Smolderose Spray Eau de Parfum

Looking for a signature scent that reminds me of smelling the beach roses along the bay, and decided to try this. On the strip, it opens super strong with jammy, sweet roses which reminded me of say, a pink rose-strawberry jelly on a pastry at high tea. It then settled oddly to generic “rainforest” or “ocean breeze” shower gel, like an old Suave shampoo you’d get at the grocery store. Neither my partner nor I got any hint of the smokiness, but my skin tends to amplify warm, spicy, and smoky notes so I decided to try it on. On the skin, I got the same initial burst of a jammy sweet rose, as well as the strong “roasted seashell” note. That’s exactly what it smelled like, burnt seashells. I wasn’t sure whether it smelled like a pleasant beach bonfire or off-putting burning plastic. Rather than a “Yum, it smells smoky,” vibe, I kept saying “It smells like something’s burning.” It settled a bit after a few minutes but still prominently rose and smoke notes. I didn’t get much of the bergamot nor elderflower, so at this stage it’s at least very true to its “smoke and rose” description. I would describe it as being in an old stately rose garden while a pastel yellow convertible with whitewall tires zooms by trailing exhaust fumes. Or, a rose garden in the middle of a city with cars driving around the perimeter. The artwork for this fragrance is a woman posing with roses in front of a city skyline, so that checks out. About an hour in it was still smoke n roses, but also something more dry and pleasantly sea salt-y (the seashell?) came through strongly, as well as something a little sweet (maybe the oud and labdanum?) along the lines of that “ocean breeze shower gel” again that really gave it a beachy vibe. As someone whose skin normally really amplifies patchouli and anything else warm and spicy, I was surprised that I really didn’t detect any patchouli or frankincense at this stage and only a little of the woods. A few more hours later, the sweet rose was still going strong and the smoke replaced with something a bit warmer and more masculine leaning; finally detected a bit of the frankincense and oud, maybe something ambery-sweet, minimal patchouli. Lasted easily all day in the crook of my elbows, morphing slowly. Overall this was very “Great Gatsby” to me, elegant rose but with a slightly dirty/smoky/salty undertone, and can imagine someone wearing it to a “garden party” or summer dinner party type event. I was afraid my skin would pull only the dark smoky notes but I was pleasantly surprised by how strongly the rose came through the whole time - especially since I can’t detect too much of the rose in Burvuvu (also by JSP) on me. Still haven’t decided if this reaches signature-scent levels of love, but I do enjoy it and due to the smoke notes I think it would be surprisingly wearable in winter, spring, and summer. I felt like it needed something more green or briny/salty though to balance it out and really capture what I’m going for, so I would be curious to layer it with a single-note seaweed or algae type scent and see what it’s like then. TLDR: Great Gatsby, fancy summer garden party by a salty bay, rose garden in the middle of a city, beachy bonfire, elegance with something darker brewing under the surface

Early this year in February, I ordered the JSP sample set directly from them (Smolderose EDP, Selperniku, Eiderantler, Vaporicindro, & Smolderose Perfume Oil), and it was love at first sniff for Smolderose EDP for me. At no point did I hate or dislike it, and found none of the stages off-putting. I can't describe the notes that I smelled, but I do know when I like or love what I smell. I don't know what campherous smells like.. I do know campfire, though. I don't know what an actual bergamot fruit smells like.. I only know that it's a citrus fruit valued for its rind. What I am sure of is that there is a beautiful red rose that is uhm, well, smoldering I guess, and that whatever else is in the mix just made the sum of the notes play one whole fabulous symphony. How much do I love it? I ordered the 30ml (to carry in my purse) and the 100ml for my dresser immediately after sampling it. And then in June, I ordered another 100ml for backup. Two months ago in September, I ordered four (4) 30ml bottles. I never want to run out of Smolderose EDP. That's how much I love it. Adjunct: I've "met" John Biebel (Perfumer at JSP) through email correspondence, mostly regarding ordering. I've started following him on IG and there learned that aside from being a perfume artist, he is as well a visual artist--a painter. With such serious talent, that he is also an accommodating, humble, and all-around nice guy just makes him even more fascinating.

