Baie Rose 26 Chicago

I happened by a La Labo perfume shop today at the mall and was immediately smitten with the aroma of the mixture of perfumes which was wafting in the breeze outside this shop. Wow! Heaven on earth for a fragrance nut like me. I had a great time today trying paper samples and chatting with the girl that was representing this line. We narrowed down a few great choices - and I really loved the Rose 31 blend, which was like classic rose with a beach bonfire aroma. After spotting a couple of perfumes in the regular category, I moved to the wall of perfumes where they had the "city" blends, perfume oils which have been blended to represent certain cities. I tried LA first, and that was OK... New York Second -- but really liked the blend of Chicago with the sultry jazzy notes blended in. This would have to be timed just right because they only sell this perfume one time of year. (Imagine that... wow, what a marketing tactic!) This is a memorable perfume, I really liked it. I can't wait to go back again and explore other city's perfume resonances -- What a neat concept! I'll have to explore this line a bit more - But so far, I recommend Chicago, New York, and Rose 31. Those were my very favorites, so far!

I've been on the hunt for the perfect rose perfume for years now. I wanted my perfume to smell not the traditional long-stemmed rose you buy at the florist but that fragrant, old-fashioned rose in your grandmother's garden. We grew up with one of those old-fashioned rose bushes in upstate New York. Every June the roses would bloom a vibrant, deep pink, with a fragrance that wafted through the lawn. I thought all roses simply smelled like that. When I started looking for a rose perfume I wondered if the smell I grew up with was something I had simply imagined. This is the closest I've found. I get a very rosey rose from opening to dry down. This rose is a bit dry and peppery and a little less sweet than I remember, but when I smell it I'm back home. The best perfumes in my collection are the ones that conjures up memories. This one does that perfectly.

My journey with this fragrance started this July when I was visiting the Bucktown Le Labo store on a misty hot Chicago summer day. I had tested most of their normal line of frags and happened to see Baie Rose 26 sitting on the other side of the counter, Figured I'd take a quick spray on the skin for fun as I went to finish my shopping. I didn't expect to fall in love with this frag like I did as it settled on the skin. I get wet roses on a spring day and church incense like others are saying, but the musk comes through and sticks. It it way overpriced but I was lucky enough to get my hands on a decant of it a few weeks ago. If you like rose at all I'd recommend getting a sample at least while you still can this August/ September. Not worth the price for a full bottle, but a beautiful fragrance.

Someone said that Rose 26 smells like the incense you find in a church. That's accurate. This fragrance smells like a rose garden after the rain (hence the somewhat dirt/earthy smell some people reference). There's also something smoky about it. I was surprised to discover it doesn't have frankincense in it when I first sprayed it. The notes that stand out the most are cedar, pink pepper, clove, and rose. Longevity and sillage are moderate-- use a light hand and you won't need to worry about offending anyone. Rose lovers will appreciate it, but I don't recommend buying it before testing, especially given the price-point. I recently sampled a novice niche perfumers' rose perfume and found it to be so much more impressive than this one.

As a rose lover, I really like this one but I've smelled variations of this scent elsewhere. It's a fresh, deep, red rose atop some spices and woods. I also get a slightly dank note which smells like frankincense. Surprisingly, it doesn't last very long on me and that bright rosy opening wilts rather quickly. It's in a similar vein as, or very similar to Penhaligon's Elixir to my nose. All in all, not unique and I wouldn't pay that much for it.