MenaRothi

You remind me of a long forgotten time. You make me feel safe and secure. You are exciting, mysterious, secretive. Your sweet, spicy and all around successful appearance just reminds me of the mystery of a souk. You are the epitome of the medina of Marrakech for me. Lots of spices, magical lights, bright colors: a mystery to outsiders. And despite your size, you convey intimacy. Whispering in my ear - softly, very softly "I will never fully reveal my secret".

Although I tend to associate Chanel no 19 with the first movement of Beethoven's 9th Symphony, which is entitled Allegro ma non troppo, un poco maestoso, this fragrance is in itself simply an ode to joy. Majestic, wild, untamed and hard, Chanel no 19 starts with a slightly bitter and austere opening and therefore, in my opinion, can be compared very well with Beethoven's Allegro ma non troppo, un poco maestoso. Just as in the first movement of the 9th, the key of the scent pyramid changes and the leathery, bitter component gives way to softer, more lovely and flowery notes, which give this loud perfume a delicacy that breathes something heavenly into it. Something that is out of this world. For me, the rose but also the jasmine becomes clearly scented and this remains so for a while. A gentle play full of lightness until new scents are repeatedly added, culminating in a grande finale of floral, leathery and mossy components, only to slowly fade away and still remain tenderly noticeable on my skin. What a masterpiece, what a heavenly composition - an ode to joy!

...or just one rose? Since I find many rose scents to be rather 'old-fashioned', Rose Kabuki surprised me. I was allowed to test the scent by a small sample and didn't know it before and right after I sprayed it on, the wonderful rose came towards me. Then I looked for it in perfume and it was clear to me that with the very minimalistic scents there is not much to do 'wrong', but of course not much to expect. Rose Kabuki is a very fine rose. A rose without corners, without edges. Just rose and a little dewdrop. Unspectacular and yet beautiful. Not old-fashioned but youthful, fresh and sweet. One likes it, or one doesn't like it.

Phew what can I say? Maybe I have to say in advance that I am still very much practicing in sniffing different scents, although I have enjoyed smelling different scents ever since I can remember. After a lot of research into what scents might appeal to me, I had very high expectations of Jean-Louis Scherrer Eau de Toilette, especially because the description of the fragrance is chypre-like green. Also the different scents seemed very attractive to me. I had never smelled Sicilian tangerine, Calabrian bergamot or Florentine iris before. But maybe I have to realize now that "chypre and green" is not for me after all? I find the scent very - or even too - penetrating and extremely tart. Not that I was looking for a very flowery scent, but Jean-Louis Scherrer is simply out of my league

... on my husband and on the test strip! This wonderful rose with green tea, a little incense and whisky. But why on earth is it that the scent just smells on me... awful? I've been trying for so long. Even though I don't want to smell like my husband, of course, but every time he wears it and the scent unfolds so wonderfully, I can't help but spray it again. But in vain. On my skin the rose does not come through at all and the scent is much too hard and too dark for me. It probably shouldn't be, but I keep on searching... ...for the one perfect rose...