Seerose

that's how the first spray of Tiffany & Co Rose Gold Intense felt to me. I had previously tested a Tiffany fragrance that was quite pleasant in itself. But this one immediately hit me with Ambroxan and a synthetic floral scent dominated by a synthetic rose. Additionally, I smelled sweet gummy fruits. I thought: Such things are often available and much cheaper than this fragrance. Then, to my surprise, a powdery, non-sweet iris was dusted over it. I hoped that Rose Gold Intense was now "over the hill." Otherwise, I would have washed it off right away.
But it was bearable. However, over time, Rose Gold Intense became increasingly intense, more penetrating, sharper. At some point, I washed it off. I thought I wouldn't even use something like that as laundry detergent. The washing off was very tedious; only with laundry freshener, washing, creaming, and then with a neutral deodorant roller and washing again, drying, and creaming did I manage to remove it from my skin. But it continued to smell so annoyingly sweet, artificial, sharp. The scent had intensified over hours, and I had only used 3 sprays to test it a second time before evaluating.
But I can't endure that again.
I noticed that the collar of my fresh sweater still smelled strongly of it.
So I changed my sweater and put it in the container for washing delicate items. Just now, after about 8 hours, I went into the bathroom: The whole bathroom smelled of it. And here at the PC, where I sprayed it, it still smells of it.
OK, if it were a cheaper fragrance, I wouldn't rate it so harshly. But with a relatively expensive fragrance like Rose Gold Intense, I can't do that. I received a sample from a seller as a free gift for testing.
And in contrast to the heavenly scent: "L'Heure Bleue" - What a contrast.

What was the reason I ordered a decant of 'Il Profumo, Ambre d'Or' and now a new flask of it? I did not mention it in my memos. Because I own several amber perfums. Beginning with Ambre Gris by Balmain. Which is completely composed as a whale-amber-fragrance despite of my different amber-scents which are resinous, more or less sweet, spicy, partly with copal-amber bitter-aromatic-wood-scents, dry e. g. My last purchase this spring was Blue Amber by Montale. Who want's to know which I own, might have a look into my collection here.
Before I startet to write this review I read once more all reviews into the German Parfumo. There must be one which attracted me, but no. All of them would have convinced me: Ambre d' Or is not at all the scent I am looking for.
I was looking for an Amber-fragrance like 'L'Artisan, L' Eau d' Ambre which
seemed to be discontinued now.
So typical for me: I'm eager of a perfume, take it into the wish-list and wait, hesitate, weigh off with other wished perfumes, convincing myself: I have some amber-fragrances and don't need one additional. And then? Discontinued or nowhere to buy like L'Eau d'Amber. Not to forget, the scents became meanwhile a lot more expensiv and they are partly slipping out of my budget.
So I ordered two decants. This Ambre d' Or and the new of L'Artisan, L'Eau Ambre Extreme". I pondered, compared the prices to, testet the one an the other and at least: It must be Ambre d' Or because it's just the cozier scent.
At first the different to L'Eau d' Ambre by Artisan: The A'rtisan contained for my opinion a lot of musc. The new L'Eau Ambre Extreme is more dry, tangy and powdery.
Meanwhile the price of Ambre d' Or had increased a lot as well.
That pushed me to search for it. I was more successful in Italy. I got a new and full flacon for a fair amount.
And now the scent: I did and do not perceive what everyone else claimed: Too sweet at the beginning, too much heliotrop, too much vanilla. I perceive immediately the bitter-woody rosewood which lasts all over the longevity like the aromatic spicy scent of sweet myrrh as well. Some sprinkle of citrus might lighten it up.
I consider the heart notes corn-rose and datura as propose to envision, as a special kind of imagination and ambiente affecting Ambre d'Or. This is an individual decision of every single perceiver. But until now not mine.
Because for me "Ambre d' Or" is developing more in a golden, cozy even gently fragrance. I am sure there are also whiffs of patchouli, tonka, vanilla, heliotrop, musc.
Oh, I forgot the listet honey because I did not perceive it. If I would claim it's cistrose/guaiac, something like that. Only patchouli separately stands a little bit out for me, but not pungently spoiling the scent. Ambre d' Or is nestling me into a caressing warm golden light.
I hit for me a lucky making choice.

