06/07/2022
Elysium
815 Reviews
Elysium
Very helpful Review
5
Candied Rose Petals
A rose by any other name would smell just as sweet, and a rose by any other name would also taste just as sweet. Eating roses might seem strange in our modern kitchen, but we have used them in culinary applications for centuries. We initially appreciated roses for their medicinal virtues. At first, we used roses as astringents for skin disorders. We used the petals in rose water and cream as early as the 1st century AD. Roses first came to the West from Persia in 1240 via the French Crusaders. The earliest known cultivated rose is Rosa gallica var. officinalis, called Speziale rose. We use its petals for various things: potpourri, bath fizzy, bath salts, rose water, and cooking. Petals are lovely in salads, but caramelizing them and making rose sugar even more so. How do you describe the taste of candied roses? I know the best way to say they taste exactly like a fragrant rosebud. It is a floral essence released on the tongue a moment after chewing it. A candied or sugared rose gives the petal a texture and a sweet crunch. It's hard to believe rose petals are edible, but it's true! Naturally sweet and delicious, these flower petals are as sweet as candy when coated in egg white and sugar. Plus, you won't find a better garnish for all kinds of desserts.
I finally got it, and it's cute, even if it's the least favorite of this Oud collection. To my taste, Bohemian Oud tops the list; the way incense is used here is supreme, followed by Endless Oud in second place, a smoky, manly, and leathery vetiver, and then Perpetual Oud in third with its dramatic dark rose. But this ranking is subjective, and it is only an order of preference because each of them has a singular character, and none is unpleasant. Let's deep dive into it. Hipster Oud opens with the sugary rose accord, in which mellifluous orange blossoms mix with red rose petals. I get the same sensation of eating candied rose petals spiced with pink corns. There is a bit of sourness coming from the currant leaves, and the overall aroma is sweet but not cloying. I get more of the vanilla vibe and fruits on the initial spray.
Soon, an intoxicating lily ooze, adding a sort of freshness and greenness to the scent. The red roses moved to the background while keeping a light sweetness. Hipster Oud is the perfect rose scent if you are not fond of roses; neither too gentle nor too opulent. It contains the rose, but it is not one of the many rose scents. It is such a beautiful spicy rose: it is a sweet, powdery, candy, jammy rose. I can smell a bit of pink pepper and a tad of saffron slowly turning into a beautiful, sweet vanilla-like accord that adds to the rose and spicy notes. The combination is lovely.
Afterward, the fragrance dries down to a musky and amber accord, with apparent powdery nuances typical of the orris root, not mentioned in the olfactory notes but present as alpha-isomethyl ionone in the ingredients. Weird enough, I do not get oud or, really, leathery saffron on my nose. At least, the two notes don't come across as middle eastern otherwise. It's velvety, with smooth powdery floral, so sweet and amber. I feel a kind of cashmere and creamy woods. The oud is tame here, although I love this note when used with more tenacity. Still, I like it here because it's sweet and unobtrusive; it sits in the background, an oud scent for beginners.
If you are familiar with those sweet and sugary Middle Eastern drinks, you will recognize this scent as one of those drinks, other than a candied rose petal. So, nothing animalic, medicinal, or leathery. If anything, it is sweet and softly floral, and the base is pleasant and enveloping. It is a perfume that I feel indicated at the beginning of autumn and spring. I get a sweet and soft gourmand base; this rose is lovely, but it is not too rosy, and so to speak, it is not a rose like that of Chloé (2007) Eau de Parfum to give you an example. It is perfect for an everyday signature scent or a night date scent. This perfume smells good throughout use but is even more pleasant when drying, as the oud becomes even fainter and even creamier. If you're new to oud, you might like this one. The performance is below average as an EDP concentration, but the resulting aroma is worth any penny.
I base my review on an 80ml bottle I have owned since June 2022.
-Elysium
I finally got it, and it's cute, even if it's the least favorite of this Oud collection. To my taste, Bohemian Oud tops the list; the way incense is used here is supreme, followed by Endless Oud in second place, a smoky, manly, and leathery vetiver, and then Perpetual Oud in third with its dramatic dark rose. But this ranking is subjective, and it is only an order of preference because each of them has a singular character, and none is unpleasant. Let's deep dive into it. Hipster Oud opens with the sugary rose accord, in which mellifluous orange blossoms mix with red rose petals. I get the same sensation of eating candied rose petals spiced with pink corns. There is a bit of sourness coming from the currant leaves, and the overall aroma is sweet but not cloying. I get more of the vanilla vibe and fruits on the initial spray.
Soon, an intoxicating lily ooze, adding a sort of freshness and greenness to the scent. The red roses moved to the background while keeping a light sweetness. Hipster Oud is the perfect rose scent if you are not fond of roses; neither too gentle nor too opulent. It contains the rose, but it is not one of the many rose scents. It is such a beautiful spicy rose: it is a sweet, powdery, candy, jammy rose. I can smell a bit of pink pepper and a tad of saffron slowly turning into a beautiful, sweet vanilla-like accord that adds to the rose and spicy notes. The combination is lovely.
Afterward, the fragrance dries down to a musky and amber accord, with apparent powdery nuances typical of the orris root, not mentioned in the olfactory notes but present as alpha-isomethyl ionone in the ingredients. Weird enough, I do not get oud or, really, leathery saffron on my nose. At least, the two notes don't come across as middle eastern otherwise. It's velvety, with smooth powdery floral, so sweet and amber. I feel a kind of cashmere and creamy woods. The oud is tame here, although I love this note when used with more tenacity. Still, I like it here because it's sweet and unobtrusive; it sits in the background, an oud scent for beginners.
If you are familiar with those sweet and sugary Middle Eastern drinks, you will recognize this scent as one of those drinks, other than a candied rose petal. So, nothing animalic, medicinal, or leathery. If anything, it is sweet and softly floral, and the base is pleasant and enveloping. It is a perfume that I feel indicated at the beginning of autumn and spring. I get a sweet and soft gourmand base; this rose is lovely, but it is not too rosy, and so to speak, it is not a rose like that of Chloé (2007) Eau de Parfum to give you an example. It is perfect for an everyday signature scent or a night date scent. This perfume smells good throughout use but is even more pleasant when drying, as the oud becomes even fainter and even creamier. If you're new to oud, you might like this one. The performance is below average as an EDP concentration, but the resulting aroma is worth any penny.
I base my review on an 80ml bottle I have owned since June 2022.
-Elysium
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