Rossy de Palma Eau de Protection

Before I delved into the world of niche fragrance, I had eschewed all commercial perfumery. I made my own blend of essential oils of rose with geranium, vetiver, and patchouli - listed in order of most to least. It suited me well, but I had performance issues with the rose oil. While I have a fledgling wardrobe these days, I’ve still periodically looked for a blend that was very similar to the one I made. Eau de Protection is very, very close to my blend. It’s a little rosier. The rose is still wine scented and red, but it’s brighter. Rose can sometimes be too heavy, but the bergamot and ginger make this a surprisingly cheery rose. It has a good dose of geranium and patchouli, making this earthy. Earthy and cheery, like a woman with a nearly bare face wearing a pop of bright red lipstick. It’s a perfect daytime rose scent. I see it for autumn, but it could make a good spring rose, too. What type of woman wears Eau de Protection? She could be a redhead. She might consider keeping a pet fox. Or, she might be a blonde whose redheaded days are behind her with a black labrador mix because she can’t have a fox within city limits. In other words, this fragrance allows me to retain my sense of identity while still conforming to societal standards of everyday life. The note progression for me is first: rose, bergamot, ginger, pepper. This is the bright cheery rose that represents the side of me that waves to the neighbors in the morning as we leave for our respective jobs. Drydown several hours later: rose blends in with geranium and patchouli, with a dash of incense. The drydown is back to my roots, the part of me that would prefer to do my jogging in the woods after dark. I was wearing my very similar essential oil blend when I met my boyfriend four years ago. With this is mind, when I told him I was trying Eau de Protection he cut me off mid-sentence to tell me how much he liked it. This one is an obvious full bottle purchase. Update: I now have two large bottles. One sits boxed in a linen closet and one permanently stays out with the rest of my perfume wardrobe. Sometimes as I pass by, I smell something very sweet and candy-like emanating from the area. The sweetness is coming from Eau de protection, but when I pick up the bottle I smell the red rose and patchouli instead. This is another example of how EdP really is like wearing two different fragrances simultaneously, the light and the dark.

Rossy de Palma? After Secretions Magnifiques, you KNOW where my mind went...Rosy Palm! :) I had no idea that Rossy was even a real person. Now, after smelling this scent, I feel quite compelled to look her up... This begins so very smoothly, enchanting with the brightness of citrus braided with a warm juicy warmth and a subtle spiciness...and the rose peeking playfully: heavenly! This scent is like a sexy vivacious woman who just winked at you...excitement courses through you that SHE might find YOU attractive! More enchanting than real roses RdP's heart "beats" with sensuality and pure sex appeal. The alternating dryness of the carnation and the thickness of the jasmine define the roses' beauty better than one of Shakespeare's odes ever could. "The Vigin never wanders far from the whore" is quite apropos here; as this is at once soft, but charming and utterly lascivious. Not in a phony way, like young girls painted up as a child trying to look the part of a woman, but a woman who is at once innocent and naughty! A rose by any other name...should smell THIS GOOD! This is the svelte woman desired by all, with a slit up her dress almost to the hip...but she is no tramp. She has a tender loving side and exalts in making love (from the heart). This dries down earthy, smoky and so delicious. For all her girliness and feminine wiles, she has an earthy almost raw sense of humour, and very amusing but candid way of looking at life. Oriental enough to be seductive, but earthy enough to be herself...Rossy de Palma Eau de Protection is an essay in contrasts. Bold, but never brazen (unless it heightens the passion), yet shy when she needs to be. I am thoroughly and utterly impressed!! This is a feminine scent, no doubt. But, it's drydown is fine for almost anyone. I would not care what anyone thought of me wearing this...it's THAT good! Sillage: very good Longevity: great! Overall: 4.25/5 Not the biggest fan of roses, to begin with, Miss Rossy has me quite in her spell. This enchanting olfactive composition is a true delight, and if you love roses, then this is all YOU. I like them okay and it has me, quite literally, drooling... To give you an image of what kind of person this perfume would be, I imagine (upon meeting her and talking with her) something very like this: Gypsy: Ms. Rossy, do you smoke after sex? Rossy: *puffs cigarette sexily* I don't know, I never looked! ;)

