Milrose

You may or may not be aware of the fact that all of the older Yves Rocher fragrances were, in fact, "answers" to very popular designer fragrances. That is to say, they were created as 'impostors' (not an asperse word in this context) that the smart buyer could pick up INSTEAD of the popular fragrance they were attracted to, for less money than the designer brands were charging. Brilliant. And it gets better. The Yves Rocher versions of popular fragrances were every bit as high quality and well-made as the scents that inspired them. And today, in the face of all the discontinued, cost-prohibitive classic, vintage scents, we smart buyers can look toward Yves Rochers older fragrances as items of interest as well. And as missk pointed out, they aren't astronomical in price! Now, on to Milrose!! Milrose, was in fact, the Yves Rocher, affordable answer to Shiseido's orignal Zen! A fabulous woody aldehydic rose! I own both vintage Zen and Milrose, and I find the sublte differences in the Milrose make it even more exciting: it's less shy, and it's more long-lasting. Vintage Zen, the REAL STUFF, is nigh i,possible to find. Most of what's out there for sale is the HORRID reformulation that stayed on in the Asian market after the Western Shiseido lines axed it. But lucky for us, we know a little secret; the under-the-radar vintage Milrose will satisfy our vintage Zen craving... and at a savings.

Love love love your review Chat!!

A fellow member of this site was kind enough to send me a little sample of this, and I really like it. I find it hard to really describe, but if you've ever smelled Avon Birds of Paradise, this is pretty much exactly the same, which kind of excites me, because my mom has/had (I stole most of them) a bunch of decorative Avon bottles with that scent in them and I used to wear it when I'd play dress up as a child, so, essentially, this smells like my childhood. If you were a fan of that fragrance and are looking for something similar, this is it.

An aldehydic rose. Slightly bitter and minty as well but I don't think it smells like vintage Zen as someone mentioned. I have both but Zen is a chypre and not aldehydic. I don't get powder from this, I get roses and aldehydes. Not bad if you like retro rose fragrances.

This seems to me to fit into the same category as the other older Yves Rocher florals that I have - Pivoine and Magnolia. The good news is that, like the other two, Milrose is well composed, long lasting and at least here in the UK, very very chap on ebay. Of course it is no longer in production, but doesn't seem too hard to find. I paid less than £10 (c. $15) for a huge boxed 100ml bottle. The bad news for me is that it smells rather like Pur Desir de Rose, which made me nauseous. Perhaps this is just not as fresh as it once was, but there is a note in here that really turns me off. The rose is quite pronounced, and it's a good fresh rose. There's a lot of soapiness too, which is ok. But also something not listed, perhaps carnation as another reviewer suggested. Sadly it just doesn't work on me. I find it induces headaches too which is surprising for a lightish floral. Maybe it's the aldehydes. And as with Pivoine and Magnolia, the whole presentation is hopelessly dated. You can see why it was discontinued - not old enough to be cute in a retro way, the box and bottle are just dull and the juice doesn't make up for it. Increasingly I feel the real jewlels in Yves Rcher's vintage crown are the orientals - Ispahan, Venice, 8e Jour. The florals just don't quite cut it for me. Pity. Oh, and I have the original Zen, and like it much better. This is not up to the same standard in my opinion.