Purotu Rose

My first time to leave a comment on fragrantica and it has to be this underrated rose/cumin/sandalwood combo! I like almost any florals except those with gourmand/shampoo backbones. It was a head-on hit of loving for me when I tested it on my skin at the store in Auckland today. This Purtou Rose is a heavily performing extrait de parfum. Meaning “handsome rose”, it does lean more unisex-masculine. It opens with strong spicy cumin and pink pepper which is not kidding! This into-your-face spiciness somehow exerts a medicinal vibe which disappears in 5mins. It actually reminds me of the famous Rose 31 from Le Labo and newly launched Ediesis from Aesop. The cumin turns out to be a spike from the Australian sandalwood backbone (teakwood accord), bringing out the slightly smoky, very dry woody facets. Rose is very prominent here after the initial blast of cumin and stays for 3-4 hours with the sandalwood 40:60. This heart stage projects strongly with that spiced honey floralcy. Absolutely beautiful rose quality here! It finally dries down to ambroxan like ambergris which is not listed above. Longevity and sillage are a solid 8+/10. This very strong spicy woody rose fragrance is not safe for blind buy nor for the faint hearted. Make sure you test it on skin as the rose only blooms on warm skin, not blotters!

As a rose lover, I had hoped I’d enjoy this; the cumin is very strong and overpowers the overall experience. I’m letting go of a bottle; dm me if interested.

A few months back I signed up for a fragrance subscription through Indigo Perfumery in Lakewood, Ohio. Purotu Rose is from the May subscription, and I’m wearing the sample today. Curionoir is a indie house from New Zealand that I have never heard of before, and exactly the reason I signed up to Indigo’s perfume subscription. Accompanying literature states that this scent was inspired by a Maori “tangi”, a funeral service in that culture—and that the scent is memorable and non traditional. That said, I agree that Purotu Rose is memorable, but not in a good way. This smells like it has a cheap Oud in it, along with rose and cumin which are listed. It could be that the cumin note is so strong that it’s causing an adverse reaction in me, creating a feeling like my nose is on fire. The rose note is also an ugly one, reminding me of those urinal cake things in public restrooms. So far the pungent scent is linear, no change from 75 minutes ago when I first applied it. Unfortunately I am going to scrub it off before I make it to the dry down. Nothing pains me more than to be one of the first people on Fragrantica leaving a negative review on a relatively unknown indie house but I want to be honest: this is a solid pass, I don’t like any aspect of this scent.