La Fille de Berlin Serge Lutens 2012 Eau de Parfum

Due to the wonderful reviews this perfume has garnered, and being a total rose-freak, I was more than a little interested in La fille de Berlin when I ordered it. I was so anxious to try it out, I practically ripped the beautiful little sample box it arrived with in order to get to the little spray bottle inside. I must say I’m more than a little disappointed that I couldn't get any of the results that majority of the perfumistas have been getting on their skin. La fille de Berlin starts out with the prettiest rose note I have ever smelled. The bad news is: Though the petals here are sweet and red they are shockingly wilted! I am surprised as to how nobody else seems to be smelling this because it jumped out at me from the first moment I sniffed it on my skin and all the way to the faint dry down, which came about 12+ hours later. The outstanding sillage and lasting power tells me that this is, indeed, a Serge Lutens creation. However, I still cannot account for that wilted edge in this delicious rose juice. The notes pyramid is listing rose and pepper and, personally, I have never known pepper to add a “wilting” edge to a flower. It almost always adds a spicy edge – at least up until now. I also sprayed this fragrance on a piece of testing paper to ensure it wasn't my skin chemistry gone bad. I had my mom, (the supreme perfumista in my life!) smell it on paper and my skin as well. In her words: “These roses are a few days past their freshness!”

Because I am absolutely in love with roses and constantly in search of the perfect rose fragrance, I’m having a tough time letting this bewildering creation go and am seriously jealous of the perfumistas who are getting these splendid results. Oh how I WISH I could say the same! The composition portrays such a beautiful, linear, and scarcely found red rose note that I want to give it another chance to see if some magic will transform that wilted rose into a fresher one. I will update this review if I find that this is a juice you need to test out several times before it agrees with your skin. In the meantime, to the rose lovers out there who might be tempted to blind-buy a full bottle of this soliflore: Be sure to test first!

Last but not least: Do any of you know of a great red rose fragrance out there? Amongst the many I have in my possession, I am particularly in love with some magnificent roses such as Yves Rocher Rose Absolue, Stella Rose Absolute, Jo Malone Red Roses, Juliette Has a Gun Miss Charming... None of them, however, quite hit the mark and satisfy my thirst for that elusive, velvety red rose. I’m open to suggestions in the replies and my post box.. :)