I've only tried two Sonoma Scent Studio fragrances, but I've been quite impressed by both. Wood Violet was a little dense and woody for my tastes, but very well made and intriguingly complex; Velvet Rose, while the simpler of the two, is the one I really picture myself owning.
There are many ways of interpreting rose. Often, the end result is quite removed from rose on the bush, whether it be the floral room-freshener quality of bad interpretations, to perfumers who take rose as a starting point for an abstract creation. In the latter category are many fragrances I love, but of those that aim to replicate the living thing, only Lutens Sa Majeste La Rose has really hit the mark for me. And now, add to that Velvet Rose.
I find it interesting to compare these two, as both are unquestionably hyper-realistic rose fragrances to my nose, yet the two are very different. Sa Majeste is the whole plant in bloom, greenly dewy in the garden. It's a caressing fragrance, subtly apple-tinted and charming. Velvet Rose, on the other hand, forgoes all subtlety - it's a floral cymbal-crash, a tsunami of rose petals flooding the air with the ghosts of a million petals. It's amazing how the same flower manages to both create and inspire such disparate olfactory worlds. I don't think I'll ever stop enjoying new rose fragrances.
Velvet Rose is very simple, but lovely none the less. There are other notes, I don't doubt, but until the very farthest base when the rose departs and leaves a musky patchouli base, this is ALL about the rose to my nose. I'm not a big fan of patchouli, and if you aren't either, don't worry - it's just barely there. This is most certainly not Voleur de Roses.
One thing I have noticed about this fragrance is that, perhaps in part due to its strength, its sillage smells much better than it smells sniffed close to the skin. The sillage is rounded and voluptuous, but there is something slightly harsh about its smell close up.
I'm now eager to try more from this house. Its perfumer seems to like bold statements, and pulls them off well.
There are many ways of interpreting rose. Often, the end result is quite removed from rose on the bush, whether it be the floral room-freshener quality of bad interpretations, to perfumers who take rose as a starting point for an abstract creation. In the latter category are many fragrances I love, but of those that aim to replicate the living thing, only Lutens Sa Majeste La Rose has really hit the mark for me. And now, add to that Velvet Rose.
I find it interesting to compare these two, as both are unquestionably hyper-realistic rose fragrances to my nose, yet the two are very different. Sa Majeste is the whole plant in bloom, greenly dewy in the garden. It's a caressing fragrance, subtly apple-tinted and charming. Velvet Rose, on the other hand, forgoes all subtlety - it's a floral cymbal-crash, a tsunami of rose petals flooding the air with the ghosts of a million petals. It's amazing how the same flower manages to both create and inspire such disparate olfactory worlds. I don't think I'll ever stop enjoying new rose fragrances.
Velvet Rose is very simple, but lovely none the less. There are other notes, I don't doubt, but until the very farthest base when the rose departs and leaves a musky patchouli base, this is ALL about the rose to my nose. I'm not a big fan of patchouli, and if you aren't either, don't worry - it's just barely there. This is most certainly not Voleur de Roses.
One thing I have noticed about this fragrance is that, perhaps in part due to its strength, its sillage smells much better than it smells sniffed close to the skin. The sillage is rounded and voluptuous, but there is something slightly harsh about its smell close up.
I'm now eager to try more from this house. Its perfumer seems to like bold statements, and pulls them off well.
