Hippie Rose (2011)
by Heeley

Baroness Robert de Domecy by Odilon Redon 1900

Bergamont and patchouli join a light rose note that smells spectacular. The incense and vetiver are in the background, and of course the vetiver comes and goes as the fragrance develops. Feminine fragrance, but I would wear this in a minute. I get a touch of jasmine in here as well. Very nice. Summer gem. 8/10

Patchouli-rose has definitely come into its own, but maybe too much. It's so tempting to rely on that great patchouli-rose sexiness, so what does this one do differently?
I tried it because the name implies it’s taking this combo back to its roots, the headshop oil blends. Those can smell kind of cheap, so I think it requires a bit of vision to successfully mess with that headshop vibe, which was an easy to like sense of play and funkiness. I was sort of looking for a certain experience with this fragrance, that might put a spin on the headshop vibe, upgrade it a little, but keep the fun and playfulness.
Hippie Rose is updated and urban. It’s accessible and wearable. I liked this immediately. It went casual and mid tone. It's more patchouli than rose, more subtle and dusty, with a little incense, vetiver (not much, to extend the green patchouli theme), and lots of air to take it out of the headshop fog. The result is more refined - hippie chick grown up, amped down, but with a mini skirt in the back of her closet. Its sense of casualness works really well here.
I like Hippie Rose - its subtlety makes it a fragrance I can wear more places. I love Agent Provocateur but its assertive patchouli-rosiness makes it difficult for me to wear casually during the day. The original idea behind the first Agent Provocateur flanker was to make an AP Lite you could wear during the day. But the flanker was a disappointment, as it wasn't what was promised, but tweaked into something closer to a distant cousin and their fix for adding lightness was liberal doses of hairspray. To my nose, Hippie Rose is closer to what the Agent Provocateur flanker should have been.

Genre: Woods

So what makes it a “hippie” rose? A hefty shot of patchouli, of course! However, in keeping with Heeley’s thoughtful and sophisticated fragrance aesthetic, Hippie Rose doesn’t offer the sort of big, brash patchouli and rose accord you’ll encounter in Bond No. 9’s West Side or L’Artisan Parfumeur’s Voleur des Roses. Instead, Hippie Rose weds a modest, civilized patchouli note to a wood and rose accord that’s highly reminiscent of Shiseido’s excellent and intermittently available original (“Black”) Zen.

Add some soft amber, discreet spice notes, including cinnamon, clove, and black pepper, and a dash of incense, and you have rose-based fragrance that while surely unconventional, is perhaps a bit too suave and cultivated to have been caught rolling in the mud at Woodstock. Never mind: countercultural or not, it’s a highly gratifying scent, from first application to its smooth rose and vetiver drydown. Yet another winning entry in a line remarkable for its consistent quality.

A peculiar rose with Heeley's distinctive linear, architectural and aerial feel. Fresh and feminine, but at the same time, thanks to patchouli and (I assume) some incense/woody notes, also masculine. Very clever and simple, a bright concept developed in a totally well-balanced way. Warm and long persistence.

7,5/10