Desert Rose Urban Scents 2014

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7.3 / 10 116 Ratings

A perfume by Urban Scents for women and men, released in 2014. The scent is floral-spicy. It is still in production.
Pronunciation

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Main accords

Floral

Spicy

Fresh

Green

Synthetic

Fragrance Notes

Ginger

Rose

Musk

Salicylate

Spices

Cardamom

Perfumer

Marie Urban Le Febvre

Ratings

Scent

7.3116 Ratings

Longevity

6.992 Ratings

Sillage

6.097 Ratings

Bottle

7.290 Ratings

Value for money

5.818 Ratings

Submitted by Michael, last update on 19.04.2024.

Reviews

3 in-depth fragrance descriptions

05/19/2019

10
Bottle 7
Sillage 8
Longevity 10
Scent

Micscent
9 Reviews

Translated Show original

Micscent

Top Review 13

A dozen roses for the man (6/12)

As a newcomer here, I'm going to try my hand at a series of comments. This is the sixth part.

The motivation, the idea and the criteria
I'm a real fan of the scent of roses (in my youth my mother had Paris from YSL. I found "the hammer") But the rose isn't exactly the one you first come across as part of a men's fragrance. Nevertheless, I think the rose is contained in more and more men's fragrances.
According to the following criteria I have selected 12 of these fragrances and will comment and compare them bit by bit:
- Men's fragrance (exception Desert Rose from Urban Scents as unisex fragrance, I just had to add)
- Rose as heart note (exception: Much ado about the Duke of Penhaligon, I was just in London at the idea)
- Published from the year 2000
- Rating of at least 6.0 with at least 40 ratings
- No Oud (not so mine)

Fragrance No. 6 is: Desert Rose (*2014) (as a unisex fragrance the one exception among the criteria)
(previously: (1) Lumière Noire pour Homme by Maison Francis Kurkdjian, (2) 24 Old Bond Street Triple Extract by Atkinsons, (3) Lyric Man by Amouage, (4) Colonia Ambra by Acqua di Parma), (5) Déclaration d'un Soir by Cartier

The house, the perfumer and the shopping
The French Marie Le Febvre (*1976) began her career at the age of 13. During a student internship in a cosmetics company she met the perfume star Jacques Cavallier (who designed "Pasha de Cartier" and "L´Eau d´Issey" only a few years later (1992)). He gave her a small chemistry set for perfumers, with the order to keep a fragrance diary. After a week she gave him her homework and got a second, bigger box for it. At the end of the internship she had found a mentor. This childhood encounter initially led her to study chemistry. She then went to the famous perfume school ISPICA in Versailles - like most of the protagonists of "A Dozen of Roses for Men" - and wrote her thesis about the sweet grass vetiver. After her studies, she worked for international perfume houses such as L'Oréal, the LVMH Group and Estée Lauder. Together with her husband, Alexander Urban, who is an expert in fragrance raw materials, she opened the fragrance manufactory "Urban Scents" in Berlin Schöneberg in 2014. As far as the name is concerned, almost everyone probably had a different association at first! By the way, at this point I would like to mention the bottle for once: The midnight blue design (absolutely against the sunlight!) with a cap made of brushed brass comes from a glass factory in Dresden from the 1930s. A propeller is the label and documents the passion of the two owners for flying. I recommend the "Duftspaziergang Nr. 4" by TVSpee (https://www.parfumo.de/Benutzer/FvSpee/Blog/Eintrag/Berliner_uftspaziergnge_Teil_4_Dona_Herrera_Sancha_Pansa_und_die_Propellerflgel) to the shop in Berlin, which also houses a lot of art and in which Marie Le Febvre also creates custom-made fragrances for customers.

