Ballerina No 3

These Ballerina perfumes are so gorgeous - in fact I love every one of the Les Perfumes de Rosine perfumes that I've tried. They're really lovely, and so are all the gorgeous bottles. I would dearly love to be able to have every single perfume of theirs (hers - Marie-Hélène's). And I love this one. It is 'the beautiful, black swan' of the three Ballerinas, as Shoppingdoll below me says. It is beautifully sensual and sultry. I have also grown to love it more and more, and find myself reaching for it also more and more. I so love the beautiful black black ballerina bottle, and look at it and handle it, just for the pure pleasure of it, as well as spraying it on myself often, for the exact same reason. It's a gloriously sexy rose, woody, powdery, sweet and balsamic delight, which lasts for about 16 hours if I leave it alone, but I can't help spraying more on every few hours, because I love it so much. I love the beginning, and have to give myself a fresh blast every now and then. And the development of the perfume, and the dry-down are superb. My husband adores it, even on himself! And I get compliments galore all the time from others. It is one of my very favourite perfumes of all time.

This is so seductive and sensual. It lasts for around 18 hours and has a woodsy, powdery, sweet, and balsamic joy. The major notes in the opening are a rich, chocolate-like patchouli and a red rose, but I also detect a lot of oud and black pepper in the top notes. I adore the opening. At that point, it has become rather bitter and herbal. But as it dries out, it takes on a more girly appearance. Darker notes recede into the background as the vanilla emerges and melds with the rose. The drydown is sweet and somewhat reminiscent of wine. It is a little enigmatic and has both sweet and feminine characteristics as well as dark and bitter ones. This scent is my favourite from the Ballerina range and I adore it. Fantastic evening scent!

SO SO beautiful! From start to drydown, this is intoxicating and addictive. This is the rose/oud combo I didn’t know I was searching for. The subtlest of spices, the whisper of freshness, the creamy warm base notes, the overall woodiness. Not a single screech from the oud here. An absolutely sophisticated fragrance with excellent longevity. Images of ballerinas conjure up women of younger age, and while rose/oud fragrances are usually so potent and more appropriate for bolder or older women, there’s a subtle powderiness to this that tones it down from bold to young but elegant at heart. In love with this one and can’t get enough! Black swan vibes for sure.

Oh man, I LOVE. This makes me feel grown and sexy while still expressing my love for rose. The woodiness is perfect. I got this as a gift from a beautiful Fragrantica friend. She sent me the discovery set and Bulle de Rose and THIS are my running favorites. Not to mention, this bottle perfectly matches my style; frilly but gothic. I’m not sure if I’ll ever be able to get a full bottle, but it would be a dream come true. This does remind me of a deeper and more sultry version of Narciso EDT (the black cube) which I also am a huge fan of. This just has a little something more that Narciso doesn’t. And I truly can’t get over the matte black bottle.

Ballerina No 3 changes quite a bit on my skin, I had to use my sample on four different days before I felt like I figured this fragrance out. The opening is very harsh to my nose and not exactly what I would imagine a beautiful ballerina to smell like. The main notes are a red rose and a deep, chocolate-like patchouli, but in the top, I also get lots of black pepper and oud. It‘s quite bitter and herbal at that point. But when it dries down, it becomes more girly. The vanilla shines through and blends in with the rose, the darker notes move to the background, but they don‘t vanish. The drydown is sweet and even a little wine-like. So in the end, the bottle‘s contrast between the cute tutu and the opaque coloring represents this fragrance quite well. It has sweet and feminine, but also dark and bitter facets to it, it‘s a little mysterious. I like this fragrance, at least the drydown is really pretty, but I don‘t love it. There are so many rose-patchouli fragrances and Ballerina No 3 is just not the perfect one for me. But I think I‘ll keep my sample, just in case.