Wild Roses

I didn't think I was a "rose" person... roses didn't particularly excite me, and I picked up a sample of this one (EdP, sprayer) because I had read a nice review of it somewhere, and wanted to get enough samples to make the shipping cost worthwhile. I love it. Love, love, love. This perfume does something to my brain - I'm not sure how or why, but I feel like a cat sniffing catnip. Intoxicating is the only word that fully captures my experience! Full, round, robust, playful, three-dimensional, and just lovely on me. I'm shocked, but, after three tries - I still feel the same way! I don't get a "room full of roses" smell from this. It's well blended, and I get sweet and spicy all at once. Sweetness from the apricot, almost jam-like to me, but in the best possible way (and not in a way that makes me hungry) - but with a spicy, zesty aspects that tickles my nose. For an all-natural, I get good longevity (it's mostly gone by 10 hours, but I'm still getting whiffs from where I sprayed beneath my shirt... which tends to evaporate slower), and it blends well with my skin as it wears. No problems in the summer heat/humidity today. I'm guessing projection is on the low side (my piano teacher, standing over me at my lesson, couldn't smell anything) - but I catch whiffs throughout the day and love it.

Edit second take: I’m almost to the bottom of my sample and will probably purchase a full bottle. There is an addictive quality to this fragrance. The tarragon seems to be equally as important as the rose, giving a delightful savory quality supported by a dehydrated sweet apricot, which reminds me of Middle Eastern dates. The rose is wonderful, dense, humid and warm, a very old rose kind of fragrance. This fragrance has a Middle Eastern aesthetic that sits in between Rose Jam and this candied date/apricot and spicy pimento (which to me just smells like a melange of dried spices). I love it. It doesn't last long, but neither does a delicious meal, so there's an additional quality in savoring the ephemeral that adds to the enjoyment for me. This is a fragrance that could ONLY be achieved with naturals I think.

This is such a divine scent, I purchased a sample and a single spray lasted for almost 10 hours which is impressive for a natural fragrance. The scent is not overwhelming at all, it's a perfect blend that had me smelling myself all day. It's what imagine the female characters in Arthurian legend smell like, I think this will be my first full bottle buy from Aftelier.

Aftelier Perfumes Wild Roses is a mostly fresh, somewhat sweet take on the signature note, with what I detect to be a healthy dose of florals in addition to the main rose note, including the sweet heliotrope and bright gardenia. Also, apricot and vanilla add further sweetness in the dry down, even though, overall, it's not terribly sweet. Inherently a bit feminine, it can nevertheless be regarded as somewhat unisex though I'd say it leans feminine overall, albeit a pleasant fresh option for men in the summer as well. It just might feel out of place in a formal setting. Given the note breakdown, Wild Roses unsurprisingly isn't quite as robust as Vanilla Smoke or Amber Tapestry, but it's a decent performer. With Aftelier's pricing, anything short of a "love" isn't worth purchasing, so Wild Roses is a hard pass for me, but it's pleasant enough that I would certainly wear it from time to time if I already owned it. 7 out of 10

Apricot roses with hints of orange candy. A slight animalic and barely rosy blend with doses of apricots and orange candy note. It does have chili, heliotrope, and vanilla, but i'm not sure it has peony or geranium! maybe bits of geranium as it cools down. This is quite impressive as a slight animalic yet surprising candied (not cloying) roses. It's not your usual rosy blend! very interesting and indeed captivating.

A dehydrated sweet rose. It opens with a fleeting touch of moist sweetness, but quickly sheds any trace of green, sourness, or metallic sharpness. What remains is pure, sweet rose, lightly dusted with dried fruits and a soft spicy undertone. A whisper of patchouli anchors the base, adding just enough depth. This is a straightforward sweet rose with a faint spicy accent — simple, but charming.

