06 Incense Rose

Tauer perfumes seem to be consistently excellent, judging by the few I've tried so far. 06 Incense Rose was a priority for me, given its name. Rose and incense are two of my favourite notes, and are a match made in heaven as far as perfumery is concerned. Amouage Lyric Woman and Rose Incense are two gold standard examples (and personal favourites), but 06 is a fresh, interesting take on this accord. The rose-incense here is greener and fresher than in the aforementioned Amouage scents, but it is the sweet, concentrated orange note of the opening that sets 06 apart. 06 has a strong, attention-grabbing opening thanks to the orange and cardamom. The orange is boozy and concentrated, reminiscent of orange-flavoured liqueur. The cardamom is challenging, and together with the orange note makes for a polarising combination, but this initially jarring accord paves the way to the balsamic base, becoming seamless as it mellows and the scent unfolds. The rose blooms on my skin after a little while, dewy and fresh, yet becoming increasingly full-bodied as it develops. It becomes powdery after some time, perhaps thanks to the orris. I don't get the scent of orris itself, but it likely adds texture. As it develops, balsamic incense comes to the fore, fresh and spicy. I adore incense - the closer to the churchy, smoky frankincense of Catholic Mass, the better. Here, it is not smoky - it is airy and green, yet rich and balsamic - utterly beautiful. It marries beautifully with the rose, as expected. Rich, resinous amber notes emerge, rounding out the incense nicely. The dry, woody notes complement the incense to perfection, bringing it to ecclesiastical territory. A pinch of patchouli adds an earthy counterpoint to the balsamic richness of the later stages. What's left of the orange complements the sweet balsamic amber of the base beautifully, a testament to Andy Tauer's skill. Such cohesion is difficult to visualise when hit with the initial blast of fizzy orange! It fades to a dry, balsamic skin scent with woods and soft spices remaining until final fade. Sillage is strong and longevity is long-lasting. It is a unisex, autumn/winter scent. A bold, creative approach to a classic accord, there is much to admire here. 06 certainly isn't for everyone, but it is a masterful composition that grabs and holds one's attention throughout. Made with excellent, high-quality ingredients, 06 is a treat for those who "get" it, but certainly doesn't have mass appeal. Excellent. 4.5/5.

I have come to the conclusion that Andy Tauer is something you either "get" or you don't. But don't even try to understand his work if you like more than 5% of what Macy's has to offer. I don't mean to sound like some sort of snob. What I mean is that if you enjoy mainstream crowd pleasers meant to appeal to the masses then the chances are extremely slim that you will "get" it. At least at this point in the perfume journey. If you find most of everything at Macy's (sorry Macy's I don't mean to pick on you, just using you as an example) mostly boring and generic and you crave something different.....then try some niche and indie options....but still hold off on Tauer. Wait until you get to the point of loathing most of what the department stores have to offer. Now, it is time to give the Tauer a shot. And when you do, tell yourself that you will not come to a conclusion until you have tried a Tauer at least 3 times. Tauer is a three try minimum. And if you want to try quintessential Tauer, reach for Incense Rose. Spray ONE spray and distribute it however you choose. Wear it all day before even considering an opinion. Then do this two more times. Now you are in a position to judge a Tauer. I hated Incense Rose the first time I tried it. Thought people were nuts or only "pretending" to like it. My perfume journey continued and after sampling and purchasing literally hundreds of niche and indie perfumes, the Tauer Incense Rose was flashing back in my memory. Would I like it now? So comes....wearing number two. "Hmmm, this is interesting. Something is drawing me in here. But not sure how I feel about it". I move on. Fast forward through hundreds more (yes, I am an addict with a major sampling disorder) and I decide to whip out the Incense Rose again. This time I am blown away. I GET IT. I really get it. I look at perfume this way now. There are pre-school, elementary, junior high, high school, college, master and graduate level perfumes. Andy Tauer is a PhD and Incense Rose is his thesis. True artwork, phenomenally complex and masterfully crafted. The work of a genius. Some may say mad scientist and I would not necessarily disagree. Because when I wear Tauer I usually feel like I am wearing the diary of a madman. And sometimes it takes a madman to produce this level of art, this level of genius.