The fragrance, the ingredients and the experience
According to the Süddeutsche Zeitung, Marie Le Febvre's fragrance creations are "characterized by a reduced opulence that is expressed in the purity of the ingredients and the craftsman's attention to detail" Desert Rose, named after the desert rose, a plant that can also flower in hot areas, is a fine example of this. "Desert Rose" smells rosy from the start. The rose is only accompanied by a few other ingredients. On the one hand there are the spicy components cardamom and ginger and on the other hand the more sweet facets of salicylates and musk. Here we have to deal with an intense but in no case exhausting (Moroccan) rose. In addition to the spices mentioned I mean nutmeg, saffron and pepper. In the foreground (according to the scent pyramid), however, the cardamom belonging to the ginger family - here in contrast to "Décalaration d´un Soir" - is clearly reduced and the ginger itself. The essential oil extracted from the root of the ginger also smells fresh and fruity, but also has a balsamic and somewhat lemony note. Ginger oil also has a stimulating and euphoric effect. Salicylates are the salts of salicylic acid. Salicylic acid is found in essential oils and as a plant hormone in the leaves, blossoms and roots of various plants (e.g. the sugar birch) and, as ethyl salicylic acid ester, has a pleasant mintlike odor, which can be perceived beautifully here. (In North America, almost all chewing gum manufacturers offer the taste Wintergreen, which contains salicylic acid methyl ester, in addition to the classic flavours such as peppermint.). Like Lyric Man, there's musk in the base. And quite typically, an animal and a slightly sweet scent is combined. The "animal element" conveys the warmth and thus the sensations of security as well as sexual stimulation. The course of the fragrance remains very constant over the whole time (with me approx. 8 hours with a not too strong Sillage). Again and again I sniff and that for several days and weeks, but the scent cannot be "nailed down". A wonderful constant change, better still an ambivalence, which really makes the fragrance a unisex fragrance and therefore special androgynous. This without ever becoming arbitrary, but always stay special.

The conclusion, the comparison and the practical application
This rose is
- light and dark
- velvety warm and fresh
- filigree transparent and deep
- delicately mild and peppery
- sweet and spicy
- soft balsamic and sharp
- calming and stimulating euphoric < br /> - classic and modern
- feminine and masculine
This rose always remains ambivalent and androgynous. He or she does not send the wearer in a particular direction, but in all directions. Desert Rose" thus becomes the olfactory analogy of Umberto Eco's book title "The Name of the Rose". There the title refers to the last sentence of the book "Die Rose von einst steht nur als Name ..." (The rose of once only stands as name ...) Eco commented on this hidden quote: "The name of the rose sends the reader in all directions - not in any particular direction." The "hammer" for every occasion and for me a smooth 10!

(1) Lumière Noire pour Homme - The noble softie
(2) 24 Old Bond Street Triple Extract - The elegant Brite
(3) Lyric Man - The "pure" Rose
(4) Colonia Ambra - The "warm (rose) wood"
(5) Déclaration d'un Soir - The "olfactory emotion"
(6) Desert Rose - "The Name of the Rose"

09/11/2018

8
Bottle 5
Sillage 7
Longevity 8
Scent

DonJuanDeCat
658 Reviews

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DonJuanDeCat

Top Review 7

Desert roses are NOT roses!

I rummaged through my rehearsals the other day and came across this scent here. Desert Rose. Despite a little knowledge of flowers on my part, "something" clicked on me, since I thought that no roses were growing in deserts after all!

Looking at it, I saw that the so-called desert rose is not really a rose after all. They neither belong to the rose-like ones nor do they look like roses. They may be plants with pink or reddish flowers, but they look completely different. In addition, they grow preferably in semi-arid places where there are longer dry periods and thus belong to the succulents. I bet they're called desert roses just to mislead ignoramuses like me! Too bad if I can figure it out, mu ha ha ha ha!

