Described as "a perfect blend of the highest grade Rose oil, Frankincense resin, pure honey and precious halmaddi. The blend contains 30% frankincense oil and 70% rose oil", this is an attractive looking stick with quite a volatile but interesting cool scent. There is rose here, but what strikes me first is herbs and something a little sickly and rotten, underscored by a faint awareness of tree resin inclined toward frankincense. The lavender coloured paste has possibly put lavender in my mind as I get lavender mingled with the rose. It's fresh and floral, though heady to the point of being a tad sickly and overbearing, though just held back by the cleansing and refreshing herbal and lavender notes. I find it a compelling and intriguing fragrance rather than an attractive one. Your mileage may vary.
I like blends because there's less of the dissonance between what I'm expecting and what I'm getting. Blends allow the scent creator and the scent receiver to be more open to the olfactory possibilities and less concerned with chasing after familiarities and comparisons. I expect blends are more attractive to the looser, more liberal sort of person, while mono-scents are more attractive to those who are looking for certainties and familiarities. An incense that is a stated blend of two (or more) scents will, I suppose, fall somewhere between those open to blends and those open to mono-scents; potentially not satisfying either those looking for creativity and openness in a blend or those looking for familiarity and certainty; or potentially satisfying both.
I like blends, and would have preferred if this was not presented as two mono-scents together, because I'm not getting either scent strong and clear. The frankincense is there in the base, adjusting the floral, and adding twists, but it's not a classic frankincense scent. The rose is here rather more obviously and dramatically, but adjusted so much by the frankincense that while it can be recognised, it is a little more smoky, woody, dusty, and herby than usual so is moving away from classic rose so much that even I am liking it (and I'm not a rose lover). I'm not liking it enthusiastically, but I am interested in it. I would have preferred just relaxing back into what is a kind of midnight velvet fragrance without having to deal with my brain and senses looking for the rose and frankincense scents and coming up a little confounded. Nice to recognise the scents obliquely while relaxing into the fragrance. But hey, this is what we're dealing with - an incense termed Frank & Rose, a bit like Mac & Cheese or something!
I like blends because there's less of the dissonance between what I'm expecting and what I'm getting. Blends allow the scent creator and the scent receiver to be more open to the olfactory possibilities and less concerned with chasing after familiarities and comparisons. I expect blends are more attractive to the looser, more liberal sort of person, while mono-scents are more attractive to those who are looking for certainties and familiarities. An incense that is a stated blend of two (or more) scents will, I suppose, fall somewhere between those open to blends and those open to mono-scents; potentially not satisfying either those looking for creativity and openness in a blend or those looking for familiarity and certainty; or potentially satisfying both.
I like blends, and would have preferred if this was not presented as two mono-scents together, because I'm not getting either scent strong and clear. The frankincense is there in the base, adjusting the floral, and adding twists, but it's not a classic frankincense scent. The rose is here rather more obviously and dramatically, but adjusted so much by the frankincense that while it can be recognised, it is a little more smoky, woody, dusty, and herby than usual so is moving away from classic rose so much that even I am liking it (and I'm not a rose lover). I'm not liking it enthusiastically, but I am interested in it. I would have preferred just relaxing back into what is a kind of midnight velvet fragrance without having to deal with my brain and senses looking for the rose and frankincense scents and coming up a little confounded. Nice to recognise the scents obliquely while relaxing into the fragrance. But hey, this is what we're dealing with - an incense termed Frank & Rose, a bit like Mac & Cheese or something!
While the scent on the stick is quite volatile and reasonably heady, the scent on the burn is more gentle and laid back. As with all stick incense, I burn at a distance, allowing the fragrance to inform the room and then drift across to me. But when reviewing I can sometimes get impatient, and will lean closer and waft the smoke toward me. I don't encourage this both because of the health concerns of inhaling the smoke, and because the fragrance will be mingled with the burning notes of the ingredients. On wafting this stick I get some sharper notes which light up the overall fragrance so the midnight velvet is joined with sparkles inclined toward vanilla crystals. The more I burn this incense and get familiar with it, the more I like it.