My God, why doesn't my beloved girl appreciate it as much as I do? I have to pass on this gorgeous scent... which on my skin starts with a story of smoke and roses. There is a Polish proverb: "No time to grieve roses when forests are burning". As a Pole I'm unable not to think of this proverb when sniffing the opening. :) These initial notes stay there in some part, but after some time I do smell the mussels mentioned in the notes pyramid. First time i applied Smolderose EDP was when I was to prepare mussels stewed in wine for a romantic dinner. (Usually it's my girl who cooks, but sometimes I do and I have some specials she delights in, mussels among them). Knowing this perfume had mussels as a note, I thought it would be appropriate. Afterwards I was unable to tell if I smelled of Smolderose or the mussels I had prepared and co-eaten. :) But now, on another day, I can tell you: after several hours it does have the mussels smell. And it is pleasant! Smolderose EDP is a changing over time, evolving and extremely long lasting composition. Pity my girl doesn't like it on me. But from me - chapeau bas to Mr Biebel! PS I don't think I could wear it on a daily basis. But i would like to have it in my collection and go back to it on some special evenings.

Smoulderose spray EDP is a strong, unique rose scent. Rich deep damask rose is infused with black elder to create a dark sweet berry jam effect. A strong dose of saffron lends a bittersweet, earthy savory touch. Labdanum adds a leather tone, strong and smooth. Patchouli is soft yet deep, anchoring this scent and giving it lasting power. The beautiful rose is surrounded by oud and bergamot. The medicinal toned oilbanum, aka frankencense, envelops the mix to create an overall extremely aromatic lift with a long lasting trail of scent. The smoke and roasted sea shells mix to add the unmistakable smell of sea and sand mixed with campfire smoke. This perfume lasts forever until you wash it off. When I wear this, I think of a pirate's lady who dares to sail with him. She wears the intense scent of dark rich deep roses. Her perfume mixes with the smells of sea, sand, leather, and campfires as the crew celebrates and buries their treasure ashore. She's beautiful, adventurous, smart,lusty, sensual, and very capable of defending herself with a sword and the hidden leather sheathed daggers she carries. She's a powerful beauty who can easily conquer the wildest heart of any sea-going man she chooses.

Smolderose is a gorgeous rose fragrance, but I do think it is masculine. It conjures up images of riding horseback on a rich estate. The stables are immaculate, the smell of leathers, saddles, the oils to care for them, the animalic smell of the horses themselves. The salty smell of the ocean is nearby but unseen. The scent of roses from the manor house waft towards the stables and mingle w/ the stronger masculine aromas. The roses are jammy and rich, nothing overly powdery or feminine about them and I see them as blood red. I have wanted to sample January Scent Project for a while now, but this is the only 1 that I thought would work for me. While I respect John's creativity and his thinking outside the box my taste leans towards the conventional. The more I am smelling this the more I love it and even though I think it is masculine I would wear it. Totally full bottle worthy. Gorgeous! Edit: 2/21/24 I reach for this more often than I thought I would. It was something I thought would end up in my husband's collection but the more I wear this salty, smoky tart but jammy rose the more I want to wear it. This is a stunning perfume.

The first time I wore Smolderose EDP I wasn’t sure it was a good fit. I tend to dislike scents where rose is the dominant note; here, it goes back and forth with the salty ocean note. But that’s not all, it’s kind of dirty and smoky too. Other notes come out in the drydown, notably olibanum. Oud is turned down in this composition but I'm thinking it’s what gives Smolderose great performance. I’ve worn Smolderose 4 times since my initial sampling, each time I fell more in love. It helped that whenever I went out I got compliments; the best from my picky partner who asked me to wear it more often. Somehow this odd blend of notes works well with my chemistry. Seems I saved one of the best for last. Out of the seven samples from my discovery box, Smolderose is in my top three. I was elated to acquire a 30ml bottle yesterday from a dissatisfied owner. I can understand how the seashell note may be polarizing, but I happen to love it.

Smolderose reminds me why I fell in love with indie perfumery in the first place. The name can be somewhat misleading if you read too much into it. My conjecture was that it would be a smoky, sort of aquatic rose but nope. There's a dab of smoke, yes, a touch of frankincense here and there, sure, but this is all about rose and the one-of-a-kind seashell accord. To put it simply, Smolderose is a wine-drenched, bright and piercing yet tart and velvety, almost invigorating rose drowned amidst a sea of mussels (yes someone mentioned mussel below and I get that also) and freshly picked dill. I know I'm not making it sound appealing but I honestly can't help sniffing my wrist now. If you're a rose fanatic like myself and want something different then look no further. So far I've tried this and Selperniku and both are in a league of their own. John Biebel is a natural!

