Rose de Taif

In short: I smelled Rose de Taif, and it was so beautiful that it made me cry. In long: I was very last-minute Christmas shopping in Neiman Marcus with my mother and brother, who are fragrance fans both with considerable fragrance wardrobes. I’m picky with fragrances; of the 100+ I’ve ever smelled, I’ve only liked four enough to wear with some consistency (Guerlain Shalimar EDT, Penhaligon Bluebell, Lolita Lempicka Si Lolita, Tokyo Milk Dark Excess). We spent over an hour walking around the store under the guidance of the friendly (and very patient) fragrance saleswoman and went through a ridiculous amount of scents in that time. My mother and brother both found ones they liked, but I was proving to be difficult, as per usual. There was nothing I liked in Creed, Atelier Cologne, Hermes, Tom Ford, Jo Malone, Armani, etc. I had pretty much given up on finding anything at this point, when the saleswoman guided me to the Perris fragrances we had passed over before. I smelled Ylang Ylang Nosy Be (too posh flowery, sort of powdery sweet to me), Cacao Azteque (interesting, but too heady and boozy), Essence de Patchouli (if you think you like patchouli this much, try Tokyomilk’s Excess, it's far more affordable), and Rose de Taif Extrait (interestingly, I hated this. Was too cologne-y and synthetically heavy): all easy nopes. And then she handed me Rose de Taif EDP. I smelled it, and I was a little girl running through a valley garden of Taif roses. The arid early summer air smells of the roses, dry and dusty soil, the neighbor’s geranium bushes. I run to the base of the cliff overlooking the valley and hike my way up. At the top is the lemon tree, my favorite place to sit and watch the people of my town below as they go about their days. From my perch in the branches I can see the Taif rose garden, the adjacent Damask rose field, my humble house, the desert mountains that surround us, the orange light of an almost setting-sun. Someone is cooking, subtle spice of nutmeg carried on the breeze. The wind shifts and brings with it citronella geranium. Under everything is a musky warmth from the heart of the earth and the soul of the hearth. Over everything there is something milky, familiar and soft and innocent, wrapping everything up in a package reminiscent of Turkish delight. As I sit here, I am content, a feeling I don’t even remember ever knowing. No anxiety at the future, no sense of displacement, no fear of being abandoned, no doubt in myself. As the sun slowly sets, I know I am home. All of that hit me in a mere second. And just like that, I was crying. Think that Ratatouille moment where the critic takes a bite of the title dish and gets transported back to a vivid, detailed memory of his childhood and it knocks him on his ass. It smells like the notes listed in the perfume pyramid, yes, but it also smells like innocence, comfort, wonder, belonging—all those things we lose as we grow up. Emotional notes—how does this fragrance make me feel?—is very important to me, and for those who share that, I hope my review has been helpful. But by no means are my opinions and emotional associations guaranteed to be the same as another’s. From the other reviews I see that many others don’t like it at all, and that is okay. I strongly advise smelling it in person yourself if you are considering it before committing to the whole bottle. To wrap up: essentially, Rose de Taif EDP punched me in the face and all I could say was thank you, that was the best thing ever, I’m going to buy this now so that it can do that to me over and over again. Anything that can ruin my life in a good way like that is, for me, a masterpiece.

She is exquisite. I tried her around Christmas at a little boutique in San Sebastian and just couldn't resist buying it. It's a deep, mature, wine-like rose. Not much need for greenery, or for any additional elements to thicken or enrich it. In warm weather, it's jammy and full and in the cold winter in Amsterdam, it's mostly sharp lemon and geranium. I enjoy her much more in the humid heat. She's never sweet enough to be cloying, she's always unmistakably a rose. Almost an archetypal rose, every quality you would associate with the flower is amped up to the max. It's sweet, tart and fruity with just a hint of bitter from the geranium. This is now my reference rose soliflore, I don't believe any other will even come close to the experience that is this fragrance.

Ta'if roses are sweet, honeyed, lemony in a carmelized way, and stem fresh green. The resinous quality of this rose in Rose de Taif seems to be from growth atop wood mulch. A sweaty, earthen aoud base lightly spices the delicately sweet nectar. The nutmeg sharpens the faint wood aspect. Floating petals exalting in the afternoon sunlight, infrequently swaying with gusts of wind, nudged stems bending softly and brushing near groundling geranium. While the musk might lean the florals sensual, this beautiful perfume is sweet and innocent. The sillage is a bee snare. Skin breathes a balmy, sticky, rose nectar tempered by demure, grounded, pink petals. Energizing in sunny weather.

I bought this the second I smelled it at Scent Bar. I was looking for a rose scent and this one was a categoy-killer. Once I smelled it there was no comparison with any of the others. STRONG fresh green rose. This isn't your gentle Jo Malone Red Roses, which I love, and they do share some similarities. No one is going to complain about this one not lasting. It lasts ALL day, and honestly, the first day I wore it, my three sprays (neck, one wrist, hair) were definitely too much. I will be using one spray going forward, probably with a layer of clothing over it, and that should be just about right. That said, I don't mind smelling like the most beautiful rose on the planet!

for Perris Monte Carlo Rose de Taif .. this smells like real roses, not the basic roses you find. It has fresh spicy scent.. dewy.. my eyes lit up when i smelled this small vial i got. You imagine this.. this is a what if situation. the roses in some guy's garden has no thorns, unrealistically, it's just fresh fresh bunch of rare expensive flowers and you buried your face on them... you roll around it.. and you just feel happier. That dopamine HIT'S amazing. you feel the air.. it's warm but refreshing, it's late at night, you're alone.. you can be yourself! Nobody will EVER know you just rolled around flowers. It smells pleasantly different everytime it dries down.