Wenn somebody here judged "Shalimar Milléssime Iris" as an unsuccessful attempt of "Shalimar" I thought immediately: Oh, not at all, that is a variation over Shalimar. And in my mind, my inner ears I heard the "Goldberg Variations" (J. S. Bach, BWV 988), in my inner eye I watchet the movies with Glenn Gould, playing the "Goldberg Variations" playing piano in his peculiar kind of moving, humming sometimes the melody, touching the keys short, staccato or longer while listening every fading tone.
While I'm writing this I listen from YouTube the 20 variations of the "Goldberg Variations", it's so touching and a good inspiration...
Almost every perfume has a course, has various phases .
If a perfume or a serie e.g. "Jardins of..." is, created in different variations over the first successful edition, it is possible that it is not only a plain copy but an interesting new variation over the idea or theme. Like the Jardin-Serie of Jean-Claude Elléna for instance.
So I perceive the different "Shalimars" which are always have the "bordun" or "ostinato", something more or less typically persevering over the the prototype of Shalimar.
Of course not every variations might be loved or liked by everyone. A lot might be disappointed.
That is not at all a sacrilege!
We should be responsible and keeping calm while judging.
"Shalimar Milléssime Iris" ist sweet, no doubts. But I perceive at first a brief time orris-violette and smoky vanilla,
Then for my opinion there must be something enchanting-mysterious I cannot identify. That is my impression and feeling during a long time.
After a while "Shalimar Milléssime Iris" is increasing and sweeter almost a gourmand, yet a little bit pungent. But still there is the smoky vanilla which tames it. It's still Shalimar but sweeter.
Following then "Shalimar Milléssime Iris" slowly starts fading away. I perceive a more and more dainty musky rose-scent, and flowery soft orris with a faint poudry whiff. And there is staying still like a now silent but still presently "Guerlinade" with vanilla. The Guerlinade then ist no longer percolating but a slowly "decrescending fundamental" tone".
And for me there is again the miracle sensation I cannot describe.
The longevity on my skin sustains 14 hours.
I have one note I miss anyhow; the wonderful bergamot, which is unusual in every "Shalimar" I had under my nose and which I own. That is my reason for rating only 8 points.
"Shalimar Milléssime Iris" ist not an easy to seizing nor to describing scent.
But though I love it. I am excited of the next Shalimar-Variation.

exist on our Earth. Many myths, fairy tales, songs, stories, both new and very old, are known to almost all of us. Roses are mentioned even on a Sumerian cuneiform tablet that is thousands of years old.
Therefore, I am surprised that no one has yet written a review about this rose fragrance.
Roses for "older ladies" is, for example, a cliché that not only devalues rose perfumes.
I have often disagreed with this here.
However, in the past, rose waters and oils were used by men. I often mention J. W. von Goethe, who had large quantities of rose water as well as 'Farina Gegenüber' EdT sent to him and used it himself.
When I was young, I loved rose fragrances. However, since I have been dabbling in perfumes, it has slowly happened that I can no longer or hardly perceive rose fragrances in perfumes. Only with oud, incense, and oak moss do I smell roses more or less clearly.
Even 'White Rose' by Floris, despite my initial enthusiasm, has become a bland perfume for me.
I am all the more relieved that I can perceive my fragrant roses every early summer with their various scents in full bloom.
Why can I no longer identify them in many fragrances? Is it the synthetic compositions that at most allow me to perceive the scent of rose hip tea? I will not delve into further speculation on this now.
Perhaps one day I will find the cause of my partial olfactory blindness/anosmia.
And I come to "Rose Trocadéro" by Le Jardin Retrouvé, from which I received an O-sample directly from the seller in France.
With skepticism, I applied 'Rose Trocadéro'. And I am pleased to find: This is indeed a very beautiful modern rose fragrance that I can perceive very well.
At first, I smell a blend of roses, not too strong, not too citrusy, not too bland for my nose. I smell what I particularly smell in June evenings when all my roses bloom on the terrace: Almost paradisiacal and yet not overwhelming, because this fragrance mixture is blended in the fresh air with other flowers, greenery, and the nearby flowing water.
Smelling individually from the blooms, there are very strong roses, musky, tea-scented, and even one that smells like jasmine, and much more, all as a delight for the nose as fragrance notes of different rose varieties.
This is masterfully summarized in 'Rose Trocadéro'. At first, 'Rose Trocadéro' is just rose, then I smell a hint of citrus and a pleasant subtle green. All of this is initially powdery for me, a bit soapy, somewhat spicy, and then follows a sparkling refreshing note that I also really like in other perfumes: I suspect "Rose Geranium," and it is indeed listed upon checking. The rose geranium ventilates 'Rose Trocadéro', lifting the heaviness and darkness from the rose perfume that I did not particularly like in some rose fragrances before. Rose geranium brightens 'Rose Trocadéro'.
The soapiness quickly recedes, and the powderiness slowly transforms from musk to creaminess.
At the same time, 'Rose Trocadéro' becomes weaker overall in its sillage. I do think that the longevity still leaves something to be desired for me. I am relieved to note that pleasant scent clouds continually rise from my wrist to my nose.
'Rose Trocadéro' is still perceptible to me after 5 hours - with surprisingly intensified spices that are indicated here with lavender and clove. I can now identify the bright lavender, now that I know it, as well as the clove. Now 'Rose Trocadéro' is a bright, light spicy-herbaceous, and serious rose fragrance.