Honey and halmaddi are traditional ingredients in incense. The honey is used as a binder to hold together the combustible material - it will tend to keep the paste soft (as is the case here) though may not be noticed as a scent. However, there is a distinct sense of honey in the overall fragrance. How much that is suggestive (as with the lavender because of the paste colour), how much that is the result of the blending of frankincense oil with rose oil, or how much that is the scent of the actual honey I don't know. But it is a pleasing addition to the sparkly midnight velvet. And while halmaddi doesn't have an accepted pleasing scent of its own - it being used mainly to fix and protect and enhance the fragrance ingredients, protecting them from being scorched or burned too quickly, or from evaporating too quickly, I do tend to pick up a lambs wool scent when halmaddi is used, and I get that here. Sometimes I find halmaddi irritates my eyes and throat, but here it is soft. The lamb's wool scent is warm and pleasant, and offers a gentle base for the sharper tones of the sparkly midnight velvet.
I like the development of this Frank & Rose. I found it a little muddled at first with some (for me) off notes of smoke and scorching wood, and poor scent integration. But as it unfolded into the room, and I was able to push away notions of looking for rose or frankincense familiarities, I settled into it. The purple colour feels appropriate, as it is a purple scent. It is warm, dark, floral; softly woody and resinous. Eventually it does have some of the qualities of both rose and frankincense, but not in a defined way, and shoving away any expectations one has with those scents will allow discovery and acceptance of this blend much quicker and easier. It's a well balanced fragrance - quite sweet, but more sweet like dark honey and wine than sweet like sugar; and those gently resinous and soft wood notes provide a counterweight to the sweetness. I like this. Quite a lot.
I like the development of this Frank & Rose. I found it a little muddled at first with some (for me) off notes of smoke and scorching wood, and poor scent integration. But as it unfolded into the room, and I was able to push away notions of looking for rose or frankincense familiarities, I settled into it. The purple colour feels appropriate, as it is a purple scent. It is warm, dark, floral; softly woody and resinous. Eventually it does have some of the qualities of both rose and frankincense, but not in a defined way, and shoving away any expectations one has with those scents will allow discovery and acceptance of this blend much quicker and easier. It's a well balanced fragrance - quite sweet, but more sweet like dark honey and wine than sweet like sugar; and those gently resinous and soft wood notes provide a counterweight to the sweetness. I like this. Quite a lot.
Available from ExoticIncense for $6.00; and from BhagwanIncense for €3.95. Also in Switzerland (only) for CHF 7.90.
Beautiful review, Steve! Your description instantly brought to mind the honeyed note that’s so distinctive in Rose de Mai from France. It’s my favorite rose variety, and I have a feeling that even someone like you—who isn’t usually drawn to rose scents—might just fall in love with it.
ReplyDeleteAh yes - Rose de Mai. Well, Chanel No 5 is one of my favourite perfumes. I recently bought Joy (along with variations, such as 1000 and Forever), but the rose there doesn't attract me - too sweet and cloying. Joy uses Bulgarian rose while 5 uses Rose de Mai. So, yes, it may be the Rose de Mai that attracts me in the 5 (though it could also be Beaux's own rose synthetic, "EB"). I don't think I've had Rose de Mai by itself. I'll get some and give it a go, and let you know.
DeleteYou’ve got a lovely collection, Steve! You’re lucky to have found Joy—it’s quite well-known for its beautiful Champaca note. I’d love to hear your thoughts on how that particular note comes through for you.
DeleteAlso, it might be a fun change of pace to share some reviews of these perfumes—you’ve got some real gems!
I did get into perfumes last year. Bought some books about the history and development of perfumes, and bought a range of perfumes. I did consider adding another blog to my list, but felt that adding my occasional comments to Fragrantica would work better. I like when there is a group dynamic. When people share opinions on a product in an easily accessible form. Blogs are a little one sided. It would be really cool if there were a site like Fragrantica for incense.
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