And should there actually be real roses in deserts or desert roses even real roses,... then just say nothing and just keep reading :D

The Scent:

Okay, but the scent smells like roses right from the start. However, I also see that the fragrance contains roses and not desert roses. There are also light green notes, some ginger and a slightly sweetish note that could come from musk, even if one should not yet smell the musk.
The fragrance is also a little soft, not necessarily creamy, but somehow balsamic. And with it pleasant. The sweetness rises soon a little, yes, now you can smell the musk, but a part of this sweetness also comes from the roses.
Later, the herbaceous, spicy notes fade into the background, ginger, for example, can hardly be smelled properly after about half an hour.
Even a little later it becomes a little more sweet, whereby the musk smells stronger, the scent becomes slightly powdery, but the roses weaken a little, but the scent generally smells flowery-sweet.
Much later I smell a mix of floral notes, of which the rose now seems to stand out again slightly, then musk and general, clean notes, which might even seem a little soapy, but these smell really great. A really beautiful fragrance.

Sillage and durability:

The charisma is weak, because one has the feeling that the scent would quickly evaporate. Of course it can be smelled on your skin for a few hours, but you'd have to be close by to smell the scent.
The durability is above average with six to eight hours, is sufficient for summer days, in case of need one just sprays oneself again briefly.

The flacon:

The bottle is rectangular and dark blue. On the front you see a white frame, the name of the fragrance and a simple propeller drawing, which is probably the logo of the label. The lid is chrome-plated, cylindrical and slightly wider in height. Despite its simplicity, I find the bottle quite nice.

Yeah, that's typical. A fragrance that translates as desert rose, but desert roses are in reality not real roses, but the fragrance smells of roses because there are real roses in it. I'm convinced that people are actually trying to confuse me here because I keep complaining about how miserable my plant knowledge is (and I'm too lazy to do anything about it, mu ha ha, that's bad, yeah, but hey, at least I admit it :D).

Okay, it could be that a desert rose already smells like a rose. After all, there are many scent similarities. Heliotrope, for example, has a fragrance reminiscent of almonds. Coriander resembles the odious sulfur smells of hell.... well and so on :DD

Anyway, the fragrance is already very nice. It is especially nice to wear in spring and summer, as it is loose and very light, radiates a certain freshness and also a good mood feeling and is suitable for leisure time as well as for going out. And the base with its clean feel and the beautiful, light musk smells even better.

But it is also one of the fragrances that can or could be found in every third or fourth fragrance. It is certainly not a mistake to use the beautiful fragrance in itself, but such fragrances are also available at a much lower price. Therefore, everyone must know for themselves whether they would like to test this fragrance. And yes, I write "every one" because the fragrance smells more feminine. But it is highly recommendable!

Yes, in short: Beautiful and made for the summer, it smells really wonderful, but you shouldn't expect anything striking or even something new! But this is true for many fragrances nowadays anyway..

07/18/2018

9
Bottle 4
Sillage 4
Longevity 8
Scent

FvSpee
249 Reviews

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FvSpee

Top Review 16

The Commissario is stuck: Following in Mary's footsteps

Odorato smelled on his wrist and glanced thoughtfully at the framed and somewhat faded art print on the wall of his office: Fra Angelico's "Annunciation", the simple version with the green garden surrounded by a wooden fence
The Commissario's Catholic orthodoxy was not beyond doubt, and those who entered his office, saw Fra Angelico and then, smiling leniently, suspected a pious devotional image in it, did not hit the nail on the head. In truth, the life of a conscientious investigator meant having to look again and again into the ugly face of human meanness and infamy, and this work of art offered a soothing balm for the investigator's soul. Mary and the angel bow to each other in a respectful greeting: Mary perhaps because that is the way it should be with an angel visiting, the angel perhaps because of Mary's special relationship with her boss, perhaps also because of the beauty of the young woman. Both, however, for the time being, Odorato imagined himself to be, at least, because they both possessed kindness and friendliness, because they couldn't help but meet an unknown counterpart with openness and respect. That was so wonderful unlike in most of his cases.