Not to be dramatic, but this is so beautiful that I almost want to cry. It’s just what I was looking for, like exactly the rose AND smoke that I have wanted. It’s perfectly unisex—I could see this smelling great on a man or a woman. It opens up with salted bergamot and photorealistic, wet rose, then develops over the next half hour into something reminiscent of a beach bonfire—a perfect smoke without smelling like cooking. The rose is always there, but it’s never overwhelming. This is very tastefully executed and wearable. I applaud this perfumer and I immediately placed an order for more samples when I got to try this. Longevity is also spectacular—it sits close to the skin for several hours. I put it on this morning around 11 and I can still smell it at 9pm.

Recently, I got small bottles of Horla and Smolderose. I had really been wanting to try this for some time, as rose is one of my favorites and I was curious about the rose/seashell combo. I thought Horla had a light, not-of-this-world quality. Smolderose, on the other hand, is heavy and very much of this world. At first spray, this is harsh, smoky, rosy, dirty, sweet, briny...it is everything and I love it! While the intense opening softens after a bit, Smolderose remains a spicy, glowing rose all the way through. The drydown is beautiful to my nose. The packaging/presentation is top-notch. I cannot wait to try the other scents. Smolderose is one of my new favorites.

A must-have for rose lovers. This goes on (odd to say because it sort of contradicts) but a green and jammy rose. Then, it turns to incense. Then, it smells like fallen fermented roses or dried rose petals and campfire smoke but the smoke is just a whisp, not the full campfire and never overwhelms the rose. After this stage, it turns a little herbal, and I stopped liking it, but that passed and it became just a beautiful jammy deep rose. There was some patch riding through the top that deepened the rose so that it is a night rose not a laundry drawer rose. I wanted to try this forever. I might cross off two other roses I have on my want list in lieu of this one.

The sample I got (in a wonderful, well-priced, true nose adventure of a discovery set that came with test strips, postcards, & a handwritten note) has lasted ages because this rich elixir is practically an extrait, one teeny spritz lasts all day & longer. An overspray could easily overwhelm. Transports you to a velvet night at some mythical secret surfers’ beach with a bonfire close enough to a rose-encrusted orange orchard that the plants are getting singed & their oils merge with the billows of driftwood smoke. Not a rose lover as a rule but this is gorgeous & distinctive. Too potent for every day but essential nonetheless. I crave it.

Jammy is the right word. This is a rose at harvest time. It clearly is a full bodies garden rose, but it's also rosehips and elderberries and a distant smoke. This is delicious and perfect for autumn. About four hours in I do notice a little bit of a dirty/musky/BO note, like a guy that just finished some sweaty work. I suspect its the oud. It's subtle and blends and I could imagine this being a good scent to blend with someone who's body chemistry went that way, but I thought I should make note of it. It faded so I could just be crazy.

A very interesting and unique take on rose. I haven't smelled anything like it. There is rose all the way, but paired with what smells like gasoline to me. Not oud or wood, but more like gasoline from a petrol station. There are other notes of course, likely resins and florals and even sea shell is mentioned in the notes pyramid above. It is an intriguing fragrance. I like it, but because of its uniqueness I suspect one might get bored with it after some time. Although it is a rose-focused scent, it leans more masculine in my opinion.

At first I hated it but I gave it some time and now I've fallen head over hills in love with Smolderose. This fragrance is everything to me and more. Im Not one to throw out the title "masterpiece" but this here I officially dub as a "masterpiece"in my book. Smolderose has made my list of great fragrance finds for 2018. I will be buying a bottle soon, for sure!

Nothing to add, this is the best rose fragrance I smelt. Its different. I was thinking it's a jammy rose, but its not really that. That's probably where the seashell note comes in to lighten up and brings depth. And it's not the typical smoke. The notes are perfectly balanced that it just keep tugging at my heartstrings.

Smolderose is a delicious jammy and smoky rose. It is mysterious and alluring. Gypsy rose! Esmeralda. Add some incense smoke, olibanum, patchouli and wow, mind blowing. Perfect for Fall days. Excellent work by John Biebel.

I adore this fragrance. I know it’s probably not for everyone, but it is definitely for me. Such a beauty!