Not being familiar with Rossy de Palma, the woman who inspired this fragrance, I went Googling to ascertain the nature of her celebrity. It turns out that she is a Spanish actress known for her work in the films of Pedro Almodóvar and (please forgive me, Gentle Reader) not exactly an oil painting. My ignorant opinion of Rossy de Palma aside, ELDO gets a lot of credit in my book for selecting an atypical muse as inspiration material rather than the usual teen idol or Hollywood starlet. For a company that sometimes gets a bad rap for using shock tactics as a marketing tool, Eau de Protection strikes me as a thoughtful, intelligent launch. The perfume itself was an instant love for me because it has so much in common with my beloved Epic Woman and can be had for less than half the price. Eau de Protection opens in fresh fashion much as a natural rose would with some sparkling bergamot, but rapidly transcends the true flower by incorporating a number of darker notes. Before you know it, the rose is quite poisonous, but all the more alluring for being so. Eau de Protection uses a similar strong peppery note to the one I find so appealing in Epic, but replaces the caraway with ginger, rendering Eau de Protection less pickle-like and a bit more wearable. While Eau de Protection showcases a fairly nice Bulgarian rose, Epic revolves around the headier Damascus variety. Both contain incense and patchouli; the Amouage favoring a gorgeous silver frankincense and the ELDO being heavy on the patchouli, and therein lies the rub with this perfume. Patchouli is a polarizing note, perhaps because some associate the smell with the '60s counterculture and the tumultuous events that surrounded it. My first wearing of Eau de Protection was at an outdoor event of a fairly conservative nature. In my defense, I wasn't familiar with the note pyramid and stupidly figured that Rose Frag = innocuous. Not! An offended woman who happened to be seated nearby sniffed ostentatiously while glaring at me as if I were The Whore of Babylon. In a nutshell, Eau de Protection has great, big sillage and is not the ticket for fragrance-phobic environments. Longevity is excellent. Many thanks to the rock star from South Africa who turned me on to this beauty, which is absolutely bottle-worthy.

Eau de Protection is maybe the only Etat Libre d'Orange I care for. At least the only one that gives me a reason for purchasing. I'm not yet sure. I love to smell my sample for smelling purposes. When I put some drops of this scent on my skin I find it friendly even if extravagant. It's such a different take on rose! I love well made rose-scents like Yves Rocher and Stella McCartney, so you can guess Eau de Protection is a totally different thing! I smell lots of black pepper since the beginning through the end. It's pickling together with ginger. Then come a very strange rose. I would say a scaring rose, but it's also exhilarating and not so scaring after all... If you think of rose you normally think of the smell of petals. Well, here the rose is taken as a whole plant. Imagine that you are smelling petals, stem, roots alltogether at the same time. I have no idea how they do it because I don't think there such an infusion of the real thing. It's artificial chemistry. The metallic edge is very obvious but fortunately it doesn't remind me of blood in a raw way. Incense and patchouli are there too. I don't detect the jasmin, the bergamot and the cacao. It's a fascinating fragrance, much more interesting as a work of art in itself than other Etat Libre that are just unpleasant smells. I'm not sure it's easily wearable. For sure it's not mainstreet (of course, it didn't mean to be!) but I still need to find out if it smells scary to other people at least on work situations. I don't personally find it scary, only different and original and for some reason it makes me feel fine. Maybe that's the real meaning of Eau de Protection! Rossy de Palma is a great actress and quite interesting as a woman. I also like the packaging and all the marketing behind. At least for once one of the Etat Libre d'Orange has a good reason for being so overly niche-marketed through big words and imagery.

This is a very prickly rose! Very beautiful, fresh, bright, edgy! On my skin it is quite similar to Paestum Rose (especially on the initial stage), but, whereas PR, while being spicy, is harder on the incense, Rossy de Palma is all about pepper. And it is noticeably sweeter, too. RdP opens with a big blast of fresh crimson rose petals, crisp and clean, almost soapy. Let me tell you, that's a very big and loud rose, I guess it could be almost unbearable for those who aren't quite crazy about roses. However, the second stage of the perfume isn't dominated by the rose I experienced in the opening. Later on, pepper, or rather Pepper, takes over. Well, I confess, this particular stage was difficult for me. I do appreciate spiciness, but this... I even started to sneeze! Fortunately for me, the pepper note calmed down half an hour later and the spiciness transformed into the typical ELdO's gingery note. The rose is still in the background, remaining fresh, but less sharp and prickly. Now it's rounder and has a silky touch. What I get in the base is sweet benzoin and soft incense. No cacao for me :( What I find quite strange is that I cannot pick up much patchouli from the composition. On my skin, there is only a faint hint of patchouli in the base, closer to the end of the whole experience. My personal conclusion is that 'Rossy de Palma' is one of the most beautiful rose fragrance I've came across, and certainly one of the most unusual, if not THE most unusual. It's truly unique and bewitching. I also think that for spicy/incensy rose lovers it might be a no less hit than Paestum Rose or Rose Poivree (another RdP's sister). The longevity is superb (this scent will please you all day long). The sillage is rather soft, but I'm not sure about it, since I only spray once (it's quite strong). 5 main characteristics: fresh, peppery, Bulgarian rose, ginger, unique.

