Yellow Rose

Billed as a rose fragrance for people who don't like rose. I can mostly agree with that. The rose on display here isn't the typical rich Bulgarian rose. It is a more floral and dusty rose...something more like a geranium vibe. It has a pretty linear development...with the rose opening, then a sweet sandalwood/cedar vibe gets stronger...and stays for the length of the fragrance. There is some spice from pepper, caraway, and cumin. It isn't overly sweet, yet I don't get a strong sweaty vibe, so don't let that scare you off. It is unisex...both men and women can wear it. Sillage is great. It projects reasonably until about 4-5 hours, then becoming a skin scent. Longevity is excellent. I smelled it on my skin after nearly 24 hours. Samples are available directly from Boyd's of Texas, or from other goods retailers. The whole Boyd's range has a tough, underspoken sensibility.Worth a sniff.

A rose is a rose is a rose. Admittedly, the marketing of this as "a rose scent for people who hate rose scents" is mildly annoying. It's ok to either like or dislike rose scents, though Boyd's choice of copy implies that there's something faintly unhip about falling into either camp. At any rate, I really like rose fragrances. I also really like this. I doubt that people who truly dislike rose will feel the same way. Boyd's "not like other roses; I'm a cool rose" is sweet and dusty and well-behaved. The woods and pink pepper frame its central flower beautifully, but what sets it apart is caraway. It adds a touch of aromatic freshness but also a candyish licorice quality. It's a smart addition. Cumin provides the very faintest trace of sweat and sensuality. I embrace you for what you are, you very rosy Yellow Rose, and I wish you'd do the same.

Welp. I'm 0 for 3 on Boyds of Texas. Unlike Lavender and Vetiver, however, this is not one-deminsional. There's more character and interesting notes to it. The pink pepper and cumin are strong out of the gate. It actually complements the rose nicely. I actually enjoyed this fragrance when I first sprayed it. It had a spicy floral smell that I thought I could pull off. It's hard to find a rose frag that isn't too feminine and I thought they did it right. But the dry down was disappointing. The rose became more synthetic and the wood notes that appeared smelled like wet wood. The fragrance ended up reminding me of an old lady working a small town library. It's really frustrating I can't find a fragrance I like from this brand. I had higher hopes.

Welp...I love rose and don't care for this—guess they achieved what they set out to do 🤷🏻 Dupe of Le Labo it isn't—an all natural fragrance with similar notes it is.

Admittedly, I had impossibly high hopes for this one. It was not terrible, just not better than anything else that I already have in my collection, or most of anything I just brought in for test. Rose notes were not prominent, as I would have expected, and there was a harshness both to the opening as well as to the dry down. Absolutely not a classic rose scent, and also not anything that I would consider giving as a gift.