Explosive

A pleasant blind buy! I was half expecting some brassy '80s nightmare' a la Poison. I got the 'EDT natural spray'. At first spray on the back of my hand, I thought this was very very weak - :( - but nice, and wondered what the EDP would be like. Have just had a proper wear on neck and wrists and what a difference! Must be the increased skin oils - now it is much stronger and longer lasting and the initial 'fizziness' turns to what I would almost call a 'rubbered rose'. I'm wondering if this might be best applied fresh out of bath or shower, with extra clean skin? It's the fizzy bit I like the best but seeing that I gave away my Diva and Cabaret, and only have the sparkly AP now which I don't wear too often, there was a hole in my wardrobe for a dusky rose frag that is now filled again. I have and love La Perla and don't find a similarity with this but Explosive does remind me of Ungaro Diva so if you like that you'd probably like this, just be aware of the possibility of a bit of added rubber tyre! Update: I wore this out and about in the cold air today and I got a strong smell of violet leaf from it, although that is not listed (ahaaaaa! it's the orris root apparently)? I also think this is a very Christmassy scent! UPDATE, 13.02.13 - I'm wearing this every day and falling more and more in love with it! This perfume is a beautiful chameleon and a flower that just keeps unfolding its many coloured petals. What a find - I got it real cheap on Ebay - makes up for many stinkers. :) UPDATE, 26/03/13. Still in love with this. Applied it today and there was this animal/body/skin undertone smell that rose from it - so me and so comforting. My husband sidled up to me tonight and said 'mmm what's that smell, it's like jasmine incense or something'. He never usually notice or comments on perfume and anything incensey is even more of a winner for me! imo, Explosive is a masterpiece, must stockup/backup soon.

AN immediate hit in the face with sweet, sweet rose. When I first smelled this I thought it was going to be way too floral and powdery for me, but after about half an hour the rose eases (though never leaves) and the powder completely disappears which brings this perfume out of cloying territory and lets the woodsy spice scents in the base notes start to shine. My favorite time with this perfume is after I've had it on for two hours or so. The moss, wood, and spice dominate at that point, and turn an initially overwhelming floral into something complex and sweetly earthy & musky. Wear time is *long* and sillage is HUGE, don't wear in an office or otherwise enclosed space you're going to be for a long time. Love it for a night out though, and all the compliments I get come after that drydown time I mentioned above. I find this blends super well with my natural scent, but I would NOT recommend this one as a blind buy unless you know you love the base notes together and are confident walking around leaving everyone you pass wondering what you're wearing. Also, if you really really love it (which i do) spraying a down duvet with this before putting on a cover results in literal months of delicious scent. Blasphemous usage, I know, but worth it if you live by your own rules.

A very spicy, dark, almost a little incense-y rose; something you'd imagine on Morticia Addams, or a classically ageless English lady with at least six tragically and mysteriously predeceased husbands. Which is... very much not me, but I try to do it justice, anyway. I swiped my mother's vintage bottle (who got it as a gift sometime in ages past but vastly prefers pure rose perfumes at least an order of magnitude more expensive than this) and am going to get myself a backup before they start becoming rarer. This is pretty much my ideal rose chypre, and with some luck it'll be a faithful companion for many years of special evenings. Sillage and longevity are strong and my nose severely objects to this being oversprayed (not because it doesn't smell good in large amounts, which it does, but because the sheer spiciness of it is physically irritating); this is not an issue if it's used carefully. The scent takes a minute to settle and wake up the florals; over time, it develops an almost incense-like undercurrent that lurks beneath the rose and is extremely appealing. Definitely an evening perfume, and one with a strong personality - but if you enjoy a slightly earthy, spicy, incense-y explosion of rose, this is a great one.

This perfume literally blew me away. It was instant love and I immediately bought a FB. Impetuous I know but it's 'that good'. Damask rose in the initial spritz is so lovely, so sweet and very fresh. Sometimes rose can be bitter or a little powdery with a vintage Elizabethan vibe, but this is soft and gentle. Bergamot freshens the fragrance without adding too much of a citrusy note and please don't be put off by the aldehydes. They are calming and just enhance the beauty of this perfume. This wonderful perfume shape shifts continuously but retains its beauty throughout. It doesn't lose the sweetness of the rose, nor does it ever become herbal. Silage is powerful and a little goes a long way, longevity was amazing as I wore this for 8 hours+ and I could smell it continuously wafting up at me. I think this perfume will be even better in the heat of a summers day, it will become more intense, sweeter and more powerful. Explosive is a perfume for 'perfumistas', it should be savoured like a great wine and should never be abused or worn to death. This is a subtle beauty which needs to be saved for special occasions! Stunning but stunning!!

Explosive is a rare unicorn,that I heard about in the online fragrance community. So, when I saw it up for auction on Ebay, I bought it and it is just as beautiful and stunning, as I heard it was! Truly ❤. In my mind, Explosive, is a prime 1980s but also modern; chypre floral and the rose is a dusky, decadent and jammy maiden And everything about her, is so well blended. The spiciness of the coriander keeps it from being too sweet and the aldyhydes which I honestly can't detect, give the fragrance a lift and keeps the rose smelling like shes in full bloom and ripe for plucking,thus preserving her fullbodiedness. Like a good red wine. Explosive is by all accounts, a garden variety, gothic rose,that I've been searching for since I started on my perfume journey. And she isn't cloying, insipid or weak. In fact, Explosive starts out big, full of eastern promise behind black rimmed kohl lidded eyes and then dries down into a Persian rose garden where lovers, poets, dancers and artists meet under the stars, to smell the blooms. And shes all mine.