It's high time I review my signature perfume these days. I see some has a problem with the opening and top notes, but I happen to love ginger, pepper, bergamot and geranium. It wakes me up and makes me focus. Be warned, the geranium is probably what some describe as bug spray. To me this is indeed like armour from a medieval fantasy. The dragon on the bottle is well chosen. In my mind it consists of mainly two parts. First, there is a the more green facet of the rose, as if someone crushed and pressed out all liquid from an entire red rosebush. The juice has a fresh sweetness, no sugar added. It is spiced, as if some rose chutney, with mouth watering ginger and pepper and tart bergamot and geranium. After the first brazing moments of this making you ready for battle, the imagined glass clear, bright red juice tones down it's olfactory presence as it hardens like a resin to form a perfect protective shell with thorns and all. Part two is on the inside and close to the skin. The patchouli, incense, jasmine, cocoa, and particularly the benzoin forms a plush velvet lining, making it comfortable to wear. This part feels like a portable home, a safe base from which to strike. It calms and centers you in the heat of battle, reminding you of your purpose, the people you love and to pick your battles. I imagine the fabric is scented with rose of a more earthy, dried and crushed variety, a part of an incense blend that has wafted through the air in the time before the war and got caught in the soft silk.

Well, my friends, this is what you wear to go and hunt vampires: a bunch of flowers to fool them, a vial of blood as bait, a metal stake to stab'em in the heart and a spadeful of earth to bury them. Did I say vampires? Because I meant men. Or any gender of your inclination, really. My first real love from ELDO! This starts with a spicy blast of pepper and ginger, which I don't love. However, after about 15 minutes, the rose and other supporting flowers come out and this becomes BEAUTIFUL. I understand why other people reference blood notes: there is indeed something a little metallic and strange to the spice/rose/geranium/patchouli combo that does remind of blood. It is a unusual take on the classic rose/patchouli blend for sure. The rose is not very strong, on me - clearly less prominent than on some other reviewers. After a while, the patchouli and incense make this a little bit dirty and earthy, in a good way. So well blended! I see that other people compare this to Lady Vengeance by JHAG: on me, they are very distinct fragrances. LV is much stronger on the rose, and more green and musky. Eau de Protection actually reminds me a lot more of Coco Mademoiselle, but stronger on the florals. It's Coco Mademoiselle if she was less of a well behaved lady, more dangerous and more sexy. I'll finish my sample first but I'm pretty sure I'll get a bottle.

Eau de Protection starts with a blast of fresh roses, flower, leaf and stem, and then gradually becomes more spicy. The spiciness lends a metallic feel to the fragrance. Not blood, not really, but yes, metallic, and not cold either, more like metal warmed by skin. Smelled up close, geranium is pretty strong, and so is pepper. And together they give the impression of a dried rose, no longer fresh in the garden, but drying upside down in a corner of a room. A lovely patchouli contributes to the dryness. But that's just one aspect. Smelled from a little further away, the perfume is a bit sweeter and juicier and more rose centered. A deep red rose with velvety petals. There's a moment in the far dry down where the cocoa shines trough. Warm, dry, dark and slightly sweet. After that, Eau de Protection becomes a dark ambery fragrance. Deep and lush but fortunately never too sweet. It stays like that for a long time adn gradually the spices wear of and Eau de Protection becomes amber, rose, and surprisingly a hint of jasmine. I can safely say I adore this perfume. It's complex and constantly developing from fresh spicy to dark and deep. I don't completely understand it yet, but I know I love it. Though rose is very prominent, I do recommend this perfume to people who aren't into rose fragrances very much. This is so much more than a rose perfume.

This perfume is nuts on me. At first I get rose, but it's paired with an almost overpowering and extremely unpleasant, in a can't-stop-smelling-myself kind of way note that I think others are calling a blood accord, but that reminds me most of an infection. someone else said snot smell, and I know exactly what they mean. Gross, right? but I can't stop sniffing it. In another review I talked about sense-affirming scents, and the opening of Eau de Protection is definitely one. Not pleasant, but fascinating in its foulness. Luckily, within 1/2 an hr it mellows out into a fresh, clean, green smelling rose- my *favorite* type of rose fragrance there is. On me, this fragrance won't quit. I do a lil spritz down my shirt, and I can still smell it on my bra after doing the laundry. It's okay if you don't believe me- I hardly believe me, but it's true. I like to layer it with ELDO's You or Someone Like You, which brings the fresh green-ness of the thing to level 11. The only thing I don't like about Eau de Protection is its longevity, which is wild to say, but I'm a bum, I rewear clothes. Once sprayed with Eau de Protection, an article of clothing is compromised, and I can't wear any other fragrance without blending. that mych said, I can easily see myself committing to this as a signature fragrance someday.

