I don’t remember the last time my perfume caused so many reactions, from “Please don’t wear it ever again as it’s making me sick” (coming from my boyfriend), to “It feels like entering a poison ivy cloud, it clears the sinuses” (by a colleague). The last one was actually meant in a positive way. 🙂
I read my old review of a sample of this perfume and here is where the whole dabbing vs. spraying a perfume make all the difference.
Spraying Paestum Rose gives you a day-long sillage you can smell. I’ve been smelling it for the whole day and enjoying myself – I really like this perfume even though it seems I will have to stop wearing it.
Notes: Davana, cinnamon, pink and rose pepper, coriander, blackcurrant buds, osmanthus,
peony, Turkish rose, tea, elemi, incense, myrrh, opoponax, cedarwood, papyrus,
patchouli, wenge, vetiver, musk, benzoin
Truth be told, there is an edge to this perfume. I think that is the reason why I love it so much, it seems to be the perfect blend of a well-formed and redolent rose in full bloom, but in this case the thorns have a smell and they warn you not to get too close. Taking apart this perfume by the notes you can smell, will not bring you close to picturing the smell in your mind – it is they type of perfume that gives you an aura. A poisonous one it seems, but I mean that in the best possible way.
I love feeling poisonous if it means I smell of Paestum Rose.
But I understand why other people might not be so happy about it…
Tagged: Bertrand Duchafour, Eau d'Italie, Paestum Rose, poison rose
All I am - a redhead 
Wonderful Ines, you make this particular rose sound like something even I might have to try 🙂 is this perhaps the angry perfume you were looking for?
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I knew I was missing the connecting idea when it came to this perfume! 🙂 Yes, it fits exactly with the angry perfume notion I had. 🙂 Thank you for pointing it out.
It makes me feel strong and not to be trifled with. 😉
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Ines, reading this surprised me, because I thought I remembered your boyfriend liking this one so much that he sort of took over the bottle from you … and ok, obviously my memory is faulty. Was there a rose perfume that he liked so much he confiscated your bottle — or am I imagining things? 😀
In either case, I agree with Asali. You make this sound like a rose with attitude!
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No, Suzanne, you are absolutely right. He did take the bottle and wore the perfume and then stopped. It seems his taste has changed somewhat drastically if it’s making him sick now.
It is a rose with an attitude, and Asali is right, it fits with my angry perfume idea.
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I really like the idea of a rose with such a strong edge that it can be called “poisonous.” I don’t think I’ve tried this one, so I’ll look out for it next time I see the brand. Great review!
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Thank you Natalie! I do hope you try it and I wonder what will be your take on it. Maybe it’s just me who perceives it like this…
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I so, so want to love this perfume. I have a bottle, bought, I suspect, when I was trying to develop a more sophisticated nose than I had. But there’s a background of bitterness that I can’t seem to get past. In fact, I seem to be learning that while I can put up with any amount of mothball, skunk, sweaty cat, gasoline, and any number of weird and generally held-to-be-unpretty scents, I have almost zero tolerance for bitter.
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Martha, I believe that bitterness might be one of the main reasons why people react to this perfume. It’s not a very common perfume note these days – when everyone around you wears mainstream and is used to it – but I like the taste and smell of bitter so it works for me.
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It occurs to me that I love the bitterness of oakmoss and galbanum and some other things, and that I was just talking to someone who recoiled from an orange peel note that they found unacceptably bitter but I loved. So. Hm. It’s a puzzlement.
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So it seems it’s a particular type of bitter… Who knows which one among all these notes gives off the bitterness not to your taste (although I know blackcurrant note can be problematic for me sometimes).
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I wanted to love this one, but there is a dustiness to it that gets on my nerves after awhile. At first, it’s like being in the basement of a museum- lots of cool old stuff to explore. But after about 15 minutes, I feel trapped and want to get out! I agree with Martha, there’s a bitterness (in my case I’d call it mummified bitterness) that can be a bit…creepy. You are right, it is a poison rose!
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Interesting masha7 that you get dustiness as well (mummified no less!). 🙂
On me it’s more the case of a very alive feeling (slowly getting around you like creeping ivy).
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