Yuzu/ Rose/ Patchouli

I normally hate yuzu. I normally hate citrus paired with rose because rose is my favorite note, and citrus is not. I love this. Tart, sour, sweet, rosy. This is not a patch-forward fragrance other than a bit of herbal quality as it dries down and the yuzu burns off. The rose really is the star the entire way through. But the base has some odd scent to it. Sort of plastic. Not a huge fan of it there.That would keep me from buying a bottle.

First impression: this is the most amazing yuzu note I've smelled in any fragrance. And it blends beautifully with the bright green rose. So far it's a strong like!

There's a little more to this than the scent notes above suggest, but it's certainly not the most complex scent in the world either. It uses two varieties of Yuzu, both a bitter and a sweet version; it has some Geranium to add depth to the Rose; and it has a mix of a few different varieties of Patchouli to get the right balance of woody notes. Opening is very sweet-and-sour citrus, a little tart and a little sparkly with some sweet rose underneath it. The citrus notes last a long time (helped out by the neroli, which CL says acts as a fixative for the yuzu), only gradually transforming into a more woody rose over a couple hours, and then the rose gradually fades into a soft woody patchouli as it enters the drydown. Opening projection is moderate bordering on Heavy if you spray more than twice. Drydown is soft to moderate depending how much you spray. Feels like a good spring scent. Might be a bit too intense for summer heat, but likely OK if you have cool mornings before it gets warm in the afternoon. Too fresh and bright for fall and winter by my taste. Tough to argue whether it's masculine or feminine - the citrus opening could go either way, the rose heart is a little more feminine, the woody drydown is rather masculine.

Having tried a couple other Yuzu frags (I'm looking at you, Caron Yuzu Man), I was less than impressed by this Japanese citrus. However, this frag makes me realise that Yuzu can be a compelling note when paired with the right counterparts. Here, the combination of a sweet, jammy rose, the tangy, mildly gingery citrus, and the metholated patchouli combine to make a phenomenal fragrance. Surprisingly, I am reminded a bit of Frederic Malle's Portrait of a Lady when I smell this after a hiatus of two years, although this isn't the tour de force of spicy patch and rose that POAL is. However, this is also a very good rose fragrance, especially for a self-taught perfumer.

Initial spray is a little sharp and can come off as synthetic. I got a blast of potpourri on initial blast. Don't over-spray with this one. Takes a little while to settle to rosey/citrus scent. Very clean a little fresh and aromatic. Reminds me a lot of Charriol Royal White, only I feel this one has a better projection for being an EDT. Got 6 1/2 hours of life out of the fragrance, very light to undetectable skin scent after that. Overall a good scent, it's nothing groundbreaking, but it's not boring either. Worth a try of you're looking for a rose-clean-citrus.