Wow. Wow! From the moment I put this one on I was captivated, and then for the next six hours or so it kept me under its spell. This is perhaps the first perfume I've ever tried where I can smell every note; they are perfectly blended and yet they also seem to change with each sniff. This starts off with a gentle rose scent, which gets warmer and bigger over time as though the rose is actually blooming on the skin. It's a very true rose, red and verging on fruity, mixed with a hint of bergamot and pepper and a big kick of ginger. The other flowers are present but only as a backdrop to the rose--they never overpower it, even on my jasmine-magnifying skin. As this dries down it gets slightly powdery and very spicy. The incense feels like an extension of the ginger rather than a smoky note, and the rose slowly wilts away. The drydown has more of a presence than with most perfumes I've tried, and continues to project a decent sillage. I would describe with perfume as a work of art. As it develops it shows off the entire lifespan of a rose blooming, and the spice and incense notes are masterfully done. I wish it lasted a little longer simply because I'm in love with it, but I will definitely be getting it based on how strongly I feel about it.

Wow! I smelled this today from my sample after many months since my first review and all I can say is: fabulous! It's such an amazing perfume, rose for sure, but not just rose! There is an organic nuance which is highly addictive! Don't think of blood, because it doesn't smell exactly like blood. I wouldn't like if it was so. I have no attraction for all that fuss around blood, milk, etc... Actually I think it's just marketing. Eau de Protection smells organic like soil and something both metallic and sweet in it. It's like an edible rose of the best quality surrounded by spicy and gourmand notes. What I like here is balance. No real ginger or cocoa obvious smell like so many other modern gourmand. It's all kept very balanced and the rose shines through the rest of composition. I've been said to have a metallic smell on my skin, which I don't get much. I wonder if this perfume enhance that feeling, but I don't really care! I just like to sniff it on my wrist! It makes me feel confortable, cosy and secure and anyway it's a gorgeous smell to my nose! I never tried to wear it out of home but I will for sure and ask for opinion to my closest ones. In any case, whether it is appreciated or not on me I will keep using it for my own pleasure!

I can attest that this is unlike any other rose fragrance I have ever worn. I’m in the middle of day three, and I’m very happy with my blind buy of a tester bottle, Rossy de Palma Eau de Protection. Initially I thought I had made a mistake. Geranium is amped up in the opening, so much so that the first few minutes (emphasis on “minutes”) made me think of cat urine. Luckily it passed and in subsequent wearings I realized the odd note is geranium combined with ginger and citrus. After the brief opening, the scent went earthy: patch with incense, benzoin and cocoa and, of course, red rose. An odd and daring blend for sure. I must’ve grown anosmic to the scent, because I thought it faded around the four or five hour mark. When I saw my hairdresser at 7pm last night, she asked me what scent I was wearing, remarking that it was lovely. That was a full 10 hours after the initial application of three sprays. It also helps that my husband loves this one on me. What turned out to be a scary, first few initial minutes, has ended up as one of my best blind buys to date. Rossy De Palma is challenging though, and I do not recommend you buy it blind. But I happen to love it as it blends perfectly with my skin.

I was reluctant to buy this as I have a thing about celebrity fragrances but Rossy de Palma ain't Paris Hilton and as with the Tilda Swinton ELdO one, this is a winner and probably my favourite proper fragrance rose (ie not quite a soliflore). It starts glorious in that place where bergamot meets a small roadside rose bush and they roll on a ginger bed for a while. Lovely, but after few minutes geranium raises its cloying head. Luckily not for long and what happens next, and what remains for the next ten hours (I did apply LOADS, though, because I couldn't get enough of that first accord) is an aromatic, not-at-all sweet yet not-at-all sharp or jarring rose, warm yet not cloying. The non-celebrity part of the name, Eau de Protection is well chosen. This scent has a bit of talismanic or even battledress feeling. Maybe it's the incense hints lurking at the base. If the Tea Rose by Perfumer's Workshop is a rose to lounge on a veranda to, Eau de Protection is one for when you need to kick ass or just feel more together. Oh, and I agree with LaviniaMidnight below, this is indeed a rose (or floral) for someone who wears a tattered leather jacket and jeans. I do. 8/10

