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Ysbrand
Helpful Review
7
Tamed dominatrix
When i generously poured Whips & Roses on my skin this morning, with such a playful name, it is no secret i was looking for new thrills. Only roses themselves exhibit soft petals and hard thorns equally, always ready to give you both pain and pleasure: just like any romance (or any professional dominatrix) that can be properly called so.
The best part of Whips & Roses to me is the opening: a piercing rose note that is more a top than a bottom, sheathed in a strange accord of black leather plus something synthetic, greasy and sweetish that reminds me to plasticine . Please dont read "synthetic" as it is a bad thing! It is strange enough to make me intrigued and be out of the beaten track, and smells good enough to be glad of wearing it on your skin. It is not a dirty scent, but it is physical enough to be sexy. Like the stuffy air of a bedroom, foul and flowery at the same time...
Whips & Roses is never loud, and is as about roses as it is about leather. This rose note is high pitched, and powerful, but it never manages to dominate the whole fragance. A cosmetic iris rounds the leather, giving the impression of a clean skin. Powdery, dusty, refreshed by a healthy dose of citruses, you can easily wear this fragance to the office or the gym. The jasmine and the gardenia are very low profile, just enough to add a warm sensuality without giving their typical femininity. The fragance stays always sexy, but not as sexual as its beginning.
The rose stems pressence brings an interesting greenness over the clean, fresh musk, but the rose´s voice lacks authority (and insolence) as the fragance evolves. I would presonally prefer the blood orange and the bergamot more silent, but i found Whips & Roses very enjoyable. The final outcome is a light, fresh, greasy leather with butched-up rose nuances.
