Hermèssence Rose Ikebana (2004)
by Hermès

I never knew I liked rose scents until I tried this one.

It's a delightful fruity-citrus-rose elixir that tickles my nose (in a good way), with the rose note being fresh roses straight from the florist's refrigerator. The longevity is okay, I can still smell it on my skin after a day at work. Just wish the price was a little more reasonable. I am coveting the full-size bottle of this in an awful way.

Very pretty and fresh, inoffensive. Perfect office scent. Except no staying power and quite expensive. The same fresh, bright note found in a lot of Ellena's perfumes - it's not a citrus note; I can't really identify it. I won't be buying this, though.

I really love the opening citrus and rose notes in this one. The only downside (and this is a serious one) is that it lacks any longevity.

[Original submission date: 15 April 2008]

Normally the scent of roses is unappealing to me. Oftentimes rose in perfumes is too strong and ends up smelling like a cheap bouquet for a hopeless romantic. Ikebana is a Japanese art of arranging flowers as minimalistic as possible without going mad. Nonetheless, the addition of light fruits in Rose Ikebana making the rose a dainty little thing that can be tolerated for reluctant rose noses.

Suspiciously like high end YSL Baby Doll to me. Very old school thinking to consider rose unisex, and kudos to the metrosexual who wears it, But my frugal side says a fragrance with this price tag should last longer.

I'm not much for rose fragrances, but I find this one very enjoyable and more unisex than any other rose-centered fragrance. As people have noted, the opening is citrus and rose, probably 60::40/citrus::rose. Predictably, the citrus fades and the rose becomes more prominent. A healthy application lasts about 3-4 hours. As with most of the other Hermesscences, this is a minimalist composition, uncluttered with extra notes or background 'noise' to detract from the simplicity of the rose and citrus. If you look at it in this context instead of comparing to preconceived notions or expectations, the lack of longevity doesn't detract from the quality of the scent. Admittedly this is expensive juice to be reapplying 3-4 times in a day. Not the best of the Hermessence line, but definitely among the tops from the Hermes house.

Thumbs up!