This perfume is so interesting! I blindly sprayed it on my wrist one day in a flurry of perfume smelling, it was the dead of winter and walking around outside in -20 I wondered what this warm blanket of fragrance was that I was getting wafts of. I remembered it was that bottle with the dragon. I went and sprayed it on my wrist at least once a week for almost a month before I decided I had to have it. It wasn't my usual choice and I was a little afraid of it, it was so strong and powerful, while that didn't scare me off I was worried it would scare off everyone around me!! So far everyone seems to like it on me. A gothic rose it a great description for it. It's got the whole rose for me, the petals, the stem, the roots and the dirt clinging to the roots. This might sound silly but this perfume makes me think of that book/movie Interview with the Vampire. When Louis and Claudia were travelling all over the world in search of other Vampires and finally find them in Paris, THIS is what I picture those Parisian vampires would smell like. Dark, intelligent and dangerous

This was a scrubber for me on my first spray (don't think I've done that prior to this one. but also i sprayed it right before i left for work for some reason and had to turn around and remove any trace so my colleagues wouldn't ask what was rotting). I didn't do any research on Eau de Protection prior to this, but I def picked up on the bloodiness without context. Smelled like a crime scene- super metallic and ??? gruesome, but also like rotting vegetables? Found myself coming back to it a couple times out of morbid curiosity or something. It definitely grew on me. I really enjoy the fizziness of the ginger. Not something I'd usually go for but I wish I still had my sample. I think I'm way too meek to pull this off but if you have the personality for it, you should! ;) Edit: I keep thinking about the last remnants of my sample and now I want at least a 50ml bottle. On my wishlist.

I loved this scent from the first time I was given a sample years ago when it first came out. Finally, recently, I was able to find (& afford) a bottle and it hit me just as hard. I enjoy ELDO scents and own quite a few but this one is special. It’s light but serious. The bottle makes it feel like holy water or something gothic, as if when I wear it my body (and heart) need protection. Quite a few different roses have come out since this debuted in 2009 and some are truly interesting and don’t make me think of my grandmother or that old Rose smell from the 80s. (Jo Malone Tudor Rose, Rose& Magnolia and Rose & White Musk are good examples, so are Rose Paestrum and Rosa Greta from Eau d’Italie). This is a special scent and I enjoy the light lasting spicy skin scent now almost more than the initial burst of rose. Could easily be a signature scent.

Oh Rossy! What an addictive fragrance. It's hard to put it into words, but let's just say that this rose does have thorns. It's so fresh it's almost metallic, and I can surely see where the idea of a blood accord is coming from. But fear not, there's nothing dirty here. In fact, to me this fragrance is the epitome of freshness and cleanness, it literally energizes me when I put it on. It's beautifully mischievous in spring and provides a great cooling effect in summer, setting down into a softer drydown thanks to benzoin. In my opinion, it stands out among other rose-patch fragrances, thanks to the little vicious geranium and ginger topped with pepper. Speaking of roses and ginger, check out Cinabre by Maria Candida Gentile if Rossy is too harsh and metallic for you. Cinabre is darker and sweeter, giving me almost medieval alchemical vibes.

Let me start by saying that I always thought I hated rose and patchouli scents. Well, this is the exception! I remember having a first whiff of it some years ago and going into what can only be described as catatonic ecstasy...Seriously, right then and there, I bought a bottle (I don't ever do that on a first whiff). And now, I can only say I love rose and patchouli, or at least this incarnation. It does start very sharp: citruses and peppers playing first fiddles, with roses humming just behind. But as it develops, it becomes a delightful rose singing sotta voce with light patchouli as base drums. It is the perfume that gets me most compliments from random females. I actually get stopped on the street, in stores, at work by women completely entranced by the smell. And I have to say, it is the perfume that my husband notices... Intensely..

I was intrigued by the concept of this scent and it didn't let me down. I knew it was something I would never be able to wear myself, but could I appreciate this on a woman? Absolutely. It's bright, bold, sensual and charismatic, but has flashes of something dark and dangerous. The rose is green and quite juicy smelling, tempered by the pepper and ginger which add subtle, dry sweetness. However it is the hints of incense and a slightly cold metallic note that gives "Eau du Protection" its edge on skin. It does remind me of the sweet tanginess you get when you bite your lip and draw blood, yet without the frightful sterility of similar blood accords such as the one in "Secretions Magnifique". This combination smells very much alive and inviting, a perfect mixture of sensitive and sharp and an embodiment of the rock and roll spirit.

