Étude in Black

In the city I live in, we sometimes experience “false spring“. Where the snow has fully melted because of the strong sun, but the winter air seems to hang on and come through randomly bringing back snow and ice and an edge that makes people wonder if spring will ever come. This perfume seems to have a bit of that. There’s a citrusy note here that doesn’t belong to citrus, but to pine needles and hinoki and the forest. It’s a freshness that feels syrupy and misty at the same time. Like the feeling that whatever is reborn in the spring has had to travel through death first. The rose, the pine, the wood, they all are fed by both decay and sunshine. I think this is the most well balanced blend I’ve smelled from this brand.

Velvety red roses and candle wax. A little bit of tartness that brightens the overall composition from the strawberry note, which thankfully doesn’t read chalky to me and blends into the wax note for me (I almost always hate strawberry so I was very relieved at this). I love the waxiness of this. I think it’s very wearable. I’ve been wanting a more gothic or romantic rose fragrance but I have not been able to find any that are wearable for me — until this one. The others I have sampled in this category have usually had wine notes, and as much as I love wine and the concept of a wine note, I have yet to find any wine note that I can tolerate. So Etude in Black is the rose I’ve been looking for! 🙂

I can't wait for this to come out properly, it's full bottle worthy. I was sent a sample when i placed an order with universal flowering in october and this is seriously so good. a little icy and cooling from the cypress, juicy and sweet from the strawberries and rounded out by rose. it's a rose perfume for someone who hates rose. I don't get much candle wax, but i need to wear-test it more, and my skin has the tendency of pulling out the sweetest notes. i will definitely add more to this review as i continue using up my sample but this fragrance is pretty magical. Courtney Rafuse does it again!

I am a rose grower by trade and to say I am picky about my rose scents would be an understatement. I feel like many perfumers create the standard red rose scents we have in our memories. When you spend your days surrounded by thousands of rose plants and hundreds of verities you realize there is no standard rose scent. Roses are like humans. They each have personalities and unique qualities. This reminds me of bright cheerful rose with velvety petals. It has a flashy personality that brings a smile to my face. I will be needing a bigger bottle!

As soon as this dropped, I automatically bought a 15 ml. There isn’t a single UF fragrance that I dislike, so why would they start with this one? And I thank thee, Courtney, for making me feel like I’m Christine Daae being seduced by the phantom in his lair.

Intense love from the first sniff. Woody-piney, almost spicy rose. Slight strawberry. Sexy and different. I’m not sure if I’m smelling any wax or liquor.

like brushing with children's strawberry toothpaste then sipping rose liqueur, maudlin and fraught with nostalgia, in a room lit only by melting votives

I have to disclose upfront that I am fully UF pilled. I blind bought this knowing I’d make it my entire personality. Do with that information what you will lol. Étude in Black is a syrupy, fruity rose with a bit of creaminess from the wax and musk. I’ve seen reviewers draw comparisons between UF’s former rose centered scent, Rhapsody in Mauve, and Frédéric Malle’s Portrait of a Lady, but this feels even closer to POAL to me. It’s probably the addition of the red fruit. Without the spices and patchouli, though, this reads lighter and younger. It might be the branding, but this fragrance does conjure black velvet opera gloves, dripping candelabras, crushed rose petals in a cocktail. If this is gothic, it is gothic in the way that Stevie Nicks is gothic - like a 1970s Victorian spiritualist who wears a lot of lace. To me it feels more romantic. This is a cold weather rose. I’ll reach for it on an evening in late winter/early spring. The rose and strawberry bridge that seasonal gap perfectly for me. Smells like: warm wax floating in a crystal coupe Looks like: the homecoming corsage still hanging on your wall Sounds like: “Edge of Seventeen”

As I write this on Fragrantica, I am bombarded with a Victoria's Secret ad to the right of my screen, displaying all manner of panties and undergarments in a slide show of sorts, and it is somehow appropriate. This smells like voyeurism to me—and I am no voyeur. It makes me think of the sweetly innocent and darkly erotic duality that some women possess. Strawberry lip gloss and rose powder, coniferous incense burning in the candle-lit boudoir, and the carnal musk of unmentionables. It smells so seductive and shadowy, very film noir, with dark features and glances that possess. It is black satin and whispers, the clutching of rosary beads to prevent from the hands traveling somewhere forbidden. The person wearing this truly believes in the energy of crystals and won't waste time justifying it, as the time is better spent luring the skeptic into a great big canopy bed to get mythical and mystical under the sheets. Almost all fragrances to me are potentially unisex, but this one manifests as feminine in my mind.