so it says on the packaging. I bought it blind.
Also because I thought that it might be the last fragrance that Kenzo commissioned as an idea and possibly left as a kind of legacy.
That's why I wanted to embrace it, no matter how it is. And I will.
The announcement promised the scent of Sobacha tea. This is a buckwheat tea, ground and roasted, that is also consumed as tea in Japan.
A light smoky aroma was hinted at.
I have already drunk Sobacha tea during Ikebana courses. So I have an idea of it.
I really enjoy the scent of buckwheat and also eating it.
However, smelling the scent of blooming buckwheat in the moor in summer is something indescribably strangely beautiful for me, a feeling of longing and home.
(Only buckwheat honey, which I bought in Russia and also in Germany, was disgusting to me.)
From the special Japanese cherry blossom, a scent can only be developed when fermented in salt. (according to Wikipedia)
The fresh blossom has no scent. It also does not produce any fruit. It is a purely ornamental tree, whose blossoms have very special symbolic meanings in Japan, and whose lush floral splendor is intensely celebrated.
Strangely, basically the scent of these blossoms only exists when sourly fermented like sauerkraut.
Tuberose?
However, Absolutes - in my perception, are very delicate and quiet, filigree.
Australian sandalwood is not comparable to Indian sandalwood for me.
Since I bought it without testing beforehand, I also tested it blindly here before checking. The seller's pyramid, as I checked in conclusion, was also more detailed and somewhat different.
Now Flower Ikebana came in its beautiful bottle, which can be used as a modern Ikebana vase for a blossom or for a minimalist arrangement in the so-called modern "freestyle".
To my disappointment, I hardly smell anything special in the first tests.
No sunlit moor in early summer with the scent of buckwheat blossoms, no roasted Sobacha tea. Fortunately, also no tuberose.
Instead, I perceive a very intense honey-sweet, lovely floral fruit scent that is even positively synthetic.
And I remember the very sweet, hard, brightly colored square candies from Japan that we could pop in our mouths during tea breaks in the Ikebana classes, sweetening the tea in this way.
Sure, a kind of creaminess follows that could just as well have been created by musk and vanilla. I do not perceive the gentle woody creaminess of sandalwood.
Thus, Flower Ikebana lasts a very long time. At some point, a slight woody note also sets in.
No, it is not a minimalist Ikenobo flower arrangement from the distant 8th century. One could compare it to a mix of the traditional Nihonga style and modern manga comics. Modern, playful. Between Hokusai and manga, so to speak. But also - as I suspect - an unknown and unrecognizable hidden Japanese erotic meaning, sweet and playful in various respects, is quite conceivable.
Addendum 28.12. 2023
After about half a year without using Flower Ikebana, I applied it again and?
I perceive a beautiful grainy note, indeed somewhat like buckwheat mixed with lightly woody-creamy sandalwood. And after quite a long lasting finish, a very delicate lovely tuberose. Now I find Flower Ikebana very beautiful. With such a new perfume, one might perhaps be patient at first with initial slight disappointment. If it still doesn't click, then one should part with the scent.