Green sharp pepper, ginger and bergamot open the scent. Incense and an ambery, resinous base complete the opening. A soft rose and green patchouli enter the dry down, and it becomes a spicy, aromatic rose with a green aspect and resin base. After an hour or so it warms and becomes slightly sweeter, like a sweet dark amber. Eau De Protection doesn't want to fit into a box. It's a soft rose, but it's spicy, green and aromatic, but it's resinous and dark with smoky incense. All of this is blended quite well to create a beautifully unique scent that's become one of my personal favourites from the sampler collection. This is an all-weather scent, and would be a great fit for those in-between weather times when you're not sure what to wear. It conjures an image of a mysterious passer-by that you just want to follow and learn more about.

Can't get over how much I genuinely do think this stinks and yet I'm still entranced by it. I got the blood/flesh-like note immediately upon spraying and found that it began to warm up/mingle with the scent of my own skin in an interesting way the longer I wore it, as well as the rose which came off a bit soapy to me however, this blends well with the metallic smell I previously mentioned. I detected more spice in the drydown, and was impressed by how long it seemed to linger, and noticed that metallic scent seemed to disippate or morph into the cocoa note (perhaps this is what 'warms' the scent up to my skin in the beginning?). I definitely agree this scent is a bloody rose but rather than a bloody rose resting on concrete or metal, to me, this one is laid or perhaps crushed on bathroom tile.

Eau de Protection is yet another quirky collaboration between the maverick of the perfume world, Etat Libre d'Orange, and the most striking of contemporary actresses, Rossy de Palma. The result: a bewitching rose fragrance which is both unusual and very effortless to wear. Imagine the world of Sleeping Beauty come to life: endless tangles of dangerous thorns, the deep red rose which the prince offers to his princess, and the drop of blood which stains the needle of the spinning wheel. This fragrance captures all of these images beautifully and with the release of the new film Maleficent, now would be the perfect time to own such a scent. Excellent longevity, silage and guaranteed to receive compliments: Eau de Protection is surely one of the gems to come from this unique and provocative house.

In Jeanne Rose's Herbs and Things, there's a recipe for making rosary beads from rose petals. Years ago I followed the recipe with deep red-black roses, and made these amazing honey-rose-wine smelling beads that looked like nasty little misshapen balls of dried blood with flecks of botanical debris. On the first spray, after the initial ginger smack died down (I have not read much about the ginger but DAMN), ELDO's Eau de Protection reminds me of handmade rose petal rosary beads, incense, wine-y roses, a cathedral altar, a widow's veil, and thorny confessions that will take awhile. I've had it on for half an hour, and it is drying down into something complex and lovely -- the cacao and incense are quite comforting. Edit: I'm probably getting a full bottle, this is a favorite.

Rossy de Palma is no shy, well-mannered bouquet. It opens with a fleeting slap of civet, gone before you can decide you loathe it. A rose bursts forth, crisp and green: dry yet perfumed with a sweet, effervescent lift of jasmine and orange blossom. Beneath, the dry, earthy crunch of oakmoss lies under a soft, powdery veil that hovers close to the skin like a subtle aura. There’s something unmistakably ELDO here – a “skin scent” both provocative and elegant. Not the sweat-dried intimacy of Putain des Palaces, but the tender, lived-in air of a room just after someone’s woken up. As it dries down, a wave of déjà vu creeps in: an earthy, incense-tinged floral sweetness that could well be the lost twin of Diesel’s criminally overlooked Fuel for Life Femme.

At first spray, the ginger and bergamot are sharp, not bright and sparkling like when used in other fragrances. Despite the black pepper, this doesn't feel spicy to me. There is a mineral-like quality that makes this seem smooth after the initial sharpness fades. Of course, the star of Eau de Protection is that dark rose, present from beginning to end. Once this dries all the way down, I do get a faint cacao/patchouli and smokiness. Sometimes I wear this and it feels velvety...other times, it feels cool and dewy, depending on the weather I guess. It always reminds me of nighttime, magic, and ghost stories. I love rose-centered fragrances and Eau de Protection is one of my favorites. It is strong and lasts forever. This one is an essential for me.

It's like a flogger made of roses, a cat-o'-nine-tails with the thorns and all. It throws itself at your face, not wallflower material in any way. It's passion and drama and blood red lips. I don't care much for the sexist trash that usually is ELDO copy, and this is no exception, but it really is a protective potion that says "tread on me at your own risk". It took me some time to appreciate it, it was always hovering between a permanent position in my lineup and the swap pile, but now I can't imagine being without it. It came into my life at a time of great change and I have sought strength and comfort in it. My bottle doesn't have the turn-of-the-millennium-crop-top dragon design, if that makes a difference.