And so all these scents were Marie Le Fèbvre's, they were benign compositions, philanthropic, open. Some bowed respectfully to the smeller, some caressed his hair with compassion, many winked or smiled at him, but no one ever knocked his teeth out, spat in his face or offended him with rough words. So he liked those scents the way he liked his Fra Angelico. By the way, despite all their goodness, these fragrances were never bland (just like the pictures of the painter from Fiesole); they knew how to combine the simple, beautiful acquaintance with the unexpectedly different in the most charming way.

The Commissario turned his attention away from the art print, smelled again on his wrist and folded his forehead. What was there to think about this "desert rose"?

Certainly, it fit into the general scheme of the brand, it was again a humane, peaceful, almost comforting fragrance, from the first second on. Of course, the opening was strong and fresh (almost citric, one might think) and of a certain peppery freshness (for which the ginger would have been responsible, although Odorato would never have gotten to this tuber on his own, rather he would have had a pinch of nice, not too rough-hot pepper, but he thought he could clearly feel the cardamom, and he liked that), but how others could bramar-based there on cleaning agents, fermented plants and stabbing chemistry, was a mystery to him and - in his impatience - a nuisance. His colleague G., who had been involved in this case a few years ago, had already described the prelude wonderfully, but then she had made a comparison with another fragrance, "La Fille de Berlin", and that was when he got his hat up! To compare this despite all quite beautiful smell here from the house Urban Scents with that Plörre from cold Malventee and Berlin white with raspberry syrup, which had offended this unspeakable Sergio L., what occurred to her, this colleague? He quickly calmed down again, because he liked his colleague, and got upset quickly, but rarely for a long time.

Well then, he thought, this prelude is beautiful already, and also the further course, which then gradually calms down and calms down, without ever slipping into sweetness. The rose is clearly noticeable as the centre, but without really being dominant, unfamiliar transformed by not too sparingly dosed and boldly combined secondary ingredients. That made sense somehow, and every friend (yes, but every friend, he perceived this fragrance as rather masculine) of special rose fragrances could be recommended a test; as well as of course the Le Fèbvre aficionados, which collected the beautiful flacons of this brand as it were and which forgivingly forgive if one of the fragrances was a little weaker, as the collector of a book or film series might do with a less fascinating episode. But still this rose couldn't completely grab him, couldn't really inspire him and could not carry him away, and the fact that he didn't know why this was made him ponder. Perhaps it was also due to the weakness of the fragrance, which he did not like, as far as radiation and durability were concerned. He found this unpleasant, irritating, especially as the scent of roses was not known for its citric volatility and therefore a longer persistence could have been expected. Or was his olfaction impaired?

Since Odorato threatened to become ill-tempered, his mind turned to another theme: What was only "desert rose" supposed to mean? Was this to be taken literally? There were at least two very different plants known as the "desert rose", anastatica hierochuntica, also known as the rose of Jericho, and the houseplant adenium obesum, and in English the small pink stellata, which really belongs to the family of roses, is also known as the "desert rose". But for this scent here the scent oil of "ordinary" roses was used, wasn't it?! Then why "desert"? Although the composition of this perfume did not possess a classic sweet rose opulence, it did possess a very specific round fullness that did not give rise to the idea of a desert (at most an oasis). Well, there was a hint of woody dryness, but wood and desert, that doesn't really fit... What's that supposed to mean? Odorato had a thought. After a few clicks on the Internet he had called up the lyrics of the song "Desert Rose" by Sting and Cheb Mami and delved into this track. But was that the breakthrough in the investigation? There was much talk of scents, and also of a "garden in the desert", which seemed to fit. On the other hand, this song from the late 90's was altogether an, yes what, not even a love song, but more an outburst of burning, consuming sexual desire. This scent was too cool and peaceful.

The Commissario was not getting anywhere here either. He sighed, smelled one last time on his wrist and closed the file "Desert Rose" as unexplained.

He looked at his art print, saw the angel and Mary bowing to each other. That wasn't just mutual respect, that was almost mutual amazement. How fascinating. Odorato once again felt comfort. By the way: Hasn't the rose always been an attribute of Mary? But at that thought he had already finished with the desert rose.