Twill Rose (Les Parfums de Rosine)

By Dane

I've always been a fan of Rosine. Great scents, quality ingredients, and a solid history. I was never so fond of their men's offering though, Rose d'Homme. I found it it lacked the theme of the house (rose, obviously) and went in a different direction (ingredient-wise). Regardless, and for no particular reason, I've never actually purchased a full bottle of any of their offerings. Again, great scents, but more suited to smelling in one's surroundings rather than on your person.

The second men's-specific selection from Rosine is an entirely different affair. Again, I don't want a bottle, but I had to admit that they threw me for a loop. I remember smelling Twill Rose on a card at one point and thinking, "not bad...green rose...a little musty." For those of us who insist on trying things on skin, it's a completely new story. I admit, my curiosity was peaked after reading Tania Sanchez's description, naming (blaming? accusing?) Twill Rose of being nothing more than a pretty rose based with a notoriously skanky concoction called Animalis. Perfume bases are quite common these days, adding a lot of depth to a formula without much of the work. One of the few Etat Libre d'Orange offerings that I just can't stomach is Vierge et Toreros, which uses Animalis with a slew of other disturbing elements. The entire effect smells jarring and unwarranted.

Twill Rose, at first anyway, didn't smell all that animalic to me. It smelled a lot like Stinkor, one of He-Man's arch-rival action figures I had as a boy. Remember him? Those of you in and around my age might...for the rest of you, he was a skunk-like mutation that used his stench to repel his enemies, and in the action-figure, was impregnated with a sour, musky smell (which seemed very cool to me at the time). I swear Mattel used Animalis to create the effect. I recall my mother wanting Stinkor sealed in a Ziplock bag when not being played with....poor little guy.

Anyway...I now realize that Animalis is a key player in the notorious Muscs Koublai Khan, as reviewed yesterday. While the hint that pops out in MKK (among all the other beastly ingredients) is pleasant (yes...you read right), Twill Rose dumps a truck load in and runs. It's like someone took poor Stinkor, sprayed him with a pretty green rose, and hoped for the best. We ended up with the worst.

Year: 2007
Notes: Galbanum, Tangerine, Pink Pepper Berries, Rose, Violet, Patchouli, Amber