Love this scent, it surrounds me with aromatherapy cloud. It has well mixed components, they are equal. It's a little rosy, a little sweet, a little bitter, a little woody; clean, but rich and not heavy. Unusual and sexy of course. It's not that surface and loud sexuality, but Rossy de Palma unobtrusively and unnoticeably catches you and takes your head away. To my happiness I don't feel too much patchouly (it usually makes perfume too oily) and carnation is on its place bot making soapy notes. I like the balance and this scent has the same character as I do ))) I do not recommend it for teens and very young girls. It's a real feminine scent a quintessence of the type of woman I adore and wanna be like )

I really wanted to love this because if there's one celebrity whose whole essence I'd love to bottle, it's the wonderfully singular Rossy de Palma. I wish more celebrities of her ilk would try their hands at this genre. And this did not disappoint. It's a Janus-faced scent, both beautiful and feminine and dark and slightly disturbing. There's almost a tongue-in-cheek girlishness due to the heavy florals and sugared ginger, but the metallic edge that lurks around the periphery renders it faintly dangerous. The push and pull is fascinating. Eau de Protection seems perfectly named, capturing the feel of some kind of talisman or a Catholic tension between the bloody and the otherworldly. I adore this.

I've been on a search for rose fragrances, and this gorgeous beauty is a big love. This is a rose for the woman (or man) who can put on a vintage leather jacket and beat up Levi's and outclass any cashmere twinset with pearls in the room. I have Roses De Chloe, and she's the demure sister without a hair out of place. Rossy De Palma is the sister who rides a Harley and doesn't mind getting a little sweaty and road dirty. I wish I could find a better adjective than a grittier rose fragrance, but it is what it is. I adore it. I've spent so much money on fragrances that I'm going to have to enjoy the samples till I can rationale another expensive bottle of scent, but this will be the first one I get.

So lovely! This rose opens big, bold and green with geranium in the background. It has a tart fruity vibe even though there are no fruits listed in the notes. My mind conjours up an image of full blood red ruby lips biting into sharp blackberries, releasing their tart, fruity juices. Its not majorly spicy but the ginger & pepper are more prelevant in the drydown. As much as I love this, the longevity is poor - 2 hrs on me at the most. I find this similar to Serge Lutens La Fille de Berlin, especially in the drydown & as this has great lasting power, think I'll stick with SL. Shame really, because the fragrance is outstanding & is by far one of (if not my all time) favourite rose scents....

Opens spicy-metallic which is possibly the black pepper or the incense or the use of rose oxide. The rose is fresh and aromatic. I definitely get geranium and fresh ginger. I like it a lot in cooler weather. Zero sweetness. Kind of a sassy-spunky perfume playing that cool fresh against warm spicy smoky. The name "Eau de Protection" suits: it does have an aura of confidence, and I like the incense note. The rose has a metallic cast but I really enjoy it: it's bright, vibrant, red. Eau de Protection is great on a sunny autumn day. The drydown grows softer and sweeter and becomes this earnest lightly spicy rose.

Love this! Sensual, moody, deep and romantic. The rose, as someone else also pointed out, smells like it could be a 'black' rose, dangerous and a little demonic. There is an oudness to it, velvet breath and full bodied. There is a sense of blood, but in a really subtle layered way, that it comes in and out of the scent but is not there permanently, which I am really attracted to. The bergamot is subtle, but with the ginger and pepper add a rich spiciness which lifts it up out of its dark mood. When I wore it my husband loved it but also said it reminded him of years ago when I used to wear Coco.

I'm entranced by this unconventional, unapologetically feminine potion. Fierce yet gentle; carnal yet ethereal; confident yet unpretentious...I wear Eau de Protection like a talisman. The juicy opening of Bulgarian rose is intensified with blasts of bright ginger and black pepper...a waft of geranium. A subtle bloodiron accord emerges with a clean vegetal note, seamlessly blended with the sultry heat of the spices. Finally, a temptingly smooth, dark blend of cocoa, patchouli, benzoin and sheer incense enrobes the thorns of this risque rose.

this is LOVE !!! It may just be the most gorgeous scent that I ever had the pleasure of using. Received a sample from a frag member(many thanks to Triplex) this week and I am totally hooked. Main theme is ROSE, obviously, first couple of minutes I can smell a metallic note(must be the ''bloood accord!!!''), afterwards a rich dark red rose, is caressing my skin with balmy wafts of cocoa, vanilla and creamy fluffy benzoin. My new addiction, just ordered a bottle from Amazon.Hopping I just found my signature perfume after years of searching.

