Velvet Rose

Opening: Opens up to a burst of fresh fruit including a very prominent raspberry and a slight sour strawberry. After some of the alcohol gets to evaporate you start to smell a soft rose/jasmine combination that goes beautifully with the fruit I start to get a leather similar to getting a new wallet, slightly synthetic leather (so it's not like smelling a biker's leather jacket) and the leather notes really don't go that far into the front, but add a great body to the raspberries. The styrax and incense notes are not really all that prominent, but I can feel a bit of ambery/styrax notes start to show up. I was at first very afraid this would be too feminine for me, but it's sitting smack-dab in the middle of the unisex-spectrum. It's a scent that most women easily could pull off if they wish to go for a slightly fruity feel, and men are able to pull this off as well if you take a moment to set aside the image of whatever men's fragrance commercial you've got in your head. It is not a fragrance that screams masculine, so there's no musk or animalics, there's no motor oil, but I reckon it would be very sophisticated to wear with a nice suit. After 15-30 minutes the scent is still developing and the patchouil starts to show up. For people who dislike it, I would say give it a chance. This is a much more mild and rounded patchouli (much less medicinal and nose-ripping) than most patchoulis. Dry down: After some time, you start to feel a lot more of the base notes, especially the tofu balsam and labdanum, still being complemented well by the top notes. The vanilla is not at all that strong, so the base mainly consists of labdamum and tofu balsam, with a hint of patchouli, and an even smaller hint of vanilla, but to be fair, these could just as well be my nose that's a bit confused. For all I know, this could also be the tuberose, or both. I do get a sweet floral note with some vanillabean, so perhaps it's both. As we go deeper into the drydown, as in 3-4 hours or more, the labdanum starts becoming the main focus Absolutely beautiful fragrance.