Rose Essentielle by Bulgari, 2005

What a glorious rose! I definitely did not expect to find a rose scent of this calibre from such a well-known, mainstream brand. Rose Essentielle is pure loveliness. Being absolutely perfect for Spring and Summer wear, this is a sweet and slightly powdery take on a pretty, pink rose note. Classy, feminine and smooth, each and every note in this composition works in unison. With most rose scents, the rose note tends to become too sharp and somewhat tart-like throughout the fragrance's development. In the case of Rose Essentielle, this is not an issue. This fragrance is easy to wear and effortlessly pretty. It's lightness and subtle berry sweetness only adds to its widespread appeal. Initially this fragrance goes on rather strong, with a rich, jammy rose, highlighted by the berry notes and the violet. After a few hours the scent settles into a delicate, powdery rose, which is thankfully not the soapy kind. Lady-like, refined and romantic, this fragrance encouraged me to get in touch with my feminine side. The lasting strength is very good, especially for that of such a soft, light fragrance. I can see Rose Essentielle being worn well in every season, both casually and formally. It has just the right amount of realistic roses and complexity to make this fragrance absolutely outstanding.

Three different sites give very different top notes for this fragrance. Top Notes: Ottoman Rose, Mure (blackberry), Violet Leaves Middle Notes: Prelude Rose, Living Mimosa, Jasmin sambac Base Notes: Patchouli, Musk, Sandalwood Top Notes: Bergamot and orange Middle Notes: Turkish rose, orange blossom and jasmine. Base Notes: musk. Top Notes: Ottoman Rose, Prelude Rose, Immortelle Middle Notes: Blackberry, Violet, Jasmine Base Notes: Sandalwood, Patchouli Rose Essentielle starts out with so much promise. It opens with the twinkle of a crisp and rich rose wine. It is that deep and sanguine. The poetic lilt of the violet is like floral laughter. It kind of reminds me of Sen Sen. The fragrance becomes even fuller bodied as the berry comes in to play. The berry mercifully does not over power the rose and that prevents the scent from smelling like an autumn candle. Rather, it deepens the rose and that is great. The late middle notes have a unpleasant chlorine-like smell. But it is the dry down that is the real dud of the day. It becomes a slightly gritty and ordinary water flower fragrance with none of the piquancy the opening promised. Everything is gone. The dry down is is just harsh and weird. And completely out of step with the opening. Just the patchouli would have been a great and uncomplicated bottom note. They would have lengthened the deep and crisp quality to the end. I think it is the predictable use of farty musk and sandalwood in the base notes that turned this potentially dynamic dry down into a predictable and overused one. The bottom notes used just pull this fragrance in the wrong direction. The dry down also became very dusty and medicinal smelling and reminded me an awful lot of another much older fragrance but I could not remember the name. So I forgot about it. Then about forty-five minutes later, I smelled my wrist and, lo and behold, I'm smelling the clove / preserved orange peel of antiquated L'Origan. Sadly, This fragrance was like placing a spectacular ruby in a pewter setting. So my rating is neutral because at least the opening was magnificent.