I confirmed with Etat Libre that this is indeed a unisex fragrance. "Absolutely it is" they said. Well I believe them despite the bright pink box. This is a wonderful scent that should not be in the domain of just 50% of the species. Its opening is like a tangy organic jam from the geranium which bleeds beautifully into the divine rose. It has a mysterious background note, like a demon dressed as a angel, which you can only catch for a fleeting second. Well done ELDO this is an amazing, intoxicating scent with hidden depths.

An edgy, beautiful rose scent, totally unisex, IMO. Red rose with the green and tangy accent of geranium, sharpened by the spicy zing of ginger and black pepper. Slightly bitter and when it settles after a good while, there's almost an ozonic and leathery quality that comes through. Possibly some white musk as well. It's not classically pretty, but more attention grabbing and striking, somewhat unexpected, like its namesake Rossy de Palma. An odd beauty. One of my favorite roses.

A special parfum,with a very special rose in a modern key! An unusual scent that impressed me for its originality! It opens with a strong note of pungent ginger accompanied by bergamot and pepper... the drydown is fantastic, the geranium begins to be heard and the incense carats the scent by putting a dark imprint! Is very versatile, I really like it. I think it will be among my favorite ELDO! Beautiful! Sillage: 7.5/10 Longevity: 8./10 Scent: 8.5/10 Overall: 8.5/10

I absolutely love this fragrance for fall. It's spicy and a very modern rose smell. It almost reminds me of a really beautiful incense. Interestingly, a random man working at a gas station was NOT a fan and called it "horrid" which I completely don't understand. Maybe he needed warding off- re: the eau de protection?!? lol That being said, I only sprayed 2 spritzes of it several hours prior, so the sillage is definitely powerful.

This perfume opens like something wicked. The roses come snarling out of the ground, with geranium trumpeting their arrival. I felt like I was wearing a mix of perfume and toxic waste. The scent quieted down after the first few minutes, and the image I had was of the forgotten crypt of a saint. Dark earthen walls housing dried roses, spices, and bones. I feel like a threat wearing this-- a rose that will cut back.

The most full, fleshy, bloody red rose. It feels like you're burying your face in the most indulgent, soft petals. The name is absolutely bang on. It's so beautiful that it creates its own protective shield. Again, État libre d'orange's description is so fitting and depicts an image that comes alive the moment you spray this scent. I highly encourage everyone to look in to each one of their background stories!

Jesus Christ! This is gorgeous! That rose with the incense and patchouli base is nothing less than stunning! The cacao just peeks out. Luscious. Rich. I love the actress Rossy de Palma and can see how she inspired this. I'm gay and don't shy away from wearing women's perfume. In my opinion, this is a woman's perfume. I do drag and will think about getting this for my act. F*ck! Breathtakingly beautiful!

Strange, beautiful, not for the faint of heart. It is a FIERCE rose, thorns and all--when I close my eyes and smell this I picture red roses in an old silver vase, the smell of the metal melting into the petals themselves. It's not for everyone, but neither are any of the unique fragrances from Etat Libre d'Orange. For me it will always smell like Paris.

Strange, beautiful, not for the faint of heart. It is a FIERCE rose, thorns and all--when I close my eyes and smell this I picture red roses in an old silver vase, the smell of the metal melting into the petals themselves. It's not for everyone, but neither are any of the unique fragrances from Etat Libre d'Orange. For me it will always smell like Paris.

a bit horrendous but enticing... the first scent from this house that i've sampled and was actually impressed by. i get a lot of the metallic note that subsides eventually but is still present throughout, and it actually does come close to blood for me. i think this does everything that i wanted secretions magnifiques to do...

not a conventional rose. just few drops of it and I think : iron, rust, oxid or blood ? it's very comfortable for me. Then arrives the rose, that becomes suddenly intriguing, enveloping, homey. a dirty comfortable bloody rose on my skin. the rose I love.

This smells like witchcraft a weird, earthy, magic rose (Lately I seem to be all about rose). It smells like the inside of a Santaria Botanica, it smells gorgeous, it smells unique, it smells humid and sexy and like plants and strange spices

If SL La Fille de Berlin and TM Angel had a well-behaved love child. If you like a bit of patchouli to dirty up a classic rose then definitely give this a try, well blended, not too screechy or dark. A lovely rose scent.

This is a rose dripping with blood...like the red red rose of sleeping beauties lips...the forest of thorns and the drop of blood on the spinning wheel. This is a metallic, rich rose...captivating and dangerous.

Not only a fierce cold metallic rose, but mostly its thorns. Saying: I won’t ever be yours, look, you’re already bleeding on me, and I’m still the most beautiful of all.

Dark, raspy, dry rose with a prominent incense-y edge which slowly dries down to sort of a sepia version of itself, very beautiful, unusual and a little edgy(to me).