose.

"Duchess rose. Probably a rose scent *spray* yep it's a rose scent, a dewy/wet rose smell with maybe some citrus to support. *Checks notes* yep, mandarin, wow they have that in everything.

Well here we go. Opens very rose forward, not too heavy, but fresh and sparkling dewy rose. A young rose if you will, not open all the way.

The underlying musk adds a certain grounded, soapy quality , maybe a light creaminess. No further changes. It goes from fresh rose to rose scented soap. Doesn't last long, skin scent after 1hr

"