In spice stores in Israel, there is often a little back section where you can buy resins for melting -- frankincense, myrrh, and much more whose names I do not know in English but which are very important in Tunisian and other Mizrahi Jewish communities. Rose water and citrus water (called mei zohar, shining water) would sit on the shelves. Mondays and Thursdays are considered the most auspicious days for burning/melting resins. That is when "the Torah is open" (meaning publicly read, ie in synagogue) and a corresponding openness is hoped-for on the part of the heavens. A young patron would be told this by a responsible shopkeeper, who would not assume the new generation will necessarily know the nuance of the tradition. I live "in exile" now but remember well how I could just pick up a scoop of myrrh or frankincense with my little bags of cumin and qetsah. Just a little to turn to smoke on foil on the stovetop. The myrrh note in Incense Rose is simply so true. I actually forgot what real myrrh smells like until Incense Rose, which I bought in the quest for a dark rose. It is that, but in the form of painful homesickness. I love it and will wear it -- but carefully. Perhaps on Mondays and Thursdays. Edit: Something more must be said. This is a complex scent which rests on notes for ingredients most people have never smelled. Look through reviews of fragrances that include the myrrh ingredient -- cola and fizzy drinks come up again and again, even as they complain that there is no incense. That IS the incense -- that is the myrrh! Get some real resin sometime, heat it slowly and carefully, and you will see for yourself. Cola! It misses the point. Even as I wear this scent, love and recognise it, I realise to myself that it is probably being read by most others, especially North Americans, in a much different way than I do. Bonus Edit: I thought I could detect no rose in this until I sampled Taurville Rose Flash. Now I get it. It is a sweet rose oil very similar to the one used there, which blends seamlessly into the myrrh, which in turn blends seamlessly into the castoreum. You can find the centres of these scents once you know how to spot them, but you cannot find their borders. Excellent blending.

Wow this is potent beyond believe , like most , or all of Andys creations. He really is a mad scientist at its best!!! insece Rose is like any real perfume should be like, you can taste the oils and raw ingredients , full of real flavours and presence. Nothing that would ever be sold in a mall lol Anyways to the real review. I love the opening !!! So bright , sparkly aldehydic and fizzy , like opening a can of orange Fanta ,,, someone said coke in here and that is exactly what I smell , a bubbly , sweet fizzy Spetzi ( we mix coke with Fanta in Germany and call it SPEZI ) It's slightly Sour , quite sweet and has amazing energy and loads of character. This is real perfumery , Art at its best. Dries down with resins and patchouli , phantasyic !!! Can smell the yummy cardamom all the way through this perfume , which is one of my favourite aspects along with its fizziness. I canot smell smoke , and I find it quite unisex ! This perfume brings me back to Germany/ Switzerland , and it's not just because I drank a lot of Spezis as a child , but because the smell of this fragrance is extremly Swizz to me. My parents buy natural products and have baths in natural,oils , maybe is that why? Or is it the "Glühwein " with cinnamon and cardamon and cloves we had around Christmas ? I can't put my figure on it but just smelling it bring s me back to my childhood , especially to all the ski holidays in Swizzwrland. I haven't tried more than a handful of Andis creations but I was rarely disappointed. Even if some aren't my style I love smelling them , like I like looking at a beautiful piece of art. I may not buy it but I can admire it. ( the art lol ,,,, Insence Rose I may not be able to resist!!) I smell some similarities to orange star in here , which I also love very much ! 10/ 10 for uniqueness and excellency ! Thanks Cristianne1 for sharing your best fragrances always so generously. So hard for us Canadians to get our hands on some of the Tauers , thanks for your kindness !

Brilliant! This was not love at first sniff, the opening is very rich, my first impression was of a thick potpourri, dried flowers, resins, woods, herbs, I could not connect with it. This is actually quite common with some of my favorites, as they are not designed like department store fragrances, to rope you in on first sniff only to be disappointed later, and even some very pricey niche brands employ this model. Tauer is a master of resins and spices.The reward of this fragrance is in the drydown, as everything starts mingling into a sum greater than its parts, and parts there are many. The initial impression is a very true resin accord, and I mean like fresh resin coming off the tree. It is extremely close to eucalyptus resin. Bitter orange peel. Floral notes make themselves known, not concisely rose, but deeply colored flowers, perhaps a hint of carnation, violet. A warm musk holds down the base, a very fine example, if not one of the best I've ever smelled, of how animal notes can be used deftly to amplify richness. The drydown takes time, maybe a couple of hours. The results are fabulous. The composition shifts from deep, dark, rich plant material to a lighter, sweeter affair, the rose takes shape and is not a caricature of rose, but very much the smell of a fresh red rose. A lovely soft orris develops into a light powder that perfectly matches the fatty, salty touch of ambergris for a clean saponified effect. A hint of zesty vetiver keeps it tangy, picking up where the initial citrus notes left off. The resins become warm and slightly sweet, and the cardamom give it a gourmand appeal of rice pudding. I haven't seen it mentioned, but the drydown is very much like my memory of the Old Spice from back in the day, sans the aldehydes. Could go feminine or masculine. This is a real journey for the wearer, and I have grown into the opening, which is more interesting than appealing, but the drydown is superb and lasts a long time.