As the age of abstraction moves inexorably ahead, like a two-ton tank rolling over the body of a peace activist, or a hellfire missile set in motion by a Starbucks-sipping operator in Nevada to destroy--in a land six thousand miles away--a pomegranate-laden pick-up truck mistaken for a cache of weapons, or a wedding party thought by some anonymous analyst somewhere to be an enclave of insurgents, it's nice to know that there are a few hold-outs in the world of perfumery. Mandy Aftel is one of them. All natural and all beautiful is what Aftelier perfumes are. WILD ROSES features lots of rose, and lots of spice, imparting a decidedly oriental feeling to the mix. But the roses shine through, never overwhelmed by the pepper. The balance between the floral and the spice elements makes this perfume, with excellent longevity and medium sillage, suitable for guys and gals alike. The blend occupies the same general olfactory territory as The Different Company ROSE POIVREE, except that here there is (thankfully) no cumin present, a note which I find difficult to wear. All-natural niche perfumes generally cost more than designer fragrances, but they do not cost any more than aromachemical-laden niche perfumes, so I highly recommend that anyone looking for creations closer to the classics, featuring real essences rather than synthetic abstractions, check out this line. The vintage classics are not coming back, because their formulas are now owned by multicorporate conglomerates. Fortunately, we are not stuck between the Charbydis of designer aromachemical dreck and the Scylla of ebay hunting for the last remaining bottles of perfumes now discontinued. There is a third way: independent, all-natural perfume houses such as Aftelier.

Interesting - a rose perfume that does not smell much at all like roses, wild or not. I get mostly geranium (which I like very much), a splash of patchouli and some pepper. There is a licorice ghost note as well; not listed but my noses detects it all the same. This fragrance comes across as chypre to me and the longer it is on my skin the better I am liking it (wasn't sure at first). Wild Roses is spicy though not in the way of Mitsouko or Opium, two spicy powerhouses that just rub me the wrong way. I can't help being reminded somewhat of Mitsouko, though this one has an edge of sweetness that tames down the spice factor, smoothing it out into something quite aromatic and utterly natural. At first I thought it a bit jammy, something else I can't abide in a fragrance, but this impression fades after about 20 minutes and becomes a cool and actually quite soothing herbal aroma. I am considering a full bottle... I ordered a sample kit from Aftelier's website and was so pleased with their presentation and packaging. My samples came in a pretty little orange and purple paisley slide box that I will keep even after I've used up my samples. Do try this if you are a nature girl or boy. It is absolutely unisex and I am going to have to say now that I love it!

I was so excited to try this, as I so much admire Mandy's books and her approach to natural fragrance, and I was encouraged by the reviews highlighting this as such a delicious rose scent. However, unfortunately on me I get mostly patchouli and not much else. All I can picture is incense and beaded curtains and rayon sundresses - it seems to have triggered a scent memory that doesn't appeal to me. That being said, I also got a sample of Hey Jude in the same package, which I have found exceptionally beautiful!! I'm guessing that chemistry and scent association are playing a primary role here. If you love patchouli, you might like this.

One of the most well-composed natural perfumes out there. It blends seamlessly with all notes in perfect harmony. In fact, I cannot even detect any of the individual notes aside from the patchouli, but the patchouli used in Wild Roses is elegant, spicy, and serene rather than earthy and dank. I feel like this perfume is perfectly named, as it does bring to mind Wild Roses and tangled briars in the morning sunlight. Fantastic, inventive, and gorgeous while still hinting back at classic vintage rose perfumes.

Sublimely abstract rose perfume, with a sweet apricot center. Delicate spices, fragile florals, gauzy powder, and the most ethereal rose combine to make this shimmering natural. It has the feeling of wearing the most diaphanous lace, pleasure from wearing sheer beauty. The stuff of empyrean daydreams! The antithesis of stale, Wild Roses smells fresh and alive! As if the ingredients were just picked and assembled in front of you. Feminine with soft sillage and moderate longevity.

This is an amazing capture of the earthy version of a rose. We are so used to smelling the sweet induced roses, but this one is definitely dirtier, in an awesome way. This one also lasts a lot longer on the skin than other natural perfumes I've tried. I own a full bottle of this. If you like the more natural smell of roses, this will be for you.