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Fragrant Rose Bouquet for Sale

Fragrant rose bouquets for Mother's Day
Most of the roses bred for the cut-flower industry smell anemic and lack character in that arena - in exchange for longer vase-life and easier transport. So imagine my delight at finding real scented roses on Mother's Day! The flower girl's name is Sabrina, and she has a cute dog and pretty roses that are not only affordable ($10 for a bouquet of five roses). Most of them are scented and might look quite ordinary (the pink ones) but smell divine, a little sweet-vanilla-like and violetty, and definitely Tea-Rose-like; very much like Bulgari pour Femme, actually.

I was so dumbstruck that I actually asked Sabrina at first which perfume they sprayed on the roses... It was that extraordinary!
It was not until she showed me their unscented varieties (the green trimmed purple roses below - which actually were so pretty that almost seemed to be worth buying despite their fragrant shortcomings).
Fragrant rose bouquets for Mother's Day
{Fragrant}

Fragrant rose bouquets for Mother's Day

{Not fragrant}

Fragrant rose bouquets for Mother's Day
My daughter bought me a bunch of the fragrant pink ones with her weekly allowance (simply because I had no change in my wallet - I secretly put it back in her piggy bank).



Rose Berlin

How about a visual review for a change?With Serge Lutens' newest perume release for 2013, La Fille de Berlin, I was expecting this:
Makani Terror by _MissAgentCooper
Makani Terror, a photo by _MissAgentCooper on Flickr.
But got this instead:
Hybrid Tea Rose 2012 by neggatiff
Hybrid Tea Rose 2012, a photo by neggatiff on Flickr.

What will lure you in immediately are the distinctive tea rose with only the slightest soapiness - the iconic and familiar sharpness of the Perfumers' Workshop Tea Rose immediately comes to mind. Once it touches your skin, La Fille de Berlin quickly turns into an uber-sweet tea rose and violet-candy affair, reminiscent of the sweet-spoken Bvlgari pour Femme, only with a higher price point and slightly intriguing spice to stop it from being as cloying. Musky woody notes at the base give this retro theme a more current flavour; and a hint of leathery saffron note is the only thing that gives it a “niche” edge. Other than that, Serge Lutens’ La Fille de Berlin is a crowd-pleasing 2-syllables rose, obvious and leaving no room for guessing. The dryout is continously rosy, changing into plum-like damascones and raspberry-jam darkness that's reminiscent of Ivoire's dying words; and a very subtle animalic aspect of sandalwood against the smooth-warm-cool wood of Moroccan cedar lurks underneath, very subtly and surprisingly does not embody what you'd expect from Lutens - or from a Berlin girl. I really expected some more thorns and instead got a very conventional, although well-made sugary rose.

Top notes: Tea Rose, Black Pepper
Heart notes: Rose, Crystallized Violet, Safranal
Base notes: Musk, Atlas Cedar, Raspberry, Sandalwood

Tea Rose


Dewy Tea Rose, originally uploaded by Ayala Moriel.

As if my tea obsession is not already enough, I have been recently obsessed with tea roses. There is much to be said about the sheer bliss that rests upon me when I burry my face in a gigantic hybrid tea rose. The cool petals in the summer, sometimes covered in dew, other times with dust, and always makes a rose garden shine with beauty. I always felt that tea roses are more rosy than any other kind. Rosa damascena is more full-bodied and wine like, Rosa centifolia (cabbage rose) a little lighter, and Rosa odorata (the Latin name for tea roses) is definitely the most peachy-perfect of them all. To my nose, anyway.

As it turns out, what makes tea roses smell the way they do is their orange colour, due to presence of beta carotene, and also a type of ionone, which is what make it smell as fresh as a cup of green tea.

I tried to recreate the experience by creating a tea rose soliflore, using two China roses - Rosa odorata and Rosa rugoza essential oils, highlighted by osmanthus and black current buds for extra fruitiness, and grounded with cassie absolute and green tea CO2 and just a touch of vanilla. The result was very much to my liking: cheerful and light rose with none of the muddiness that can so easily darken an all-natural rose fragrance, with ionone and tea depths that make it interesting and long lasting and quite diffusive.

Tea Rose is now offered as a limited edition via my Etsy shop.


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