Tea Rose (1972)
by Perfumer's Workshop

Tea Rose is fascinating in that it eschews the bottom-shelf trend of making a soliflore smell sweet and musky (read "girly"), and goes the opposite direction with obvious enthusiasm, and to some success. Instead of transparent nectar and fruit over a white musk frame, the synthetics articulate an old, dry, almost fetid flower - one with considerable presence and staying power. There is something masculine in how the dankness is allowed to persist on an otherwise-uninspired rubbery base. While the flower smells competent, its pairing with cheap and plasticine basenotes is less than stellar; the sparse composition threatens to cloy within an hour. And cloy it does. Wear sparingly for the pleasant "old rose" effect, and keep a nostril on the silage factor. This site says Tea Rose is feminine - I say it's fine for men, and a true bargain to boot.

25th December, 2010.

This fragrance is so nice because it really does smell like roses. I use to love it and used it all. I didn't know it was still made until this week. I'm definitely going to order some. My husband doesn't care for it because he says it is too strong but I like it an wear it when he's not around. I've had lots of compliments on it from other people and can't wait to own it again.

22nd December, 2010.

Don’t let the cheapness, the incredibly yellow juice, or the straightforwardness of the name put you off buying this perfume. I f you want a soliflore—and sometimes nothing else will do, Tea Rose is right on the mark. It smells exactly like a tea rose, and there’s not much more to say, beyond that it is lovely, big, and bloomy, and fabulous. My husband loves this perfume on me, because it reminds him, as he says, of pure happiness, of the feelings he felt when we first began dating (for the first time around). When pressed for more details, he says it reminds him of me wearing my red silk embroidered Chinese robe, pouring tea for him the morning after, and a particularly good shower with me in my old rickety garret apartment in Missoula….enough said. No wonder he gets so excited when I wear it.

But I won’t wear it all the time, nor am I eager to make it a ‘signature’ scent, as much as I know he would love that, because I find it to be, well, onedimensional. I mean this in the best of ways, of course. When rose and nothing else but rose will do, Tea Rose is your girl. But complex she is not. I find her fabulous as a layerer—I like to rub on some solid woody balm like Zents Earth or Pacifica’s Sandalwood and then spritz Tea Rose over the top. That is always a fun experiment, because the rose will float over the top of the deeper scents, and really shine.

I also kind of dig the packaging. It feels sort of art deco Seventies in the coolest of ways, and I love it for that. That’s what I was in my younger days. A hippie who loved old things and thought she hated perfume. Who would only wear something that smelled like ‘the real thing.’ I identified with Tea Rose, with its aesthetic, with its cheapness, with everything about it. I have changed, and my tastes have become more complex, but I will always have a soft spot in my heart for this, the first perfume I fell in love with, and I will certainly always have a spot for it on my shelf.

8th April, 2010.

I didn't know what to expect when I purchased this blindly from my local TJ Maxx, and, at the time, could have kicked myself for not recalling any of these reviews. But, being that it was such a great price ($9.99 USD for a 120 ml. (4 fl. oz.) bottle), I found it hard to resist.

Obviously, you have to enjoy rose scents, which I do. Although most, including this one, are rather linear; some days I really appreciate that constancy. I took my chances on this one and don't regret it. This Tea Rose is truly authentic in that it evokes the feeling of walking into a bustling florist shop filled to the brim with freshly-cut, long-stemmed beauties.

I find it layers quite nicely with other fragrances, but (word of warning) does pack a bit of a wallop if not used discretely. When used without layering, the "spray and walk" method of application suffices for me.

My only gripe is that, ironically (as with a couple of other rose scents), its authenticity makes me a target for bees during the summer months, especially if I wear bright colors. In fact I was just stung earlier this week, while wearing it. Could be a coincidence, I suppose, but you never know. I must have appeared to be a wanton flower, just "asking for it".

28th February, 2010.

bomb rose frag. too sweet, too much, and synthetic.

4th February, 2010. (Last Edited: 24th March, 2010.)

Too artificial for my taste. It smells like roses about to rot, and unfortunately the scent lingers around forever and a day.

22nd January, 2010.