Continuing to explore the fragrances in Eau de Parfum concentration from January Scent Project, Smolderose was the one that caught my eye at the first time I read something about the brand. In recent years, I became a true lover of fragrances that can bring the rose to a more versatile side, to the point of being used in unisex and/or masculine perfumes, something that is very common in niche perfumery. The perfumer and creator John Biebel told me that the names of his perfumes do not follow a typical logic, which uses terms in French. Here, the name comes from the junction of the words Smolder and Rose. The fragrance features notes of Damask rose, bergamot, saffron, roasted seashells, frankincense, elder flower, patchouli, cade oil, labdanum and oud. By reading the olfactory pyramid, it is not difficult to imagine what kind of smell Smolderose should have. But believe me, the result is different from what we imagine. And the best part is that it does not disappoint! Smolderose escapes from the usual scent that comes from the combo made of roses + saffron + oud + frankincense, which we are accustomed to find in fragrances depicting the Middle East. From the moment it touches the skin, the incense is light and the rose stands out from the rest of the composition. No matter how opulent the other notes are, the rose remains unchanged from beginning to end. Moreover, this time, the rose was not exploited with dirty or metallized content. Its romanticism was maintained, with the feminine side almost unchanging, but without being too innocent. The woody notes serve as raw material for the ember that causes the rose to burn, slowly, in honor of its name. The oil of cade, which comes from the juniper, joins the heat of patchouli and oud. The labdanum imparts a leathery nuance that is very noticeable, yet soft. In a simplistic way, Smolderose is like a beautiful Arab incense of roses, which does not have great evolution, remaining linear, but never ends. Perhaps it is the most delicate fragrance of the three EDP released, but do not misunderstand me: it is not a weak or soft fragrance, because it projects and lasts in an irreproachable way. It is also worth mentioning that it is not the same fragrance as in the Parfum Oil version, launched in 2015. The latter is rich in rose absolute, castoreum, tobacco, honey, vanilla and other notes. I'll write a review soon. To conclude, I admit that John managed to surprise me again, with a fragrance that draws attention by name, captures by the ingredients used and reveals itself in an unusual way, going against expectations and making room for a new type of rose's scent.

I haven't been inspired to write many reviews lately, but Smolderose is so interesting it needs a little discussion. A sample sent to me by a kind Fragrantican...I made a mishap of spilling too much on myself when I was just trying to get a dab! Thankfully a hefty helping of this fragrance is not a fatal overdose. But you could stand to go lightly with it. The sillage is pretty strong still, as my nose is tired from been smelling other perfumes all day and I still can get huge whiffs of this emanating from myself. The opening is really incensy, jammy rose. It settles down with some woodsmoke, evolving with something leathery that makes me wonder if I'm reviewing the correct version of Smolderose (the other one has castoreum), then what I'm assuming to be the seashell note comes out. It's a tad animalic and super-salty, like sand notes in some beachy fragrances and even tantamount to the caviar/salty note in TM Womanity. So I'd venture to say this isn't exactly a safe blind buy unless you're familiar with that fragrance. (If Womanity were an oriental, here it would be.) I also get the bergamot, suede-y labdanum, and oud just as the note votes suggest. The rose holds steady throughout this wild progression, jammy as ever. It's really a wet, salty, sharp, impolite, yet totally entrancing floral oriental. This may be a confusing review until you smell it. I really think this is the kind of scent that niche should be about, as it's truly creative. Creativity is often defined as novelty with VALUE. This is both novel and something to be valued: not just a crazy weird perfume to cause a hype scene, but a crazy weird perfume that expands the definition of olfactory pleasure.

This was my first journey away from the mainstream and into niche, and I was very eager to try this one in particular since I love the scent of Damascus rose. It doesn't disappoint, it's very rosy. The opening is verdant and the rose blooms majestically in the heart, interplaying with the smokey resins. I did't know what roasted seashells was supposed to smell like before, but I totally get the sense of it in some kind of instinctive way I can't explain. It's definitely interesting. This one goes on very thick and rich, with the projection going out like a tidal wave upon application but then settling down to loud, moderately loud, before coming right back to a just off the skin in the dry down. This lasts for ever, I still get a hint if it days after and through showering. The way it interacts with other fragrances I chose to wear has been an interesting game as well, since I can't really avoid mixing them. I recommend not getting it on your clothes, unless you really want to have the scent infuse everything you own. All 3 remind me of stories in the Grimm Brothers fairytails and I've had a lot of fun playing around with them over the last couple weeks. I really look forward to new adventures.