Stories No. 02

I absolutely adore it!! I wore it a lot over Winter. The only reason I'm not reaching for it now is that I have perfumes shouting Spring that I want to indulge in. I love floral and spiced scents, and this is so balanced and nuanced to me, and has a lovely, mild sweetness. It smells like a wonderful Chai, with a rose bouquet (or a rose perfume). Agreed with the rose being quite green and rugged, in a good way - It reminds me of my childhood attempts at making rose 'perfume' (rose petals in water 😂) A very natural, close to home rose, that's balanced with the spices and tea. It lasts well on me! I still notice it on my wrist at the end of the day, but it doesn't radiate as much as some other perfumes. Not a personal perfume, however.

After trying samples of both Stories fragrances, I am very impressed with this line overall, and purchased a larger bottle of each as I couldn't choose between them. 01 is unusual and more multifaceted, evoking memories for me; while 02 is a woody scent with a nice rose note, and I have a weakness for rose scents. On first spray, the fresh tea note emerges which, along with a hint of tart bergamot, adds freshness. The classic woody-rose accord emerges early on, and proceeds to dominate 02 throughout. The rose is fresh yet rich, complemented perfectly by the cedar. There is no sweetness, instead the tobacco note adds some smokiness which, along with the woody notes, gives a nice unisex twist to the classic rose note. Patchouli lingers in the background, giving just the right amount of dirtiness. The ingredients smell natural and high quality, notably the "freshly hewn" cedar which takes centre stage as the scent dries down. There is a muskiness to the drydown too, complementing the woodiness perfectly. Sillage is strong and longevity is long-lasting. A well-composed rose scent, featuring a nice riff on a classic woody-rose accord. Perfectly unisex in my opinion, it is appropriate for day or night. 3/5.

No.2 is my favourite out of the 2 in the line. The grassy green opening subsides into a spicy, woody, amber-musk. The rose here isn’t a Turkish Delight rose that’s pink and sweet, this rose is barely white as it’s tinged with so much green, with slightly brown crinkled edges to the petals. This is a fresh but sour rose that’s almost unripe, as the rose stems and rugged leaves play more of a role, possibly influenced but the addition of green tea and cedarwood. The amber, musk and opponax ground this scent to being more rounded than just a green florist scent. I like the use of ginger and honey tobacco. On me it’s quite faint, I feel like I’m smelling the water in a vase of maturing flowers, but with a spicy musk base. Fresh, naturalistic and comforting.

The opening is almost cleaning product levels of abrasive with a citrussy burst of bergamot. This soon dissipates and gives way to a soft spicy warm ginger, tea and tobacco scent. The base is an ambered rose. The performance is surprisingly strong, not for the faint of heart. I would recommend going easy on the trigger or this could overwhelm and become headache inducing. It is extremely feminine and mature, but not in a bad way, more like a self assured woman or a female boss and a nod to classic perfumery. I feel like I haven't done a good job of selling this, I do really like it but I don't love it.

Dusty patchouli mixed with super dry and almost peppery tobacco scent. It also has a slightly soapy and bitter rose, a green one with some citrusy nuances. Interesting and quite unique!