I normally dislike rose scents, but this one is different. It's very dark and mature, but not in an old-lady way at all. I think Universal Flowering does a really good job of making mature scents that don’t lean granny. This scent is a goth/alternative girl's dream. I see a woman with long black hair and dark red nails wearing this around her house, awaiting the strange visitors she keeps letting in.

Winter rose, black silk, dripping votive candles, red lipstick, balcony seats, dewdrops on rose petals in the early morning 🕯️ 🥀 ❄️ an intimate rose scent with a soft white musk base and a bit of woodiness. Very romantic Victorian vibes, this is what I imagine the star in a period drama would smell like UF just brings the Coolest Girl Ever energy every time

First spray - not for me. Sometimes strawberries and peaches can go BO on my skin but once it settles for a few seconds it’s beautiful. I don’t gravitate to rose but when I do i prefer photorealistic this does it for me. It’s paired gorgeously with wax and musk. This one is a bit of a Time Machine. It feels a little bit 70s, 80s and 90s all at once

Tried a sample of this one because I love a rose scent that's not gourmand. Hinoki is also one of my favorite woods, and I was intrigued by the strawberry note since I love fresh strawberries. On a test strip, I was surprised how juicy/jammy the rose was initially (the notes actually list rose liqueur, not just rose, so that makes sense). It was also very powdery and the "candle wax musk" was prominent. This was way more sweet, powdery, and feminine than I expected based on the goth/alt girl descriptions from other reviews. When worn, the rose combined with the candle wax was much too powdery for my liking. It reminded me of sitting in church as a kid, inhaling too much "old lady perfume" and incense while nearby candles were blazing and melting away. Luckily the powdery rose took a little bit of a backseat after a short time to make way for the hinoki and rosewood, though I feel like they were both outcompeted a bit by the candlewax musk. Unfortunately, the strawberry never came through for me at all. I wished this were less powdery-sweet, more green and fresh. Sillage was minimal which is a plus for me as someone who can be easily overwhelmed/get a headache from scents that are too strong. Overall, I would describe it as Sunday morning mass; candles at an altar; Dark Academia girl explores an old library on a cool autumn day; perhaps pastel goth or a feminine vampire girl who likes wearing pink and lace

i pick up on the liquor more than i’d prefer to. it’s definitely sour and woody. i pick up on the wax, but i don’t think it plays nicely with the strawberry

I’m not sure if I like it... it’s quite syrupy and almost comes off like honey? The rose is definitely prominent.

Immediately I am reminded of the 80s. Hairspray, nail polish, a cocktail. Hazy soft focus lighting of the department stores. Velvet curtains of a dressing room. Fruity scented glosses at the cosmetic counter. Mrs Wheeler had she forgone the family life and moved to the city. Strawberry liquor meets a Terpenic Rose with a dripping of wax. I’m still on the fence about whether I love it or it’s not for me. It’s undeniably good tho.

It’s pretty horny. Think a raven haired milf that practically lives in her black silk robe and only has burgundy stiletto nails even throughout the summer time. She makes an old fashioned for the pool boy in exchange for some infidelity. They have their way with some strawberries and candle wax, maybe even rolling around in some rose petals. This scent is their skin after the deed is done

As a rose hater, I like this one. Rose wax, or a rose enfleurage- a wax or fat infused with rose petals. No cloying mature rose perfume here! It’s not listed, but I get cassis- that blackcurrant type of note, probably used for the strawberry note. I don’t get hinoki or some of the other notes listed. To me, this perfume is lovely and very wearable.

Girlish charm meets gothic melancholy. Melted rose candle wax, strawberry lip gloss, fresh snow, and belly warm from a few too many shots of artificially sweetened liquor. Sweet faced and slightly bereft. She’s perfect.

This is unreal. No one does rose like you, please never stop... the description is apt, quite dramatic, yet somehow lighthearted. You are the thinnest possible black nylons, your mind is elsewhere.

Beautiful and sweet rose jam with somethin a lil funky lurking underneath. Hornier than expected.

This is like a spicier, less smoky version of Clue’s With the Candle Stick.

a rose candle in the corner of a cabin. lighter and colder than i expected