Boleyn Tudor Rose

Boleyn Tudor Rose is a deliberately old-fashioned rose. The maker built it from a Tudor recipe for pot pourri and incense, and it reads that way: dried and fresh roses, old wood, spice and resin rather than a dewy garden bouquet. The opening is crowded. Several rose materials arrive together with ylang ylang, lavender and lemon verbena, and a peppery edge that some wearers find sharp or even medicinal for the first few minutes. Clove, carnation, spiced orange, aniseed and rosemary fill the heart, which is where the dark, spicy character comes from. Wearers who stay with it describe a private chapel: incense, wooden pews and late roses. The base is frankincense, cedar, amber and vanilla with a trace of agarwood, and it dries down softer and more intimate than it begins. The brand advises giving it half an hour to settle. Performance reports are strong. Most voters call the wear long-lasting and the trail strong, and one buyer reports about five hours of clear scent on skin. It is a cool-weather, evening scent, with autumn and winter far ahead of spring and summer, and it sits comfortably on anyone who likes rose without sweetness. The pepper, clove and resin make it a poor fit for people who want a soft, fruity or powdery rose. Among rose-led gothic scents it is closer to incense and spiced wood than to a florist's shop, and it is the most expensive scent in the Juliet Rose range at the 50 ml size.